Because there was no such thing as magic. Only facts. Logic. Science.
And these were the observable facts: Emery Wallace was queen of the school, surrounded by adoring drones, with a Prom King of a boyfriend, while I was a poor, pathetic Bend kid who’d clung to a single afternoon long after she’d let it go.
I ducked my head and trudged toward the stairs. I was nearly past Emery’s group when she brushed a lock of hair from her eyes and her gaze found me. I felt it in my chest, where it struck me like an electric jolt. Emery’s eyes widened in shock, and I could have sworn she lit up, her mouth wanting to smile…
But it must’ve been my imagination, because her full lips formeda grim line—almost a sneer—and she looked away.
It was no more than I expected yet it hurt. We’d shared only a short, golden collection of minutes seven years ago, and it still fucking hurt.
Chapter 2
Emery
He’s here.
Every drop of blood rushed straight to my heart watching Xander Ford climb the stairs to the school. Why? How? For a few seconds, I was paralyzed by a storm of emotions, the most confusing of which was relief. Our time together had imprinted something on my heart, something I thought I’d torn up and threw away, but now it was back. Xander was back, and he was no longer a little boy.
Tall, fit, with chestnut hair falling over his eyes…those beautiful, mismatched eyes hiding behind boxy black glasses. He was dressed like a Bend kid, but his shabby clothes couldn’t conceal how his body had grown up and filled out. Six feet of lean muscle with biceps that strained against the sleeves of his T-shirt. Broad shoulders tapered to a slim waist, and his forearms…my God.
He was a nerd. A science geek. A genius who’d already done high school when he wasten. What right did he have coming back now? And looking likethat? I’d locked him up in my heart. Somehow, he’d made an escape.
My best friend, Elowen Blake, nudged my arm. “Oh, new kid. Fresh blood.” She glanced at my slack-jawed expression. “You know him?”
Every minute of my time with Xander seven years ago came back to me in a rush. How comforted and safe I felt with him. How he protected me, made me feel valued. I thought something special had happened between us that day. I thought we’d know each other forever.
I was wrong.
“Why would I know him?” I said, tilting my chin up. “He’s a Bender.”
“Looks like it. Too bad. Nice bod.” Elowen sighed, tossing a lock of ashy blond hair over her shoulder. “What a waste.”
“Who’re we talking about?”
I glanced up at my boyfriend, Tucker Hill. His gaze was following Xander up the stairs, eyes narrowed. Any second now, he was going to recognize the kid he pelted with water balloons all those years ago.
I jumped in front of Tucker and threw my arms around his neck. “What’s your first class? Mine is AP Calc and I’m already dreading it.”
Tucker gripped my waist and walked forward, forcing me to walk backward. “So drop it. You don’t belong in that class with all the nerds and dorks.” He pulled me in tighter, grinding against me. “You’re too hot.”
I stifled the urge to roll my eyes and disentangled myself so I could walk on my own. But his arm went around me and rested on my hip. At 6’3” and heavily muscled from years of row and water polo, Tucker was a giant and always draped over me like a lead blanket. The alpha male showing his dominance over the pack, marking me as his property.
I scoffed nonchalantly. “My dad is making me take it. You know how he runs my life like one of his businesses.”
Tuckerdidknow my dad—his family was at our house for dinner frequently, especially with the election coming up in November. Tucker’s father was a senator, and my dadreallywanted him to bereelected. Something to do with pollution regulations. As in, my father’s textile plants kept dumping waste into the ocean, and Tucker’s father kept letting him. My job was to link our families so that everyone stayed happy. And nothing was more important than making my dad happy so that maybe, someday, he’d tell me he loved me… Pathetic, but that didn’t stop me from trying. Trying so hard, I turned myself inside out until I didn’t even know who I was anymore.
“Don’t stress about calc, girl,” Delilah Winslow piped up. She was Zendaya-levels of beautiful and also the biggest gossip in school. “Since when have you not absolutely killed it, whatever you do?”
“Thanks, babe,” I said, keeping my poised smile firmly in place, like a mask that was so tight I could hardly breathe. “It’s just a waste of time I could be devoting to prom committee or dance team. Speaking of, practice today after school, 3:00 p.m. sharp.”
The four girls in our group who were on the Royal Pride dance team answered back. “Yes, captain.”
“Friday’s pep rally is the most important,” I said sternly. “It sets the standard for the rest of the year. It has to be perfect.”
I have to be perfect. Always.
More murmured assents as we stepped inside Castle Hill Academy. The bell rang, and Tucker bent down to kiss me. I tolerated his wet, domineering kiss that was too much PDA for a school hallway first thing in the morning until he finally relinquished me.
“Later, babe.”
