I'm sitting on a chair in the middle of Miss Renee's office. Noah and Cory are both sitting by my sides in silence. I'm currently shivering from the cold; my hair is sticky and my clothes are dripping wet. The two boys by my sides aren't looking very good either. A dark bruise is forming at Noah's cheekbone, with a small cut on his lips, his clothes damp. Cory's lower lips is fully swollen, and let me not forget to mention the black eye.You may be wondering, 'how the fuck did we end up like this?'Alright, let me enlighten you a bit.  35 minutes earlier. "I'm so not giving him mouth to mouth," Cory says, kneeling with me beside an unconscious Noah laying on the floor. "Let's just hide his dead body."My chest rises up and down in a fast panting pace as I try to catch my breath, managing to throw Cory a glare. Swimming deep underwater is one thing, but dragging a full grown human being that might be 5ft taller than you while struggling

My decision to spend the evening at the hotel pub was a logical one. A professional one. I prefer thinking of it that way, as it's a little too hard on my ego to admit I'm here largely to look at Noah. I'm not being stalky. You can say I'm a woman on a mission. Most of the tables are full— families, couples, tour groups, the Kingston boys huddle together over pints and glasses and conversations. A young boy who can't be more than fifteen sits in a corner playing a weepy tune on a concertina. A fire is being lit, as with the evening weather had gone chilly and damp, and around the red glow of simmering turf a trio of old men with wind raw faces sit smoking contemplatively and tapping booted feet to the music.I see Lacey at the far end of the bar, having what appears to be the most serious of discussion with a man who had to be a hundred and two years old. The past two days have been what you can call the longest days of my life. Si

"How many damn movie theaters are in this city?" I wipe a bead of sweat from my forehead, glancing over at Noah as we walk down to a café shop.Despite being a Floridian, where summers are usually incredibly brutal which I should've already been used to, I cannot help but feel like my insides are on fire under the current Honolulu afternoon sun. I'm sweating in all places I didn't think would be normal to secrete liquid in the human body. Yes, including my butt.I swear, the devil escaped from hell and sat on the world today. Let's just say there's a reason my favorite season is winter. "Let me ask Siri," Noah pulls out his iPhone from his jean pockets and long presses on the home button, bringing the phone up to his mouth. "How many movie theaters are in Honolulu?" He says into the phone. Immediately, various answers pop out from the internet and he reads them carefully. "It says here there's fifteen." "Great.

I was sixteen when I got the news. The news that changed my life. It was the first of the biggest surprises I had gotten that day and I thought nothing would compare to the emotional turmoil I had gone through that day. Honey, your father and I are getting a divorce.It took me several seconds to finally comprehend what my mom had said. And when I finally managed to get my composure back, it felt like all blood had drained from my body.Now, what Noah is currently telling me a mere two years later, comes close to a third."What?" I splutter out.He looks over at me, a frown etched on his face, and for the first time, I finally understand why he's the way he is. A criminal for a brother, two unsupportive parents— it's terrible to imagine. "Ever heard of Nathan G. Johnston? He was all over the news two years ago."I shook my head. "I don't exactly watch the news." "That's my older brother. And he's in jail

I have come to the conclusion that I'm not the sporty type. Sporting requires so much strength and body fitness. I lack those two terms.In high school, I once joined the junior soccer team because Simone always spent too much with basketball and I didn't want to feel left out. Shane Dawson, our soccer captain, kicked me out just a week later after I kept running from the goal post instead of stopping the ball from going through the net. I never gave up though. I signed up for cheerleading auditions next. Lacey was the cheerleading captain back then and I knew she was going to take me in because I always let her copy my history homework. The audition was going successfully until she told me to do a split. I couldn't do a split. I wasn't about to tear open my anus because I wanted to hang out with some group of cheerleading bimbos. Long story short; she didn't take me in, I no longer let her copy my homework, she