“Are we ready?” Matt shouted to us over the music. Lori and Jessica nodded, and with one last look at me, they disappeared into the crowd. I stayed where I was, keeping an eye on Enzo so I wouldn’t lose him, but I could see Lori slip what looked like money to a random girl. Lori then whispered somet
Nina As I watched Enzo storm off into the party, I felt my heart sink. The screen door slammed shut behind him and wobbled a bit on its frame, leaving me alone and shaking in the cold. Up until five seconds earlier, I was certain that our plan was going to work. But maybe I was too confident in th
Nina As I ran down the street, my heart racing while the men behind me chased closely behind, I couldn’t help but feel completely defenseless. Even if I screamed, no one would hear me; there was no one around, no houses or open stores. For all I knew, these men were Crescents as well. And without
Nina I wasn’t entirely sure what happened that night after Matt, Lori, and Jessica came to my rescue. I was too drunk and shaken up from the ordeal, leaving my head feeling foggy and out of whack. All I remembered was going home and getting into bed, and thankfully, I didn’t wake up in the forest a
A tear came to my eyes, and I quickly blinked it away. I pulled my wrist away and sat on the edge of my bed, staring down at my feet as I tried to think about how to broach the subject of what happened with Enzo at the party. “I fucked up last night,” I whispered, a sob heaving in my chest and caus
Nina Thanks to Luke’s help, I was able to get a little more sleep that night before I would have to go to class. A bit of rest was greatly needed to get over my hangover, and I felt a bit of peace wash over me at the thought of the antidote not only working during the test, but also the fact that L
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. Selena reached out beneath her desk with her foot and firmly kicked the back of my chair, causing me to lurch forward and nearly spill my coffee everywhere. “What is your problem?!” I said out loud, turning around in my seat to face her. But even as I did that,
Enzo On the morning after I upset Selena and slept on the couch for talking to Nina, I woke up feeling foggier than usual. Selena, much to my surprise, was already awake and was cooking pancakes in the kitchen. “Good morning, sunshine,” she said with a grin as she flipped a pancake on the stove. “
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied