CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1: The Science of Breaking

My raw knuckles burned with pain every time I forced the heavy wooden mop across the floor. The bitter smell of bleach stung my nose badly that I could barely breathe. I wanted to drop the handle and sit down on the floor but I knew I couldn't stop moving. This cheap night job was the only thing keeping a roof over me and my little sister Chloe's head.

A hot tear slipped down my cheek then fell into the gray dirty water in the bucket. I quickly wiped my face with my sleeve and then forced my tired arms to keep going.

"Ten more rows, Maya," I whispered to myself in the dark empty chemistry room. My voice couldn't stop shaking because my shoulders felt like they were carrying a pile of stones. I had to finish the floor, get the remaining money and run to the pharmacy before it closes

I knew what the rich kids at Crestview Academy thought of me. They saw me as a scholarship girl, an invisible girl who didn't belong in their world of fast cars and expensive clothes. I had studied hard to win the scholarship at this high-class school, but the free tuition didn't pay for our food or medical bills.

Six hundred dollars was the exact amount I needed to give to the hospital clinic by tomorrow morning for Chloe's asthma medicine. And she doesn't need to miss a dose of her medicine. Since our mother died of cancer four years ago and our father ran away because of the medical expenses, I had been Chloe's mother, father and only protector.

Suddenly my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out with trembling fingers thinking it was a Goodnight message from Chloe. Instead I read a devastating text from her. The ground beneath my feet felt like it opened up to swallow me whole.

"Maya please don't be mad at me. The landlady came to our door tonight with two big scary men "

the text read. The words swam before my eyes as fresh tears ran down my cheek

"She was screaming loudly in the hallway. Told me they would throw all our clothes and furniture onto the street if we didn't pay her the back rent. I was so scared. I took the envelope with the Five hundred dollars from under your mattress to give it to her."

A massive weight hit my chest. I felt like someone was squeezing all the air out of my lungs. I had begged the landlady for mercy crying and promising her I would pay the rent next week if she just let me buy Chloe's medicine first. She accepted.She had lied to my face waiting until I was away at my night job to trap my helpless sister.

The phone slipped out of my fingers hitting the floor with a loud clatter. The walls of the lab felt like they were closing in on me. I wasn't angry with Chloe; I knew she was a child backed into a corner by bad people.. The hurt of being broke again left me feeling ruined.

"No, please God, no this can't be happening to us " I whispered, my voice breaking as my knees gave out making me drop onto the cold floor.

I covered my face with my hands and began to cry silently. I had worked myself to the bone smiling through the circles under my eyes and the constant pain in my back just to keep Chloe safe. Now our final safety net was gone because a cruel landlady had taken our chance at survival.

Suddenly, a loud thud came from the hallway outside the lab door cutting through my crying and making me freeze because I knew the entire school cleaning crew always signed out and left the building by ten o'clock.

I held my breath, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs as the door groaned loudly on its hinges and the slow click of leather boots sounded against the tile floor.

I scrambled backward on my hands and knees, desperate to get away from whatever danger that was coming inside. I quickly slid beneath the lab table to hide myself in the dark shadows. I looked through the gap between the floor and the stools to see who it was. My breath caught in my throat when I recognized Julian Vance.

He walked into the room with his black leather jacket open and his dark hair falling across his forehead. He was the king of Crestview Academy, a boy whose multi-billionaire father basically owned the local police force and the school board. The other students talked in whispers about Julian's nature and dark past.

Julian didn't bother to look around the room because he clearly believed he was completely alone in the dark building, and walked toward the back row of metal supply lockers carrying a heavy black nylon duffel bag. He pulled out a heavy object wrapped tightly in clear plastic. My eyes went wide in shock as I realized it was a brick of stacked cash.

He reached up toward the wall using his fingers to pry open a loose metal ventilation grate, then he slid the money inside the dark shaft to hide it.

A wild panic took over my body as my palms were sweating against the tile floor.

I tried to shift my weight just a little bit so I could breathe better, but my foot slipped and accidentally hit the heavy metal leg of a nearby stool.

CLANG.

The sharp noise sounded like a bomb going off in the silence.

Julian stopped, his hand freezing as his head snapped toward the rows of lab tables. His dark eyes turned into deadly slits as he stared into the shadows.

"Who is hiding there?" his voice cut through the darkness, calm and freezing cold.

A blind terror took over my mind as I scrambled out from under the table running as fast as I could toward the back fire exit.

"I said stop there " Julian commanded, his deep voice dropping low as his heavy footsteps chased after me.

My foot caught on the thick extension cord,I stumbled forward wildly and My hands slammed into the metal rack that held the school's advanced chemistry bottles.

The entire metal rack groaned loudly tilting forward before I could stop it.

"No stop!" I screamed. But It was too late.

CRASH.

The sound of dozens of glass beakers and jars smashing on the floor was really loud. A huge explosion of liquids hissed loudly as they hit the ground together. The heavy jars of acid mixed into a smoking bubbling puddle of chemicals in front of the lower lockers. The liquids started eating at the metal. They filled the air with a choking white smoke that made my eyes burn instantly as the chemical fire ruined Julian's hiding spot.

I fell backward onto my hands then stared at the destruction in complete horror. The strong burning smell of the ruined chemicals filled my lungs made me cough violently.

Through the rising smoke, Julian stood still. He looked down at the smoking ruined duffel bag with a mean face. That face was way scarier than any scream. Slowly he stepped around the bubbling puddle of chemicals as his heavy leather boots crunched loudly over the glass then walked toward me like a dark shadow coming out of a fire.

I tried to crawl on the floor.. My shoulder blades slammed hard against the cold brick wall of the laboratory. I was trapped with nowhere left to run.

Julian stopped in front of me,stood tall over my body then blocked out the rest of the room. The smell of his cologne mixed with the burning acid in the air filled my lungs as he bent down slowly with a graceful movement. He descended until his sharp face was a few inches away from mine.

Before I could even blink or move away, his hand shot forward like lightning. His strong fingers gripped my chin in a heavy hold as he forced my head up with his thumb pressed hard into my jawbone. He locked me in place so I could not look away from his face.

"Look at me now, " he whispered. His voice was a scary growl that made my whole body shake against the wall.

I forced myself to look into his eyes. They were completely cold, just like two holes staring directly into my soul.

"Maya right?" he asked with a mean voice and a smile that looked like mockery. It made my blood run cold. "The pathetic little scholarship kid who cleans the floors when the real students leave."

"I am so sorry " I choked out as a hot tear fell from my eye and ran down over his hand. "It was an accident. I swear to you that I did not see anything in that bag."

"You just ruined an important deal, " Julian said softly as his thumb moved slightly. He pushed my face higher until my neck hurt against the brick. "Do you have any idea how much money was in that bag? Or exactly what kind of people that money belongs to?"

"I don't have anything to give you " I sobbed as the painful thought of my sister's empty medicine cabinet flashed through my mind. I truly had nothing left in this world. "Please just let me go. I have nothing."

Julian’s dark eyes looked slowly down to my shaking lips. Then they locked back with mine as a mean dark smile came to the corner of his mouth. It was the smile of a hunter who had just trapped his helpless prey. He leaned in closer until his hot breath touched my wet cheek.

"Starting tomorrow your little invisible streak on this campus is officially over " Julian whispered against my skin. It sent a shiver down my back. "You belong to me until I decide we're even.”