LOGIN“Leave me alone!” I yelled back, the words cracking in the middle as another sob ripped out of me. I curled up on my bed, knees to my chest, staring at the ceiling where the fairy lights blurred through the tears. Dad’s voice came again right outside the door. “I know it’s a lot. I should’ve talked to you first. But Miles… he doesn’t have anywhere else, Tess. And after everything with your mom, with Jake leaving, with Camila… I thought maybe this could be good for us. For all of us.”“Don’t fucking dare make it seem like you did it for me!” I screamed back, the words ripping out of my throat. “You did it for you! You didn’t think of me for a fucking second before you signed that adoption letter. Nobody gives a fuck about how I truly feel so drop the bullcrap!”I rolled onto my side, hugging my knees tighter, the exhaustion from exams crashing into the fresh wave of anger and hurt until my whole body felt heavy. Even in that position I could still hear him shift on the other side of
The words hung there in the cold air. I blinked once, twice, my brain short-circuiting because no. No fucking way. “You what?” The question exploded out of me, echoing off the porch and making Miles flinch. I stepped forward, boots kicking up slush. “You adopted him? We’re barely holding this house together, Dad! Mom and Jake are gone, the divorce is still a fresh wound, I’m drowning in exams and still screaming at the cops about Camila every chance I get, and you decide now is the perfect time to bring home some random kid from your old group home? What the hell were you thinking?”Miles shifted again, looking like he wanted to bolt back to the truck, but Dad just stood there, hands raised like he could calm me down with that pathetic gesture. “Tess, listen. It wasn’t random. Miles… he’s been through hell. His situation at the home… it wasn’t working anymore. The director called me yesterday, said there was a spot opening up for permanent placement and he thought I’d be a good fit
After that day, Dad kept visiting the foster care like it had become some kind of secret lifeline he couldn’t quit, and each time he walked through the front door he returned a little brighter than the last, like the house itself was slowly waking up from the long, gray coma it had been in since Mom and Jake left. It was good seeing him like that—really fucking good—especially with the way my own life had turned into a nonstop blur of exam prep and half-finished notes and the constant, gnawing pull of everything I still refused to let go. Finals were breathing down my neck like a rabid dog, every morning starting with me hunched over my desk at 5 a.m. with coffee that tasted like shit and textbooks that might as well have been written in a foreign language for all the focus I could muster. The first few visits after that homemade pasta lunch were tentative, like he was testing the waters to see if the good mood would stick or if the empty house would drag him back under. He’d come
I hesitated for half a second before sliding over, perching on the edge because I still wasn’t sure if this was real or just some temporary high before the crash. “Not cookies,” he said, shaking his head. “Just… talking. Those kids have it rough, some of them way rougher than I did back then. But they’re tough. Resilient. Reminds me that things doesn’t stay broken forever. One of the boys asked me about my old car projects, and before I knew it I was in the garage showing him how to change oil on that junker out back. Felt good.”I nodded slowly, picking at a loose thread on the couch cushion because looking at him too long made my eyes sting in a way I hated. “Hmm. Sounds… nice, I guess. Better than staring at the wall or crying in the driveway, anyway.” The words slipped out before I could filter them, and I winced a little, but Dad just chuckled like he expected it. I couldn’t help the small grin that broke through again. “Just don’t go all nostalgic and decide to adopt a bunch
I drove home in a haze, the heater blasting lukewarm air that did jack shit to thaw the knot off my stomach. The house came into view way too soon, that familiar two-story with the peeling blue paint on the shutters and the empty driveway where Mom’s SUV used to sit like it belonged there. My stomach twisted as I pulled up to the curb and killed the engine. How the hell was I supposed to face Dad after this morning? I’d walked away from him and left him there like an asshole because I couldn’t handle one more crack in the foundation of whatever was left of our family. Guilt had chewed at me the whole drive, mixing with the anger until I felt sick. He’s probably still in that study staring at the wall, I thought as I grabbed my backpack and slammed the car door. Or worse, halfway through a bottle already, wondering why his daughter bailed on him too. Fuck. I didn’t want to deal with broken Dad tonight. I just wanted to collapse on my bed, stare at the fairy lights Camila helped s
Class dragged like it always did now—Mr. Hargrove droning on about derivatives and limits while I doodled in the margin of my notebook, sketching little question marks and the outline of Camila’s pineapple keychain because focusing on actual math felt impossible. I nodded when he called on me, muttered something that sounded right enough to keep him off my back.The bell rang eventually, and I bolted before anyone could ask why my eyes looked red or why I hadn’t turned in last week’s homework. English was next—some essay on symbolism in The Great Gatsby that I half-assed on my phone during lunch, typing one-handed while I inhaled a stale granola bar from my backpack. Lunch itself was a blur of avoiding eye contact with Venessa’s table and ignoring the whispers that still followed me like shadows. That’s the girl whose best friend disappeared. Her family’s all messed up now too. Yeah, well, fuck the whispers. I had bigger problems than their pity.By the time the final bell rang and
He took a slow step closer, watching me like I might break if he moved too fast. “Camila,” he said softly, but there was still that storm underneath his voice. “If it’s because of me…” “It’s not,” I cut in, my voice sharper than I meant it to be. I swallowed hard and forced myself to keep looking
I stared at him. My lips parted, but no sound came out. That couldn’t be right. What was he even saying? I let out a short, hollow laugh, the sound brittle in the quiet room. “How the hell would I have a close relationship with a man I’ve never even met?” Ethan frowned. “I don’t know. That’s ju
I woke to the sound of screaming. The crack of something heavy slamming into something harder—dragged me out of sleep like someone yanked me underwater. My eyes flew open, breath hitching in my throat as I jolted upright. For a second, I had no idea where I was. The room was dark except for the
We walked closer, following the heavy beat of the drums, and the air shifted. It was heavier somehow, as if the entire village was holding its breath. I clutched Ethan’s arm as my eyes darted toward the procession coming from the dirt road that cut through the forest line. They weren’t just ran







