My body was tired, and so were my ears. Kairo had been talking nonstop, and I wanted to regret taking him with me. That was a joke. I was glad he was with me because he was more social than me and did all the talking to get us here. And now we are here. I wondered if she was still awake. I paid f

"I don’t know, Dad. I didn’t want to, but at that time my mind went blank except for the part that I wanted to protect Amara and Ice from the consequences of the rejection. I was afraid Ice would take all the hit if the rejection hung in the air." "I couldn’t blame you on that. Did you take all the

AMARA. I slipped past the bodies grinding and dancing in the middle of the dance floor and found the right side of the bar empty. I sat in the high chair and ordered a Long Island iced tea while letting my eyes roam around the bar. It was dark, with neon lights illuminating the bar and disco balls

JACE. Dad insisted we let Mom know, but I didn’t want to. Not yet. Not that I didn’t trust Mom, but a part of me didn’t want her to be disappointed with me or Amara. I wanted to fix this first so that when I told her everything, I would have good news to offer her. It was enough that she cried for

JACE. ‘Are you sure there’s a rift between you and Amara?’ Dad asked. And ironically, I was asking myself the same thing. Amara was seated next to me for breakfast, and she was acting as if there was nothing wrong between us. She was acting the same way she was around me and my family. She sat be