BLAKE’s POV :“Blake, no!” My mom said rather sternly. She was blocking the door to my dad’s office with her body. “Your father’s not in a good mood right now,” she hissed.“This can’t wait,” I said simply and pushed past inside.“Blake!” she called after me, but I only shut the door behind her.My dad finally came back from his business trip to Nevada. He was gone for weeks. When I heard that he was back tonight, I left the prom right away and went home. I was still in my prom attire as I walked into his office. I yanked my tie open and stepped inside. He was alone, sitting at his desk, and a glass of bourbon was by his side. You could tell a lot about my dad’s condition by his choice of drink. Scotch meant that he was happy, and bourbon meant that he just had a bad deal. He mustn’t be in a good mood right now.“Dad, I have to talk to you,” I said once I stood in front of his desk.“Not now son,” he sighed and tipped his head back. “It’s been a long day,”“It can’t wait, dad,”I had
RYDER’s POV :“Hey, Ryyy!” Taya screeched as soon as I picked up her Facetime call.“Hey, T, what’s up?” I chuckled.From where I was standing, my cousin sister looked alright. Her skin was glowing and her hair was neatly tied up. Several days had passed since she left Hawaii and I was glad to see her alive and doing well.“Ry, we just saw the article online, congrats on winning the Hawaii Pro. We’re so proud of you!”“Thanks,” I said. “Who’s we?”“Judah and me, of course,” she chirped. She then turned the camera slightly and showed Judah sitting next to her on the couch.“Right,” I snorted. “How are you doing out there? Is everything good? Is he being nice to you? You tell me if he’s doing something sh—”“Everything is great and he is perfect, Ryder,” she cut me off sternly. “We just moved in to our apartment and got our first couch today. Everything’s great here, so don’t you worry about us,”“Geez, stop referring to yourself as we and us. It’s creepy,” I rolled my eyes.“Oh, Ryder,
GABE’s POV :It all started because of one stupid promise.I promised my friends that I would speak to Maddie before I leave for college. I had a crush on this girl since freshman year of high school, though the number of conversations we had could be counted with one hand.Though my friends had already left for college and I was the last one to go, I couldn’t leave without keeping that promise. But the problem was that Maddie didn't even know I exist. I couldn’t just go to her house and declare my undying love for her. I had to meet her somewhere and I don't know, maybe strike a conversation first?So when I got word that there was gonna be a party at a yacht thrown by Ryder Jake Williams and that Maddie would be there, I thought this must be a sign. Maybe this was the universe’s way of giving me a chance to speak to her.Ryder Jake Williams was actually Taya’s cousin. He was quite well known in this town. He was this surfer hero that all the guys wished they could be and all the gir
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *LOS ANGELES, CASIX MONTHS LATER* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *JUDAH’s POV :Christmas used to mean nothing to me.My mom and I were too busy being in survival mode to care about stupid holidays like that. Plus, we didn't have any money for gifts or holidays. Usually, she’d work through Christmas, and I’d get high and pass it by.But not this year.This year would be our first Christmas together, Blondie and I. We went back to Hawaii for Thanksgiving, as we promised our friends, but we were staying in California for Christmas. Plane tickets were expensive and Blondie wanted to stay here and rehearse anyway. That’s right, my very own Blondie was chosen as the lead role for UCLA’s upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. That's fucking sick. I'm hella proud of her. The play would open in January, and Blondie would rather spend Christmas break practicing than anything else. Even though the school and the production were on break
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *NEW YORK CITYFOUR YEARS LATER* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *TAYA's POV :"Well?" Hallee came right in, bombarding my personal space as soon as I stepped out of the auditorium lobby.Her eyes were wide, full of hope and expectancy. I gave her a small, sad smile and sighed, "I didn't get in,""Aw, man! Are you serious? I really thought you had it in the bag. I mean, the Juilliard admission was all over you, flying you out to New York City for a damn audition too,""Meh, it's okay. I'll get it next time,"It really was nice of the Juilliard Academy to fly me all the way over here for an audition into their selective conservatory program. A representative of the school saw my graduation piece at UCLA and she loved it so much, she came to me after the show to talk about the possibility of me having a future in New York City — Broadway and all that jazz.I never even thought that something like this would be an option. So of course, I took
A/N: This book is a spin-off/prequel to "Dear Stepbrother". Look out for special appearances and easter eggs for those who love Ryder & Kara's love story. Enjoy ’s lunch, and Taya never even knew their names. There was the tall fat one, the short fat one, and the fat one with glasses, that was how Taya would refer to them."Now get outta here!" Ryder shouted again and the three kids scrambled away."I think you're too much, Ry. You're scaring them off," Taya said to Ryder, her older cousin, and they watched the three kids ran and fell on top of each other."That's the point. This is what you gotta do to bullies. You stand your ground, show them that you're not
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *PRESENT DAYKAUAI, HAWAII* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *TAYA's POV :Essay Question: "What's your story? What are your greatest accomplishments? What are your aspirations for the future?"Your answer: _None. Sorry College App, I have absolutely no stories to tell you.For the past two and a half months, I had been staring at the same set of questions. I had all summer to start writing my college essay, and so far the total word count was zero point pathetic.All my life, I’ve always lived by the rules. I obeyed authorities, I colored inside the lines, and I never got into trouble. So when it was time for me to think for myself and decide what I want to be in the future, I hadn't got a clue. My whole existence had been reduced to nothing but a blank white page.There was an episode on Friends where Rachel said, "All my life, everyone's told me, 'You're a shoe! You're a shoe!' Well, what if I don't want to be a shoe? What if I want to be a purse or a hat?"
TAYA's POV :The full moon party was a party like no other. They got everything from a live DJ to fireworks, to bonfire at the beach, and even private rooms for... you know.This was my very first high school party and I was beyond excited. Little did I know, I was about to learn the three most important rules of partying, and I had to learn them the hard way. Starting with Rule Number 1: Never drink anything they put on the drinks bar.Ryder had warned me not to touch anything, drink anything, take anything, or talk to any guys at the party. But of course, I wasn't taking his advice, because that would practically leave me with nothing to do, while he was off somewhere gallivanting.Now there was a big bowl of what I thought was fruit punch on the table, I was parched and the drink looked mighty refreshing. So I took down a few huge gulps, only to realize later on, those weren't just fruit punch.Fifteen minutes into my first high school party and I already felt like throwing up. Cou