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Preface

Chase

I have tunnel vision That’s the only way I can describe it I can’t see his face anye in front of et a flash of her face Of the terror and panic in her eyes

The faint s skin resonates in s and it fuels er

I’ve never felt like this inelse has ever er even coht now

I’ve heard the saying: “Seeing red” I never understood it until two ed It was a purely physical reaction I had no control over Everything darkened And then everything was red

So red

There’s a ringing in — else out My face is hot My hand is starting to hurt less I register all of this

But I still can’t see his face, even as my fist makes contact over and over

And over

I want to kill him

I’ to kill him

I can’t stop

I don’t want to stop

As my hand sla hard enough I strain theto put more pressure behind each hit I need to hurt hi Pain

He hurt her

He fucking hurt her

I raiseI can’t stop it It’s the h my veins

My chest is heaving and sweat trickles down ain Take in the red and purple skin there My gaze lowers to her throat Scarlet fingerprints line her neck I clench htly it feels like I could break teeth

More ih my mind’s eye—Annie’s body pressed to the floor, pinned beneath his weight, his hand clutching her throat Her lips were blue God, her lips were fucking blue and he wasn’t stopping

He wasn’t stopping

1

In Repair

Annie

I can remember the exact moment I met Chase Malloy as if it were yesterday It was the day Mom took me and my little sister, Addie, over toAlec for a fewto be Moh I didn’t count on their relationship lasting—because, honestly, her relationships never did—I decided to go with that whole third-ti

When Alec called the other kids into the living rooly boy trailed behind everyone else Even though the boy didn’t belong to Alec, he was Guy’s friend and a constant in the house His brown hair was long and messy and he wore a band tee shirt that had seen better days There were holes in his jeans—ones I’est grin on his face Even at fourteen, even though he was dressed like a freak, I thought he was gorgeous There was this soft beauty to his face Most teenage boys were covered in acne, but Chase had flawless skin And his hazel eyes were al, framed in thick lashes the same color as his hair When he shifted in front of the , and the light caught his eyes, it was like a kaleidoscope of color And oh, that sht white teeth

I re ht then and there Boys shouldn’t be that pretty Especially when I had to work so hard to not look hideous My blonde lashes are invisible unless I wear mascara, and Mom hadn’t let me wear it until just a few months prior

At least ht would never happen—though I was still e

Chase didn’t seeistered I was even in the room, which made me dislike him more

I was sick of not being seen

I was tired of being so plain that I couldn’t garner the attention of a single person in my life Except from Mom, and that was attention I’d rather not have, because she only reh

I had already decided I didn’t like Chase because he madewrong But fourteen year old Annie didn’t understand that

So that, too

So when he finally acknowledgedI was ever truly good at

I pretended I didn’t care about a single word that came out of his mouth I treated hi person I had ever met, and at times, he actually was Because Chase didn’t care how I treated hiit out just as fiercely as I was

And so began a silent rivalry Each ti an insult, to which he always had a comeback for This was how our relationship worked And really, it worked well for a while Until soed and I didn’t want to insult Chase anyh at his jokes I wanted to be near hi each other was our thing, and I’ if not consistent

So what happened?

I don’t know

I wish I could distinguish the defining moment we became more than… Just more But I don’t knohen it happened Maybe it had always been this way and I just didn’t know it I think that’s possible Maybe every ti was trying to earn his attention

To let him kno I really felt

I should have told him sooner I should’ve…

Everything is so dark and blurry right now Confusing, as if I’

If only

God, if only this were a dream

My eyes flutter with the thought and I finally allow them to close

2

Weekend Warriors

Chase