JasonWhen Annie woke up, the first thing she asked was where her mother was. “Mommy went to see Suzy, who is sick, my love,” I said to her, stroking her hair. “Am I sick too?” She asked with a pout on her lips. "A little bit."“Why is Graham such an evil monster?” She asked. “Why did he hurt me?
My daughter got up from her chair and came over to hug me with her small but comforting arms. "I love you, dad. I don't need to be big to know that you're really sorry,” she said, smiling at me. “That's enough for me, my love." I also smiled at her, although I felt an immense desire to burst into t
LauraI was very disappointed in Ava after what she said. She refused to help Suzy now that she was in need. I couldn't do anything but just swallow my disappointment and talk to my bank to see if they could release a million dollars like that well in advance. “Laura, I'm sorry, but unfortunately,
I bit my lip lightly, still looking at him suspiciously. I'm sure he was up to something... Was he really going to give me the money, or was he just making fun of me? So I sighed and picked up the bag. “Okay, but if you don't give me that money, I swear I'll kick your balls,” I threatened him and w
LauraJason was impossible; no matter how much you tried to understand him, he managed to frustrate your expectations in two ways. He had just left with Annie, leaving me embarrassed in front of Terrence. I got up with a sigh and went to take my hands to the nearby toilet, where I also put the rest
It had been so long ago that it was as if I was no longer the one who had lived through that episode, although the memories were still intact within me. So many things had happened in that middle ground, and I had grown so much. Now I realized the wrong and right things I had done in my life, and al
LauraIt was a dark street at the bottom of Bad Stuy; there was little movement of people coming and going—just ordinary people going about their ordinary lives without posing serious danger. I was still inside the car, parked right outside a diner that looked like one of the hundreds it had scatter
LauraLewis' lair really looked like a criminal place that even involved the mafia. I dare say that illegal drugs were being packaged and a lot of cash was being counted and stored in suitcases, which were clearly going to be used for some type of clandestine exchange. The grim-faced guys who were w
“Why do you keep hanging out with them, Abby?” he asked, and now there was a note of concern that annoyed me even more. “You know Madison’s not good for you. She uses you, and you let her.” “It’s none of your business,” I shot back, my voice sharp. “I do what I want, Caleb. Bye.” I hung up before h
Abby POV It was a lazy Sunday, and I was at the mall’s food court, waiting at the counter to pick up snacks for myself and the “new friends” I’d managed to latch onto. The smell of grease and cheap coffee filled the air, and the hum of conversations mixed with the muffled pop music from the speaker
Caleb, Abby, Madison, Nadia—they all spun through my head like a broken carousel. I wanted to tell my parents everything, collapse and ask for help, but the thought of seeing disappointment in their eyes—or worse, them trying to intervene at Oxwell to “save” me—made me swallow the words. I had to fi
Annie POV It was the weekend, and I was at home, trying to take deep breaths and pretend everything was okay. The Oxwell campus was a few hours away, giving me temporary relief from the chaos my life had become. Here, with my parents and the twins, I could at least try to be the old Annie—the exc
Max POV Walking beside someone who’d once meant so much to me felt strange. I couldn’t stop thinking that our breakup had been a waste, couldn’t stop remembering how happy I’d been with this guy, only to ruin it all because of my ego, because of a toxic fixation I had on Albert. Conrad Adams walke
Max POV was stunned when Albert told me that, my mouth even went dry because I wasn’t expecting to hear it. Conrad Adams was back. He was my boyfriend in my early twenties. I met him through Albert, who was close friends with him during the dark days of his family’s company. Conrad was a good guy
Max POV I was driving through the city with the radio on low, just a background murmur to keep the silence from swallowing me whole, when my phone buzzed on the dashboard. Zoey. Of course it was her. The girl had already wormed her way into my house like a high-heeled parasite, and now, apparently,
Annie POV After the moment at the mall, I returned to the dorm with a tight chest, carrying the bags with the blue dress Summer had insisted I buy. The plan was to distract myself, but Madison’s words—“racist,” “canceled piece of trash”—spun in my head like a broken record, mingling with Nadia’s re
When I met her last week at a council meeting, I could tell she’d be a challenge—confident, charismatic, the type who knew how to play the game. “Ugh, Madison Goodwin is here too. What a rotten day,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. Of course Abby would get close to Madison—she was her adopted cousin.