MasukMAYA'S POVI had just arrived at the kings and was chatting with Becca as she opened the gates when the bushes literally exploded. Jaxson stormed out; he stepped out of the shadows, drenched in sweat, his eyes flashing with pure rage."What the hell do you think you’re doing here?" He pointed his sweaty finger at my face. "I told you to stay away from my house. You're trespassing, and I’m calling security right now."I was too scared to speak and terrified of what he might do. Becca didn't flinch; she stepped slightly in front of me and pulled a laminated document from her jacket pocket. "Mr. King, please lower your voice." She gave him the card. "Maya’s not trespassing. She is our new official bread and pastry supplier. If you look down the street, her father's bakery truck is parked there making a bulk drop-off for the neighbors."Jaxson snatched the paper and scanned it closely, somehow hoping she was wrong."Your parents approved the contract yesterday morning before their trip,"
Jaxson's POVI followed her quickly, and when we got there, I saw her. Lily was thrashing wildly on her mattress; her body was shaking violently against the sheets."What is wrong with her?" I yelled in panic."I don't know," Maria cried out, panicking. "She rang the alarm; I came in and met her like this. She is burning up, her skin is so hot, I don't know what to do.""Call the doctor,” I said, trying to be calm. " Call the driver to get the car ready; we're taking her to the hospital." I ran to my room to get my phone and wallet, and when I came back into the nursery, I saw Clara with a wet towel about to put it on Lily's face."HOW DARE YOU!!” I screamed with a loud voice, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her off Lily's bed. The wet towel dropped from her hand and slapped against the floor.Clara stumbled back and looked at me like I had lost my mind. "I am trying to help her," she said, raising her voice. "Her temperature is dangerously high. We need to cool her down before it gets
JAXSON'S POVI stared down at the open book facing my sneakers. I leaned forward slowly and picked it up. “Don't,” I heard Clara say, stretching her hand to get it.Then, of course, I became interested: what was in it? I flipped it to see. I expected school notes or the usual boring nerd stuff, but it wasn't; it was a sketch. The graphite lines were incredibly detailed and precise; It was really good and very beautiful.I looked up at Clara; she was still frozen outside the open car door, she looked frightened. Her hands were a bit stretched towards me. She looked completely terrified. "Did you draw this?" I asked, in utter disbelief.She didn't answer, she lunged forward with sudden speed and yanked it right out of my grip before I could even tighten my fingers."You don't have to worry about it," she said with a heavy breath. She scrambled to pick up the rest of her books from the concrete, shoved them into her broken bag, turned quickly, and ran toward the staff entrance with
CLARA'S POVI hugged my mother goodbye so fast she barely had time to react, grabbed Maya by the arm, and pulled her out of the room. We ran down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, hurriedly pushing through the sliding glass doors and sprinting toward the main road. I caught the downtown bus just as the doors were closing and waved at Maya through the dirty window as the bus pulled away. Found an empty seat in the back and sat down, breathing heavily.I pulled out my sketchbook and a pencil from my bag; working on these drawings was the only thing that kept me sane. I had to get my mind off what the ride in Jaxson's car would be like, especially now that I might be late.Trying to focus on the graphite lines was all I could do; the simple act of drawing made me feel a little lighter. The cool breeze from the open window blew across my face, but then my heavy head began to tilt; my pencil slipped entirely from my loose grip, and my vision blurred out.Suddenly the bodi
CLARA'S POVJaxson straightened the papers on the podium without a trace of nerves. The room was completely still; even Mr. Harrison had leaned back in his chair slightly, arms folded, waiting."The Enclosure Acts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were one of the most significant forced economic restructurings in British history," he began. His voice was steady and clear; even those in the back could hear him clearly. "What began as a legal mechanism for consolidating agricultural land systematically dismantled the common rights of the rural working class, accelerating their displacement into urban industrial centers and fundamentally reshaping the social fabric of England."Someone in the third row whispered something; the person beside them told them to be quiet; Jaxson kept going; he moved through the material like walking through a familiar room. He explained the legal framework, the economic incentives for landowners, and the destruction of subsistence farming. He drew a
CLARA'S POVA loud, aggressive pounding on my bedroom door jolted me awake. I sat up so fast my vision went black for a second. The clock on my bedside table read five o'clock. "Open up, Clara. Right now," I heard Jaxson shout through the wooden door.I scrambled out of bed feeling sore; I had barely slept a single wink. I spent the entire night at my desk, surrounded by heavy history textbooks and scribbled notes, but I finally finished. The last page of Jaxson’s history paper was ready at exactly 4:30 AM.I had done mine earlier last week, thank God; else I would have been cooked. We both take history class, so yes, we'll be seeing each other in class, Sloane, too.I unlocked the door and pulled it open. Jaxson stood there looking perfectly refreshed. He was already wearing his workout clothes."Where is it?" he demanded.I reached for the stack of papers on my desk and handed them to him. "Here, it's ten pages. I covered everything the syllabus asked for."Jaxson flipped through t
He stared at me. I stared right back. Our eyes fixed on each other. The world did not end, though it felt like it should have. His mouth opened. "What the hell?" he screamed. "Adene? Is this a joke? Are you stalking me now?" "Jaxson." Maria appeared behind him, but her eyes moved straigh
I stared at the screen until the light burned my eyes. Removed from the W******p group. Then from the squad. What for? What was my offense? My phone rang out. Maya was calling. I picked up. "Clara? Are you seeing this?" Maya’s voice was frantic. "I just saw the notification. I tried to message
The word hit me like a physical blow to the chest.Filled?This couldn't be true. I needed this job. It wasn't just a job; it was the medicine in my mother's veins. It was the roof over our heads."Maria, wait," Mrs. Gabe pleaded. "I spoke to Helena this afternoon. She said—""And I am speaking t
I couldn’t speak.“She’s fading, Clara,” he continued. "Every hour we wait is an hour we don’t get back. If we delay much longer, she might not make it.”The doctor walked away to check on another patient."I’ll get the money, sir. I’ll try," I whispered as he went.My phone buzzed in my hand. I lo







