Together, they mocked me.
Mocked my body.
My weight.
My silence.
My shame.
So, I made myself smaller.
And smaller.
And smaller...
Until I disappeared.
12 years.
Six hospitals.
One near-death experience.
I've been clawing my way back from the darkness with only scraps of self-worth and the distant memory of who I used to be.
And now, I'm back.
Older. Angrier. Stronger-maybe.
And wouldn't you know it?
Ace is back too.
He looks at me like I'm something precious now, like I'm made of gold and regret.
But I'm not the girl he kissed under the stairs anymore.
And I'm not looking for another heartbreak.
Still... part of me wonders what it would feel like to fall-
Even knowing that he'd never catch me.
Chapter 1
Brittany
The Past - Age 16
I was six years old when I realized I wasn’t wanted.
It wasn’t a loud, dramatic realization. It didn’t come with a screaming match or a teary-eyed confession. It came in the form of silence—my mother’s eyes passing over me at dinner, her manicured fingers brushing my shoulder like I was just another piece of lint on her designer dress. My father rarely acknowledged me unless I was in the way. And even then, he only muttered a low, impatient, "Move, Brittany."
But Jasper? He saw me. Always.
My big brother was my everything. My hero. My protector. My entire world. He used to sneak me extra slices of cake under the table and help braid my hair when Mom’s stylist forgot I existed. When I had nightmares, he’d crawl into my bed and sleep on the floor beside me, whispering silly jokes until I drifted off again. Jasper made me feel real when the rest of the world pretended I wasn’t.
“Don’t let them dull your shine, Brit,” he used to say. “You’re not invisible to me.”
