Alle Kapitel von Strangers in a Second: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

"Neither of us guessed the exact date Colin would notice his college choices had been changed, but I was the closest."My buddy, Caleb Sterling, smugly patted Amelia Blackwood on the shoulder. "So, you still lost. You have to be my servant for two months. Hurry up and feed me some beef."Amelia gritted her teeth. "The rules clearly said you had to guess the exact date to win. You're cheating. I won't argue with a sore loser like you, though. I'll let you win this time."She looked thoroughly indignant, yet she obediently cut the steak into small pieces and held one of them up to Caleb's mouth. Then, she turned to me and explained, "I'm just honoring the bet. Don't read too much into it. Do you want some? I'll cut some for you, too."Amelia hated it when anyone broke the rules, no exceptions.Before the SATs, she'd set a study goal for me—two hours of tutoring every day.Once, I had such bad stomach pain that I couldn't even get out of bed and asked for ten minutes off.Her expre

For years, I would do anything my parents asked just to get their attention, and they would praise me without hesitation."Colin, you're all grown up now and know how to behave.""You're such a good boy. We're so proud of you."Every time I heard those words, my starved heart would warm. But now, I didn't want to keep hurting myself for the sake of that pitiful little bit of love.I looked at them expressionlessly and answered, "I said I'm not eating it. If you want some, be my guest."With that, I turned and went into my room."Colin, is that the way to talk to your mother? Think you can talk back to me now?""That boy is getting more rebellious by the day. There's nothing likable about him anymore."Their remarks followed me from behind.I leaned against the door, feeling tears prick at my eyes, but I held them back.…In the class group chat, the class president had invited everyone to get together for a farewell dinner.I had barely stepped out of the house when Amelia

In her bedroom, Amelia sat at her desk, carefully tying a pink ribbon around the gift box in front of her.She could already imagine how happy I would be when I opened it and saw what was inside.She'd gone to great lengths for Caleb for an entire month just to find out about this.Just then, her phone vibrated. Thinking it was a message from me, she picked it up nervously, but it was a message from my mother."Amelia, is Colin with you?"Amelia paused. "No. What happened?""Colin ran away from home!"This time, my mother sent a voice message. She sounded close to breaking down. "I just called him down for dinner, but he didn't answer, so I went to his room to look for him. That's when I realized all his luggage was gone. And all the things you and Caleb gave him before, he threw them in the trash."The news hit Amelia like a hammer. She stood there stunned for a long while, unable to come to her senses."Amelia, are you listening to me? My husband and I think it's because w

But no sooner had I dealt with my parents than Amelia showed up again.She kept texting me. At first, she thought I was just angry with her and kept blaming me for it. Later, she must have learned something from my parents, because her messages changed. They became increasingly worried and frantic.I'd already broken up with her at the get-together that day. As far as I was concerned, we were done.I didn't reply to a single message. I simply deleted her contact information and blocked her.Caleb, at least, didn't bombard me the way the others did. Other than the few messages he'd sent after realizing I was gone that first day, I hadn't heard anything else from him.I suddenly remembered the first time I'd met him, back in freshman year.Like me, he'd moved to the city from the countryside. He was quiet and introverted, but he was an excellent student.When I found out we were from the same hometown, I immediately felt a little closer to him. Whenever I had something good to e

It was only after talking to my grandmother that I learned my parents had called her and gotten my whereabouts out of her.My grandmother felt terribly guilty after finding out that they had gone to campus to cause trouble for me.I felt sorry for her and reassured her that none of it was her fault.We talked for a long time afterward, and the more we talked, the more certain I became that I would bring her to Southbridge to live with me someday.…Once winter break began, I had more free time. I picked up two more part-time jobs—one as a tutor and the other doing cleaning work.With my cafe job and the two new jobs, I could make around $20,000 a month.I thought life would stay busy but peaceful like that, but something unexpected happened.While my grandmother was digging, she accidentally brought the hoe down on her right foot, shattering the bones. She was taken to the hospital, but because she didn't want me to worry, she kept it from me.I didn't realize anything was wro