Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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SILENCE HAS CAPTURED my family ever since we left the hospital. I'm not sure who's more upset, my father with me or me with my father. Not even Mom has attempted to make peace or settle things between us. We've just been...quiet.
I haven't looked at my phone all day. I know Jaden is probably texting and calling me, concerned about my wellbeing and such. We have no idea what drugs were put into those brownies, but I could care less about that. What really matters is what I said while under the influence. I ended up telling Pepper the truth, and just as I thought, it's made our entire situation so much worse. Maybe it was just an excuse for Dad to finally keep me away from her.
Locked in my room, I stare at my notebook full of ideas. Scribbled lines mask most of them while others are circled with question marks surrounding them. Career paths. Ideas for the future. If I want to pursue anything creative, I'll probably need a job to keep me afloat. A job that doesn't involve working with my parents would be great. Then there's Pepper. Will she want to give us a chance even after I turn eighteen with my parent's views in the way?
I ruffle up my hair and groan. I hate this.
A knock strikes my door before it creaks open. I glance over my shoulder, expecting Mom to be popping her head in. She usually does after a big fight. But no, Dad is the one easing in with his broad shoulders. I tense up and drop my pen. His expression is guarded and his chest is stiff like he forgot to breathe. I inhale, forgetting to do so myself.
"Dad," I speak in Korean. "What is it?"
"What are you doing?" he asks instead and makes his way across the room.
Unsure of what to say, I turn back to my desk and move to close my notebook. Nothing that you'd care about. "Just writing."
"What are you writing?"
Why are you in here? I go to look back at him, only to be surprised that he's standing right next to me. My shoulders tense and fire burns through my muscles. "I-"
He flips the notebook open to the page I left off on and twists it towards himself. "Architecture." He points a stubby finger at one of the careers I was questioning. "I can see that for you. You've got the skill."
I don't reply. Besides the fact that I'm only so good at problem-solving and half decent at sketching, I'm not sure if I wrote that down merely because I knew it might please them. Scratching my arms seems to signal that I'm uncomfortable and not in the mood for talking. After all, he just banned the love of my life from ever seeing me less than twenty-four hours ago. I clear my throat and stare at a dust bunny gathering next to my bookshelf.
This is weird. Dad never wants to talk.
He sighs, probably reading my mind or the way I haven't quite made eye contact once I discovered it was him invading my space. "I just want you to know that I would never transfer you so late into your last year of school," he begins. "I know you do good here and you have a lot of friends."
