Laura I watched as Jason, with the help of the instructor, put Annie's life jacket on and prepared her to get into the boat. When they were inside the boat, they both waved to me, and Jason paddled out while Rosanne and I waved back. “Good heavens. They're so cute, I've never seen Jason as radian
Laura "So, what is the solution?" I asked Jason while we were in the room alone, and he was standing with his back to me, staring at the window with a tired look. As soon as he and Annie returned from the canoe trip beaming because they had managed to catch some fish on the banks of the lake, Ros
Ava “So, what was the result?” Terrence asked as he saw me leave the bathroom and head towards the bedroom. He was sitting on the bed with an apprehensive look as he looked at me expectantly. I shook my head briefly in the negative. “There’s nothing,” I said, and I saw him sighing, looking defeat
Jason “Are you still in touch with her?” Laura asked while she had her head lying on my chest. She and I were lying lazily in bed, taking advantage of that prime time in the early hours of the morning to exchange caresses and talk about our fears and concerns. She was asking about Kendall, wanting
Terrence That morning I woke up with an immeasurable headache, and then I remembered having drunk my shit last night. I was so frustrated yesterday that I ended up fighting with Ava, and then I went to a bar to drink to see if I could forget about my damn problems, and now I was having this annoyin
"That's enough?" I asked, wanting her to leave me alone. “Hm, that's enough for now,” she said after counting the money and putting it in her handbag. “What do you mean when you say for now?” I asked, but she surprised me with a quick kiss that I didn't even have time to pull away from and then
Ava As expected, Terry didn't sleep at home the night before. He went out drinking because he was angry with me and left me alone at home, worried. He deserved me to be very angry with him, but at that moment I could only be worried. I barely slept at all the whole night waiting for him to arrive;
Laura That morning, I woke up to my daughter's voice calling me. We had already returned to New York, and Jason couldn't sleep at my house the night before because he had a lot of things to resolve in Manhattan. Since he had stayed in Chicago for almost a month, he had to go back and resolve his pe
Laura POV “I love the outfit you chose to wear today. You’re absolutely stunning, my love,” I said, praising my daughter while gently caressing her arm. This weekend had been tough for Annie. She’d had the freshman ball on Friday night, and today, Sunday, she had to accompany me to this brunch at L
Annie POV That night, we fell asleep curled up together, still reveling in each other’s bodies. It was simply impossible to describe. A mix of longing, nostalgia, and satisfaction at having him there again, feeling his body under my fingers, his kisses, his gaze, running my hand through his silky
Annie POV Peter Morton’s face was just inches from mine, staring at me. The electric blue of his eyes was so close I could see his irises dilating and contracting. “You okay, Lady Ann?” he asked. I sighed with a small smile, half in delight. “It’s been a while since anyone called me that.” Actual
Annie POV The masked boy—who I didn’t want to admit was Peter—took me to an upscale, comfortable hotel where I could spend the night safely, away from everything, and try to regain my composure and figure out what to do next. “You can stay here,” he said calmly, though his voice still carried a hi
Annie POV The masked boy led me through the dark campus, his hand firm in mine as we ran away from the ballroom. My legs trembled, the blue dress swishing with each step, and tears still streamed down my face, hot and relentless. The sound of the shouts, the judgments, still echoed in my head, bu
“No choice?” He cut me off, his tone incredulous. “Are you serious? You chose to help Madison make that video. You chose to plug it into the projector. And now Annie’s out there, broken, while you try to run from the responsibility. This doesn’t fix anything, Abby. It wasn’t supposed to end like thi
Abby POV I was there, tucked away in the shadows of the ballroom’s corner, my heart still racing as I watched the chaos I’d helped create unfold. The giant screen kept playing that horrible video, distorted and manipulated clips of Annie echoing through the room like a final verdict. People poin
Annie POV I was still on the dance floor, the warmth of the masked boy’s body against mine, my head resting on his chest as the slow music guided us. The sound of his heartbeat against my ear was almost hypnotic, and I let myself get lost in that feeling I couldn’t quite explain. He’d just said s
I swallowed hard, Caleb’s words coming back to haunt me. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe we’ve gone too far?” He’d said that at the mall, and I’d hung up on him, but now they echoed in my head. Annie had hurt me, yes. The fight in the dorm, the way she called me fake, like I was trash she