CH021: Run, Sydney. Run.

[ SYDNEY ]Oh no.“Let go of me, you crazy bitch!” Cassie screams from underneath Maddie. Maddie is straddling her now, throwing punches and open-handed slaps while yanking hard at her hair. The girls who had been sitting near Cassie scramble away, including her usual group of followers.Some of the other girls; the ones clearly living for the drama, already have their phones out, recording the entire fight. Not a single one of them tries to stop it. Only Whitney is shouting for someone to intervene.“She’s going to kill her! Don’t just stand there! Do something!”No one moves. I don’t even consider stepping in. The last time I tried to break up a fight between Maddie and another girl back in college, I almost lost a tooth when one of Maddie’s punches caught me instead. I spent the rest of that day in the hospital.Never again. Especially not for someone like Cassie.“You have such a loud mouth, don’t you?” Maddie laughs sharply, almost maniacally, as she rains more blows down on

CH022: Nico

[ SYDNEY ]I can’t sleep no matter how hard I try. After that crazy conversation with Chelsea, I didn’t even bother going back to the party. I hadn’t planned to anyway.Instead, I went straight to my room after giving Maddie the tea and making sure she wasn’t going to return to the pool and finish what she started with Cassie. Then, I changed into my pajamas, climbed into bed, and tried to force myself to sleep just to quiet the noise in my head. The noise Chelsea had planted there.It was useless. The questions keep flooding in, and my chest tightens with every single one.Was Chelsea telling the truth about her relationship with Raven? About the kind of man he really is?Has he been playing me this whole time? Even when he said he had no intention of penetrating me during our night together… was that just another way to earn my trust?I shake my head and turn onto my other side, pressing the pillow over my ears as if that could block out my own thoughts. It doesn’t work. Fuck.E

CH023: A Plea for Help

[ RAVEN ]I wake up with the worst fucking headache of my life. It feels like someone is splitting my skull open from the inside.Grunting softly, I rub my temples, trying to ease the pain while slowly forcing my eyes open against the soft morning light.The second I try to move my head, my entire body goes rigid.Wait.Slowly, I look down. My head isn’t resting on a pillow. It’s lying on the softest thigh I’ve ever felt, covered in pink satin pajama pants.Who the…When I lift my gaze and see the owner of those thighs, my breath stops cold.Sydney?I blink several times, struggling to believe this is real. She’s fast asleep, her back resting against the headboard with a pillow supporting her head, her breathing soft and steady.She slept in my room? How did she get here? My eyes drop back to her thighs where my head is still resting. Why am I like this?No matter how hard I try to remember, nothing comes up.As if sensing I’m awake, Sydney’s eyes slowly open. The moment they meet

CH024: Eye for an Eye

[ SYDNEY ]When I return to my room, I find Maddie lying on her back on my bed, flipping through the high school photobook she pulled from my shelf.“Hey. Where did you go? You didn’t sleep here last night.” She eyes me suspiciously as I walk in.I collapse onto the bed beside her.“Where did you go?” She presses, dropping the photobook and flashing that toothy, mischievous smile of hers. “Don’t tell me you actually went to see that new crush of yours. Did you two fuck?”I gasp in disbelief and grab the pillow next to me, smacking her with it. She bursts into loud, manic laughter.“Look! You’re blushing!” She points at the heat creeping up my face.“You’re sick, Mads.” I roll my eyes and lie back down. “Get out of my room before I drag you out.”She keeps laughing. Just then my phone rings. I pick it up and glance at the screen.Josephine.Every trace of a smile disappears. My chest tightens with instant anger.“Who’s calling? Show me, show meee!” Maddie squeals behind me like an eag

CH025: Gone with the Wind

[ SYDNEY]I push Raven’s door open the second I reach it, panting like I’ve just run a marathon. The room is empty. My stomach drops. Where the hell could he have gone?“What are you doing?” Ellis’s voice comes from behind me. I spin around to find him standing there, a confused look on his face.I ignore the question.“Where’s Raven?”Ellis leans back slightly, clearly caught off guard. “Why are you asking about him? Since when are you two close?”I roll my eyes. “Just stop being a jerk for once and answer me, Ellis. Where is he?”“He left for Manhattan. He’s catching a flight back.” The curiosity in his expression deepens.“Why does it matter? Is there something going on that I should know about?”My mind has already left the conversation and I’m barely hearing him. Shock roots me in place.Raven left? He’s gone?How? Why?Who fixes someone’s entire life in one move and then disappears the next second?“When is his flight?” I ask.“You’re not answering my question—”“For the love

CH026: Catching Flights & Feelings

[RAVEN]“I… you…” For almost a full minute, Sydney just stands there stuttering, a soft pink flush spreading across her face. Embarrassment. I’m fighting hard not to smile.Then she folds her arms and shifts into that sharp, defensive look of hers. The one she always puts on when she’s about to go on the attack just to get off the hook.“You! Aren’t you supposed to be on that plane right now? What are you still doing here?”I bite back another laugh as I look down at her. She’s still in her pajamas and clearly hasn’t realized it yet. The fact that she ran all the way here like this does something dangerous to my chest.“Maybe because I saw a slender five-six feet girl running frantically through the crowd,” I answer, keeping my voice low and calm as usual. “I couldn’t just leave her standing here.”Her body freezes like a deer caught in headlights. She starts stuttering again.“I… uh… well…” Then her voice suddenly rises, as if she’s found her excuse. “I wanted to thank you for what