LOGINMy forehead connected with a solid chest. The impact knocked the air from my lungs and sent me stumbling backwards. I hit the carpet with an oomph, stars dancing at the edges of my vision."Who the—"The voice stopped short. Cut off mid-curse.My vision cleared slowly, focusing on the figure standing above me. Shirtless with his belt undone and his dark hair dishevelled. And those eyes, those impossible dark eyes that had haunted my dreams through the night, staring down at me in absolute shock."Jesus Christ, Lena." Jace's voice was rough, clearly shocked. "How the hell did you find me here?"I was gasping, sweat dripping down my temples and along the curve of my neck.My entire body shook with adrenaline and effort, and after a while of panting, I managed to force out, "Your... your bike's..." Pant. Gasp. "Your bike's outside. You parked it out front." all the while glaring up at him.Suddenly, it felt like all the worry and the sleepless nights and all the unanswered texts caused m
"Do you not understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!""But you don't get it—I need to see him!" My voice cracked with desperation, my knuckles white as I gripped the edge of the marble reception desk and tried to reason with him."No one's been able to contact him, not even his parents. Everyone's beyond worried."The receptionist—a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a deep scowl—let out a guttural groan that seemed to come from deep in his chest.He threw his head back, eyes squeezed shut, and dragged both palms down his face until his cheeks pulled into an ugly mask of exhaustion.When he finally looked at me again, I could tell he had lost all patience and was only one second away from literally jumping me."For the thousandth time," he said through gritted teeth, "we cannot give you the identity of any of our guests. It's against hotel policy. That means I cannot tell you if there is a Jace Dawson here or not, no matter how many made-up stories you weirdo fangirl
LENA’S POVIt wasn’t long before we were on the road, headed home, when I sent Jace another text. Then another. My thumbs moved fast across the screen, typing and deleting, then typing again. Please answer. Just one word. Let me know you’re alive!!!Nicole leaned over, grinning mischievously while peeping at my screen. “Oooh, who are you texting? Come on, spill!”I immediately turned my phone off and gave her a weak smile. “No one.”Nicole laughed. “I bet it’s your boyfriend, Noah. Is he sending you sweet messages like ‘I miss my captain’ or planning some big romantic thing to celebrate you being head cheerleader? Is that why he wasn’t at school today? You two are so cute it’s disgusting. Tell me everything!”I forced a laugh, thinking, no way in heck was I ever letting that happen. But I didn’t say that out loud. “It’s nothing like that. Really. I was just… checking on something.”But Nicole wasn’t convinced. “Sure, sure. Keep your secrets, Miss Mysterious. But seriously, isn’t it s
LENA’S POV“What are you doing here, Nicole?” I asked, the bitter memories of our last conversation still fresh in my mind.Jake followed right behind her, looking hale and hearty, happily snacking on a big bag of Doritos as if the last 48 hours had never happened.He grinned wide when he saw me. “What’s up, Captain? Haven’t seen you in a while. You know since the whole embarrassing thing with the almost dying…”I smiled at him, genuinely relieved to see that he was okay. “Hey Jake. I’m really happy you’re doing okay now. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come see you at the hospital. I was—”Jake just laughed it off, waving a cheesy hand at me, “I get it, you had stuff going on too. It’s all good. Besides, I’m fine now, obviously.”He struck a dramatic superhero pose, flexing with Doritos still clutched in one hand. “See? Back to 100%. Ready to tackle the world… or at least the vending machine. Which has stopped working by the way, so obviously I’m going to be a major Karen about it and file a
LENA'S POVThe closing bell rang, echoing through the halls. Even though I’d spent the entire day with my head on a swivel, scanning every corner for his tall frame and messy hair, Jace didn’t show up.Sometimes I would get hit by random flashes of anger. Thinking, what exactly is he playing at by running away? Why did he do it instead of just staying to deal with what he’d done? I specifically asked him not to hurt Nosh, but he ignored me completely and did it anyway, injuring his own family to the point where he needed to be hospitalized, and now he’d run away from his family and his brother.Is he okay wherever he is? Is he safe? Has he had anything to eat all day? What exactly is he up to?I was on my way back to the Dawson house, rushing back to ask Mrs. Dawson if he was back home yet, when I checked my schedule at the last minute and realized I had a meeting with the cheerleaders after school so we could settle on a routine for Saturday.I sighed, but just like with all of m
I took my books and began the walk to class, doing my best to smile along with the adoring horde of students who waved and congratulated me.“Congrats on being head cheerleader, Lena! You were amazing at tryouts!”“We missed you yesterday!”I smiled and thanked them, hugging my heavy stack of books closer to my chest, but inside my mind there was a dark cloud hovering over everything.If Jace were here, he would’ve taken these from me, then rolled his eyes and refused to give them back. He probably would’ve been mad at me, scowling about something, but it wouldn’t have mattered because he would’ve walked me to class all the same and made sure I was comfortable.I was worried sick, angry, and in complete emotional turmoil, so much so that I didn’t know where one emotion began an the other one ended. I pulled out my phone again and tried Jace’s number. Straight to voicemail. Again.Where are you? Please… I need to know you’re okay. Why are you doing this? What are you up to?The first
LENA'S POVI smoothed the textbook open on the desk, trying desperately to ignore the fact that I could still feel the ghost of Jace's hands on my skin. My lips were still swollen, and my heart was still racing, and he was sitting so close I could feel the heat radiating off his body.Focus. You'r
I kissed him and it was like coming home after years of being lost, like finding water after crossing a desert, like every stupid cliché I'd ever rolled my eyes at in bad romance novels, except that this was real and overwhelming and untouchable.His hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer as t
LENA'S POV “I’m sorry Mrs. Dawson. Dinner was delicious, but it’s time for our session to start and I’m afraid I have to go.” I rushed to my feet, already rushing to catch up with Jace and tell him off before he did something stupid.“Thanks, Mom. But I’m not hungry.” Martin pushed his still-full
Noah smiled that charming smile that came so easily to him. "Not as well as you cook, Mrs. Dawson. My compliments to the chef. This beef Wellington is absolutely exquisite, much better than anything I've had at Eleven Madison Park."Jace made a sound that was halfway between a scoff and a laugh, ro







