“This is ridiculous,” I snap, tossing my bag on the floorboard.

“You broke the rules—broke the law.”

I didn’t break shit. I cried to the officers, claiming my innocence, but someone had to take the fall. That someone ended up being me. With tearful eyes, I begged Quinton to confess. He refused, and his lie resulted in my arrest. The asshole didn’t even bother to bail me out either.

“Oh, like Becky didn’t break the law, forcing us to take ecstasy during rush,” I scoff. “Or when Sam drunkenly smashed a cop car’s windows? Neither were booted.”

Kyle shakes his head. “You should’ve taken tips from Becky and Sam on how not to get kicked out then.”

I slump in my seat. “I’m fucked.”

He nods. “You’re fucked.”

Expelled.

Kicked out.

Criminal.

All for a crime I didn’t commit.

Chapter Two

Cassidy

One Month Later

One bad date destroyed my future.

Booted me from my sorority.

Granted me with a criminal record.

My present-day life, ladies and gentlemen.

Following my arrest, my world became a shitshow. My mom sobbed. My father threatened to ship me off to military school. I reminded him that wasn’t possible since I was an adult.

What was possible?

Him cutting me off.

Which was what he did after my little I’m an adult remark.

“You’re a college expellee and irresponsible,” he said after breaking the news that he’d no longer support me.

They did at least foot the attorney bill that helped drag me out of the mess Quinton had thrown me into. My punishment ended in probation and community service.

Word of advice: don’t listen to the sugary pop songs.

Bad boys are never good for you.

After collecting my belongings from the sorority house, I moved in with my older sister, Sierra, in our hometown of Blue Beech, Iowa. News travels fast in small towns, so it didn’t take long for my arrest to hit the gossip mill. Everywhere I went, I was asked about my jail stay.

“What did you do?”

“Are you a drug addict?”

“Were you, like, dealing with the Mafia?”

Like, no, Karen. I was put in a crappy situation and screwed myself.

No hot Mafia heroes here.

I decided it was time to leave my old life behind. The problem was, I was on probation, and I couldn’t legally venture too far. Sierra stepped in and found me a job. I used my savings to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Anchor Ridge, two towns over from Blue Beech. Even with the short distance, there’s a relief, walking into a coffee shop without being known as the troublesome daughter of Blue Beech’s mayor.