Sage Rose Parker, a seventeen almost eighteen year old girl getting ready for college with her two friends.
Having the world on her shoulders and her past in her mind she's down to break.
An alcoholic as a mother and an abusive father in jail didn'...
(Trigger warnings: Substance use, manipulation, mention of rape..? and emotional abuse)
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Tangled Thoughts ================================== In the quiet of the night, where the world hums softly around me, I lose myself in the spaces between the beats of my heart.
There are secrets hidden in the shadows— whispers of things I've yet to understand, and memories I can't quite reach, like distant stars fading into the dark.
I hold them close, these fragments of me, but sometimes, they slip through my fingers like smoke.
I try to breathe, to make sense of it all— but I am more than the quiet pain and the half-spoken words.
I am everything and nothing, a tangled web of hopes and doubts, waiting for the right moment to untangle the threads. ~~~~~~~~~
The cafeteria is as loud as ever, the kind of chaos that makes it hard to think, but sitting at my usual table with Jade and Mike makes it bearable. Mike is waving a fry in the air like he's trying to win an argument at the United Nations, his brown eyes wide with mock seriousness.
"I'm just saying," he declares, "if aliens invade, fries will be the universal peace offering."
Jade snorts, leaning back in her chair and giving him the flattest look possible. "If that's true, they'll probably beam you up first for being this stupid. No one else needs you here."
I can't help but laugh, shaking my head as I spear a limp piece of lettuce with my fork. Lunch with these two is my favorite part of the day. Jade's endless sarcasm. Mike's over-the-top antics. For a little while, I don't have to think about anything else.
That is, until Jade's smirk catches my attention. She's not even trying to hide it, her blue eyes narrowing in mischief. I start to ask what her problem is, but before I can, she tilts her chin slightly, gesturing behind me.
I frown. "What—"
"Just turn around," Jade says, her smirk growing wider.
I do, and the moment I see him, I know why. Owen Carter is walking toward us, weaving through the crowded cafeteria like he's on a runway instead of a minefield of spilled drinks and questionable food.
My stomach flips, and I bite back a smile that wants to spread across my face. Of course Jade notices. Of course she's smirking.
"Hey," Owen says when he reaches our table, his voice warm and smooth like he's casually wandered over here. "This table taken?"
I glance back at Jade and Mike, trying not to let the heat rushing to my cheeks show. Mike shrugs, but the suspicion on his face is unmistakable. Jade, though—Jade rolls her eyes, barely managing a nod.
