"If you promise not to scream, I'll remove my hand," Kristie hissed, nails digging into my skin. I nodded, having ZERO intention of keeping that promise. Who would actually be honest about that? Belle and Amy each slowly took a step back, letting me go.

"I don't get it, Kristie. You guys sent in my story to the magazine. You are the reason I got my agent," I said once she let my face go. I could still feel the imprints her nails left behind.

"We sent in your story to the magazine AS A JOKE!" she snapped. "You were so obsessed with storytelling. Always wanting more writing assignments. Always talking about the stories you were writing. You ended up getting the entire English class to get double the homework! I never saw a teacher so irritatingly inspired by a student's desire to learn."

I blinked. "A joke?"

"Yes! You were supposed to get a rejection letter from the magazine! Something that would get you to cool your jets and stop talking about stories, books, and your stupid goal of getting published! It was supposed to be a wake-up call that you SUCKED!"

Even though I shouldn't have been surprised, her words still hit me like a slap across the face. The three of them had inspired my journey... but it had all been a joke. Sanders took me on as a client because they sent in a story to a magazine as a joke. I would have laughed at how utterly stupid it all was if I wasn't afraid of getting strangled with my morphine drip tube.

"But YOU. GOT. PUBLISHED. IN. THAT. DAMN. MAGAZINE." Kristie said each word slowly, through gritted teeth. "And it just... snowballed."

"Why did you ask me to live with you?" I asked confused. "When you all moved into an apartment together, you asked me to be your fourth roommate."

"Well... we needed a fourth roommate for money reasons. And we wanted someone we could make fun of. A common enemy. And honestly, I wanted to see what would happen when you started to submit your first novel." She crossed her arms, brow furrowed as she glared down her nose at me. "We read the first draft of your novel on your computer once while you were out. It SUCKED. Who gives a shit about a mermaid falling in love with a pirate?"

Millions of readers, I thought.

I didn't appreciate her attacking my readers, or Ara, my main character. Ara may not have been real, but she was real to me. And I felt a mamma bear level territorial-ness for her and every single reader that had taken the time to read my stories and leave me comments.

"Then you actually sold it and moved out and all we got was an acknowledgment in your first book."

"What else could you possibly have wanted?" I asked, exasperated.

"You have done nothing but trip up the ladder! While we," she said motioning to the three of them. "Can hardly get ANY JOBS!" Kristie took in a deep breath to calm herself, adjusting her hair so it sat gracefully against her shoulders. "You knew we were actresses. You could have offered us parts in your movie. But we had to audition with everyone else and we didn't even get a part!"

I sat up, glaring at them, my heart racing rapidly. Rage roaring through my veins. "So you are mad that I did well and you didn't? YOU COULD HAVE JUST TOLD ME! BUT INSTEAD, YOU TRY AND RUIN MY LIFE?!? ARE YOU ALL INSANE!?!"

My body shook, from exhaustion and rage, a cocktail that would lead to dangerous actions if I wasn't careful. My voice was quiet, each word corded with venom. "You act like I was holding out on you. Like I had all this power to change your lives. To give you jobs. But you had decided I had more than I should. And you tried to hurt me before you even realized I had a movie coming out. So don't you DARE sit there like you are the victims. It is not my fault that you started all of this with a cruel joke that ended up being a blessing for me."

The world turned red. Violent and angry. I turned into She-Hulk. I felt powerful and terrifying. I felt like Ara— no like myself. Strong, determined, and proud of everything I had become and everything I had made. "And guess what? FIRST DRAFTS ARE ALWAYS TERRIBLE! And that's okay! I used to think I was a sucky writer. I used to think people would hate my stories and that would make me break. But you three tried to kill me over it and I am still here, writing stories. And I will keep writing stories for the rest of my life! I'm not afraid of critics anymore! AND NEWS FLASH! It's not my fault that your acting skills suck so bad that I figured out you tried to kill me as soon as I saw the three of your faces!"

Kristie's eyes grew darker. My time had run out. She walked over to the table and plucked up the large vase she brought. A weapon in disguise. "It's time to finish this," she said, her voice emotionless. She walked over and raised the vase above my head, glaring at Amy and Belle to follow. After a beat of hesitation, they did. Shadows of people I had known for years, bolting me to the bed.

"Stop!" I shouted, determined to fight them off. "NO!"

The vase shattered, glass scattering in the brilliant morning light, sending a thousand sparks of rainbow across the floor. Suddenly, Kristie was across the room, shocked. Amy and Belle jumped back, their faces pale.

I turned as Aiden walked out of the shadows. His black wavy hair swept across his face and framed his strong jaw. His sharp blue eyes oozed a confident and powerful aura of protection as he stood next to me, his posture territorial. Even with the sense of danger, I took a moment to appreciate how utterly attractive he was when he was in his element, taking control of a dangerous situation like this.

Aiden had been so quiet that I hadn't realized he had walked run into the room until he had all but chucked Kristie three feet. I had a strange sense of deja vu as I took him in. The sight of him in action reminded me of the moment we met next to the lady's restroom. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Aiden flexed his fingers, apparently not quite finished being my bodyguard yet because his eyes were glued to Kristie, a hard expression on his face.

"The lady said stop," Aiden said, sitting down casually on the very edge of my bed, making it clear that if they even tried to breathe in my direction, he would break every bone in their bodies.

"What took you so long?" I let out an unsteady breath.

"Had to make sure they confessed to everything," he said eyeing each of them. "Did you get it?"

I nodded. "Thanks for helping me piece it together."

In the weeks since Aiden had been removed as my bodyguard, he had done some digging into who was after me. But he hadn't been able to warn me before the girls took action.

Even though Aiden hated the idea of leaving me alone in a room with them, we knew it would tie things up quickly if I could get the girls to confess to what they had done. They had taken the bait, visiting me in the hospital when I was most vulnerable to see how injured I was.

I picked up my phone from the nightstand where it had been recording our conversation and waved it. "Thanks for the confession." I let out an uneasy breath. "Weren't you girls confused that no one had come to check on me since you got here?" The nurses had been hard to convince to stay out especially after Aiden had set off my heart monitor three times. Hehe.

"We'll go," Amy suggested quickly. Belle nodded. It was pointless, but I didn't blame them for wanting to run. They really didn't have any other option besides turning themselves in.

Kristie stared at Aiden, looking torn. "We can't. She knows—" Belle and Amy bolted for the door, intent on letting Kristie die in the room by Aiden's hands. But before they could make it through the doorway, they each hit the ground in a flash.

Someone stood above them, having knocked both girls to the ground in a quick move. The large figure blocked their exit. Kristie stared at her friends groaning on the ground and held her hands above her head in surrender.

"You weren't kidding," the man at the door said to Aiden. "Most interesting person we've ever watched." Then he offered me a wave, his face coming into the light. "Still pretty spry even in my seventies!" Brandon said, shooting me an amused grin.

My mouth laid open in shock. "Woah... maybe you should have been my bodyguard after all."

Brandon's round belly moved as he laughed. "Nah. I think I'll leave that to Aiden. You are too much work for me."

---

Laliana has learned that criticism although it's hard, isn't going to stop her from sharing her stories. How have you grown in a way that you are proud of?