The Bad Boy Saved Me ✔

The first rays of dawn pierced through the grimy window of the attic, painting weak stripes across the bare, sickly pale walls. Olivia Greene lay still on her single, dirty mattress, eyes fixed on the cracked ceiling. Another night had passed, another cycle of sleeplessness and dread. The faint throbbing in her ribs was a dull echo of yesterday's pain, a constant reminder of the life she didn't want to start. She wished for nothing, felt nothing, just waited for the day to begin its relentless repetition.

At 7:00 AM, the cold air bit at her skin as she finally pushed off the heavy sheets. Every movement sent a fresh protest through her battered body, a sharp pang in her ribs. She moved like a ghost through the small room, dressing in the oversized hoodie and worn jeans that were her uniform. The school bag felt heavy in her hand, a burden she carried to a place where fear and invisibility were her only companions. Five minutes, that's all it took to walk, head down, shoulders hunched, past the judging eyes of the world, towards the gates that once filled her with dread, now just a source of numb indifference.