KIAN’S POVGod, I hate surprises. And everything else attached to it; the shock, the confusion, the momentary loss of control, the fight to get that control back and the aftermath of losing it. It’s all a fucking mess wrapped together in a thing called surprises. I can’t emphasise enough about how
“How long?” I croak. I try to think about it. About any slip-ups that could have made grandfather suspicious. I think about how long he’s known that I have been fooling him and that I had dragged Leslie into it. The fact that he knows about Beverly’s pregnancy means he knows about the divorce. He k
LESLIE’S POVNight has fallen and for some reason, the sky is dark tonight. Way too dark. There is not a single hint of star in the sky and the moon keeps peeking in and out of dark clouds that keep floating past it. I find it ominous that the moon chose tonight to be powerless. It chose the very m
I sit like that in silence until I feel someone’s presence beside me. Grandfather. The rock is wide enough for two and he doesn't ask for an invitation before he sits beside me. If I wanted to jerk away from him, it’s already too late. So, I just sit, trying hard not to let my anxiety show. “The
LESLIE’S POVI heard him wrong–that’s the first thought that crosses my mind. The waves are loud. They must have muffled his words, distorted them somehow and made me hear something entirely different. Something ridiculous. So I wait, I wait for the waves to crash and for the momentary silence that
LESLIE’S POV“Why?” I croak out, “Why did you make us believe you were ill?” Why did you deceive me? I want to ask but I tuck the question away, afraid of how vulnerable and hurt I’ll sound to him. He didn’t deceive just me, he deceived Kian as well. Grandfather avoids looking at me as he begins,
LESLIE’S POV“We need to talk.”She says ‘talk’ but she stands like she is battle ready. Her eyes have that same look of utter disdain and disregard for me that I have already gotten used to. It’s alarming that she left the campsite to find me here and for a second, a flicker of worry coils deep ins
I still remember the sharp pain I felt in my chest when she suddenly made that announcement in the hospital ward. Those words had widened the gaping hole from seeing my grandmother lifeless in a morgue. It was the moment my entire world came crashing down and yet—“And yet you ask me what you have d
CHAPTER 99 ~SOPHIE~ The moment Sebastian disappeared down the street, a crushing silence fell over me, broken only by the unsteady rhythm of my breathing. My fingers twitched at my sides, my entire body locked in place as if moving would make the moment real, as if accepting that he had been
CHAPTER 98 ~SOPHIE~ In between the endless nightmares that were triggered by the events of the past week and waiting for Travis to reach out to me again, I had been pushed to the edge of insanity. I thought it couldn’t get any worse, but it did. It got worse. And now I was bolting out
CHAPTER 97 ~JUSTIN~ I’ve never been anyone’s first choice. Never. No matter how hard I tried, Jac always had the spotlight. He was the golden boy, the prodigy, the one with all the medals and accolades. Meanwhile, I was the kid bringing home crayon sketches and piano recitals that no one car
CHAPTER 96 ~SOPHIE~ There were many questions; like how on earth she was in a place that was at least an hour's drive from her family’s mansion, and why she was chugging down cheap beer when I have only ever seen her enjoy the finest wine. The longer we stood there, wordlessly staring at ea
CHAPTER 95 [ Punching Bag ] ~ELAINE~ (6) The moment I slipped through the gates and caught sight of my father’s car parked neatly in the driveway, dread curled deep in the pit of my stomach. I stopped dead in my tracks, my pulse quickening. They were home. They were never supposed to be hom
CHAPTER 94 [ The One Who Needs Saving ] ~SOPHIE~ I didn’t even blink when the words fell out of Justin’s mouth like he'd been holding them in for years. I just sat there, watching him like he had told me the most obvious thing in the world. If I felt remotely surprised, it was simply because I
CHAPTER 93 [ I’m Gay ] ~SOPHIE~ My scream echoed down the street, loud enough to wake the dead or at least give someone a mild heart attack. But the hand gripping my shoulder was barely even settled before instinct took over. I spun around, grabbing the wrist tightly and twisting it with all the
CHAPTER 92 [ Little Contradictions ] ~SOPHIE~ The faint neon lights from the cinema flickered on and off as I stood by the curb, watching the stream of people moving in and out of the building. I couldn’t remember the last time I watched a movie—couldn’t even remember the last time I did somethi
CHAPTER 91 [ The Man I thought I knew ] ~SOPHIE~ He said no. I never imagined that would be his answer. I sat there, stunned into silence, blinking at him like I hadn't heard him right. His fingers were still wrapped around my wrist, firm and unyielding as if he could anchor me to him by sheer