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1 Brit

I used to love fairy tales When I was a little kid, ht Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty- I must have heard theh The brave heroines, the beautiful dresses, the big gala balls And of course, the handsome prince No on was, he would always show up in tiood to the world

I don’t knohen I stopped believing in happily ever after Maybe it hen my dad walked out on us, back when I was just four years old Maybe it was the first tilassy smile on her face and an empty vial of Oxy in her outstretched palood, left

Either way, by the summer I turned sixteen, I knew: fairy tales weren’t real There was no godic wand overwould only leave in the end, leaving me heartbroken and alone So I swore, I wouldn’t fall for his bullshit I would never let myself believe in love

I wouldn’t make my mom’s mistakes

I took what I wanted frouys, and didn’t care about the whispers that followed ht I was some trailer trash slut, h to keep anyone out

Until Hunter Covington sht July afternoon, and round

I couldn’t help it He was gorgeous, charuy ould ever look twice at a irl like me But my heart didn’t care

I wanted hi Just a taste of his perfection, a glimpse of what it felt like in the safety of his eht to believe in the dream I knew I could never have

One night Just one night, that was all I wanted

But ould happen whencame?

2 Hunter

It’s the last night of suoddamn mind in the middle of my parents’ stupid dinner party

“Summer in Beachwood has been lovely as always,” roup of Botox and beaet back to civilization in the city And of course, Hunter will be joining his brother at Yale We’re so proud He can’t wait, can you, darling?”

I murmur a reply What I can’t wait to do is tear off this daet the hell out of here, but dad made it clear: attendance was mandatory

“Here’s your drink, bro” My brother Jace hands ht?” He winks, and when I take a sip, I taste a healthy dash of vodka in the mix

God, I love my brother

“Have you declared your major yet?” One of the blondes asks Jace

Before he can reply, my father interrupts “Business, with a minor in Econ” He slaps Jace on the back “Just what he needs to join his oldwiththe ropes”

“More like working on ” Jace quips

“No,” my dad chortles, “plenty of ireen It’s all part of your responsibility as a Covington”

“As long as ame drink at the clubhouse, I’m set”

The roo with dad and Jace “Like father like son,” one of the guests rele s

I hate these parties Jace can turn on the char, but every word of small talk just sticks in ht, with college loonore it all summer, but now, I can’t avoid it Soon, I’ll be one step further along the planin footprints that were laid out in stone the day I was born

“What about you, Hunter?” So this summer?”

“Yup,” I nod, just as my father answers,

“No” I turn “Messing around on that ranch isn’t work,” he corrects me

“Tell that to the guys who are up at five everya familiar tension blaze in my chest

My dad chortles again, like I’ve made a joke “I’ll never understand the appeal of that ranch,” he says, talking about my Grandpa’s pride and joy like it’s so ranches in the county “Caot to be worth a fortune, but pops won’t hear about it”

I don’t say a word The world may revolve around balance sheets and shiny new toys to people like syour own rules He’s been teaching me to train the horses every summer here for years, and it’s oing to stand a chance of running e, at least—and another few years of gritting hts like this one

Dad starts up talking about business gossip, so I look around for so distressed “Everything OK?” I ask