Chapter Two

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• Twisted ties    Chapter twelve

  I stopped sitting with them at lunch.No big scene. No slamming trays or dramatic exits. Just… one day, I didn’t go to the table. I walked past it like I had somewhere else to be. Like I mattered somewhere else.I ended up in the back corner of the library, where the lights were too dim and the carpet smelled like old dust. Nobody noticed. Not really.I told Jessie I had a quiz to make up. Told Ronnie I wasn’t feeling great. Lies, obviously, but they didn’t ask questions. Jessie just shrugged. Ronnie gave me one of those half-smiles and turned back to whatever story he was telling.They didn’t need me anymore. Not in that way.Jessie was still glowing like the afterburn of a fire—thriving on the chaos. Ronnie was busy lapping up his fifteen minutes of infamy like he’d been waiting his whole life for it.And me?I was disappearing.Not all at once. Not loudly. Just quietly slipping into something I couldn’t name. Fading, like a bruise that overstayed its welcome.I thought pulling away

• Twisted ties    Chapter eleven

  The sky hung low with a dusky orange glow as Ronnie and I sprinted toward the rusted barrels near the fence. The cheers behind us rose like a wave, feeding the chaos that buzzed through my blood. My hands were shaking, but I didn’t stop. We unscrewed the caps, tilted the canisters, and started pouring gasoline into the air—recklessly, wildly. Like it was a kind of prayer. Or a dare.The fumes wrapped around us, sharp and dizzying. My throat burned. My eyes watered. But still, we kept going.Nick stood a few feet away, frozen. His expression was a slow-motion unravel—mouth parted, eyes wide, his entire body asking a question he didn’t have the words for. He looked like he’d walked into the wrong movie and couldn’t find the exit.His silence hit harder than any scream.He hadn’t seen this version of me before.Maybe I hadn’t, either.Behind us, the crowd was a storm—teenagers, drifters, adrenaline junkies. Screaming. Laughing. Daring us to go further. It was more than approval. It was i

• Twisted ties    Chapter ten

  “Sorry that I’m not complicated like you, racing cars to see who has the bigger one,” I said with a heavy heart, knowing how I felt inside, and knowing what comparison felt like. Nick, on the other side, didn’t just give an ear to what I was saying. He turned my phone upright and saw the photo. “Ooh,” he said, then his smile suddenly turned down to a serious face. “If I get you the picture already, will you go home already?” Nick asked, with a serious expression written all over his face. “Maybe.” “Maybe?” he asked, stretching his hands as he spread my legs wide open. Then he leaned in, our eyes spoke volumes, conveying unspoken understanding. Breathing heavily, he took up my phone. Then he leaned in more closely and kissed me. He pulled apart, then he said, “Tongue.” He said. I pushed my face forward and kissed him carelessly. Flashes shone on our faces. Then we stopped. “Here’s your picture,” he said. Our eyes still locked in at each other’s. “Hey, enter the car. I will get J

• Twisted ties    Chapter nine

  Nick accelerated aggressively as the race commenced. A spray of mist filled the air as he sped toward the finish line, leaving his rival behind. He clinched the victory, greeted by a chorus of cheers: “Nick! Nick! Nick! Nick!”Out of nowhere, Amike walked up to him and kissed him on the lips. I turned to Jessie, puzzled. “She’s back again? Is she his girlfriend?” I asked, confused.“Anna! Shh, his only girlfriend is that machine,” she answered reluctantly, as she continued cheering Nick. He placed a kiss on his car. I stood, puzzled.I stood there, confused. Out of nowhere, my phone buzzed with a message—an image from an unknown number. I squinted at the screen, trying to make out who it was from, but no name appeared.I just stood there, frozen. As I glanced down at my phone and tapped the screen to unlock it, the image popped up—and everything stopped. There they were: my boyfriend and my best friend, locked in a kiss.“What the fuck is this?!” I screamed.Jessie turned to me, confu

• Twisted ties    Chapter eight

  “Were there boys your age?”“I don’t need any more friends, Mom. You separated me from Joel, but I won’t forget him.”“Sweetie…”“He’s much better than all these snobs,” I cut her off, my gaze locked on Nick as I shouted before storming off.“Damn!” Nick remarked, giving an unserious yet serious look at Rabel.“Her boyfriend—she misses him. She must’ve had a bad night.”“Any more pancakes?”“No, Petal, we’re okay,” she replied, sitting down.“Right here’s fine.”Someone called out, “You’ll get sunburned!”—their voice carrying like a distant chant, yet not too far away.Sitting at the beach, I held a book up in my hands, reading. The sun beamed down as my phone suddenly rang from an unknown number.“Hello?” I answered.“Yes?”I pulled the phone away from my ear, ended the call, and tried to guess who it was.“Watch out, Lion! So cool, I almost hit you!”Jessie and her boyfriend, with Nick and others, chatted as they walked on the beach.As soon as I saw them, I quickly put my book in m

• Twisted ties    Chapter seven

  No, man, not again. No, let me drive! I always wanted to drive one of these. I uttered intoxicated remarks. “No, baby, no way. You are drugged and don’t have a license.” A slight smile crossed Nick’s face. “I’m just dizzy, okay! But wait, you did drink though.” I pointed straight at his nose shakily. “Just one shot, okay?” he countered. “Yeah, but off of someone’s boobs. Nice and salty tequila mixed with sweat. Tasty, huh?” I chipped in. “What will Freud say about pouring liquids and sucking them up like that?” We drove for like five minutes before we got to Nick’s mansion. I was wrapped around his shoulder like a baby. He carried me with ease. Sure enough, I didn’t weigh anything on him ‘cause he moved effortlessly. “Freud isn’t some trap singer, so you know. He’d say that it’s shedding tears, or something worse, on your mother’s breast. So suck on that!” “Leave my mom out of this,” he said calmly. I tripped over the stairs, letting out a loud noise. “Shhhhh.” Nick softly pl