All Chapters of Strangers in a Second: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Bet

"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

Chapter 2 A Habit of Choosing Him

Half an hour later, Amelia called me.Her voice was full of concern. "Colin, where did you go? We've been looking everywhere for you."I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my voice flat. "I went home."Irritation crept into Amelia's voice. "Why didn't you tell us you were going home? Do you have any idea how worried Caleb and I were about you?"Caleb immediately chimed in, complaining, "Colin, why are you being so childish? You went home and stretched out in bed while we were outside getting eaten alive by mosquitoes."I could only laugh. "You two left me behind. Why can't I go home?""When did we ever leave you behind—"I cut them off. "I saw the messages in the WhatsApp group. You deliberately left me behind while I was tying my shoes just to see if I'd cry when I couldn't find you."There was a brief silence on the other end.I thought they'd at least feel guilty. Instead, Amelia turned the accusation back on me. "Your account was restored, so why didn't you tell us?

Chapter 3 The Day I Stopped Waiting

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

Chapter 4 The Last Straw

I never got an explanation from Amelia. Instead, I started seeing her all over Caleb's social media.She took Caleb to an amusement park to ride roller coasters. She took him to the zoo to see the giraffes. The two of them even went to see the latest romance movie.In every post, Caleb mentioned the same words—little servant. It was his silent way of staking his claim.I didn't react and quietly packed my bags.Before the SATs, I'd set myself a goal. If I did well, I'd reward myself with a trip to Evermont.I did exceptionally well, which meant I'd reached my goal.…However, when I got to the airport, I saw two familiar faces—Amelia and Caleb.Amelia looked awkward, staring at me as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.In the end, Caleb spoke first. "Colin, don't get the wrong idea. My parents gave me some money to travel, and I didn't want to go alone, so I brought Amelia with me. Besides, she's my servant now."Amelia had Caleb's black backpack slung over her shoul

Chapter 5 The Gift She Never Got to Give

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

Chapter 6 A Life of My Own

After arriving in Southbridge, I rented a place that was a great value for the money.Since I still had some time before school started, I decided to go out and have some fun for a while. I figured I could look for a part-time job while I was at it, so I'd have some income once school started.My parents had already realized I'd left home and started calling me nonstop.After hanging up on them several times, I got fed up and blocked them both.As such, they switched to messaging me instead."You ungrateful son, where the hell did you run off to this time? Your father and I gave you food and a roof over your head. What exactly did we do to upset you? And now you're pulling this whole running-away-from-home stunt. Are you trying to make us worry ourselves sick?""You got into college and suddenly you think you can do whatever you want, huh? How dare you block us. If your father and I hadn't raised you, do you think you'd even be alive today?""Your father and I work ourselves to

Chapter 7 Old Ties

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

Chapter 8 They Brought Me Back for a Reason

The next second, a sharp slap cracked across my face.My mother jabbed a finger against my forehead and scolded me furiously."So, you think you're something now, huh? You actually changed your college choices without telling us. You had a perfectly good spot at Northriver University, but instead you chose Southbridge University, all the way across the country. Is this your way of trying to get away from us?"So what if we left you in the countryside for a few years? Did you really have to punish us like this? What happened to your conscience?"Her voice was shrill enough to draw the attention of my roommates and several passersby.With so many eyes on me, I felt deeply uncomfortable.I kept my voice calm. "There are too many people here. Let's go somewhere else and talk.""No. You're going to stand there and pretend you did nothing wrong?" My mother cut me off coldly. "I want everyone here to see exactly how ungrateful you are. You're nothing but an ungrateful son."My father

Chapter 9 An Unexpected Visitor

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

Chapter 10 We Can Never Go Back

I stared at the phone with mixed feelings. Ever since I met Amelia, she'd always treated me well. She was thoughtful and attentive, always keeping my every need in mind.I'd fallen deeply for her because of that, and I wanted a future with her.However, after she and Caleb repeatedly used me as the subject of their bets, everything between us had changed.I couldn't pretend none of it had happened and continue being with her.But I couldn't bring myself to hate her, either. I just wanted us to have nothing to do with each other for the rest of our lives.Amelia held the phone out to me, signaling for me to take it.I pushed it away. "No. We're already broken up. You don't need to give me anything anymore."Amelia's eyes grew even redder. "Can't we just not break up? I have deleted Caleb's contact information. I won't contact him again. We can still be like we were before, with just the two of us."I shook my head. "Amelia, we can never go back. There's no point trying anymore

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP