The time we just spent in my room. It was all for nothing. She's exactly the person I thought she was. Cruel. Selfish. Manipulative. The enemy.
Lennon comes around the corner and stops short as she finds me standing there. Her breath hitches, but I'm completely unfazed. Those turquoise eyes don't affect me anymore. Nothing about her causes anything more than rage to spur inside of me.
Now, I have a new mission.
Destroy Lennon and her dad.
13
LENNON
Dear Diary,
I have a confession to make. My thoughts about Cade haven't always been as pure as wedding day white. They're more ivory, covered in mud and rubbed in ash. The kind that fill my mind when they're not supposed to. They're wrong. They're dirty. They're forbidden. Maybe it's best that he hates me, because nothing good can come from this.
Melani's voice echoes through the speaker, letting me know dinner should be ready in a few. I close the book and toss it underneath my mattress. Thankfully, “family” dinners have gone from every night to just one night a week. The less time I have to see Cade, the better. He and I have been home for three days, and every time we're in the same room, he mentally shoots daggers into the side of my head.
Okay, so maybe he has a right to be pissed. I told him I'd help, and then right when I had it, I went back on my word. I just couldn't go through with it. The look on my dad's face hit me in all the wrong places. He was making the right decision, but he looked devastated doing it. Nora may not be my favorite person after finding out from Cade what she did to their family, but my dad obviously cares about her.
I can feel the tension in the room the second I walk up to the table. Cade's usual attitude is killing the happy mood of everyone else. I sit down next to Molly and bop her on the nose. She scrunches it up and smiles at me, much to her brother's dismay.
“Molly, come sit next to me,” he orders her.
“But I want to sit next to Lennon.”
He scoffs. “Why? Traitors don't deserve your attention.”
Molly looks confused as she glances up at me.
I roll my eyes. “If you have a problem, take it out with me, not her.”
“Oh, I do have a problem, and I haven't even gotten started with you.”
I'm about to snap back when my dad and Nora come into the room, looking as smitten as ever with each other. Cade looks disgusted but Molly and I think it's cute. After finding out what really happened, I can understand why he'd be pissed, but shouldn't he just want his mom to be happy?
“So, Lennon, how was dance?”
I finish chewing before answering. “It was good. Nothing exciting. Just keeping in good shape for Juilliard in the fall.”
She smiles. “That's right. You'll have so much fun there. When do you leave?”
“Not until the end of August.”
The way Cade's grip tightens around his fork does not go unnoticed. He jabs it into his food and it scrapes across the plate. Like nails on a chalkboard, the noise that rings out causes all of us to cringe, him included.
Molly giggles. “Real smooth, bro.”
He narrows his eyes on her. “Bro? What are you, thirteen?”
“One day I will be.”
“Ugh. Please don't remind me.”
Imagine if he knew his precious little sister has her first crush. I would never out her like that, but she came into my room a couple nights ago to ask some questions. I think I answered them pretty well, or at least I hope I did. I'd really hate to give her bad advice on boys, but come on. Is the eighteen-year-old virgin who just got cheated on the right person to ask for dating advice? I didn't think so.
“So, Nora and I have something to tell you,” my dad says, and my heart drops. Cade must be thinking the same thing, because all the color drains from his face as he waits for the news. “The two of us are going on a thirty-day cruise.”
Cade and I exhale, as if we were both holding our breath. I might want my dad to be happy, but any mention of marriage would have even me rioting. It's bad enough he moved her and her family in the week after he introduced her to me. Holy matrimony should be nowhere in the room, let alone on the table.
“Molly, you'll be