Laura “God in heaven, who must this person be sent directly by the devil to messed up our moment like that?” Jason cursed, sighing heavily, when my cell phone rang. I laughed a little. I also didn't like being interrupted while my husband and I were having our moment. “Sorry, babe. But it must b
Laura I couldn't deny that Annie was very suspicious today. The conversation we had in the morning, then Abby's complaints, and now the fact that she wasn't even answering her grandma's calls just made everything even more suspicious. My daughter wasn't the type of teenager who was always giving he
Anne “Oh my God, I don't believe that I really slept here,” I commented, thinking I was crazy when I looked in front of the mirror. It was the next morning, and I was still in Peter's sister's luxurious apartment. I was looking at myself in the mirror in disbelief at the crazy things I had done y
Anne Peter and I were sitting side by side on the couch in Amber Morton's living room, while she sat in an armchair across from us, staring at us. She was, on average, 10 years older than Peter, had shiny, light hair that was well cared for, eyes a few shades lighter than Peter's, and an angelic fa
Anne “How old did you say you were again?” Amber asked as she and I stood in her closet. Just as she had promised, she was now looking for something for me to wear. I sighed resignedly. “I’m 17,” I replied. “And if you're going to start being a boring adult and judge me for not sleeping at home,
Laura When Amber Morton called me the next morning, the twins, my husband and I were at the table eating breakfast. I hadn't really had a good night's sleep, a little worry was always gnawing at the back of my head. I wasn't sure where Annie would be, so I was feeling like such a bad Mom to just l
Laura “Stephen, please,” I asked the boy who was scrolling at the cell phone screen in the middle of breakfast, my voice half gentle and half authoritative. "No electronic devices at the table." The fight over the chips had already been resolved, thank God. Now the two of them were at the table, e
Laura “What did you just say?” Jason asked while still driving the car along the wide roads of Manhattan. “Did Anne meet that boy again?” He was looking at me confused, almost not believing my words. “At least that’s what Amber Morton told me on the call,” I replied, nodding. “What nonsense is th
“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.