I was starving, but there was no food in the house, so I had to go out and buy it. I stepped off the porch and stopped to enjoy the evening breeze. It was caressing my skin in soothing waves, giving me peace I hadn’t felt for a long time, lulling me into thinking that everything was going to be all right. Summer was my most favorite season, and I couldn’t wait to see what the summer in Enfield would bring me.
Someone caught my attention, and I faced a tall boy who pushed his bike on the sidewalk in front of my house. My heart skipped a beat when I recognized the jerk from today.
I was about to dash into the house when the boy stopped, finally noticing me, and cast me a huge smile.
“Hello!” He waved to me.
He waved ? Was he serious?
I remained in my place, not sure if I should run away, ignore him, or insult him. Each option was tempting.
He propped up his bicycle on the kickstand and approached me. “I heard the new family was moving into Deckers’ house, so I planned to come say hi. I’m Kayden Black.”
He held his hand out to me, offering me a handshake. I just looked at it, becoming livid. I was sure he was making a fool of me.
We just stood awkwardly as he kept his hand extended, waiting for me to do something. He scratched his neck with his other hand. “Erm, now we shake hands?”
“I can’t believe you. You want to shake hands after how you treated me today? Fat chance.”
He dropped his hand and frowned, appearing confused. “I’m sorry, but I don’t get you.”
“Stop playing me for a fool!” I raised my voice, and the redness spread all over my face. I hated confrontations. My pulse was too fast, and I wished for nothing more than to go back to my house. “Today, you called me stupid and didn’t even bother to ask if I was all right!”
His frown deepened. “No, seriously, what are you talking about?”
Was he demented? Did he develop sudden amnesia?
“I’m talking about how you insulted me when I fell carrying that huge box! You just stood there and called me stupid for not being able to carry boxes!” He looked as if he pondered over something, but I didn’t plan to waste even a minute more on him. “No, you know what? Forget it.”
I turned on my heel and headed back to the porch, but he caught my upper arm, making me stop. “Please, wait.” I glanced at him over my shoulder, too uncomfortable because of his nearness and the physical contact. He smiled. “You must be talking about my twin, Hayden.”
“Twin?”
He released my arm and widened his smile, revealing his perfect teeth. “Yep. Don’t take it too personally. My brother can be rude, but I’m sure he didn’t actually mean anything bad.”
Was he pranking me? He’d humiliated me today and now he was pretending he had a twin? I watched him carefully, not sure what I should do. His eyes did seem sincere and somehow different. They weren’t sharp and bleak, but beaming with light and cheerfulness.
“How about we do this properly now, okay?” He offered me his hand again. “I’m Kayden Black, your next-door neighbor. It’s nice to meet you.”
I let out a small sigh, embarrassed for attacking the wrong person. What was the possibility of meeting someone who had a twin? That wasn’t so likely to happen, but this didn’t make me feel any less ashamed. I managed to make a fool of myself in front of both brothers. Great.
I tucked my hair behind my ears, which was my nervous habit. “I’m Sarah Decker. It’s nice to meet you too.”
I let go of his hand as soon as we made contact, hoping he didn’t notice how sweaty my palm was. Whenever I was nervous, I sweated a lot and blushed.
“As I already mentioned, I planned to come to your house and offer my help if you need it.”
I didn’t like receiving help from strangers. “Thank you, but I don’t think we need it.”
“Hey, don’t feel nervous because I want to help. It’s no biggie. I’d really like to help you.”
“Okay, thanks,” I answered brusquely, with no intention of accepting his help.
Maybe this was irrational of me, but the constant abuse made me wary of people. I didn’t trust them, and I certainly couldn’t believe anyone who offered their help so easily. It sounded more like a trick, but I couldn’t tell Kayden that.
“All right, I won’t waste your time anymore.” He turned around, ready to leave.
“You aren’t wasting my time,” I was quick to clarify. I didn’t want him to interpret my reaction as hostile and misunderstand me like everyone else. He seemed nice, but making friends at first sight was never my forte. “Thank you so much. I appreciate your offer.”
“Hey, no worries. Everything’s cool.” He gave me the most radiant smile and returned to his bicycle. “See you around.” He waved to me and walked to his house, pushing the bicycle by his side.
I grinned and waved back, basking in the feeling of pride that spread through me for managing to talk with some boy without getting into a complete disaster.
Chapter 3
PRESENT
How the hell did he get my number?
No, don’t go there, Sarah. I’d known for a long time that Hayden was capable of anything. He was used to getting anything he wanted.
That night I couldn’t sleep a wink. I kept imagining the worst scenarios, waiting for mom to appear and tell me my nude photos were all over the Internet. I might not be able to set foot in school ever again.
I didn’t reply to his message, because even the slightest action could’ve provoked him. I’d checked a few accounts of East Willow High students, trying to catch any sign of those photos, but I couldn’t find anything. As far as I could see, unless Hayden decided to publish them secretly on some foreign website, he didn’t post them at all. He didn’t send me any other message, and I didn’t know if that was a good or bad sign.
I could never figure Hayden out. He was too unpredictable and impulsive, and his actions could be inconsistent. One moment he was cold, the next he was fuming with white-hot rage, and it was overwhelming. To top it all off, there was still that issue of our last encounter before summer. He had a score to settle, and to think he would let me off the hook would be a serious mistake.
The first day of school arrived all too soon, and I wasn’t ready at all. I didn’t want to go back to that Hellhole. I didn’t want to face all those people.
I entered the kitchen and found my mother making breakfast. She wasn’t a morning person, so she rarely spoke a word to me before her first cup of coffee. I looked at her exhausted face and saw dark circles under her eyes, clear proof that my ears hadn’t deceived me—she’d indeed come home at three in the morning. She hadn’t showered so she reeked of alcohol and cigarettes, and her hair was unkempt. Disappointment clouded my mind yet again.
How many times had I imagined her as a normal mother—cheerful and full of love? The first day of school was awful every time partly because of such depressing mornings. She was here, but it was like she wasn’t. She didn’t prepare me breakfast and didn’t wish me good luck.
She wasn’t one of those overprotective mothers who wouldn’t let their children go outside unless they kissed them a hundred times, hugged them so tightly they could barely breathe, and checked twice if they took everything they needed.