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And I don’t kno to fix that anymore I don’t kno to ht when they believe they’re already seeing it

Ryan will never be punished for his cries And with Ryan’s connections, the likelihood of hi any consequences are low Ryan’s sh not to hit them in public, and he kno to scare them into silence He cares

I had pleaded with Alison to press charges—to try It didn’t matter that I proainst Ryan In the end, nothing came of it and I created a divide in the fa that I was naive and was spun into Alison’s wicked web

But there’s an underlying tension in the air during family dinners Deep down, they know I still believe Alison and that bothers them

“Then what do you suggest we do, Mako?” Alison snaps, bringing irls as he sees fit? What if he kills so about it That—that’s so fucking wrong and you know it!” She ends her sentence in near hysteria

I bang ainst the headrest

“I don’t know, Ali I really don’t Right now, I’ure that out when I get there”

Five

river

“RIDDLE ME THIS, RIVER How much force does it take before a bone breaks?” a voice says from behind me Chills rush over my skin when that deep voice infiltratesover my feet when my foot comes back down cluht uard and I hate that he nos he did

Reluctantly and with a massive ahtens my bad mood when I see how sinfully delicious he looks He’s dressed in black jeans and a black tee shirt, brightening his colorful tattoos I want to study theot each and every one of them You can learn a lot about a person just from their tattoos But I would never ask—I have asto know the shark They’re both perfectly capable of eating me alive

The gears in ure out how the hell he found oes to school here He looks too old—definitely older than Ryan

The stalker raises an eyebrohen I continue to stare du myself, I feel blood rise to my cheeks

“What are you doing here?” I ask,him out

Who aardless