Chapter 1
Kady
My parents are going to kill me.
Not literally. Well, maybe…God, I hope not.
Once they find out what I’ve done and where I’ve run off to, killing me will likely be at the top of their list for punishment options.
My dad is a well-known criminal lawyer, so if they do murder me, they’ll probably get off scot-free. I wouldn’t blame them at all for being upset with me for what I’ve done, because this is the worst mistake I’ve ever made in all my nineteen years of life.
I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but this one takes the cake.
I’m what you might call a walking disaster.
Believe me when I say, I’ve fucked up a lot.
And now I’m in a predicament I can’t get out of on my own.
Every family has someone like me - the “black sheep” of the family and the one they shake their heads at whenever they screw up again.
It’s my lot in life. Growing up as the middle-child in a family of three, I had to find a way to stand out from my other two siblings, who are by most standards scientific geniuses. How could I possibly compete with that? I don’t have a head for math or science like either of them. My attention span and focus in the classroom is not my finest attribute.
I’ve concluded, while sitting here at a café in Florence, that my only option is to summon the help of my brother, Cade, who will undoubtedly flip the hell out and probably disown me. But I have no other way out of this mess.
Opening my Skype chat icon on my iPad, I stare at it like it has all my answers. I finally bite the bullet and click Cade’s profile picture.
I barely breathe as it rings.
While I wait for it to connect, I consider the positive aspect of my misfortune this time. It’s that both my brother, Cade, and twin sister Kylah, have stepped up to the plate to take the heat off me by dropping their own bombs on my parents this week.
While I’ve been trekking across Europe with my friend, Isadora, Cade proposed to his girlfriend of a year, and Kylah announced that she’s transferring colleges and will be moving in with her boyfriend, Van.
The perfect diversions.
My hope is that my parents will be so frazzled over those announcements that it will keep them off my trail for a bit while I figure out the solution to this conundrum.
The pickle that I’ve found myself in isn’t simply because I flew to Europe without my parents’ permission. There’s also the fact that I may have blown up my future by failing out of college. And I don’t plan to go back next year.
And if that’s not bad enough? Here’s the cherry on top of the cake.
I’m now stranded in Florence, Italy without any means of getting back. My passport and wallet were in the backpack stolen from me last night at a party, leaving me with only the money I’d pulled out and tucked in my pocket.
Did I mention that I’m a complete disaster?
Cade is my only option and I pray he’ll be willing to help me out.
There’s always the chance he’ll tell me to go fuck myself.
As I wait for him to pick up, I take in surroundings to gather my wit. Florence, or Firenze as it’s known to Italians, is such a beautiful city – offering a peaceful solace this time of morning. Shop keepers are just getting around to opening their storefronts, sweeping the dust from their doorsteps and setting out their goods to sell the mass of tourists that travel this city every day.
I’ve resolved to find a way to stay here for a bit longer because I don’t want to go home just yet and leave this all behind. I have exactly one-hundred U.S. dollars available right now. Given the Euro exchange rate, that accounts for barely enough for a hotel room, dinner and a glass of wine tonight. I could check into a hostel, but those can be sketch. And there’s bed bugs.Gross.
Leaving now would be giving up on this grand adventure, when I still have so many historic cities to visit. I’ve had my share of failures lately, and leaving in defeat would be yet another one to add to my ever-growing list.
By the time Cade answers my call, I’ve put my game face on. Ready for battle.
But not too proud to beg.
