Mia Evian has to piece together the mystery of Zack Maddox, the bad boy whose life she saved, while simultaneously keeping her own crumbling life together before Zack ends up in trouble again - or worse yet, dead.
...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Maxxie barks. A knife scrapes across a plate, and Dad coughs. Maxxie barks again. You could cut this atmosphere with a blunt, soggy toothpick, let alone a knife. I gaze at my plate as I cut a slice of overdone bacon into minuscule pieces.
'So... Euphemia--'
'Mia.'
'Oh, sorry. Mia. What lessons do you have today?'
I roll my eyes at my bacon. I'm not having a conversation with it--I've not yet lost it to that extent. It's Gwen who's speaking, but it's so painstakingly obvious that she's trying too hard to pretend she has any interest in my life.
I shrug. 'Law and psychology.'
I'm still not looking at her. Maxxie barks.
'Which one is your favourite? My son takes law, but he can't stand it.'
Gwen laughs as if she's just told the most spectacularly hilarious gag known to mankind, and I glance up to see Dad laughing into his cereal. Did I miss the joke? Maxxie barks again, and I feel relieved that at least he isn't standing for Gwen's bullshit.
It's seven in the morning, and she's dressed like she's meeting the queen for dinner or something. Her red hair is tightly curled and tied to the top of her head, and she's wearing a long pencil skirt with a blindingly white blouse. How good would it be if my sausage accidentally found itself being flung at that blouse? I could blame the dog or something. Say Maxxie barged into my leg, and in a flurry of panic, I lobbed my sausage at Gwen's torso.
'Mia, Gwen asked you a question.'
I snap out of my trance to see Dad glaring at me.
'Uh, I don't really have a favourite,' I mumble.
It goes quiet again. Gwen's been staying here a few days now, but this is the longest period of time I've had to spend with her. It's awful. I pop some egg into my mouth, only to find that it's gone cold. Damnit. Maxxie barks again. I push my food around my plate, and sigh. Gwen's not actually that bad, not really. She tends to stay out of my way, and it's clear she's trying to make some kind of connection with me. I just can't like her. She could save me from getting trampled by a herd of wild elephants, and I still wouldn't be keen on her after what she and Dad have done. Dad keeps forcing her on me though, to the point where I don't even think she feels very comfortable with it.
'Gwen has a job interview today,' Dad informs me, making me want to poke my eyes out with my fork as it requires me to fake enthusiasm.
'Oh, uh, cool. Good luck,' I mutter to Gwen.
She thanks me quietly. Dad wanted me to stay in tonight because Gwen was cooking her apparently famous spaghetti bolognese, so when Robbie invited me out to the city centre tonight, I jumped at the opportunity. All I have to do now is make it through the rest of today, and I'm free to do whatever the hell I want. I put my cutlery down, sit back, and sigh. I don't even like spaghetti bolognese.
