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I sprint down the hallway, knocking aside anyone who’s foolish enough to stay in my path. Hurling through the back door, I take a shortcut to the athletics area. She has to be okay. She has to be okay. It’s the only line in my head.
I was driving to school when Cadence’s text came in. At first, I thought it was a joke, but there was this feeling inside. So...
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Without stopping, I pump my arms at my sides and dive straight into the water. The shock of cold hits my skin, but I barely feel any of it. Whipping around desperately, I freeze when I see Cadence still and floating in the deep end.
Her eyes are closed and there are no bubbles coming out of her nose. Damn it. Damn it.
I don’t think she’s breathing.
She’s barely breathing. “Cadey. Come on. Wake up!” I push down on her chest, calling on my faint memories of CPR that I did a few summers ago.
I don’t care what this fear deep in my stomach is saying about me, saying about what I feel for her. I don’t care about anything but seeing her big brown eyes open and knowing she’s alright.
“Cadey. Wake up,” I growl. “That’s an order.” Clipping her nose, I press my mouth to hers. A moment later, she chokes up water.
“Cadey, are you okay?” She doesn’t answer. Her body goes limp again and she falls into my chest. That’s not a good sign.
She’s trembling. Even though her eyes are closed, her teeth chatter loudly. Damn. It breaks my freaking heart. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper.
“Was this you?” “The hell?” I scowl. “Why would I arrange for her to drown and then save her?” “Last Friday, you said you were going to get drastic,” Zane recalls. “Is this what you meant?” Finn hisses. Both my brothers look at me like I’ve lost my mind.
I grip the curtain that’s hiding Cadence from view. Just before wrenching it back, I hesitate. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m not supposed to be the dutiful hero of the story. I spent all weekend freaking plotting all the ways I could bring her doom. She’s in my way. She’s in Sol’s way. Maybe I should have left her in the water. That thought alone is messed up. I don’t deserve to pull aside the curtain, but I do anyway because I break all the damn rules, even if they’re my own.
But there’s something about Cadey’s fresh-faced beauty that makes her look innocent and fragile. Like something to be protected. Something to be protected? What. The. Hell.
I can’t do this. I can’t get soft on her. Not when the stakes are so high and the clock is counting down. We have less than ten days to get Sol back into Redwood.
“Now you’re falling for him?” “Absolutely not.” “Good.” She sweeps her hand up my back. “Forget about Dutch. He may be hot and rich… and gorgeous and talented…and—” “Can you not?” I frown at her.
Whether it’s as myself or as someone else, Dutch is the one I keep running back to. And whether he cares to admit it or not, there’s a part of him that keeps running back to me too. One day, when we collide, it’s going to destroy us both. What scares the hell out of me is that I don’t think either one of us will be able to stop it.
“I’m just worried about you. There’s only so much you can do, Cadey. Eventually, you’re going to break and I couldn’t survive that.” “Yes, you could. You’re stronger than you think, Vi.” “No, I’m not,” she insists. “Mom’s gone and if you go too, I’m going to be all alone. I’d fall apart without you.”
She’s wild. Fiery. Mine. Mine.
She’s wearing a regular white blouse and black pants. Simple. Elegant. It reminds me a little of Cadence— I shake my head to loosen the thought. I’m here with the girl I want. The girl who moves me. Nothing and no one else matters.
The fragrance of her perfume floats to me. It’s subtle and sweet. Like sunshine and vanilla. Like Cadence. I press my eyes together and punch that thought in the face. This is Redhead. Redhead. Not Cadence.
He’s lying. There’s another girl. Me. My heart stutters. “Why me?” Why not Cadence Without Makeup? Is it because he’s into red heads? Or green eyes? Is it because I’m a fantasy?
“when I hear you play, it makes me feel. It’s been a long freaking time since I’ve felt anything. It’s been forever since I’ve felt everything.”
“You force me to face the truth, even if the truth is more cruel than I could ever be.”
Even if all he can offer is pain, I want to get lost in Dutch tonight.
The taste of her is familiar. So are the sounds she makes. Her little pants make my tongue move faster and I focus on the moment. It’s just her in my head. No one else. She can’t be compared to Cadence. I won’t allow it.
“It’s Sol, man.” Finn sounds panicked. “He tried to commit suicide.” Everything inside me shuts down. I can’t wrap my head around those words. Sol? Suicide?
I wish I could say Dutch caught me at a weak moment, but the blinding energy between us was unavoidable. It wasn’t a moment of temporary insanity. It was a choice. My choice.
The full scope of my feelings for him exploded the moment he played the piano. There was not a part of me—not a single inch of me—that wanted him to stop. In his arms, I felt safe. Like an idiot, I thought I was seeing beyond his cold exterior to the real Dutch, the one who rescued me from drowning and pushed me to overcome my stage fright. But a beast doesn’t know how to do anything but destroy.
Something that feels a lot like guilt slides through my chest. But that can’t be right because that would mean I actually felt something other than resentment for Cadence. I didn’t.
Jinx: Your search for Cinderella requires no glass slippers. The one you want is already in front of you. I tap on the video she sent along with the message, unable to breathe when I see it. Redhead. Outside the back-to-school showcase. Taking off her wig.
My heart is racing and I’m on my feet, pouncing down the bleachers before I even realize where I’m going. People duck to keep from being trampled. Dad stops in the middle of his speech. It doesn’t matter. I have to get to her.
How is it possible that Cadence is Redhead? Has she been pl...
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Jinx: Hello, citizens of Redwood. I’m sending my royal proclamation through our school app for the last time. Going forward, no one’s secrets will be hidden. If you want to know what’s happening with the highest of the elite at Redwood, all you have to do is subscribe to my new app. Here’s a juicy little tidbit for free. Redwood’s very own Cinderella was seen poofing into the gym on the arm of her fairy god-father. And there was one prince who wasn’t very happy with that. It looks like a war may be brewing between Prince Charming and his working class love, but this Cinderella is not to be
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