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“No, ma’am Sorry” I s hard as she reaches for my face

Cupping my chin with her manicured hand, she forces me to look at her “E off lately, and you’re really starting to remind me of Ellis” She whis

pers my older brother’s name as if the walls can hear her

“I’m sorry I’ll work on it, ma’am,” I answer robotically, like I was trained

“Good girl” She irl If you use it to your advantage, you could go far in life But you need to stop ”

Pretty girl

Like that’s all I am

“You’ll hs as she squeezes my cheeks “And Evan will take care of you, which is one of the s in this world”

Evan Moleney, my boyfriend of three years who I’ve been told I’ether, the perfect couple Everyone talks as if we’re already engaged, but we’re not I fear, though, if I don’t get out of Ralingford soon, it’ll only be aI belong to the son of the town’s richest lawyer and one of my father’s closest acquaintances

She releases my chin then sticks her hand into the pocket of her apron to retrieve a pink pill and a red one “Now take your et dressed Breakfast is in tento put the cuffs back on your ankles at night” She waits forthe roo the door behind her

I instantly spit the pills into my hand For years I’ve taken them without an explanation of what they do or what they even are I’ve never questioned their purpose, just like I’ve never questioned the purpose of curfew, until three o when I snuck out of the house in the ht

The idea sprouted when I overheardof exile and a controlled environment; words I didn’t understand at the time

“There’s so much more to the world than what’s inside the walls of our ho the day,” he said when I’d asked what he’dfor my father’s return from his day job “Our mother and father They’re not like most parents, Emery”

“What are you talking about?” I was nervous, too, mostly because Ellis seee stuff sometimes, but what are other parents like? Because they act like my friends’ and Evan’s parents”

“I’ about different in coford” He nodded his head at the here the sky was pink with the sunset “Once the sun goes down, sneak out and find out for yourself See what happens when the sun goes down”

I’ it I’d never been one for rebellion He looked so terrified, though, more than when he had one of his episodes So I broke the rules for the very first ti me to the bed, so it was pretty easy to slip out of the house unnoticed Just a duck out theand the scaling of a nearby tree

In Ralingford, there are two sides of the tohat locals refer to as the Golden side and the Shadows The Golden area is where the wealthy live—the doctors, the lawyers, and the townmen who make the rules The Shadow area is the poverty-stricken side of town near the railroad tracks where crioes down behind the shallow mountains, that heavy crime seeps over into Golden area At least, that was the rumor

I’ve heard some of the horror stories of what happens after the sun sets: robbery, assault, once I heard about a murder But the stories couldn’t prepare s thatmy own existence

They said ere free,

but who are they

to deem what freedom is

Because what I saas the exact opposite—

Confinement

And I was part of it,

part of the darkness

that swept over the town

I shudder as the ies creep into h my veins Without the pills in

My fingers brush across the scar onout that night along with nightti ht His punishh, and he still suffers every night

For the next fewthe pills, too afraid toback into etting ready When she doesn’t reenter, I rise from the bed and tiptoe over to the

The town has come alive The sidewalks are busy with children, teens, and adults heading to school, to work, or to the town hall So the grass The sun is bright and cheery, just like everyone’s s I’m positive I’ve never felt

Even though I’m on the second floor and no one can see intoover toone last check around my room, I lower myself to the floor and reach under the piece of furniture I feel around the bottoers brush paper I peel back the envelope and drop the pills into it with the rest of my three-month collection

After I return the envelope to its hiding place, I extend my hand back farther until I feel another envelope I don’t take that one out I just need to know that my stash of money still exists, that my possibility of freedom still exists

For the last two years, I’ve worked ate while teaching me work ethic I save practically every dollar Itohellhole

I’ve already set the plan in e who I am so I won’t becoes other than Ralingford Co my parents aren’t aware of Now that the medication is out ofabout the world outside of Ralingford when I’m at school, the only tietting into And I’ve found a few apartments I think ork for me

As long as I stay on track with my plan, in six months, I’ll be free for the first time in my life

Chapter 2

The Offer

Ryler

I’et my ass killed I wish I could say it’s my own fault, that I made bad choices onbehind a garbage can while a group of questionable mobsters search for me But nope, I ended up here because I acted like a puppet and allowed Cole Price,Elderman and his men, who just happens to be some of the worst people to screw over

“Can you see hi me says from the other side of the dumpster

I hear a stauns being cocked

“I could have sworn he ran back here,” a different guy answers, panting for air

Running is the one thing I’ot out of juvie, it’s all I’ve done I’ve tried et out of the pointless cycle I see into trouble then trying to start on a straight-and-narrow path, only to get into trouble again But it’s difficult to stay on track when I have a record Even getting my own place is complicated

“Ryler, you little shit!” one of thecoward! After what Elder you so many opportunities, this is how you repay him?”

I don’t move Don’t breathe

“Did you check behind there?” one of the men asks

My back goes rigid as the footsteps grow nearer Shit I’m so screwed

After all I’ve been through, what a way to go—dying behind a due all around me No one will find my body for weeks

I sether as I delve farther into the shadows It’s late, the stars andfrom behind a nearby club I’d been at when the men showed up Music is cranked up fro my silence

After four years of being h, I don’t think it’s going to save me this time