“Who am I?” My voice cracks. “Tell me the truth.”
“You’ve always been ours.” Aiden looks me in the eye. “Sarah.”
PART THREE
PLAYING WITH FIRE
THE PAST
CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO
SARAH
I dancearound the open firepit, enjoying the breeze on my skin. Music blares from a nearby truck. Everyone is drunk, high, or both. The monthly rave at the old campground is infamous in the area and has been for years. The cops turn a blind eye to the popular party site. They’ve all been young once, and hey! It beats parents getting their houses trashed by a bunch of adolescents who need to blow off steam.
Erin caught me sneaking out again, obviously. Every time I clamber down the trellis, her head pops out of the window to remind me what will happen if Dad finds out I’m gone. I’ve long given up on asking her to come with me. She’s happiest with her stupid piano. I’d rather blow my brains out than sit through another of her classical renditions on a Friday night. Talk about dull. Thank fuck Dad doesn’t pay for me to have music lessons anymore.
Everyone cheers as another truck pulls up with a fresh keg. A bunch of jocks gather, taking it in turns to stick their heads under the foam. Max Carter is one of them. He ducks out after swallowing a mouthful to a round of applause.
A girl I barely know swoons next to me.
“You’re so lucky,” she says, gushing over Max’s display. “You’re dating Max, right?”
“It’s early days,” I reply with a shrug.
It’s nothing serious. Max isn’t my usual type, but he has killer abs and isn’t totally selfish in the bedroom, unlike a few other members of the hockey team I’d rather forget about. Better still, my darling sister has had a crush on him for years, not that she’ll admit it, which makes screwing him even sweeter.
Some may argue it’s petty to only date a guy because your sister likes him, and maybe I am. Being a twin means growing up in constant competition, and Erin usually wins every time. She’s Daddy’s little angel who does nothing wrong and gets whatever she wants at the click of her fingers, but me? I’m the fucking devil. The daughter he hates. The one he’s determined to suck the life out of.
Much to my father’s dismay, I’m a free spirit. Live, laugh, love, fuck, and drink until the sun comes up, or however the phrase goes.
Erin’s my opposite. Studious, prim, timid. She gets straightA’s, and our entire house is a museum dedicated to showcasing her trophies boasting of impressive academic achievements. Despite that, she’s basically a social pariah, which means I’m at least better than her at one thing. Although, hooking up with guys and partying doesn’t look great on a résumé.
If Little Miss Perfect isn’t already unbearable enough, she’s recently started lecturing me about my behavior. If she kept her mouth shut, I wouldn’t have felt obligated to hook up with Max. Ironically, if she actually admitted her feelings and got her nose out from under a book, they’d probably make a good match. Not that I’ll tell her that.
“Sarah!” Max waves at me through the throng of partiers. “Wanna dance?”
I down my drink and shimmy over. We dance together; I grind on him in my tiny hot pants. God, I wish nights like this could last forever. Being at home drives me crazy.
Thankfully, Dad works away a lot, but he dropped a fresh bombshell at dinner. We’re moving to Pasturesville at the end of the semester, so he’ll be closer to the asylum.
I don’t see why we have to go. We have everything we need here, but he’s intent on making me suffer. Even worse, he wants to send us to a fancy private school called Stonybridge Academy. Naturally, Erin is delighted. It’ll be the perfect place for her to thrive among a bunch of entitled assholes.
Dad has spent years rubbing shoulders with the most important people in Pasturesville, pretending he’s one of them to build an image of respectability. I’m one of the few people who can see beyond his facade. He’s a wife-beating faker. He desperately wants to fit in, but he doesn’t. Just like Erin.
Sneaking out tonight is my big old ‘fuck you’ to his plans. I need to celebrate while I can.
“Come on,” I whisper, grabbing Max’s hand and pulling him away from the crowd. “Let’s go somewhere quiet.”
We stop at a private spot between the trees, out of sight from the others. He kisses me, and I slide my hands over the front of his pants.
Suddenly, Max breaks off.
I frown. “What’s wrong?”
Usually, he’s already under my shirt by now.
