LOGINMila’s POVMy hand was trembling so hard as I reached forward to snatch the phone out of Princess’s hand. She didn't even try to hold onto it. She just let her fingers slip away, staring at me with wide eyes.I looked down at the screen.It was a screenshot pinned to the top of the school’s group chat. The caption at the top read: “The truth about the new girl—Mila Bennett.”I read through the paragraph, my heart racing with every word. It went on about my “desperate, one-sided obsession” with both Axel and Aaron. It called me a slut, claiming I’d been trying to get into both of their beds since the day I moved into the house.But it was the last sentence that made me feel sick.“Turns out this isn’t her first time pulling this shit either. Ask her why she really had to leave her family and come hide away in this town. Turned out she tried to pull this shit with her stepdad too. What a whore!”My heart dropped into my stomach; chills ran down my spine. For a moment, I couldn’t hear an
Mila’s PovThe noise inside Weston High stadium was deafening. Floodlights lit up the green field where the winter 7v7 football showcase game was in full swing. The bleachers were packed with students, everyone stomping their feet, cheering, and screaming at the top of their lungs.I was standing in the front row of the student section, jumping up and down with Paris and Princess. I had a foam finger in my hand, and my throat was already sore from how loud I had been screaming. Down on the field, Aaron was back in sports gear, jogging onto the field. It was his first time playing since his injury, and even though the coach had limited his playing time, I was so proud of him.When he came up near our side of the field, his helmet tucked under his arm, he looked up into the stands. His eyes found mine from afar, and he gave me a quick wink, a crooked grin spreading across his face before he put his helmet back on and jogged toward the field.I was beaming with smiles as I watched him. I
Mila’s POVAfter fifth period, while the rest of my class headed outside for laps on the track in the brutal afternoon sun, I slipped away from the group and wandered in the direction of the high school gym. I pushed open the door and walked in. It was empty, save for Aaron, who was in the corner near the weight racks in his grey tank shirt and black shorts, balancing on his injured foot on a mat.I walked over as quietly as I could. "I knew I’d find you here."Aaron glanced up from his mat, a sheepish grin breaking across his face. "Look who it is. Missing out on track laps again?""I'm just here to support my brother," I blurted out before I could stop myself.I think we had made it pretty clear that we were all avoiding acknowledging that we were siblings. Siblings surely didn’t do any of the things we used to do. An awkward silence settled between us.I stood there watching him in silence, regretting coming here in the first
Mila’s POV"Excellent work on your Literature paper, Miss Bennett," Mr. Scott said, placing my graded sheet face down on my desk as he walked past. "Your analysis on character motives was really well thought out."I turned the paper over and bit the inner corner of my mouth to stop myself from grinning widely. A big red A with a plus sign was circled right at the top, along with a note in the margin saying 'Insightful work!'Paris, who was sitting next to me, leaned over, squinting at my paper before letting out a small gasp. "Look at you," she whispered, a big grin spreading across her face. "Crushing it in English and looking like that today." Paris’s eyes went over my cropped white cashmere sweater and off-white short skirt, with a look of approval in her eyes. "You look absolutely fire today, Mila!"Princess turned around from the seat in front of us, resting her chin on her hands while Mr. Scott walked back toward the whiteboard. "Seriously,
For the next few days, avoiding Axel became a full-time job.If he was in the kitchen, I stayed upstairs. If he sat in the living room to watch TV, I never left my room. At night, it was even worse. I found myself tiptoeing down the hallway like a burglar in my own house, holding my breath every time a floorboard creaked, just to get a glass of water from the kitchen or take a quick walk outside to breathe.By Thursday night, I was exhausted.It was past midnight when I finally snuck back inside from a quick walk in the backyard. The whole house was dead quiet. Everyone had been in bed for hours, and I figured I was finally safe. I tiptoed up the stairs, unlocked my bedroom door, and slipped inside, turning around to shut it quietly behind me.I flipped the light switch on and turned around. My heart completely stopped.Axel was sitting right on the edge of my bed. He was wearing a dark t-shirt with a sketch of a skull with flames ar
Mila’s POVThe next morning, I woke up with my heart pounding in my chest before I even opened my eyes.My mind kept wandering to the pool. Every single detail of that day was replaying in my mind like a movie I couldn't turn off. It wasn't just the fact that Axel had jumped in to pull me out, or that he’d screamed at Tiffany until her face turned pale in front of our schoolmates. It was the way he’d held me against him in front of everyone. My breasts pressed flat against his hard chest, the heat of his body next to mine despite the cold water of the pool, and the hard, undeniable bulge in his trunks that told me exactly what was happening to him while the whole school watched.I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through everyone’s minds. Aaron, Paris, Princess, Liam. They had seen that I was bare-chested and he was shielding me with his body. Heat traveled up my neck and to my cheeks.I pressed my palms over my eyes and let out a long, mis







