Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 179812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 899(@200wpm)___ 719(@250wpm)___ 599(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 179812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 899(@200wpm)___ 719(@250wpm)___ 599(@300wpm)
Sometimes I think I’ve never felt safe anywhere. Not at home, not in the world. But anyway, long story short: his parents pressed charges against me and the cops were called; after a lot of fighting and discussion, a deal was struck. I was to go to St. Mary’s in exchange for them dropping the charges. A mediator was called in the morning to make it all official, and then I had to leave. My mother was secretly very happy about it. I was worried, however. I didn’t want to leave Snow alone in that house, but since Meadow had known about my home situation, she agreed to take care of her and let Snow stay with them if things got bad.
See? Lucky.
Anyway, I spent two years at St. Mary’s and while I hated that school and worried over Snow constantly, I can’t hate the fact that I made some lifelong friends there, like Echo, who was my roommate. Not to mention my stepsister Callie. I met her at St. Mary’s too. She later introduced me to the third friend here: Tempest.
While it’s still understandable that I told Meadow, my neighbor growing up, and Echo, my roommate while at St. Mary’s, it’s beyond surreal that I told Tempest. Mostly because Tempest has an actual relationship with the Thornes. She’s married to the youngest Thorne brother, Ledger. But she’s always been so warm and kind, so open, that telling her didn’t feel as hard as I thought it would.
Not to mention when I did eventually tell her, she was so supportive, such a champion for me and Snow—going so far as checking in on us; helping with taking Snow to doctor’s appointments and such—that it felt like the right decision. She accepted us into the fold so easily, made us feel like part of the Thorne family, that sometimes I think I should’ve told her sooner.
“And let’s face it,” Snow says, raising her eyebrows. “We won’t be watching movies. We’ll be watching soccer.”
Okay, that’s true but it’s also a low blow, especially coming from Snow, who loves soccer more than me. My sister is on the shy side. Shy and quiet. Although that is not to be confused with being docile. She can be quite sassy when she wants to be. She just doesn’t like to be like that in front of other people.
It probably comes from having a mother who uses her to make her older sister feel bad. And from all those assholes at school who make fun of her teenage, growing body. My Snow has struggled with her weight most of her life and this world is evil for making her feel embarrassed about it. As a result, she likes to keep to herself. Soccer and books are her life. In fact, she reads books about soccer. And of course, she’s the biggest fan of the Thornes—especially his—and watches all their games.
Just for the record, when Snow found out the truth about her birth, I did ask her if she wanted to tell the Thornes. Because I didn’t want to be the only one to make that decision. But she told me I was all the family she needed and that she didn’t want to take the chance of telling them and be rejected. Like my biological dad rejected her. So we both decided to keep it to ourselves and be there for each other. But like me, she’s tried to find out about them as much as she could from afar.
“You love soccer,” I remind her with narrowed eyes.
“I do,” she agrees. “But if I have to watch the championship game from two years ago where he scored the winning goal one more time, I’ll lose it.”
I blush instantly, and I’m sure it’s plain for all to see because no amount of makeup will ever help with that. “I do not just watch it for the winning goal. And you’re only bitching about it because your guy’s team lost.”
At this, it’s Snow’s turn to blush. She’s a redhead like me—with brown eyes that come from the Thorne side of the family and zero freckles; so jealous—so unfortunately for her, it’s also plain to see as she mumbles, “He’s not my guy.”
While Snow loves the Thornes, she loves someone else more. His name is Byron Bradshaw and he plays for New Orleans. Instead of a soccer player though, he looks like a linebacker for a football team. Actually, he could also be a mountain man with his burly muscles and beard and a man bun. He’s handsome, no doubt, but he’s as brawny and gigantic as Snow is soft and delicate. Plus, he has a reputation. Not just with the ladies but with the law. As in, he’s been in and out of jail for various crimes and misdemeanors. But every time he comes on-screen, Snow freezes with wide eyes and parted lips, and doesn’t look away until he’s gone.