The Line Between Love and Hate

Chapter One

Chapter One: Ella May's POV

Have you ever had those days where you're actually trying to be a good student, but for the life of you, you can't keep your gosh damn eyes open? Yeah, that was my predicament at the moment. I was sitting in my economics class desperately trying to listen to my teacher slash best friend slash big brother who was talking up at the front of the class, but my eyelids turned to lead and I wasn't strong enough to will them open. So instead of looking like an idiot, y'know when your head bobs down and then you jolt awake like a freaking five-year-old, I set my head on my desk. The coolness of the glossy wood sent a shiver down my spine, but I ignored it and, with admittedly not much regret, fell asleep.

A loud bang jerked me from my slumber. I groaned low in my throat and opened my eyes. Gazing up at an angry Logan Clarke was not something I would ever want to do again. Fire was burning in those dark chocolate eyes that were glaring at me through his big wire rimmed glasses, and from the fist clenched in his mocha curls I knew he was about to rip me a new one.

"Ella May," he said, voice deceptively calm. I was glad that nobody else was in the class because this sure would be embarrassing. I smiled a sheepish smile that was filled with guilt.

"Yes, Mama Bird?" I said carefully. His nostrils flared, and although to all of the kids at this school Mr. Clarke looked like some sexy nerd, in my eyes, I remembered all the things he did before we got to North Carolina. I remembered all of his bruised knuckles that I had to patch up, I remember him pulling out winking silver switchblades. So to me, when an angry Logan Clarke was standing in front of you, that meant danger. Obviously he'd never hurt me, but still.

"Don't 'Mama Bird' me. How many times have I told you to not fall asleep in my class? I know that you're my little sister, but that is not an excuse to use my class to catch up on your sleep. No, it should be an incentive to work harder. I get that you have insomnia, sweetheart, but you have to stay awake. Have you gone to the tea shop I recommended?" That same guilty smile graced my face.

"No..." I replied quietly. Logan groaned and rubbed his eyes.

"You need to help yourself, Snow. We'll go this weekend, alright?" I nodded slowly, feeling like a scolded child.

Logan Clarke was my big brother. Well, not really. We weren't blood related, but I didn't have any family left. A long time ago, I was in an accident, an accident I don't care to recall right now, and it left me crippled and an orphan. I was taken to the orphanage in my area and was put under the watch of Logan Clarke. It took me a long time to recover from my accident, but the twelve-year-old took good care of me. He vowed to himself that once he turned eighteen, he would adopt me and we would get out of the crappy place we lived in. And by crappy, I meant crappy. There were gangs and violence and poverty. In that land, it was eat or be eaten.

At the orphanage, there were small groups like gangs. All of my friends were in one gang and we protected the kids who couldn't protect themselves. I couldn't tell you how many fights we got in, and even though I was crippled, I could beat the ass of any bully that came my way. And I was only eight.

Over the years that I was there, knowing that I could take care of myself and I had the other members of our makeshift family, Logan took on many jobs. He had a job in the morning, went to school, and a job at night. He studied hard, getting all A's in his classes to ensure that I would have a good future. But, when I was ten and he was fifteen, I was adopted by one of the firefighter's who responded at the scene of my accident friends and moved to North Carolina. But still, he worked his ass off. He continued to get straight A's and worked two, then three jobs . He applied for a college in NC and got in full ride. He moved into a small apartment near where Tiffany and I lived, became a teacher at my school and now look at us.