Laura After breakfast, he and I spent a long time cuddling on the living room couch that we shared. With him sitting on the sofa and me on his lap, my arms around his shoulders hugging him while his arms were also around my waist, his hands caressing my back. We talked about light and funny topics
Laura Moments later, he and I were hand in hand walking along the fine white sand of the beach under the tropical summer sun as the cool breeze from the turquoise-green sea came to us, playing in my hair and lifting lightly my beach skirt. "Sun, sea, summer, the woman of my life by my side... Arg
Laura FLASHBACK ON When I opened the door that afternoon, my eyes widened in surprise to see him there right in front of me. "Jason? You here? How did you get to this place?" I asked, still astonished. It had been a few days since he had put the promise ring on my finger in a very peculiar way.
Laura FLASHBACK ON "Now that you've already promised my mother, are you still thinking about not accepting the invitation?" Jason asked, putting his cell phone back in his pocket. I gave a resigned sigh with a smile. “It would be a pleasure to meet her, actually,” I replied, really wanting that.
Laura FLASHBACK ON So Jason took me on that trip to Chicago, where I got to meet his family. As expected, his mother was a sweetheart, so loving and attentive that I wanted to be close to her. She didn't make me feel strange or like I was a fish out of water; quite the opposite, I felt welcomed an
Laura FLASHBACK ON Moments later, I was strolling through the gardens of the Davies mansion in Chicago with Rosanne by my side. We were talking about feminine foolishness while she and I formed a bond since she was his mother and I would be his wife. It was necessary for us to get used to one anot
Laura That afternoon, Jason and I played in the cool seawater as if we were two children without much to worry about. These moments I could have had with him were precious; the laughs came easily, and the touches were without fear. I was constantly remembering the time when my love for him first bl
Laura He and I were looking at each other deeply as we caressed each other, the warm water from the outdoor shower still falling on us. “When did you find out you loved me? When did this happen?" I asked, wanting to know about something so intimate at that moment that was so important to me. I ha
Annie POV I was still on the dance floor, the warmth of the masked boy’s body against mine, my head resting on his chest as the slow music guided us. The sound of his heartbeat against my ear was almost hypnotic, and I let myself get lost in that feeling I couldn’t quite explain. He’d just said s
I swallowed hard, Caleb’s words coming back to haunt me. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe we’ve gone too far?” He’d said that at the mall, and I’d hung up on him, but now they echoed in my head. Annie had hurt me, yes. The fight in the dorm, the way she called me fake, like I was trash she
Abby POV I was leaning against the wall of the ballroom, the cup of punch in my hand already warm and forgotten, as I watched Annie dance with that masked boy. The soft lights of the ball cast shadows over them, and even from so far away, you could feel something in the air—a chemistry almost tangi
Anne POV I was there, trying to at least pretend I was enjoying the party with Summer, letting the loud music and spinning lights distract me from the weight pressing on my chest. Summer danced beside me, throwing her arms up with that endless energy of hers, and I tried to keep up, forcing a smile
“She’s an idiot,” Summer said, crossing her arms as she looked at me with concern. “You okay?” “Yeah,” I lied, grabbing a cup of punch just to have something to do with my hands. “I just… I just want this to stop, you know? For people to leave me alone.” Before Summer could reply, I felt him befor
Anne POV It was the day of the freshman ball, and I stood in front of the mirror in my dorm room, the blue dress Summer had insisted I buy staring back at me. The fabric draped lightly over my body, the delicate sleeves and simple cut highlighting my shoulders and collarbone in a way I knew was bea
“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