Renna Rose Lancaster is the girl people stare at like she belongs in a glass case, a life airbrushed into unattainable perfection.
But Renna knows her life is nothing but a golden prison coated in pretty lies that keep her muted and small.
Her day...
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Cameron's voice had filled the car for the past forty minutes, the kind of relentless noise that could drive a monk to violence.
"Aadam, are you sure this isn't the road to hell?" he said, his mouth full of Morag's tablet. "Because if it is,I'd like to get me sins forgiven before we reach the bloody cabin."
I didn't answer.
I was too busy not killing us on a one-lane road that looked as if it'd been carved out by wild deer and bad decisions. The beams of the headlights cut through the dark like thin blades, catching every branch, every damn shadow that looked one twitch away from moving.
Behind me, the backseat chaos had reached its usual crescendo.
Cameron crinkled another packet of whatever Morag had loaded him with. "Why's it taking so long, Aadam? You driving like an old man with cataracts or what?"
I caught his reflection in the rearview mirror-hair all messy, hoodie half unzipped, face glowing with mock outrage.
"Because if he drove any faster, you'd be a decorative smear on the road," Isla said flatly, grabbing the bag of snacks from his hands.
"Oi! That's mine. Gran said it's for me."
"She said it's for everyone, you selfish wanker."
"Lies. All lies." He reached across her, still chewing, and the car filled with the sound of crumpled wrappers and Isla's swearing.
Freya groaned from the last row. "Can the two of you shut up for five minutes? I can literally feel my brain cells giving up."
George chuckled beside her. "You've got brain cells left? Miracles do happen."
The whole car dissolved into overlapping voices, all of them trying to talk louder than the wind howling outside. I tuned most of it out, my eyes tracking the GPS that kept recalculating like it was drunk. The little blue dot just spun in circles.
The headlights caught a turn that hadn't been there a moment ago. I swore under my breath, swerving slightly.
Isla thumped the back of my seat. "Aadam! Focus, will ya?"
"Tell your boyfriend to stop screaming in my ear and maybe I will," I muttered.
Cameron leaned forward between the seats, his breath smelling like butter tablet and sugar. "I'm only saying, we should've reached it by now. Did we pass that creepy birch twice or am I hallucinating from starvation?"
