Chapter One: Into Dust

-Four months later-

Spencer sat in at her vanity, only her reflection staring back at her. It was strange, staring at herself now. The girl inside was murdered, a bullet to the heart. The girl outside remained, but not unscathed. She was scarred, her flesh maimed. Everyone could see it, she was sure. They could see more then just the subtle changes. Her hair was darker, thanks to a very drunken Madison who claimed brunettes were the new blondes. Of course, Spencer was sure this was for the mere fact that the Latina had tried going blonde… and it was a mistake. A huge mistake. Jealousy insisted that Spencer couldn’t be blonde either. She had agreed, simply because she didn’t care. Her mother hadn’t noticed yet. She almost wished for the moments when her mom was always nagging her about looking different, but she pushed those wishes down. She didn’t deserve them anymore.

Her hair wasn’t the only thing to change. She’d lost weight, her curves suddenly having dropped into sharp angles. Everything soft had melted away, and now, only hardness remained. Skins and bones; angles. She didn’t smile as much anymore, and when she did, it never reached her eyes. Her eyes… that had been the biggest change.

Spencer sighed, staring at the stranger in the mirror. She didn’t even know this girl. It wasn’t the hair color. It wasn’t the loss of her shape, the gauntness of her face. It was everything. She was a stranger to herself. Even her thoughts were hard to navigate, and her feelings had become dull to her. That fact made her want to smile, but she didn’t. Smiles seemed foreign now, and they always exerted much more energy then she had. Besides, it was almost time for school.

She reached for her contact case before unscrewing the caps. Her daily transformation into someone else was almost complete. Just one more step, one more action before burying herself alive. She dipped her finger into the solution, staring at the tiny contact a moment before placing it in her eye. The next one followed, a few tears slipping over her tan face. After three months of this, she still had trouble putting them in without irritating her eyes. Oh well. Spencer closed her eyes, letting moisture sink in as she adjusted to them. Sucking in a deep breath of air, she let her lids flutter open, this time not stopping the perverse smile from gracing her full lips, as cat green eyes stared back at her. A stranger’s eyes.