**Jesse**
I stood in the office listening to my instructions from the boss.
“Jesse, you are on of our top agents and this a big assignment for you. If you succeed you’ll be promoted.” He said and to which I nodded.
“Her name is Samantha Lynn Rodriguez. She was adopted at the age of 13 to a middle class Spanish-American family. Her father has a disk that encloses information on every single agent…even you. If that ever got out everything I’ve worked for would be destroyed. The father wasn’t cooperating…so we disposed of him. This is our only option.” He said looking at me.
“She’s a very tough girl, she’s been through a lot. It’s going to be hard to get her to trust you but that is what you need to do. Let her invite you into her home, her heart, her life...and you should be able to find the memory chip. Destroy all her relationships with everyone so you are the only person she could turn to”
“Yes sir.” I said.
“Here read this, its her file. Everything you need to know is in here, it starts after her adoption because that’s all we could find…this girl is a mystery “he said I took the file from his hand.
“Okay sir.”
“You enroll to Valley Bay High School as a senior starting September.” He said.
High school? I had to force myself to not protest in front of the boss…I dropped out for a reason…
“One more thing…” he said
“Yes sir?” I asked.
“Your our top agent for a reason, you do what needs to be done. You don’t let emotion get in the way, you never had. Your past made you the way you are and that’s why you’re perfect for this mission…don’t have a sudden change of heart.” He said.
“Impossible sir…I don’t have a heart…”
***
**Samantha’s POV**
As my incessant alarm clock rang I closed my eyes tightly praying for another week just so I could recover from this experience.
It’s been long enough, my self-conscious says and I let out a large sigh.
It was my first day of senior year, and I knew I definitely wasn’t supposed to feel like this.
I lay on my bed staring at my white plain ceiling thinking about the last couple of weeks.
It was summer, the weather was beautiful and things were going great. I had fun with my friends, with my boyfriend, and then 1 week into July my father went missing…one week later he was found dead.
‘Found dead,’ I repeated silently in my head. It sounds so impersonal so CSI, Law and Order, type shit.
But my dad was amazing. He was exactly that CSI, Law and order type shit, well something like that.
“Samantha….” I heard my mother call from downstairs interrupting my many thoughts.
I reluctantly forced myself out of bed and into the shower. Another place where I was able to drown in my thoughts.
It was crazy how familiar death and I were; we were like close friends who were very used to each other.
First my brother, than my biological mom, Annie my therapist, Jerry; my “father” who was in jail but might as well be dead, and Ray; the most amazing man in my life.
I dealt with enough suffering and loss for hundreds of people, yet it doesn’t stop.
I get out of the shower and look at myself in my full body mirror naked.
I looked at the scars that covered my body, some circular, some jagged, and some straight slits. I still flinched at the memories of how I got them.
I threw on my denim shorts, my grey loose fit tank top, and my black and why checkered button down that I left open, with my black combat boots.
I ran a brush through my long brown wavy hair and put on some mascara and eyeliner.
Then I took my makeup sponge dipped it in cover up that matched the exact shade of my skin and covered the revealed scars on my legs and arms until they disappeared.
Soon Matty would pick me up and we would go to school and I would receive all the sympathetic smiles from all the students and teachers, and it wasn’t something I was looking forward too.
Matty Rogers, my best friend, my boyfriend.
Matty was captain of the football team, the perfect American stand up kind of guy that you always saw in movies, that you would expect the head cheerleader to be with…and boy has she tried.
But Vicky did not succeed, plus she was too scared to challenge me…and I don’t blame her…I do have a reputation.
But he was with me.
The once weird loner outcast with a lot of baggage.
Matty as my boyfriend…the perfect guy a girl could ask for, and we loved each other…
Or that’s what I keep telling myself.
“Samantha, Mattys outside…” I heard my mother call with sorrow in her voice.
“K ma, I’ll be right down.” I said as I grabbed my bag and my cell phone.
I walked outside and I saw Matty sitting in his truck waiting outside my house.
I looked across the street to see a big moving truck outside the house and a bunch of men were unloading it…guess we’re getting new neighbors. Which was great, cause all I need is more people to feel sorry for me.
“Hey babe.” Matty said as he looked at me with eyes filled with sympathy, and the sympathetic crooked smirk that I was all too familiar with.
“Hey.” I said as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“How you holding up?” he asked.
Horrible.
“Fine.” I lied.
“Things will get better, I promise.” Matty said with a reassuring smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Matty had never experienced losing someone you loved, many of these people haven’t. I was getting sick of hearing the same thing from people that didn’t understand.
We drove in silence all the way to school and when Matty turned off the engine he looked into my eyes.
“Today’s not going to be bad as you think…” he said with a hopeful smirk, and I just nodded in response.
Matty had his hand on my lower back guiding me to the entrance of the school passing all of the kids in the parking lot staring at me with sympathy and confusion, but I ignored it. It wasn’t the first time that I was the center of attention.
I grabbed for my locket that Ray gave me my first christmas with them, and I held it out of nervousness.
After I finally made it through the staring eyes and the whispers I could see my best friend Anna waiting at my locker with the same sympathetic smile on that Matty had earlier.
“Sammy wammy.” She said with sadness.
“Anna banana” I responded.
Then she pulled me into a tight hug that felt warm and secure.
“I’ll help you get through this, I promise.” She said.
“Me too babe.” I heard Matty say from behind me.
“Listen I know you guys are just trying to help but I honestly want to just stop thinking about it…just for a little bit.” I said as I opened my locker door.
“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.” Anna said with a smile.
“Yeah.” Matty said.
“Thanks guys.”
“Well I should go to my locker.” I heard Matty say as I felt his lips against my cheeks.
“Alright so you want normal, lets catch you up on the latest gossip.” Anna said once Matty left.
“You just got back from your cruise yesterday and your already starting with the gossip.” I said with a smirk.
“But of course.” She said with a smile.
“So Tom and Brianna broke up, it was about time, Coach Clark got suspended for inappropriate conduct with a student; no surprise there, and rumor around town there’s a new hottie hot hottie this year.” She said with a smirk, actually reminding me of a time before the incident.
“Well that’s great.” I said as I locked my locker.
“Why aren’t you more excited?” she asked offended.
“Because I have my own hottie hot hottie.” I said with a smirk as the bell rang.
“That’s my queue babe, see ya around.” Anna said just before she left.
“Samantha Rodriguez, you’re wanted in the office.” The teacher said before I was able to get a seat.
Matty looked over me at me puzzled, and I just shrugged in response.
When I got to the office I could already tell the secretary at the front desk was almost in tears just hearing me say “I’m Samantha…”
“Go right in.” she responded with sympathy in her eyes, and emotion that I was getting annoyed of.
“Hello Ms.Rodriguez.” Principal Wellington said.
“Hello sir.” I responded.
“Before I get started I just want to say I’m sorry for you loss, you must be going through a hard time”
“Thank you.” I responded.
“Well, I talked to your mother about this before I even considered asking you cause I know you have a lot on your plate, and she thought this was a good idea…” he began to say, which was starting to worry me because my mother wasn’t in the best state of mind to make decisions for me.
“We have a new student entering Valley Bay high school this year, he actually should be here any minute. But his grades aren’t that well, and I know that your very intelligent so I was wondering if you would tutor him, you would get compensated of course. Also you guys have the same schedule so I wanted to know if you would show him around.” Mr. Wellington asked with a hopeful expression on his face.
I let out a deep breath, taking in all my options.
I knew maybe this would get all this depressing crap off my mind, but was I actually capable of handling all of this?
I went back and forth with the options for several minutes until I heard the intercom on Mr. Wellington’s desk go off.
“Mr. Wellington, Mr. Stevens here to see you…” I heard the secretary call.
“Oh here he is now.” The principal said optimistically.
I continued to consider the offer when I heard the door open behind me.
In came the most beautiful guy I ever saw.
He was wear dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and A leather jacket, he had dark shaggy hair, light blue eyes like my own…but more intense.
“I’m Jesse Stevens.” He said looking into my eyes with his big bright blues one, with a smirk on his face that would make any girl melt.
For some reason looking into eyes made my heart race and my palms sweat, and before I could process what I was about to do, my mouth blurted out my answer.
“I’ll do it.…”