I’m about twenty minutes into my walk when the sudden blaring of a horn behind me makes me jump. I look to my left in time to find a now familiar truck speeding by, with Colt and Nix laughing as they pass. I don’t know if I want them to stop or if I’d rather they keep going.

As it turns out, it doesn’t matter what I want because Nix doesn’t so much as ease up on the gas pedal, rocketing them off fast enough that the taillights are nothing but pinpoints in almost no time at all.

I wonder if I could get lucky enough for them to crash that stupid truck.

CHAPTER 6

Staring at the computer screen, I squint my eyes, trying to read the job ads, which keep getting more blurry. How long have I been staring at my computer? According to my eyesight, way too long.

Closing all the tabs, I turn off my laptop and push up from my desk. I grab a book from my nightstand and flop down on my bed. Maybe a good book will put me in a better mood before I go to bed.

At least my mom didn’t throw out my novels. I can still get lost in the pages like I did when I slept in that tiny room in the trailer. I still can’t believe how my life has changed so quickly.

Two months ago, I was living with my mom at a trailer park, and now I’m in the Alistairs’ home. My mom is in the other room, busy with wedding preparations, and my arch-enemies are playing video games downstairs.

I didn’t particularly like our living arrangements before, but at least I felt safe in my own home. I slept in my bed surrounded by my things. This house is bathed in luxury, but the sleek design of the house, decorated with pristine furniture and extravagant art, feels more like a showroom than a place to live.

Everything about this house feels off. The rooms feel colder, and I don’t mean the temperature kind of cold. I mean, this doesn’t feel like a home. In a home, people love each other, happy memories are made, and you don’t go to sleep in fear.

I’m not welcome here and don’t think I ever will be.

Burrowing into my pillow, I flip open the book and read until my eyelids feel heavy, and each turn of the page takes more effort than the one before. I don’t want to stop, though, because when I’m reading, I leave the world around me and dive into a new one. For a few hours, I live someone else’s life. For those moments, my problems don’t exist, and I can be free.