Conrad Adams POV It was early morning, and my phone buzzing yanked me awake. For a moment, I was completely disoriented, struggling to figure out where the hell I was. Then the wild night before hit me like a freight train: the car ride with Caleb and Max, Max baring his soul, Max crying, Max in
Caleb POV I was sprawled on my bed, trap music blaring through my earbuds, the bass thumping loud enough to drown out the chaos in my head. I took a long drag from my vape, the sweet haze curling around me as I tried to unwind, but my thoughts were a mess, colliding like cars in a pileup. It was
Max POV The spring night was cool, carrying the scent of rain as Conrad Adams drove in silence, a soft song playing through the car’s speakers. I sat in the passenger seat, soaking in every moment with him, each second feeling like a rare treasure. The sullen teenager was gone now, leaving just t
“But Conrad knows Albert!” Caleb shot back, leaning forward. “Albert’s close to Annie’s mom, right? He could talk to her, get her to tell Annie to ditch Peter and come back to me.” Conrad sighed, his patience clearly wearing thin. “Caleb, I’m not getting in the middle of your love life. You need to
Max POV The car was quiet now, the kind of silence that felt like it could either cradle you or crush you, depending on how you looked at it. Conrad drove through the city, weaving toward the humbler neighborhoods of Brooklyn where Ned Jackson and his family lived. Caleb was slouched in the back
Max POV The diner was a time capsule, all chipped chrome counters and red vinyl booths that squeaked when you sat down. The air smelled of fried onions and coffee that’d been brewing since morning, and the jukebox in the corner hummed some old Springsteen tune. It was the kind of place that felt