Damn it, they must be playing some kind of truth-or-dare type of game. And he already has a nickname. I turn my head to try to get a visual on the situation, but I only get a mouthful of bush.

I slap at Liz, holding back the urge to cough. A loose, vindictive leaf has tickled the back of my throat so much that I know I’m about to go into a coughing fit. My eyes fill with water and my hands push against my mouth so hard my fingers are putting imprints into my cheeks. Liz wildly waves me away, gesturing for me to hide around the corner and she’ll continue eavesdropping while I gain composure. I nod, but before I can get two inches away, a traitorous cough escapes.

“You hear that?” Alec asks, and Liz reaches up and shoves my ass. I crawl as fast as I can around the corner, stuff my face into the crook of my elbow, and get the coughing fit out. My eyes are so watery now that tears have started to stream down my face. So much for a career in stealth.

Once I gain composure, I lean back against the building and stare at the clear night sky. If attacking shrubbery wasn’t enough of a sign to back out from this very impromptu plan, I’m not sure what will be.

Instead of crawling back to Liz, I wait for her. I’ve decided I’m going to put my foot down and tell her that it’s aSupernaturalbinge kind of night whether she likes it or not. I won’t think about how Alec will be kissing Rian at midnight. Or how he might even kiss her before. Or how she might take him to her place and it’ll be all punk or retro or artistic, but whatever it is, it’ll be interesting and clean and they’ll have plenty to talk about until they don’t want to talk anymore and they take advantage of the seven-minute pause….

I slam my hands over my face, pressing my fingers into my temples as if they’ll bore the images out of my mind. It’s no use, though; if anything I just make them more intense.

In a moment of complete insanity, I crawl back around the corner, just in time to see one of the images come to life. Rian’s leaning over the table, the neckline of her shirt gaping just enough to show off her cleavage, her lips full and puckered, and I can’t see Alec, but he’s not stopping her. No one’s stopping. Oh God, it’s happening and I can’t let it happen, no no no. My widened eyes meet Liz’s; she’s still crouched by that bush and can’t see what’s happening, lucky duck. And all I can think is that if they kiss this soon before midnight, what else is going to happen that quickly?

There are moments in life when you know that you’re not going to listen to logic and instinct seems so much more appealing. It’s the first stage in insanity, I think. And the insane voices in my head repeat Liz’s words from earlier. For all the nights I did nothing, it’s time I dosomething.

I break the record in crawling, jam my hand into the bush, and don’t stop until my fingers hit the soft fabric of the tablecloth. I yank so hard that along with the crash of plates and glassware, I hear the cloth rip. Then I grab Liz and pull her around the corner. My heart crashes in my chest, pumping a rush of adrenaline through my veins.

“Sweet Georgia pie,” Liz says, looking at me in some sort of shocked awe. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

I allow myself a small bit of laughter, trying to calm the beating of my heart. I’ve never interfered with fate before. I’ve always let things happen around me and go with the flow. I never realized how boring that is. Taking action to get what I want feels so much better.

Liz lets out one last surprised, hushed laugh, and a large smile forms on my lips. I chance a peek at Rian and Alec standing away from each other, wiping off their clothes. The mood has officially been killed, and I should feel bad about it, but I don’t.

In fact, I can’t wait to do it again.

13 MONTHS, 3 DAYS AGO: 10:45P.M.

My best friend has turned into an unbearable shrew. She’s nearly five months celibate, the wedding’s not far off, and she’s had her future in-laws breathing down her neck, causing her to eat chocolate anytime she’s in my company. It’s partially entertaining, mostly exhausting. I get it, though; I spent the first year of my open relationship with only my showerhead and thoughts of a certain British actor to satisfy my carnal cravings.

Tonight, though, I’ve left Liz on her own to go to some random party in my downstairs neighbors’ apartment. I’m making out with some random guy, “having fun.” He slips his hand up my shirt, no hesitation as he cups my breast and kneads my nipple. I only had one glass of wine tonight, deciding to do this one more sober than usual to see if there’s a difference. There is—my head is too awake, and it tries to convince my body that I’m not into this as much as he is. But when he lets go of my mouth long enough to ask if we can head to my place, I don’t have enough reason to say no. Like alcohol, sex has the ability to make me forget for a little bit. And with Liz’s wedding coming up in just a few days, I’m ready to erase the fantasies I once had of my own young love turning into a forever.

I take him upstairs, and he has me naked and in my bedroom so fast I’m not sure if I locked my door. But before he tosses me on the bed, I find the clasp on my necklace and let it slide off. I carefully place it into its box and shut the lid, a deep rush of regret sinking in the pit of my stomach. A rough hand spreads out across my abdomen, and hot, anxious lips cruise up my neck, quieting my inhibitions. He gets me to the bed and I shut my eyes, turn off my brain, and just focus on the pleasure. For a few minutes the world isn’t so depressing.


The overhead light in my bedroom seems ten thousand times brighter than usual when it’s flicked on in the middle of my REM phase.

“Wh…what the hell?” I groan, covering my eyes against the blinding bulb. Something shuffles around my mess of a room, kicking random possessions under my bed. Liz’s arms fly to my shoulders, and it’s like an adrenaline shot right to the vein. She’s pressed against me, shaking hard, and I look up to the other person who’s entered the room with her.

Alec’s gaze connects with mine, his eyes wide. He’s shaking too—shaking so much that he clenches his hands into white-knuckled fists.

“Where’s Landon?” I ask, terrified of what the answer might be. “Is he okay?”

Sweet relief unfolds when Liz pulls back and nods. But then I think that if it’s not him, then…

“Jace?” I whisper.

Liz nods again.

Relief is replaced with confusion and I bring my eyes back up to Alec. He visibly swallows before he finds the ability to say something.

“Uh…your front door was open.”

My hand finds the soft down of my comforter, cool from lack of body heat. It’s not unlike the guys I bring back here to disappear in the middle of the night, though most of them have the courtesy to make sure the door is closed. I let out a breathy laugh, shaking my head.

“He must’ve left it open when he left. You’re both a couple of worrywarts.” Seriously, way to scare me to death over nothing. “Let me go back to sleep.”

“Theresa…” The corners of Liz’s mouth pull downward. “Your place is a mess.”