ELIZABETH.Everything I’ve been trying to prevent is happening in front of me right now, and I’ve never felt more vulnerable. I hear every pump of my blood to my heart as my body trembles at where I stand, my eyes fixed on Mom’s angry ones. I’ve never seen them that angry, and it feels as though she’s about to explode– do more than just stare at me with the picture in her hand.The picture. My eyes go to the hand she has up, and I squint at it to take a better look; it’s a different image from the ones that were sent to me. In this one, I’m pressed against a bookshelf, and my head is thrown back to it, the pleasure I felt at that moment unmistakable on my face. My legs are wrapped around James’ waist, and he has one hand underneath my school skirt while both of mine are on his chest. I remember this moment, and it’s just recently. We thought everyone was busy, and the library was quiet, so we snuck one out. But it was a make-out. Nothing more than that. Not that it saves me from the wr

ELIZABETH. “I didn’t think you’d want to stay behind.” James laughs as I sit at his desk. He shifts his chair back a bit, the metal scraping against the tile and echoing across the room, the noise louder than usual because of how empty the entire school is. It ended about twenty minutes ago, and I convinced James to stay for a while. While he’s currently studying, it isn’t exactly what I have in mind. James opens his legs and keeps my feet pressed between them. I smile as I drop my hands on his shoulders, lowering my head because of the leveled distance. He drops his hands on my thighs, and they slip underneath my skirt as his pupils dilate. "What do you want?" He whispers, his eyes roaming mine, and I teasingly pull my lips between my teeth, basking in the reaction he gives. "Elizabeth." He groans, and my lips stretch, but I’m quick to hide it. "What?" He raises his neck. "We’re alone, and something tells me you didn’t ask to stay behind just to study." "Maybe I don’t want to go

ELIZABETH. I stare in bewilderment, my gaze flickering between James and Zara. She has a small smile on, her brown eyes glimmering with cordiality as she steps further inside the room. She looks way prettier than the picture of her James showed me. Her brown hair extends over her shoulders and she has a small face. I can see where James got his unblemished skin from because this woman has absolutely no pores. "Hi! Elizabeth, right?" I’m stunned when my name leaves her mouth and I meet Mom’s eyes before I look back at her and nod swiftly. "Yeah. Um, hello." She crosses over the room and rounds the couch until she’s standing feet away. "I’m Zara. James' mom. I think he mentioned a thing or two about you." She explains as her smile widens, revealing her perfect set of white teeth. I gaze back at James who’s still standing awkwardly by the door and he refuses to meet my eyes, though I have a feeling he can feel them piercing through him. "It’s nice to meet you, Zara," I respond politel

JAMES.I watch her walk away from me, her frame slowly disappearing into the dark while I remain glued to where I stand, unable to go after her because I have a feeling there’s no stopping her."Fuck." I fold my mouth and run a hand through my hair as her words echo in my head. I hate that she wasn’t entirely wrong. When Mom called me two weeks ago and said she wanted to see Dad, I was surprised. I was even more shocked when I found out she wanted to come back. And that Dad was willing to accept her. The first thought I had was to tell Elizabeth. I swear I wanted to, but I just… didn’t. I don’t know why I couldn’t. I managed to convince myself that this was the best thing. My dad divorcing her mom was exactly what we needed. Her mom was never going to accept our relationship, and we were never going to let go of each other. Their separation is our best shot, so I thought it was a good thing. But maybe Elizabeth was right. I wasn’t just happy about the divorce because it means I could b

JAMES. "Hey, son. You alright?" It’s Dad’s voice that brings me back to reality and I lock my phone before I turn to him. He’s standing a foot away with his brows raised and hands in his pockets. I notice Mom is no longer in the kitchen before I say. "Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?" Dad smiles. "Right. It’s just you had a look on your face" I glance at my phone before I hold his gaze again, my mouth twitching by the sides. My heart is still beating fast in my chest and the thought of letting him on crosses my mind. Not that he’d care about where his ex-wife is, but… "It’s Elizabeth." The words leave my parted lips before I can have further thoughts on it and one of his hands slips from his pocket as he closes the distance between us, curiosity lining his words. "What about her?" With a big smile on my face, I wave my phone in the air. "I found her. She’s in Los Angeles." I don’t expect much of a reaction, but I definitely didn’t think his face will fall from that news either. A frown for