♡AN ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS ROMANCE♡
Attending the same college is the only thing Sebastian Hutches and Tara Van Doren have in common.
To Sebastian, Tara is a rich, spoiled girl, obsessed with her looks and status.
To Tara, Sebastian is a rude, arrogant...
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The door to my bedroom opens with a screech. Cara strolls in and perches on my bed next to where I'm curled into a tight ball.
Doctor Jennings once told me we have what it takes inside us to put up a fight. To fight for our future. Our dreams. Our families. But sometimes, life gets overwhelming, and people give up. I've never felt so close to throwing in the towel.
Sebastian’s betrayal was the last straw, but he's only a part of the problem. It's about my father, Mav, and my mother, whose invisible presence haunts every corner of my childhood bedroom the way it’s haunted my memory since she passed.
“He left, didn't he?” I ask, knowing the answer. I heard him leave and returned to my room as soon as I could.
Cara kicks off her slippers and lies on my bed by my side. “He did. No man is worthy of your tears, Tarita.”
“It hurts so much, Cara.”
“The jock had tears in his eyes. I'd say whatever he did hurt him, but we don't care, right, Tarita?”
I slide my folded hands under my wet cheek. “He's not a jock. He's a nerd who loves working out.”
Cara whips her head so fast I can't help but laugh through tears.
“The Nerd? The one you said you'd never help?” Her round eyes grow ten times bigger.
“Come on, laugh at me. I grant you permission,” I mumble. “Never say never, I guess.”
Cara looks at the white ceiling as if it holds answers and rubs her chin. “When I was in high school, nerds looked different. They didn't have…” She clears her throat. “Assets like that.”
I snort. “Assets?”
A smirk tilts a corner of Cara’s mouth up. “Asses, Tarita. Asses you want to grab and squeeze.”
I chuckle, but it feels as if a thousand needles relentlessly prick at my heart. I wish everything between us boiled down to the physical stuff, but it's his dimpled smile, his warm eyes, and the way he frowns when he's sketching or studying. It's him softly biting my neck and drawing first-grade level doodles on my skin. It's the delicious pancakes he makes for me and the blanket he covers me with before we fall asleep.
It's always the little things, and it kills me to think they weren't real.
I roll onto my back and pat the comforter, looking for Cara’s hand. When I find it, I thread my fingers through hers. “I asked him why he used to hate me, and he kept quiet.”
“Maybe he didn't hate you, then.”
Or there are more things he doesn't tell me. More secrets. “We're roommates too,"I say. "I can't go home to him.”
“This is your home, Tarita.” Cara’s voice grows softer with each word. “I know it hasn't been the same since Inger died, but I'm here. I'm always here for you. Do you want to tell me what happened with Sebastian? He said he texted you, and you didn't answer.”
