“Congratulations, kid,” he says. Then he leans across the bottle and he presses his lips to mine, and the entire world seems to spin.
So this is what kissing is like, I realize.
It’s not what I thought it would be. I always imagined it would be gross and sloppy and weird and awkward, but it’s not. It’s just...
Everything.
It’s peaceful.
And it’s what I wanted it to be.
He pulls back and cups my face in a strange moment of tenderness. I don’t think I could ever possibly forget this moment or how I feel during it. In fact, I’m so caught up in Gavin’s gaze that I don’t notice the pounding on the front door, or the yelling, or the footsteps sounding throughout the house. I don’t notice any of that until it’s too late and the door is kicked open and the police officers come in. Instantly, Gavin jumps farther away from me, and somehow, we try to act as though we weren’t just kissing in the middle of the room.
Guilt washes over us.
They know.
“Emilia Riley?” One of the officers asks me.
“Y-Y-Yes,” I manage to stutter, completely shocked. My heart starts racing. What are they doing here? Why are there police officers in my house? Across from me, I can see Gavin still. He’s just as scared, I realize. He wasn’t expecting this, either.
“Where’s your father?” The police officer asks.
I just stare at the officer, unsure of what to say.
My dad?
Why are they looking for my dad?
He’s just an ordinary businessman.
A nobody.
“He’s in his office,” I say. I manage to point in the general direction and the officers leave: all but one. That one comes into the room and kneels beside Gavin and I. She seems kind and gentle.
“Hey kids,” she says. “Why don’t we get you both out of here?”
“What? Why?” I whisper, but I already know why. I know that something bad has happened – or is about to – and that everything is going to change for me.
Forever.
“Everything is going to be fine,” she says. She holds out her hand and smiles at us, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Let’s get out of the house, okay? Things are about to get a little bit crazy.”
If only I’d known then exactly how crazy they would get.
If only I’d known then that would be the last time Gavin would ever speak to me kindly.
If only I’d known then that my entire world was going to crumble.
I should have known, but I didn’t.
Chapter 1
Emilia
MY MOTHER THOUGHT THAT Amelia was a nice name. It means “work,” and that’s the one thing my mother has always loved more than anything else. What she didn’t realize was that by changing the spelling of my name, she was also changing the meaning, and instead of “work,” my name means “rival.”
It’s fitting, considering my life. Everyone in the world seems to think they’re my rival. If I could go back in time, I would somehow convince my mother to choose something else to name me.