LOGINMum rushed forward, pulling me away.“Stay the hell away from my daughter—”The words died in her throat as she took in the familiar face.She staggered back.“Richards?”“Dee…” Dad croaked.A loud gasp left her lips, she brought her palm over it, her eyes taking on a glassy hue.“Oh my God, Richy…” she whispered.Dad stepped closer.“It's me, Dee.”She dove for him, her arms wrapping around his neck while his, came around her waist.“Richy…” she called again this time with tears rolling down her face.While I stood there still in shock.A small crowd began forming around us, murmuring and whispering amongst themselves.Mum's soft cries turned into loud wails as she hugged him tightly, almost as though if she let go—he’d disappear with the wind.And Dad—silent tears rolled down his face while he tried to comfort her by assuring her it was really him.They stayed like that for a while, then Mum pulled away slightly, this time, taking his hands in hers.She sniffled loudly.“How?” she a
Silence.Her brows furrowed in puzzlement.“What?”My shoulders fell, as exhaustion washed over me.A humorless chuckle left my lips.Then finally—I exhaled heavily.“Scratch that, I think I've always liked him. For years now... I think the closeness just made everything worse.” I croaked.“Oh my God.” She gasped, covering her mouth with her palm.I sniffled, wiping at a tear that rolled down my face.“At least the only person that'll scrunch their face at you would be your mum and a few others. As for mine—”I scoffed.“I don't even want to think about it.”We fell into a longer silence this time.Tense.Awkward.“What are you going to do?” Angelica asked, breaking into the quiet.I shrugged carelessly.“I want to come clean about it.”“And him?”I opened my mouth, then clamped it shut.“I see…” Angelica mused.We both went quiet again.This time, I tapped my fingers against my skirt as my gaze stayed on Elana.Angelica's gaze stayed on Elana's, her eyes filled with mirth.Suddenly—
Louisa gasped dramatically.“Tu as tout à fait raison, Denise.” (You're absolutely right, Denise.)Louisa turned to Angelica and began talking to her.Well, more like scolding.Mum turned to me with a heavy exhale.“Okay, Rosie—”“She's a fucking bitch, Mum.” “I swear to God, Rosie—”“I know Mum.” I groaned. “You don't always have to threaten me to pass a message.”“God help me the day I decide not to do so, only for you to go and wreak havoc.”I pursed my lips.“I'll be on my best behavior.” I muttered dryly.“Thank you.”She turned back to Louisa and Angelica.I leaned towards her.“It's unfair that I'm not allowed to bitch back though.”“Rosie.”I straightened, rolling my eyes.“Fine, fine.”Louisa turned back to us with a smile, and somehow—Angelica now had a smile too.I mean, we could pretty much tell it was fake but anyway…The point was that she was actively trying.“Très bien, alors pourquoi ne pas vous laisser toutes les deux faire connaissance?”(Alright then, how about
“Come on, Rosie!” Mum's voice echoed downstairs.“Coming!” I yelled back.I spritzed perfume on my body then stared at myself in the full length mirror.I tied my hair into a ponytail, then gave myself the best no makeup look.I'd decided on a white off shoulder floral top, paired with a light pink satin skirt and floral white heels.Gorgeous.My cheeks heated up as Henry's voice floated into my mind.My gaze lingered on my reflection for a few seconds.Then I looked away.“Snap out of it, Rosie.”Last night wasn't something I wanted to think about right now.I grabbed my brown Louis Vuitton bag then headed downstairs.Mum stood at the foot of the stairs with an annoyed expression on her face.“Seriously?”“I'm sorry…” I drawled, with a large grin.She shook her head then headed for the door.Henry walked towards us.Hair messy, cheeks slightly flush.“Is he coming with us?”“Of course not, dearie.” Mum said with a small smile.“Today is just for me and you.”Thank goodness.A bright
His jaw clenched tightly, his fingers balled into fists by his sides.“Cancel it.”A bitter scoff left my lips.“News flash, Henry. I wasn't asking for your opinion.”“Then I'm coming with you—”“Like hell you will! Do you even hear how stupid that sounds?”“Then cancel it, Rosie.”“Fuck this, I'm out of here.” I muttered, trying to brush past him.He blocked me, using his body to keep me locked in place.“Get out of my way, Henry.”“No.”We both glared at each other.Expressions hard.Chests heaving.And neither of us looked ready to give in.Then—Henry caved.His lips came slamming down on mine.Hungry.Frenzied.My arms wound around his neck as I pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.He palmed my ass in his hands, lifting me up as my legs wrapped around his body.My fingers tangled into his hair.Then trailed lower, brushing over his arms before creeping underneath his shirt, feeling warm skin.He trembled against my touch while his hands roamed over my skin blindly.He broke the
Andrew froze.His eyes widened in surprise.“Goodnight.” I whispered, brushing past him.I strolled past a fuming Henry, heading into the house.The door slammed shut behind me, then footsteps followed.“What the hell was that?” I ignored him, making my way upstairs.“I'm talking to you, Rosie.”My fingers curled around the doorknob.“Answer me!”Henry's fingers wrapped around my arm, slamming me against my door as his body pressed flush against mine.His breath came out in heavy pants, his eyes locked on mine.Slowly, he leaned forward.I turned my head away, letting his lips land on my cheek.He eased back slightly.“Why are you doing this to me?”I craned my head back to him.“Really? We're playing the victim card now, huh?”He pursed his lips.“I didn't peg you to be that kind of a person, Henry.”“You did that to make me jealous, didn't you?”I rolled my eyes.“Oh, please, get over yourself, Henry.”“His fucking jacket? As if that wasn't enough, you decided to kiss him.”“You're
“I'm so sorry... I didn't know—”“I know you didn't, Rosie.” Henry said, pinching my ear.“Ouch…” I whined, rubbing the sore spot.“You haven't eaten anything yet—”I grabbed onto his arms before he could pull away.“I'm not hungry.” I rushed out.In other words, I like this position too much to le
Three hours into the equations and I was certain that Henry was kidding about the next session.“What is ten multiplied by itself five times.”“Ten raised to the power of five.” I grunted.“Very good Rosie.”I rolled my eyes in annoyance.“I believe we're done with the basics… now onto the next sess
I didn't need a soothsayer to tell me that I was going to have the worse fucking migraine of my life.I had called Lena after school, but Samuel picked up and told me she'd fallen asleep.I was like okay.Then I told him I'd come check up on her after school, and guess what the bloody bastard said…
I pushed through the crowd, not minding the bodies pressing against me or the occasional shoving.Finally—I reached the middle, heart wrenching as my gaze landed on Lena, face down on her table. Her hands were clamped over her ears, desperately trying to block out the harsh words spilling from eve







