ログインEli's POVBy the time I arrived home, it was already night, and long shadows were splayed across our front porch. I stepped through the front door, and realised that the house wasn’t quiet. Instead, the high-pitched sound of chatter and mocking giggles echoed straight from the living room.I walked into the hallway and saw that Nova had two of her friends at the house. They were sitting on the couch, huddled over a single smartphone screen, checking out that picture of Kassidy and laughing. The sound of their amusement made my fists tighten in my pockets. They were tossing their hair back, treating the systematic destruction of Kassidy's life as if it was some cheap parlor trick meant for their entertainment."Look at the lighting on her shoulder," one of Nova's friends jeered, holding the phone higher. "You can tell whoever made it wanted to make sure everyone recognized her immediately."Nova herself did nothing to stop her friends. She was leaning back against the cushions, a sati
Eli's POVI held Kassidy against me for a long time, listening to the heavy, broken sounds of her tears slowing down until she was just quiet in my arms. When she pulled away, her face was pale, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. I gently guided her toward the bed, keeping my movements slow so I wouldn't startle her. Once she was settled, I hurried downstairs and pulled out a small container of chicken soup from the fridge. Then I headed back upstairs and sat on the edge of the mattress, holding the plastic spoon out to her."You need to take a few bites, Kas," I urged her. "Please. Just a little bit."She shook her head weakly, staring down at her patterned blanket. "I can't, Eli. My stomach is completely turning. I don't think I can keep anything down.""Just three spoons," I pressed, moving the soup closer. "You haven't eaten anything for hours. Do it for me, okay?"She looked up at me, her eyes red and swollen, before she finally gave in with a small, tired nod. I watched her swa
Kassidy's POVI knew something was wrong the moment I got to school the next day, as I stepped off the campus shuttle. Something I noticed as I walked away from the bus was that people were staring at me. It wasn't the usual quick glance you give a stranger passing by; these were covert glances, people whispering behind their hands and nudging their friends as I walked past the courtyard. I noticed a guy from my political science class drop his eyes to his phone the second I looked his way, but I didn't pay much heed to him. I had never cared what people think of me. Growing up the way I did, I had developed a thick skin, and a few weird looks from college kids weren't going to ruin my morning.I kept my head down and walked toward the pre-law building. As I approached the main entrance, I saw Luca standing in front of my block. He was pacing back and forth on the concrete, and he had this worried, panicked look on his face which was unusual. Luca was always a big ray of sunshine, th
Piper’s POV: I sat on the edge of my mattress and stared down at my left leg. The room was completely quiet, except for the dull hum of the ceiling fan spinning overhead. I reached down to pull at the heavy straps of my custom knee-ankle-foot orthosis, unbuckling the thick leather bands one by one. The metallic clicks sounded incredibly loud in the silence of my bedroom. Once the buckles were loose, I carefully slid the plastic and steel apparatus off my shin, setting the heavy brace upright against my nightstand where it always rested until morning.Next came the compression sleeve, which I rolled down slowly, rubbing the faint red indents the material left on my skin. Losing the full use of a limb meant that my nighttime routine was a tedious, exhausting process of unstrapping, checking for sores, and adjusting to the sudden weightlessness of a leg that no longer obeyed my brain. I shifted my body weight, using my arms to lift my hips, and swung my deadened leg onto the sheet, pull
Kassidy's POVI remained standing on the cool wood of the balcony, with the paper bag of food still warm against my fingers, but the peace vanished the second I heard the glass door rattle. Nova barged into the balcony again, her eyes instantly zeroing onto me with a look of pure hatred. She didn't say a word at first, but she started to menacingly walk up to me."You think you can just slink around this house and take whatever you want, don't you, Charity Case?" Nova snarled. Her face was twisted into a very ugly mask. All her usual polished perfection was totally gone. "You've been poking your nose into my business since the day you arrived, you little parasite."Celeste shifted immediately she said that, throwing her body directly between me and Nova. She crossed her arms and stared Nova down."Nova, back the fuck up," Celeste ordered. "Turn around and walk away, before you do anything you'll certainly regret."But Nova didn't stop. With an angry snarl, she tried to move past Celes
Eli's POVI got back home later that evening, and by that time, the darkness has completely settled over the driveway as I shut off the ignition. Walking up to the front porch, my mind was entirely stuck on one thing. I kept thinking about how I was supposed to be at training with my teammates that evening. Right now, the guys would be out on the ice, running so many drills, but because of my suspension, I couldn't be there with them. I was stuck on the sidelines, banished from the one place where I was actually happy.A heavy wave of resentment hit me, and I was incredibly angry at that Luca Reynolds bastard for doing this to me. I was completely tired as well, exhausted from the non-stop fighting and the mess my life was turning into.I unlocked the front door with Kassidy's dinner in my hand and stepped into the house, tracing her voice to the balcony. I'd just handed over her food and was about to retreat into my room, when Nova stepped into the balcony.At that point, any hope o







