Mia Brooks isn’t your ordinary teenage girl. She is an orphan with a secret. After her parents died, she lived on the streets until a kind woman took her in at the orphanage. She began to turn her life around and learned to fight. Only a few people know her secret identity as a fighter, but that secret is about to be revealed when Aaron comes into her life.
Age Rating: 18+ (Content Warning: Kidnapping, Sexual Abuse, Rape)
The Nerd’s Secret by dreamfeverxo is now available to read on the Galatea app! Read the first two chapters below, or download Galatea for the full experience.
Read the full uncensored books on the Galatea iOS app!
1
Mia Brooks isn’t your ordinary teenage girl. She is an orphan with a secret. After her parents died, she lived on the streets until a kind woman took her in at the orphanage. She began to turn her life around and learned to fight. Only a few people know her secret identity as a fighter, but that secret is about to be revealed when Aaron comes into her life.
Age Rating: 18+ (Content Warning: Kidnapping, Sexual Abuse, Rape)
Original Author: dreamfeverxo
Hello, my name is Mia Brooks. I have waist-length strawberry blond hair and green eyes, and I reach a height of about five feet, four inches.
Today is Monday, the twenty-third of June, the day I turn eighteen years old.
Many people would be looking forward to their eighteenth birthday, either throwing the party of a lifetime and getting drunk like there is no tomorrow. However, that’s just not me.
I am an orphan. My mother and father died exactly a year ago today in a tragic car crash. Yes, you heard me right. My parents died on my birthday.
If it wasn’t for Mary Anne taking me in at the orphanage six months later, I would still be a wreck. Roaming the streets and constantly getting attacked for no good reason.
I still have nightmares from what happened back on the streets, but nobody knows about them. Not even Mary Anne.
Mary Anne found me curled in an alleyway. I had my knees to my chest and my head down, hiding my tearstained cheeks. She kindly brought me back to the orphanage, and I am very thankful for it.
She did try to ask me what happened, but I refused to tell her. I can’t tell her. I can’t tell anyone.
I can’t tell anyone how I was kidnapped and raped. How I was used and abused. I certainly can’t tell anyone how I learned to fight so that I could protect myself.
***
Morning arrives quickly, and realization hits me. The first thing that comes to mind is my mom and dad. It has been exactly a year since they left me. A year since I started to fight.
Why do I fight?
Well, I fight to protect myself and to show I’m not weak. Each day after school I go to the underground fighting ring and train. Sometimes I fight in championships, but other times I just go for training.
I live with several other kids in an orphanage. I absolutely love all the children, but the child that I love most is Charlie.
Charlie is a little seven-year-old boy who has short blond sandy hair and blue eyes. His story is different. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father committed suicide when Charlie turned five.
Not a day goes by where Charlie and I don’t hang out. He is like the brother I never had.
I snap out of my thoughts when I hear my bedroom door open and see a small shadow slowly making its way toward me. I know who it is.
I peek over my bedsheets and see sparkling blue eyes staring widely at me.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIAAAAAA,” Charlie’s voice booms through the air.
I open out my arms and wrap them around his small body, giving him a bear hug.
“Thank you so much, Charlie Bear!!” He hugs me back.
If there is anybody that can cheer me up, it is definitely Charlie. His cute baby voice and cheerful vibes always bring a smile to my face.
“Mia, do you have to go to school today? I don’t want to stay at home with the other kids, they don’t like me, and they never play with me.”
I look into Charlie’s eyes and see a flash of hurt go through them.
He often tells me about how nobody in the orphanage plays with him. A pang of sadness runs through me as I hate the feeling of leaving Charlie.
“Charlie. I know you want me to stay, but I have to go to school. I will try to be back early today, so when I get back, we can have ice cream and watch Disney movies, okay?
“And try to talk to the other kids. You know Olivia is nice, talk to her,” I respond softly, then get up and walk to my wardrobe, opening it to pick out today’s outfit.
“Okay, but we have to eat ice cream! With sprinkles! Also, Olivia is a girl. Girls have cooties!” Charlie exclaims as he jumps off the bed and heads out of the room.
I chuckle lightly to myself at how quickly his mood changed.
Walking into my bathroom, I turn on the shower and step inside.
Knowing I only have forty minutes till I have to leave for school, I quickly wash my hair with my favorite strawberry shampoo as well as scrub my body down.
After my shower, I put on my gray hoodie along with a matching pair of sweats.
I know it’s not a great outfit, but after I had been taken in by Mary Anne, I grew out of my clothes. I never had enough money to buy anything for myself.
Of course, I have a lot of money from fighting, but I promised myself I’d keep that aside for college and other useful things rather than clothes that I already have.
Mary Anne kindly offered to take me shopping; however, I refused to let her spend any more money on me when she had already done enough.
I add a few bracelets and my favorite necklace, which has an infinity sign and the words Mom and Dad engraved on it. I kiss the necklace, then tuck it under my hoodie.
Lastly, I put on some concealer just to cover the bags under my eyes from the sleepless nights.
I decide to leave my hair out, naturally frizzy, and pin my bangs back.
When I have finished getting ready, I grab my phone from my bedside table and skip downstairs. I sigh softly as I feel the familiar pain in my muscles from working out last night.
As I walk into the kitchen, I see Mary Anne cooking pancakes, which look absolutely delicious. I walk over to her, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
“Good morning, Mary Anne,” I chirp. Yeah, you would think that with it being a year since the death of your parents you would be all depressed and sad.
Well, it’s not that I’m not. It’s just that I don’t really show it. I hate to worry people with my problems, so saying “I’m fine” or “I’m okay” and hiding it with a fake smile has become the norm to me.
“Oh, good morning, Mia dear, and happy birthday!” She smiles at me and sets a plate of pancakes in front of me.
After thanking her for my pancakes, which were devoured quite quickly, I text my best friend Emma.
I know she will probably reply back with something crazy because it’s my birthday.
I laugh at my best friend’s response. Then I say bye to Charlie, promising that I will be home early, meaning no training for today.
I don’t really get presents for my birthday, mostly because I never ask for them. Mom and Dad were the only ones who ever got me presents, and I liked it that way.
Emma as well as my other best friend Dylan know about my parents’ deaths. I told them how I fight; however, they don’t know the real reason behind it.
They just believe it’s a hobby I had taken up ever since I was little. If they ever ask, I always change the subject. Surprisingly, they always let it slide and never push any further about it.
I know they wouldn’t mention my parents’ deaths at all today because they know I hate sympathy, that’s why I love them both.
Best friends annoy the shit outta you sometimes, but they know their limits, and they’d never do anything to hurt me. Probably because they know I can hurt them back. Hehe.
I plunk myself down into the passenger seat and turn to see my best friend smiling widely at me.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAH BITCH,” Emma singsongs to me. I reach in to give her hug before she drives off to school.
I giggle and slap her arm playfully, then buckle up. “Thank you, you hoe.”
She shakes her head and taps her fingers on the steering wheel along to the beat of “Let Me Love You” by Justin Bieber.
After reaching the school, I look ahead to see swarms of teenagers rushing to their lockers before class starts.
“Hey, Emma, my first class is AP Chemistry, so I’ll see you at lunch, yeah?” I ask Emma.
She nods and parks the car before cutting the engine and hopping out of the car. “Okay, hun, have fun!” She skips off happily, and I internally smile at her enthusiasm on a Monday morning.
I walk to my locker, get my books out, and make my way to my first period of the day.
“Oomph.” I try to steady myself, but I just fall back and hit my head against the cold floor. It doesn’t really hurt considering I have a high pain tolerance, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel anything.
Looking up, I find the one and only Aaron Miller and his jock friends along with the “oh so perfect and Miss Popular” Amber laughing down at me.
I quickly scurry to my feet and hug my books to my chest.
“Watch where you’re going, zitface.” I look up, peeking through my eyelashes, to see Aaron smirking.
My reaction to his “hurtful” comment is blank. I’m used to it and know that my face is pretty pimple free, so reacting to it would give him satisfaction.
I get trapped by his gaze and try to look away, but I feel as if his chocolatey brown eyes are holding me paralyzed.
Aaron is HOT! And I mean HOT! His well-defined abs and muscles show through his plain white T-shirt, and his chiseled jaw is perfect, making his cheekbones show quite nicely.
He has the bad-boy look, which completes his arrogant personality.
He runs his hands through his light-brown hair, making him look sexy…
Then I snap out of my thoughts when I hear the bell ring and him talk again.
“Oooh, little Miss Nerdy late to class. You better get going, loner, you don’t want to ruin your perfect attendance record.”
Now this is so not true. I don’t have perfect attendance. I have missed class various times for upcoming fights, but no, they didn’t know that.
I can hear Amber and the jocks laughing, which just makes me angry. I clench my fists and breathe through my mouth, trying to hold back from punching the daylights out of them.
“Shut up,” I say through clenched teeth. This is new. Normally, I would ignore them and walk away, but I seem to be finding myself acting without hesitation.
“Are you going to fight us? Because I’m pretty sure a weak little nerd like you can’t even kill a bug.”
This time it isn’t Aaron who says that. It is Jace. Jace is Aaron’s best friend as well as a jock. He is pretty well built, but I could still take him in a fight.
I could feel tears prick my eyes the moment he called me weak. But I didn’t let them show. I’m going to walk away before I practically kill him.
I pivot on my foot and walk away down the hall toward Chemistry. Okay, well, I didn’t walk, more like stomped down the hallway like a little kid who didn’t get the toy they wanted.
“Oh, so you’re just gonna walk away. Are you scared, bitch?” Now it is Amber.
I walk faster, trying to cut out her voice. As I turn the corner, I feel a hand grab my wrist, and the first thing I do is punch the person straight in the face.
I would never, EVER, do anything like this at school, so to say I shocked myself is an understatement.
I notice it is Amber. She shrieks as she feels her nose break and blood drips drown onto her skirt, which by the way she is wearing way to high.
“First, don’t call me a bitch. Second, never touch me, and third, don’t even try talk to me or communicate for that matter.
“If you do, I will damage your ovaries and make sure you will never be able to have children. EVER!”
I spit in her face before walking down the hall with a smirk on my face, feeling a surge of energy go through me. Wow.
Standing up for myself feels good. It feels good not to hide and cower away. It feels good to show them who I really am.
Just before turning away, I remember the five shocked faces behind her.
Aaron and Jace with their jaws dropped and the other three jocks, Aiden, Chase, and Kyle smirking like idiots trying to hide their laughter from the damage I just did.
Guess I’m not the only one who doesn’t like her.
Thinking back to them, they are all quite hot.
Jace and Chase are twins. Chase is the much nicer one, and Jace is a jerk. They have light-brown hair and piercing blue eyes.
I can only tell the difference between them because Chase has dimples whereas Jace doesn’t.
Aiden has dark-brown hair and gray eyes, and he wears glasses. On him they don’t look bad or nerdy, they make him look sexy and cool.
Kyle has short curly black hair, which makes his green eyes shine bright.
I finally get to Chemistry, but there are only ten minutes of class left, meaning there is no point in actually going.
So instead of walking through the door, I go the opposite way and walk to the library. Might as well miss Math and Art too and wait until lunch. Yes, I’m a rebel. Hehe.
So until lunch, I sit quietly in the library, trying to plan a new defense and offense pattern for fighting.
My fingers tap on the hard oak wood as I rest my chin on my other hand. Not even five minutes have gone past, and I’m officially bored. My eyes roam around the library. It’s awfully quiet today.
Many students are most likely in class, and the ones with a free period are either in the student common room or hanging out by the bleachers.
After a few hours of planning, I decide to go to the cafeteria where I see Dylan and Emma sitting at a table.
I’ve always thought that they look like a cute couple, and by the way, Emma is blushing; she likes him. I mean, who wouldn’t?
Dylan’s cute. Brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a few beauty spots, which make him look even cuter.
But I won’t date Dylan. He is like a brother to me, and I don’t want to change that. Plus, I’m pretty sure he likes Emma.
I walk over to them and sit down opposite them both.
“Hey, Mia, happy birthday! Oh, and why weren’t you in Art? I missed my buddy.” Dylan playfully punches my arm.
“I didn’t feel so good, so I sat in the library for a few hours,” I lied. I should keep the whole Aaron thing quiet. I know Dylan will attempt to try to beat him up, and that’s the last thing I want.
“Well, are you okay now?” Emma asks, concerned.
“Eh, I’m fine.” I rest my head on the table and let all my thoughts travel away. I can hear the chatter of students in the lunchroom and a hushed conversation going on between Dylan and Emma.
“Whatcha guys whispering about?” I ask, raising my eyebrow, becoming curious.
They both look at me and blush.
“Well, Dylan and I may or may not be together, like right now,” Emma says shyly.
What the hell!
“OMGEEEE! When did this happen? How did this happen, and why didn’t you tell me!” I fire questions, interested in her new relationship status.
“Well, you were kind of late to lunch, so I asked her out on a date, as it was just us two, and she said yes. Then we kissed, and I asked her out.
“I was going to do it on our date tonight, but I couldn’t wait, and I wanted her to mine right now.”
Aww, I can’t believe Dylan did that for her. It’s so sweet. I’m not normally one to be all mushy, but I know their relationship is going to be strong.
“Dylan, that is too cute, but remember, you hurt her, and I will come knocking at your door to pound your face in. Best friend or not.” I smile at him as I watch a flash of horror go through his eyes.
“Um…yeah, yes, I will never hurt her. Ever!”
I know he won’t hurt Emma, but Emma has had a few tough relationships in the past, and I don’t want her hurt again. Yeah, you could say I’m a protective best friend, but then again, who isn’t?
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2
Finally, the last bell for the day rings. Dylan is taking Emma straight to their date destination while I walk home.
I don’t really mind missing training today as it is my birthday, and Charlie really wants me home so we can watch movies.
Finding my way through the parking lot, I walk out the gate and trot down the road.
I am very lucky to have not seen Aaron or any of his friends throughout the rest of the day; I know if I had seen them again, I would’ve lost it. I don’t have anger issues, I just hate being aggravated.
I suddenly come to a stop when I feel shivers run down my spine and a stench of alcohol breathing down my neck.
I turn to look and see my ex-boyfriend, wait, abusive ex-boyfriend Jake, standing directly behind me. I still remember him, the horrid memories locked away, aching to escape.
“Well, hello, my sweet Angel. Long time no see!” I wince at the name as he slowly moves his hands to my waist and pulls me into him. His touch makes me frown and shiver in disgust.
“I told you not to call me that. Why are you here?” I whisper.
My heart is beating louder than a boom box on full blast. He knows I don’t like being called Angel. It’s like the memories have broken the supersecure padlock and are now floating free in the air.
“Angel, your dad and I are popping out to get some of your birthday things. We won’t be too long! Love you,” my mother shouted out to me.
Little did I know that was going to be the last time I saw her.
“Okay, Mom! Love you too!” I shouted back as I continued to paint my nails.
An hour or two later, I got a call from the hospital saying they were both involved in a car crash. The other driver was drunk and was not paying attention on the roads because he was on the phone.
The impact of the crash was so bad that both my parents were dead in an instant…
I snap out of my memory when Jake’s hands travel higher up my waist.
I would fight, but there are too many people here, and if anybody from school sees, they would treat me differently, and I hate attention.
“Oh, Mia, I told you not to leave me, yet one day I woke up to see a letter saying you were leaving for London. Did you really think you would be able to get away that easily, Angel?”
Exaggerating the last word did not make this any easier to maintain my anger. Okay, maybe I do have anger problems…
I wriggle out of his hold and drag him down the road into a dark alleyway, looking around to see if I could see anybody.
I notice a group of boys who look like Aaron and his jocks standing at the opposite end of the alleyway.
I guess I will have to make this quick.
“Well, Angel, if you wanted to make out, you could have just said.” He grabs my waist, pulls me into him, and smashes his lips to mine. I struggle to get out, but he only kisses harder.
Tears form in my eyes, but I’m not weak anymore. I can taste the horrible smoke and liquor on his tongue, which only makes me even sicker.
I bring my knee up and hit him in the crotch, making sure I have a tight grip on his shoulder. I pull his body in, giving me more power, and tuck my head into his chest for protection.
Then with all I have, I flip him over my shoulder, making Jake immediately land on his back. As he falls to the floor in pain, his eyes clench shut as he bites his bottom lip, drawing blood.
Ha! Classic move, but I’m not quite done yet.
Using my elbow, I jab it into his shoulder, and finally, I kick him in his ribs. I’m pretty sure I heard a crack. He whimpers and curses me as his pain intensifies.
Seeing him hurt doesn’t even faze me, this is nothing compared to the shit he put me through.
After I finish beating the shit out of him, I kneel down so that my lips are near his ear, and I whisper the words I never had the courage to say before.
“If you dare call me Angel again or even come back to me, I will not hesitate to put you in the hospital.”
And with that, I walk away in the opposite direction of the boys who were smoking and looked to be in a serious conversation.
Well then… My definition of discreet is obviously not accurate. At least they didn’t see anything.
Wiping my lips to get all the slobbery mess off of them, I continue to walk home. I’m in desperate need of mouthwash.
I shiver a little, then speed walk back home, a little shaken up by my encounter with Jake. I arrive back at the orphanage ten minutes later.
As soon as I open the door, I see little Charlie and Olivia running down the stairs. I’m guessing he made a new friend today. What happened to “girls have cooties”?
“Mia! You’re back! How was your birthday?” I run and hug Charlie. He hugs me back, then looks into my eyes, smiling widely.
“It was okay, Charlie Bear. How about we go watch movies with ice cream. Olivia can join us too,” I say, deciding to be brief.
Charlie’s way too young to know about anything that happened today. I nod in the direction of Olivia, motioning Charlie to include her in our movie night.
“Yaaaaaay! Come on, Olivia. Let’s go and pick out some movies.”
Olivia giggles when Charlie runs past her while grabbing her hand, and they both make their way upstairs.
I smile at how cute they are before walking into the kitchen to get some ice cream.
“Hello, Mia dear. Is everything okay?” Mary Anne asks as she walks into the kitchen with Toby in her arms. Toby was another little boy. He was only three years old though.
“Hey, Mary Anne. Yeah, everything’s fine. I’m going to watch some movies with Olivia and Charlie, then I might head out to visit the cemetery.”
“Okay, sweetie. Let me know if you need anything.” She flashes me a sympathetic smile before walking out of the kitchen and heading toward the living room.
I hum and bite the inside of my cheek as I walk around the kitchen, trying to keep my thoughts from turning bad at this moment.
I get three bowls out and put a scoop of chocolate ice cream in each bowl. I remember Charlie wants sprinkles, so I sprinkle some sprinkles.
Then I head upstairs to my room to see Charlie and Olivia sitting on my bed with the movie Monsters, Inc. on pause. I set the bowls down on the little bedside table, then run to the bathroom.
I open the glass cabinet and pull out a bottle of Colgate mouthwash. After squeezing some into the cap, I throw it back into my mouth, letting the blue minty liquid swish around.
I make sure to get every corner, desperate to get any evidence of Jake off of me.
I spit the mouthwash out, then run the tap, washing the sink. Smiling tightly at myself in the mirror, I wipe my lips, then walk back to the bedroom.
Seeing Charlie and Olivia snuggled in together makes a small smile dance on my face. Oh how I wish to be that young and happy again.
I jump in between them, then hand them each their bowls of ice cream and play the movie, waiting for the minutes to go by until I can visit my parents.
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