Brenda wanted a normal school year. Instead her mom died.
Salma needed space from her sister and terrible ex. Or else she'd lose her mind.
Delilah didn't think she'd have any more problems after moving far from her hometown. That was until she becam...
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❝Time was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on.
I hope you never have to think about anything as much as I think about you❞
-Jonathan Safran Foer
🚗 Jaxon 🚗
Penelope attempt to kiss me for a second time.
And for a second time, I cleared my throat so loud that she skirted away, fearful that I'd lodge a spit wad into her cornea.
I was immobile inside this tightly packed bedroom. The small bit of sunlight I was given was my only true measure of what time of day it was and if nightfall had arrived. I felt an ease of relief when daybreak came in, brightening up the stuffy, dusty room with a sprinkle of hope.
I wanted to cry out in disbelief at that thought.
Hope? In this hell hole?
How could hope survive in a dark room like this?
I grimaced, turning to my side.
How hasn't depression eaten me alive already?
I was grasping at straws, pondering in desperation how many more days would have to pass for me to cave into Penelope's allure and glittery pink lip gloss. I usually knew when she was near based on her aroma. Dating her after all those years gave me that kind of sharp intuitions. I knew her scent, her taste, the pattern in which she walked, and the way she sounded when it was only air coming out of her throat.
She was a heavy breather, not because of her weight, but because she had asthma and a serious case of it as well. It left her with a nasal issue as well, making her auditable at far range.
Penelope hated that about her—annoyed that she couldn't sneak up on me. I thought it was cute, dorky and adorable. It was one of the first few quarks about her I loved...when it was still possible to love that face of hers.
"Shh..."
I flinched upright.
The lights were all turned off, and from what I could see, daylight was far from approaching. I was in complete darkness. That, along with the sound of the floorboards creaking, caused me to jerk my body into a rising position. The motion pained my spine, but I was too ahead of myself, wiggling away from the sounds before me.
"Fuck you woke him up."
A man was speaking, one I couldn't recognize.
That alone frightened me to my core.
Like cusps of iron on my ankles, the man at the head of my bed held me in place.
I felt like a fish in a fishbowl, trapped and surrounded by spectators.
