Prologue: Five Years Ago

Chapter 1: prologue, five years ago

East Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Harley (age 17)

With all the plans going on tonight, everything is in complete chaos. Graduation day seems to do that, though. I slide my arms into my gown and zip the front, topping off the ensemble with the uncomfortable blue cap that matches it.

I take a look in the mirror hanging on the back of my door and paste a smile on my face, trying to rid the negative thoughts from my mind.

"You can do this, Harley. Everything will be just fine, I promise you."

Tonight, me and Alec are supposed to have sex for the first time, and I'm fucking terrified. I know it's not going to be all fucking rainbows and sunshine, or roses on the bed and shit, but it will feel fucking amazing. I run a brush through my long, dark hair and run my fingers through the curls that cascade down my back and hang perfectly over my shoulders.

I apply a coat of mascara and a thin line of eyeliner to my lower lid and blink a few times.

Finishing off my look, I grab my lip-plumping gloss that makes them shine like goddamn diamonds, and rub them together, parting with a loud smack.

Ugh, I guess I'm ready for this shit.

My next move after graduation is college, where I want to continue my dance classes.

Alec is joining the Marines, and he's leaving right after graduation, which I still haven't fully grasped yet.

He's been my boyfriend ever since we were thirteen, and for the last four years, he's been my everything.

And now he's fucking leaving. Life isn't going as planned, but hopefully, something will turn around.

Of course, not only do my twin brother Hudson and I sit next to each other, but Alec and I sit next to each other during graduation. Our last names are eerily similar. Savage and Savagged. What the fuck is that shit? Well, honestly, that's how we met. Our last names got us mixed up and sent to the wrong classes, and we bumped into each other in the office at school. The rest is history, and hopefully my future too…

He reaches over and holds my hand, tightly interlacing our fingers. He makes a fist with our hands and rests them on my lap, brazenly grazing the tender, skin on my inner thigh with the smooth pad of his thumb. The sensation gives me a chill that, of course, makes moisture pool between my thighs. He looks at me and smiles; his deep brown eyes shimmer under the sunlight, shining so brightly that I can see my fucking future inside of them.

"I love you, baby. I'm so proud of you and of us. I can't wait to see what our future holds, Harley." He brings our hands to his lips and kisses mine, giving me a flirty wink that makes my core gush right into the new panties I bought for tonight. Fuck me sideways.

Brixton, five years ago (age 30)

East Bridgewater, Massachusetts

My eyes stay fixed on the thick, ugly, black band wrapped around my ankle, and the red light flashing relentlessly. My hands become clammy, so I rub them on my jeans, trying to breathe through the panic attack from my PTSD. I can't do flashing lights. Especially red ones. Something pulls me out of the fucking trance the little GPS light put me in and forces my gaze to the middle of the group of students seated in the center of the field. It's graduation day. I come for one reason and one reason only. No, I don't have a fucking child that goes here, and no, no family member either. Nah, fucking Harley is graduating today, and I couldn't miss her walking across the stage and getting her diploma. "Christ, her lips are fuckin shining from over her. They're plump and thick, but perfect looking on her beautiful face. Fuck, what I wouldn't give to feel them wrapped around my cock. And damn, her throat looks tiny and so fucking tight, my cock would feel like a fuckin pig in a blanket." I shake my head before I get deeper into the realm of Harley inside my fucked up mind. Her laugh sends little sparks to my cock, making it twitch against my thigh. She always gives me a fuckin hard-on, I mean She's fucking beautiful and sexy, so why wouldn't she?

The only fucking thing standing in the way of being with her is her boyfriend, who has been stuck to her fuckin ass since she was thirteen. Yes, I've been watching her since then. Shit, even longer than that, but we'll get into that another time. I need to think of a way to get him out of the picture, and then I'll be able to have her.

Finally, when Harley's time comes to walk across the stage, I aim my phone and start the video, hovering my thumb over the camera button so I can take stills too. I want to savor this moment. It's a huge milestone. I never graduated high school; I spent that time in Juvie. I'm not fucking uneducated, though, so don't get it fucking twisted. I'm street smart, book smart, and I've got the fuckin looks; I'm a damn triple threat. The monitor strapped around my ankle keeps flashing, and I know that if I'm not back at my house in ten minutes, they're going to send the fuckin cops after me. I can't have that, especially at Harley's graduation. I burn the outline and shape of her body into my mind as I get up, extremely reluctant. I hate being on parole, but I've been on it most of my adult life, and I'm used to it. It's more normal to me than living on the fucking straight and narrow. Living on the edge is a good fucking time, but it comes with big-boy consequences, and I found that out the fucking hard way.

I get back to my house and plug my ankle bracelet in as I slump into the leathery couch cushions, letting them fucking swallow me. My chest heaves, and I sigh miserably. I need to get off this house arrest bullshit. I'm lucky I got off on parole after my attempted murder conviction, otherwise, I'd still be behind bars. Who knows, maybe things will start to look up for me when I get this shit behind me. Maybe Harley and I have a chance for a future. And if not, I'll continue to watch her for as long as it fucking takes.