جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 259

8Tessa.Some risks taste sweeter than others. I should know by now that every time Liam pushes me, I’ll jump, and I’ll love the freefall. But nothing could have prepared me for how far I’d fall today.It’s Saturday, a rare day when the whole family is together, everyone loud and laughing in the backyard. Dad’s manning the grill, apron tied tight over his belly. Mom flits around in a sundress, making sure everyone has enough to eat. The neighbors are over, and there’s a scattering of friends and cousins I barely remember, all crammed around the big plastic table under the old oak tree.The air is thick with the smell of charcoal and cut grass, the buzz of cicadas, the clink of ice in lemonade glasses. There’s music playing, something old and summery, and the sun burns my shoulders as I help pass out plates.Liam’s been circling me all day. He’s quieter than usual, eyes glittering whenever he catches my gaze. Sometimes he smiles that crooked smile that makes my stomach drop, and I know

10TessaThere are some lines you can never uncross.The moment the front door clicks shut and I hear the engine fade down the driveway, I know nothing will ever be the same. It’s just us—no parents, no nosy cousins, no threats or secrets or pretending. Just me and Liam and the reminder of everything we’ve ever tried to hide.He’s already watching me, eyes dark and hungry, one hand fidgeting with the hem of his shirt like he’s trying to hold himself back.“You realize we’re alone,” he says, almost quietly. “Like, really alone.”The words hang in the air, heavier than they should be. The house seems bigger, every room brimming with possibility.For a moment, we just stand there, not touching.I drop my bag on the floor, my voice coming out soft and unsteady. “What are you waiting for?”That’s all it takes.He crosses the distance in a heartbeat, mouth crashing to mine, hands greedy and rough. He lifts me, carrying me to the kitchen like I weigh nothing at all, slamming me against the co

2Amelia.I didn’t sleep. Not really. Not with the feeling of him—his mouth, his hands, the bruises left on my hips—pressed into my skin like a fever. I replayed every minute from last night, every sharp gasp and every sin, shivering under my sheets while the memory of him flooded me again and again. My thighs ached. I was sure my voice would never sound the same again.I was worse in the morning. My father sat across from me at breakfast, pouring coffee, glancing at my empty plate. My mother prattled on about choir, about Mr. Carter, about how “blessed” we were to have him, about what a leader he was for the youth. I stared down at my hands, praying they couldn’t see the truth written all over me.I was grateful when I could finally slip out of the house, lie about needing to practice. My heart pounded the whole way there, my breath shaky and shallow, hope and fear twining together so tightly I couldn’t tell them apart.The church was never truly empty. But on weekday mornings, sunlig

4Amelia.If my father knew the things I thought about during prayer, he’d never let me leave the house again.But here I was, packed in a van with the rest of the choir, winding our way up a mountain road for a “weekend of fellowship.” I pretended to be excited, laughing at jokes, squeezing hands, humming along to guitar chords. But the only thing I felt was that electric buzz under my skin—the one I only got when Nathan Carter looked at me like I was his favorite secret.The camp was tucked away in the trees, old wooden cabins and a big fire pit surrounded by logs. The air was sweet with pine and someone’s cheap cologne. Night came fast, swallowing the sky in blue and silver. Our first evening blurred together: choral warmups, marshmallows, awkward games. Nathan watched over everything, strict but playful, that careful balance that made the other girls giggle and the guys try too hard. I did my best to ignore him, but I felt his eyes on me all night.When the bonfire finally blazed,

6Amelia.The church is different at midnight.It’s not just the emptiness, or the way the shadows grow longer and softer, spilling over marble floors and stained glass. It’s the silence—thicker, deeper, like it’s waiting for something to happen. I moved through the dark sanctuary, barefoot, my heart fluttering in my chest, each step a prayer and a dare. Candles flickered along the aisles, dozens of them, gold and trembling, painting the pews in shifting light.He was here. I could feel it in the air, the tension.I found him at the organ, his back to me, fingers drifting over the keys. The sound was quiet and gentle, like a melody I didn’t recognize, something ancient and haunting that made my skin prickle. Nathan Carter belonged to this church even more than my father did. He filled the space with his presence, with his will, bending it all around him like smoke.He didn’t look up as I drew closer, he only spoke, voice soft but certain, vibrating through the empty sanctuary. “Couldn’