I guess playtime's over now, guys. Lol.
LESLIE’S POV Kian’s words echo in my mind—“I think it’s time I return home.” For days, I’ve been unable to shake them off. Though he said them with an air of finality, there’s a vulnerability underneath, a silent plea for strength neither of us wants to admit.For as much as we’ve grown together in
TRAVIS' POVThe drive to Northgate Orphanage is one I could almost do with my eyes closed. This place has been a constant in my life—a rare one, even as everything else has shifted and bent out of shape over the years. The orphanage is a solid part of not only my past as a young man but also that o
I shake the thoughts away, forcing myself back to the present. To Beverly. She still remembers nothing but sometimes, I feel like she’s better off not remembering at all. Just as we settle onto a bench, one of the other women from the orphanage approaches us. “Oh, Beverly! We were about to clean up
TRAVIS' POVTwo days. That’s how long it’s been since Beverly collapsed in front of me, her eyes wide with shock, staring at that old picture that seemed to unlock something buried deep within her mind. Since then, she hasn’t stirred. I stand in her hospital room, my heart heavy. The sound of the m
TRAVIS' POVHer words shock me to near death. I blink a few times, mouth opening and closing with no words. The woman just watches me until I slowly recover from her shock. “And you are?” I ask.“Not that it concerns you anyway but well, I’m her daughter and I manage the house now. I don’t know why
TRAVIS' POVI take the phone from her and zoom in on Mike’s picture this time before handing it over to her.“Was it this boy?” She stares down at it for a while and nods eagerly. “Yes, yes. That’s Joe, short for Joseph. His sister was Josephine.” “Wait? Joe? Not Mike?”Mrs Hargroves shakes her he
BEVERLY’S POV Small pieces of memories come back to me, one by one, like a picture slowly forming itself from broken glass. I’ve gone three years without them, forced them to the back of my mind. Perhaps because that was the person I wish I was; the person without these memories. They keep coming
BEVERLY’S POV The memories take a jump, leaping through the good ones I had for thirteen years and settling on another one that’s just as painful as the first. I am eighteen, burdened by the news that everyone in the orphanage is still trying to recover from. Josephine is dead. Her death has taken
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