Chapter 1

Lily:

I held my head in my hands and stared at the paper in front of me. Only one question. Only one question was left, and I could get the fuck out of here.

I looked up at the wall clock; It was 2:00 pm. My flight was scheduled for 3:45 pm and here I was struggling, trying to remember the birthday of a Spanish conquistador. God, I hated history. Why did we even bother to learn this stuff?

I looked around the classroom. A few whispers broke the tense silence of the class. If only I could make out what they were saying. Maybe I could get the answer to this stupid question and be done with it.

Arrrggghh! The frustration was getting to me. I placed my head on the hardwood table. If only my desk could remember the answers and give them to me. Arrgghh!

I raised my head and turned to the door.

“Amber?” I mouthed in surprise and quickly looked around the room to make sure that no one had seen me. “What are you doing there?”

She made a teasing hand sign and I rolled my eyes. She had finished her exam and was being a monkey about it. It was a miracle that we were still friends. I looked back at the wall clock: 2:10 pm.

That was it!

I scribbled down a date and got off to submit it. The colonizers weren’t so good anyway, so he had to be a Gemini. Like…

No.

I shook my head as I placed my paper on the stack on the teacher’s desk, grabbed my bag, and headed out. I was going on a trip to Malibu, and thoughts of that stupid boy were going to ruin my day. We were over. O-V-E-R.

“What up, bitch?”

I met Amber outside and scoffed.

“If you were going to be hanging at the door, you could have at least tried to help me out of my last question and not make childish signs.”

She burst out laughing and I couldn’t help but join her. Damn her infectious smile!

“Hey, ladies.”

Greg came out of the class. He had his bag over his shoulder and ran his hands through his dark hair coolly. Sexy geek was definitely proud of himself. He already knew that he had aced the exam. He didn’t look bothered one bit.

“A new bar just opened up. We should go there and get a drink or two, and celebrate the end of this exam.”

Amber didn’t hesitate to accept. She was such a pick-me girl when it came to Greg. He was a nerd but he was a hot one. He was cool, I guess. I just didn’t see what Amber saw in him.

“You folks go ahead.-”

I stole a glance at my phone. It was 2:30 pm. Shit! I had a few minutes to pack and catch my flight!

“- I gotta get ready for my flight. I can’t wait to ditch this place for summer break. Enjoy your break and shitty New York.”

I took off like a bullet down the hallway but not without catching a glimpse of Amber, a rosy pink, as she spoke to Greg.

I raced to my dorm room and startled my roommate who was painting her nails.

“Lily! I made a mistake because of you!”

“That’s why they made nail-polish remover. Thank God for science.”

I saw the shock on her face. I couldn’t care less.

“Don’t need to be a bitch because you got kicked off the cheer team. It’s not my fault that you are a lousy pyramid top.”

I glared at her. I was definitely not going to room with her next semester.

“And it isn’t my fault that your toenail looks like a crippled grandma’s. It’s sad that you have to use nail-polish to hide how gnarly it looks.”

“How dare you?! I just got a pedicure!”

“Well, you better ask for a damn refund.”

Her mouth clamped shut, and she grabbed her acetone. Good riddance! The strong smell filled the room as I threw my clothes into my suitcase. Finally! I was going to leave this place for a few weeks. I was more than happy about it. No stupid ex-cheer team members and definitely no stupid exes.

I was done packing and called an Uber. In less than five minutes, my driver arrived and I hauled my stuff downstairs with so much as a goodbye to Jasmine. She was such a bitch.

“Lily Hudson?” my Uber driver asked as I got into the back of his car.

“Yeah. I need to get to the airport as fast as possible.”

I was itching to leave this place. Some of my ex-cheer team members were staring at me. The last thing I wanted was to see ‘him’.

My driver put my stuff in the trunk and soon, we were off. Good bye, college. I saw Jasmine looking out of our dorm room and I didn’t hesitate to give her the middle finger.

~~~

I got to the airport and checked in. I was just in time to pass through TSA and I was led to the plane with my carry-on. I was happy to get to my window seat. I put my bag in the overhead compartment and relaxed in my chair. I couldn’t wait to be rid of this place. I picked up my phone. It was high time I cleared up my gallery.

I swiped through pictures of Adrian and I. The asshole cheated on me with some skank on the cheerleading team. I caught them kissing in an empty class during the fifth period, and he had the balls to deny it even after I saw everything. After that, was the incident with the cheer team and I fell off the top of the pyramid and landed on the bitch he cheated on me with. It had all been an accident but I was happy she chipped her tooth and broke her neck. She had to go to the hospital, and after that, I was voted off the cheer team, and Adrian led the decision.

I selected all the pictures I had of him and deleted them permanently. 2GB of storage for better memories and sexy bikini pics of me on the Malibu beaches.

I stumbled across a picture of my mom and dad together before their divorce. It was rough. Mom got remarried and I stayed with Dad in New York. He was amazing, but after all the drama here, I needed space from familiar faces and a hot tan, and Malibu, with M1om and her new boo, seemed like the best idea. Dad was against it but I was able to convince him. I smiled as I remembered the pie I baked him.

“Passengers, please fasten your seat belts and get ready for take-off…”

~~~

“Mom!”

I rushed to her and she hugged me. She looked different. Her hair was a different color, and she had been sunkissed. She looked amazing. I gave a polite wave to Dylan, her husband and he returned it with a small smile. This was kind of awkward.

“We are so glad that you could make it. I have missed you so much.”

She gave me a kiss and led me to the waiting car.

“You are going to love Malibu. Our house is actually very close to a beach.”

I grinned as I got into the back seat. Dylan drove a Prius. It smelled new.

“We know that you must be famished. We made your…”

She stopped mid-sentence when her phone rang. She stared at it for a few minutes and answered the call.

“Hello?”

The cheerful smile on her face faded and her eyes darkened

“What? Right now?...”