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CHAPTER1
PAISLEY
“GET DOWN HERE NOW!!!”Mommy yells.
I hurriedly put away my dollies before she comes up to take them away again. I just got them back this time. I head down the stairs, into the kitchen, and sit across from Mommy for dinner.
“Did you do your chores yet?” asks Mommy.
“Not yet. I was playing with my dollies, since I just got th—”
Mommy throws her plate against the wall, barely missing my head, and starts screaming at me.
“Why can’t you do anything right?! I didn’t raise a lazy-ass child. Stop eating! Lazy children don’t get to eat! Go do your chores now! Maybe if I feel like you deserve it, you can have your food after you are done.”
I run up the stairs to my bedroom with tear-stained eyes. Having so many chores, I almost never get them done. I’ve told Mommy that it’s hard for me to do some of them and she just slaps me across the face. That was when I knew to keep my mouth shut unless she asked a question.
* * *
I shudder at that flashback as I walk through the doors of the high school.
One more year. Just one more year.
I slowly walk past everyone. Everyone who ignores me day in and day out. The people who knew what happened, but turned a blind eye to it all. Even after all my pleas for help.
Why did I think this year would be any different?
Sighing, I head to AP English. When I arrive, the classroom is empty, so I just pick a seat somewhere in the middle.
This is my final year, and then I can finally leave. Leave this godforsaken hellhole that has done nothing but cause me torment and pain my whole life.
A few minutes later, the warning bell goes off and in walks Mr. Thames. The rest of the students stumble into the classroom right before the tardy bell. The last students piling in are four new guys who I’ve never seen before. I try to divert my gaze from them before they notice me, but it’s too late as I lock eyes with one of them, causing heat to rush to my cheeks. I look down quickly before anyone else notices, gluing my eyes to my notebook.
Mr. Thames starts teaching class, and the whole period, I feel like eyes are boring holes into me. Halfway through the class period, I drop my pencil and before I can even get to it, the guy behind me grabs it and hands it to me. I touch the tips of my fingers to my mouth, then lower them toward him, signing “thank you” without even realizing I did it at first. I don’t realize when I use simple signs like “thank you” or “you’re welcome.”
The thought scares me, but then I think on it and shake it off. No way he recognizes what I did. No one does.
When the bell rings, I grab my stuff and hightail it out of the room as fast as possible, avoiding everyone in the process, especially the new guys. Walking to second period, I feel eyes on me like I’m a spectacle, so I walk faster to my next class in hopes of getting away from whoever is watching me.
As the day goes on and it hits lunchtime, I head outside to enjoy what little bit of summer sun we have left. After a few steps into the fresh air, I look around and those boys are looking at me.
Finally getting to my spot in the schoolyard, I pull out my food and just pick at it. PB&J with some homemade chips. It’s the same thing I’ve been eating for the past nine years. It’s the only thing that I’m allowed to take to school.
While sitting here, I dare to look at the boys sitting so far away from me. When I look up, one of them is staring right at me and I lock eyes with him. It’s like he is staring into my soul.
His eyes are the lightest blue I have ever seen. They remind me of the clear blue waters around the islands by Cancun, which mesmerized me when I once did a report on the subject. I could get lost staring into them for hours. It’s like they hold tranquility that I’ve never known before. I can’t turn away. He is keeping me tethered to him in so many different ways.
Then all of a sudden, a loud close noise jolts me out of my trance.
Looking around to find the noise, I see someone has tipped over one of the school's plastic tables that they keep outside.
Thankful for the distraction, I take a deep breath and recenter myself.
Don’t go there, Paisley. You can’t afford any thoughts that aren’t about school. Focus on school so you can get out of this place as soon as possible.
I wonder to myself why I feel a pull to someone again after what happened so long ago.
CHAPTER2
