Better Than Revenge (Special Edition)

Chapter 1: Sophia

Note: This is an edited, dual POV, special edition of Better Than Revenge. I'll be posting it chapter by chapter, but it is complete (I promise!)

I wrote the first draft of this book more than 10 years ago now, and it still carries a special place in my heart. I dreamed of traditionally publishing it for a long, long time and even considered self-publishing but ended up shelving the idea. I also just kind of want to write new things at this point and move on.

I'd hate for it to live in my files, though, so I thought it was time to share it with the readers who inspired me to keep writing it in the first place. This is the newest version of this book from my 2021 rewrite. It's a combination of Better Than Revenge and Better Than Me, featuring both Sophia and Christian's perspectives. I hope you enjoy it (and please, please, please read this one instead of the original, if you happen to stumble upon it).

Alex

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Chapter 1

Sophia

The last time I saw myself on TV, I was eight years old and being featured on America's Funniest Home Videos for my inability to hold down buffalo wings during my debut performance in the Wizard of Oz. People called me the "Vomiting Tree" for months.

Ten years later, I was surprised to see I had inadvertently made a comeback to nighttime TV via Hollywood Tonight.

A picture of me was the last thing I'd expected to see while strolling past the TV in my living room. I thought I was seeing things at first. That couldn't possibly be me on tonight's episode of a show dedicated to exploiting the lives of those lucky enough to have made it big. God knew I wasn't a celebrity. My five minutes of fame certainly hadn't granted me that title.

I slowed my stride, eyes widening as I stopped in front of the TV in my (blessedly) empty living room. Did I know what was going on? No. Did I want witnesses to whatever it was that was happening? Also no. I wasn't sure where my mom had wandered off to, but that was the least of my concerns at that point.

While the show had already started by the time I tuned in, it didn't take long for its contents to leave me frozen in place. There was a still image of my best friend and me sitting in our seats at our local movie theater on the screen. Tori was ugly-crying, streaks of mascara evident on her cheeks, while I was sporting some seriously crazy eyes and laughing hysterically.

We were on live TV, our likeness visible to who knows how many people, and we both looked absolutely ridiculous. It was kind of like that dream where you're giving a speech in front of the entire school, and all of a sudden, you're naked, except this was real life.

Taking advantage of the fact that my mom was still nowhere in sight, I grabbed the remote from the couch, fumbled with the controls until I successfully switched the channel, and threw it behind me like it was a hot potato. Except my damn curiosity couldn't let me leave it at that. You know the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat?" Well, meow, meow.

I retreated back to my room, walking faster than I thought I was physically capable of, pulling my phone out of my hoodie's pocket to shoot Tori a quick text.

Me: SOS

Me: TURN ON HOLLYWOOD TONIGHT

Tori: Wait what? What's it on

Me: CABLE

Tori: But my mom is watching her soaps

I slammed the door behind me, throwing myself onto my bed and tuning back into Hollywood Tonight on my own TV. I wasn't sure if I was glad my mom was old school and still had cable, or if I would've rather lived in ignorance for another half hour and caught wind of this on social media, if it made it there, anyway. God, I hoped it wouldn't.