Forced to replace a presence that had become essential to her daily life, Avery Baxter organizes a selection process at her own high school. A decision that seems harmless at first... but one that will slowly begin to crack everything she thought sh...
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Chapter One
Avery
The disaster arrived in the form of a simple text message—one whose notification sound could have meant anything before I reached for my phone. Literally anything. A newsletter. A useless update. Anything but that. I blinked rapidly, a bamboo straw pressed against the corner of my lips. I couldn't even sip my passion fruit cocktail properly anymore.
Avery, I have bad news... You remember my sick grandmother? She's in palliative care now. My mom has to leave to be with her, and we're moving there. I won't be coming back this semester. I'm sorry to tell you like this.
The nerve.
Like I'd just been slapped, I rushed out of the pool and immediately dialed Willow Lancaster's number. She couldn't do this to me. Not to me. I had shaped her. I had given her a place. The ringtone echoed into nothing as I paced back and forth. The burning granite under my feet bit into my soles, making me walk faster.
"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" my mother asked, twisting her neck to follow me with her eyes.
I grunted in response.
"This is impossible... this is impossible..."
I muttered, waiting for an hello that never came.
Willow didn't pick up. Not then. Not any time after that day.
Thinking it was some kind of tasteless joke, I left her a voice note on the morning of the first day back, right after getting out of the shower:
"Listen, your little joke is very funny. But vacation's over and real life is back, sweetheart. So if you don't want to go back to a miserable existence, I suggest you show up before class starts with my coffee the way I like it. I hope you picked up my outfit from Fabstyle like I asked. Have croissants from Pastry delivered to Cole's place—he's back from the resort and you know he never shows up on the first day. And this is your last chance, Willow."
Another message added to the fifty-four I had already sent—messages she hadn't even bothered to read.
Sitting at my vanity, I pushed back the hint of panic that had been creeping in for days. I preferred to believe this was just a new side of Willow, something she had picked up during her stay at that summer camp in Westbrooke Mount. I had seen a few flyers. Everyone had that same strange smile, that overly enthusiastic look in their eyes. They didn't seem right. And clearly, I had been right to be suspicious. This was the result.
Either way, I was sure of one thing: she would come to her senses soon and understand what was best for her. Willow was a smart girl.
I immediately applied concealer to hide the stress caused by the idea that she might have chosen to leave. Just like that. The first days mattered. They were crucial—moments where I reestablished my position at school. There was no way I was going to let anyone think that summer had taken away my edge. That three months had been enough to turn me into someone ordinary.
