ELLA'S POVI released my breath as we stepped outside the police station, the bright sunlight blinding after the dim interrogation room. We had just finished giving our statements about Enzo and his drug dealing, omitting the parts about Susan's blackmail that had started this whole mess. Apparently Trent happened to get photographic evidence of the drug exchange, which I had to admit was useful.My eyes adjusted to the light and immediately focused on Trent standing there with Susan. I studied him, my mind swirling back to the hoodie shown at the school assembly, the one that looked identical to the hoodie I'd glimpsed in Trent's bag when he came over to my house. I was positive it was the same one. But what would he be wanting at the record's office? Surely he couldn't have been involved. But what other explanation could there be?I bit my tongue, tempted to confront him directly, but unsure if I really wanted to know the answer. Susan sighed loudly next to me as we sank onto a wo
TRENT'S POVI strolled into first period twenty minutes late as usual, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. But the second I stepped through the doorway, I knew something was off. Everyone was out of their seats, huddled in groups and chatting in hushed, urgent tones. A few people shot me sharp looks before turning away to whisper to their friends. What the hell?"Oh God, I even touched him yesterday," I overheard a girl say, looking sick.Another boy chimed in, "Crap, I hope I haven't caught anything...I've been sitting next to him all semester!"Okay, now I was really confused. Who were they talking about? I followed their anxious gazes across the room. My breath caught when I spotted Jackson sitting rigidly at his desk, head down, with garbage and crumpled paper littering the area around him. Alarm bells started ringing distantly in my head.I reached out and grasped the shoulder of a guy passing by who was engrossed in gossiping. "Yo, Miles. What the hell is going on here?"
ELLA'S POVI stood inside the doorway, clutching an envelope stuffed with cash. Four gruff-looking men crowded into our small living room, eyeing me impatiently."This is the money," I said, holding out the envelope with a slightly trembling hand. I had sent Susan to collect it from Trent, unable to face him again myself.One of the men snatched the envelope from my grip and rifled through it, face impassive. After a few tense moments, he looked up. "Fourteen thousand dollars? That's not even a quarter of the payment owed."I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "I know it's not the full amount, but it's all I could get together on short notice. Please, just take it for now as a show of good faith."The collector snorted derisively. "Good faith? We don't operate on good faith, little girl. Your old man racked up a massive tab and now it's time to pay the piper."I felt my cheeks burn with shame and anger at the mention of my father. This was his mess, but my mom and I were
TRENT'S POVI kept a close eye on Ella and Lucinda from my station at the back of the classroom. Something about the way Lucinda was hovering around Ella lately put me on edge. Like she was cozying up to gain something. My instincts blared not to trust her exaggerated niceness one bit.As the partners worked on their acid reaction experiments, I let Liam handle most of our actual procedure. My gaze kept wandering back to Ella and Lucinda, watching them like a hawk. When Lucinda reached for a tray of chemicals near Ella, my muscles tensed, ready to spring into action at the first sign of trouble.Sure enough, a second later, Lucinda's gaudy bracelet suddenly snagged on Ella's flowing sleeve. I instantly recognized the downward tug that would send Ella straight into the acid's path. Everyone else froze, but my feet were moving before my brain even fully registered the crisis.In three long strides I closed the distance between us just as Ella crashed backwards. I caught her torso agai
ELLA'S POV"You two have fun," my mom called out as she was leaving the house."Where are you going?" I asked."None of your business," she replied dismissively before shutting the front door behind her.I would have pressed further if not for Susan distracting me."So why the sudden call over?" I asked, turning to my best friend who was sitting on the couch.Susan's cheeks flushed pink. "Well...Liam invited me to a party next week." She paused, fiddling with the hem of her sweater. "Let me say it in his words: 'I don't have anywhere to go with to the party next week, do you mind if you could be my date for that day?'"Susan exhaled dreamily, hugging a throw pillow to her chest. "So judging from what he said, that means he doesn't have a girlfriend and he also finds me very important!"I laughed and nudged her playfully with my elbow. "At this point, what's keeping you two from dating already? You should just make it official."Susan's blush deepened and she bit her lip to suppress an
ELLA'S POVMy flight was halted by fingers curling firmly around my wrist. I whirled to find Liam behind me, cheeks flushed and hair disheveled. His chest heaved like he had sprinted the whole way here."Stop it, Ella!" Liam called out, grasping my arm. "You can't just see something like that and expect me to let you leave."I whirled around, wrenching my arm from his grip. "Why are you chasing after me, Liam? Are you feeling guilty about what this would do to Sus-""I can't come out yet," Liam blurted, cutting me off. His eyes were wide and pleading. "Please, you have to understand."I paused, studying his desperate expression. "Of course I wouldn't tell anyone," I reassured him. "But aren't you worried about Susan finding out?"Liam's brow furrowed in confusion. "I don't understand. What does Susan have to do with this?"Now it was my turn to be confused. "Because she..." I trailed off as realization dawned. Liam had no idea about Susan's feelings for him. Perhaps he had only been s
TRENT'S POVAs we gathered for practice, Coach's somber expression told me this wasn't going to be a typical pep talk. He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over the team."As you all know, with what happened recently, Jackson won't be playing with us in the upcoming game," Coach said, his voice solemn. "I heard he's been hospitalized, but his family hasn't disclosed the place he is yet. If any of you can contact him, I urge you to reach out."A murmur rippled through the group, and I shifted uncomfortably. The guilt of my role in leaking Jackson's medical records weighed heavily on my shoulders.Joe, one of the forwards, scoffed loudly. "Why should we reach out to him? He could have exposed all of us to that disease!""Yeah, Coach," another chimed in. "How do we know he didn't put us all at risk?"Coach's voice cut through the chatter. "I expected better from you, Joe. From all of you. Put yourself in Jackson's shoes for a moment. Imagine being in the hospital, scared and alone, w
ELLA'S POVWe were sitting in the cafeteria during lunch period when Susan abruptly dropped her fork, letting it clatter loudly against her tray. She stared down at her food, methodically jabbing a wilted lettuce leaf with a plastic fork."Susan?" I reached over and touched her arm gently. "Are you okay?"Before she could respond, a voice suddenly rang out across the cafeteria."Can I have everyone's attention please!" Susan and I both whipped our heads around. Liam was standing on a chair, hand-in-hand with Dolly beside him. They shared a meaningful look before Liam cleared his throat again."We have an announcement to make."I felt Susan stiffen beside me as all eyes turned toward the two boys. I gave Liam an encouraging nod and a small smile.Taking a deep breath, Liam leaned forward and pulled Dolly into a fervent kiss. A collective gasp rose from the students followed by stunned silence. After a heated moment, they finally broke apart, both slightly flushed. Liam lifted his chin