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Chapter 1
When it was finally time for me to go back to school, I had a soft fluff of a halo around my head that I could at least make look like it was in intentional thanks to a little gel and some cute clips. Explaining to my mom what had happened to my hair and lying to her that I had meant to cut it off on purpose was difficult, but I knew that telling her the truth would result in her pulling me from Taylor Prep before I could blink, and there was no way that I was going to give up now.
Not going back would only tell them that they won. I had to how them that I was stronger and braver than all of them put together, no matter what they tried to pull on me. Sure, I was scared, but I wasn’t going to back down now.
I was so close to the end. Just two more semesters—exactly the amount of time that I’d already been at school there—and I would have a diploma that would open doors for me around the world. This meant that I’d be able to get a job that paid enough for my mom to not have to work at the club anymore.
I’d be able to build a better life for us, and all I had to do was survive the council and the harpies for a few more months. Hell, I’d survived the car accident that took my dad from me, so I knew that I’d be able to handle this. If not, then there was something wrong with me.
Stepping back from the mirror, I swiped some mascara onto my lashes. There was something about using a little more eye makeup than usual that helped to draw some attention from the fact that I was almost bald. Grinning at myself in the mirror, I turned and ran down the stairs to the kitchen, where I knew my mom was waiting.
“There’s my girl!” She stood up from the counter and threw her arms around me, pulling me in and squeezing me tight. “Are you sure that you’re ready to go back today? I bet that Mr. Taylor would let you start later in the week.” She didn’t let me go, instead pulling me closer to her as she tried to hold onto me. I knew what she was doing.
She wanted to protect me, but the time for that was gone.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right. You and I both know that if I’m not there today then I might as well kiss my spot at his school goodbye. I’ve got to be there on time or I’m dead meat.”
“Then are you sure that you don’t want me to drive you?” She stepped back from me, holding me at arm’s length while her eyes searched mine. “I really don’t mind making the trip and I can get someone else to cover my shift so that I can be the one to drop you off. Seriously, Rose, it’s no problem.”
I knew that my mom would do anything to help me, which was exactly why I shook my head no. “Not a chance, mom. I know that the weekend shifts bring in the most money. Besides, I think that Harper was going to send a car for me this morning so I don’t want to try to cancel on her now and make it a huge mess.”
“I’m sure it would be okay.” Even as she said it, though, my mom dropped her hands from my shoulders and stepped back. “You’re just such a good kid, Rose, and I want to be there for you if I can.”
“But you have.” I hugged my mom again, a shorter one this time, then stole her coffee cup from the counter and took a huge sip. “You have been there for me, mom, and I can’t thank you enough. But now I have to go do this on my own, okay?”
I knew that it was hard for her to let me go, just like it was hard for me to pull away from her. Since my dad died, we’d leaned pretty heavily on each other to survive. That wasn’t a bad thing, but it did mean that it was really painful to have to leave her when I just wanted her to hold me.
“You got it.” She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, the doorbell rang. “That’s probably your limo driver, you want to answer it?”
I did. I threw her one last grateful smile then ran to the door, taking a deep breath and throwing it open. It wasn’t that I was really excited to see the limo driver, but since they were here it meant that I was going back to seeing my friends after a long summer of being apart.
They’d wanted to get together and had even offered to send the limo for me a few times, but unlike Harper and Maggie, I had to get a summer job. Hours scooping ice cream wasn’t the most exciting thing I’d ever done, but I knew that it would help my mom out, so I did it anyway. That meant that I hadn’t seen anyone from Taylor Prep since we were all at school, and I couldn’t wait to throw my arms around my friends.
But when I swung open the door, it wasn’t Harper’s limo driver standing there, and it wasn’t her limo sitting out in the street.
Brett leaned against the doorframe, his gorgeous skin darkened by the summer sun. His expression was careless, a grin splashed across his face, but I could see from how dark and stormy his eyes were that he was thinking about something.
Immediately, I sucked in a breath, trying to rid my head of the dizzy feeling, but I was just wrapped in his exotic cologne. Stepping forward, I rested my hand on the doorframe, just inches from his, but he never moved. His eyes were locked on mine like he was seeing me for the first time.
Or the last.
The thought made me shiver. “Brett?” My voice was quiet, but it filled the silence between us.
At that moment, my mom came down the hallway, carrying my backpack and pulling my luggage. She stopped up short when she saw him leaning in our doorway.
“Brett Cox? Are you serious? It is really you?” Her voice was heavy with surprise, and I heard her drop my backpack and walk faster down the hall to us. It took me a moment to remember that my mom hadn’t seen Brett since he moved away when he was a lot younger. I’d mentioned his name in passing to her this last year, but I hadn’t told her that it wasthatBrett. Brett from my childhood. The first boy I ever had a crush on.
The one I wanted to kiss right now.
The same boy who murdered someone and then led a group of people against me to try to drive me from the school. There was no way that I was ever going to be able to tell her all of that. Not only would she be horrified, but I was sure that she would pull me from Taylor Prep so fast that my head would spin.
The magic broken, he tore his eyes from me and locked them on my mom before breaking into a grin. “Mrs. Bennett! It’s been far too long.”
My jaw dropped open as he walked through the door, past me, and hugged my mom. She looked tiny next to his big frame and his incredible muscles, and I felt a twinge of envy that she was the one wrapped in his arms, not me.
That was ridiculous. It was my mother, for goodness sakes.
“What in the world are you doing here? We haven’t seen you in years! Rose told me that there was a Brett at Taylor Prep, but I never imagined that it would be you and that I’d get to see you!” She laughed and then immediately became a bit more somber. “I’m so sorry about all of the things that you went through with your dad, Brett. But I’m really glad that your mom found someone new.”
