Chapter 1

Prologue

“Mommy, have you been drinking again?” the little girl asked her mother as she stood over the counter to pour herself another glass of whiskey. The mother didn’t hear her daughter, or at least, she pretended not to. “Mommy!” she called again. “Mommy!”

The mother drank almost half the glass of the whiskey and then poured herself another one, oblivious of her daughter, whose persistent cries filled the kitchen.

Thunder bellowed outside, causing the little girl to scream in fear. She had always been scared of the thunder. She ran to her mother’s side in haste, seeking protection and comfort like any little child would in the middle of a storm. Her mother wasn’t expecting her daughter to throw herself at her side, which caused her to lose her own balance, although the liquor could have easily done that. As a result, she dropped the glass in her hand, sending it shattering into a thousand pieces on the floor. The sound of breaking glass, combined with the crashing sound of the thunder and the strike of lightning caused the girl to scream in terror.

“Mommy!” she cried.

The woman had enough of the child’s screaming. It was too much for her to handle.

“I’ve had enough of you, little brat!” she bellowed. “All you do is whine and cry! It’s a fucking thunder! Get over it! Or do you want me to tie you up in the tree outside?”

But the threats made the little girl cry even louder.

“Shut the fuck up! Shut up! Shut up!”

The little girl kept on crying, begging her mother to protect her, comfort her. But instead of feeling pity, the mother got even more irritated.

“I am sick and tired of you!” she screamed, pushing her daughter to the floor. Then she took off her belt and started hitting blindly at the fragile little girl.

The girl covered her face with her arms, bracing herself for the pain. But that pain never came. Because right at that moment, a little boy’s slender body was lodged between her and her mother. The boy screamed in pain as the mother’s belt hit his back. But he didn’t run. He held his ground. He stayed atop the little girl, shielding her from the pain of the lash of leather.

The little girl cried, knowing that the boy was taking in the pain that was meant for her. A third lash caused him to cry out in agony. It was loud enough for the mother to recognize his voice.

“Oh my god!” the mother screamed in horror.

Immediately, she dropped the belt and grabbed her son. She cupped his face between her palms, feeling remorseful that she laid a finger on the boy.

“I am so sorry, baby! I’m so sorry!”

Tears were streaming down the boy’s cheeks, but he didn’t whimper. The look he gave his mother was a combination of pain and loathing. In his eyes, she had turned into a monster. He pushed his mother away and turned to the whimpering little girl on the floor. He gathered her in his arms and whispered soothing words to make her stop crying.

“It’s okay, baby girl. I got you.” Then he looked at his mother in contempt.

“She was… bothering me. She made me break the glass,” their mother said defensively.

“She was scared!” The little boy’s voice was low but thick with emotions. “She was asking you to comfort her!” He tightened his arms around the little girl, who was no more than two years younger than him. “You wanted to hit her!”

The mother opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she saw the look of disgust on her son’s face.

The boy stood up on his feet and pulled the little girl up. “Come, baby girl. I will stay with you until the storm passes. No one can hurt you while I’m here.”

The boy brought his sister up to her room and tried to stop her tears.

“Why doesn’t Mommy love me?” she asked. He couldn’t answer. “She loves you. She got so scared when she realized that she was hitting you.” She stared at her brother wearily. “Does it hurt?”

The boy smiled and shook his head. “Doesn’t hurt a bit.” But they both knew it was a lie.

“Let me have a look,” she said.

“I’ll be okay,” he insisted. “I’m stronger than you. A few hits don’t hurt me.”

“Thank you. If you weren’t here to always protect me, I don’t know what Mommy would do to me.”

“I will always be here to protect you,” he said.

The little girl found comfort in those promises. But he was gone shortly after that. It was the darkest moment of her life.

“You promised you would always be here to protect me,” she said, crying.

He smiled at her sadly. “I am sorry. You know I would never leave you if I had a choice.”

She lunged forward and hugged him… possibly for the last time.

“Be brave, okay? Always take care of yourself. I’ll always be with you. And someday, I will come back for you.”

He pulled away from her and took off his necklace. It was a locket. He’s had it since he was a baby. He opened it and showed her the pictures inside. It was his picture and hers. “Always wear this. When the thunder comes, hold on to this, and think of me. I will be right there beside you, protecting you. You never have to be scared.”

***

Blaire.

“So what shall we do in my last day of freedom?” I asked Jessica and Marie as we took our bags from the overhead compartments.

We had twenty-four hours in Charleston. After that, we would part ways and probably see each other only once a year. My friends would go back to London. And I would go back to my prison cell called home.

“I want to remember this day! I want to get wasted, fool around, lose my V-card to a hot guy I just met and will never see again,” I said dreamily.

“Oh my god, who are you and what have you done to our friend?” Jessica asked, wide-eyed.

Marie, on the other hand, laughed. “Shut up, Jess. I like this plan! I have been waiting for Blaire to say something wicked since I met her.”

Of course, I was kidding! I wasn’t brave enough to fool around with a stranger. And I certainly was not stupid enough to lose my V-card to some random guy, no matter how hot or how charming he was.

However, I felt like I should make this day count. I had the best life in six years, living away from home. Not seeing my parents also meant I didn’t have to see them treat me like a ghost or see their disgusted expressions every time they look at me.

Jessica and Marie were my best friends ever since freshman high school. Having them was like having a guardian angel and devil at the same time. Jessica was smart and old-fashioned. Marie, on the other hand, was liberated and playful.

I spent the summer traveling with them. On our last days together, they agreed to come with me to the States to watch the Red Festival Concert in Charleston. I have this last day, and then I would be going home to my parents’ house. I would be back to the life I left behind six years ago, which was hell—literally!

I didn’t understand why I had to go back. I was already studying design in a school in London. I had ad talent for jewelry and fashion design. My ultimate dream was to put up my own brand of jewelry someday. But all that went poof when I received a call from my father’s secretary telling me that I was going to study business management at a university back home.

My father owned a couple of businesses in Florida. Maybe he wanted me to take over them someday. I was shocked because as far as I could remember, my parents never really cared about me. That was why they sent me to a boarding school in London. They wanted nothing to do with me.

After checking into a motel near the concert grounds, I immediately hit the showers.

My friends always teased me for being a germophobe. Well, I was cautious not to catch some virus. I had always been sickly since I was a little girl. I was type 1t1 diabetic, and if I missed a shot, my life would be in peril. Maybe that was one of the reasons my parents hated me. I wasn’t perfect. I was frail and flawed.

My parents never loved me the way I knew they loved my brother. While they celebrated the day they sent me away to boarding school, they grieved the day my brother was taken away from us. I believe they’re still sad about it until now. Because I still am.

My hand went to my chest where I knew my brother’s locket would be, but I only touched wet skin. Then I remembered taking it off before I took a bath.

I had worn that locket for years. I always felt uneasy when I wasn’t wearing it, like a huge part of me was missing. It was the only thing that I had left of him—the only person in the world who ever made me feel safe and loved… the only one in my family who made me feel that I had a family at all. And even though he’d been gone from my life for fourteen years, whenever I touched that locket, I would always feel like he was just right there beside me.

When I came back to the bedroom, the necklace was not on the bedside table either.

“What the fuck?” I cursed under my breath, starting to feel nervous.

I checked under the bed, but found nothing.

“Have you seen my locket?” I asked Jessie and Marie.

Silence.

Jessie couldn’t look at me straight. Then she patted Marie’s back, telling her, “Your funeral.”

“Nobody. Fucking. Touches my brother’s locket!” I said, raising my voice.

“Easy, girl!” Marie held her hands up. “I’m holding it ransom, and it’s safe.”

“Give it back!” My tone was grave. I meant it when I said that I didn’t like anyone touching that locket.

“I will,” she said. “But you have to do something for me first.”

“What?”

“Come on, Bee. You’re always tense, cold, and guarded.”

“You mean, I’m always sane.” I raised an irritated brow at her.

“Yes, and you are driving me insane!” she argued. “Why don’t you let yourself go tonight? Let loose. Have fun.”

“By have fun, you mean have meaningless sex with a stranger like you do, right?” I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

Jessie stared at me and smiled ruefully. I had a feeling that she was in the same boat with Marie on this. My two best friends ganging up on me? Wow! Am I seriously that boring?

“Bee, we’re not asking you to be a slut… like Marie,” Jessica said.

“Thanks!” Marie rolled her eyes.

“All we’re saying is… you should open yourself up to possibilities. Look, there’s no perfect guy. Sometimes, it’s their imperfections that make them more interesting. We know you have major trust issues because of your parents, and the one person who ever made you feel loved also went away. I know it’s not easy. But you know what, you got to start somewhere. Otherwise, you won’t get anywhere.”

I knew what they were getting at. I was twenty-two years old, and I never had a boyfriend, never even had a real connection with a guy. I had major trust issues. I was always looking for something that I knew I would never find. I wasn’t even sure I knew what I wanted.

“Can’t you just enjoy the company of a guy and not believe it will be disastrous for once?” Jessie asked.

“Meet a guy. Flirt. Enjoy the next twelve hours together. Don’t expect him to call you. What happens in Charleston stays in Charleston,” Marie said, her eyes twinkling.

“Don’t expect anything beyond. Just enjoy the moment,” Jessie added.

“You will never know. By lowering your guard, you can let somebody in, and you just might have the most amazing night of your life!”

Jessie nodded. “You don’t have to have sex with the guy. Just… experiment. Expect nothing. Enjoy everything.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” I asked desperately.

“Because it’s your last night of freedom. Tomorrow, who knows what will happen? You’ll be back to the house you hate, live with the parents who hate you. You need all the good memories you can get, eh?” Marie said, smiling at me widely.

“What does my brother’s locket have to do with anything?”

“Well, it’s an insurance that you will hold up your end of the bargain,” Marie replied.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she’ll keep it safe,” Jessie assured me.

“You know what that locket means to me!” I said, quite annoyed. “And you’re saying that you’re keeping it hostage unless I go out there and get cozy with a guy I barely even know?”

“Yep!”

“Pretty much!”

“And if I do not agree?”

Jessie shrugged. “We will keep the locket safe in a safety deposit box in London and mail you the password.” She looked at me innocently. “I assume your parents will still allow you to travel to London, right?

Shit!

I would hate for them to win. I could just walk away from this. But I wasn’t even sure what my life back in my parents’ house was going to be. Who knows? I may never be allowed to travel outside Florida for the rest of my life. And Jessie always kept her word. She never backed out on a bet. She always made good of her threats. I could ignore them, but then…

How am I going to survive without that locket?