Staged: (Oliana Mercer series Book 2)

Saying Goodbye

The next morning, I stared at the text from Austin. "If you want to break up with me, that's on you."

"We're done." I shut off my phone, packed the rest of his stuff in a box and exhaled. If Devin were alive, she'd call me out for ending a relationship by text. But the thing between Austin and me was already crashing.

Turning eighteen had now become a desire. College was around the corner. Soon, I'd be free to make my own choices. Following made up rules designated by my parents would be a thing of the past. I'd no longer have to worry about fitting in. Or was that just wishful thinking?

Would I stand out at Reyersen as the new kid small in the small community of starving students hoping to walk the red carpet and mingle with some of the top Hollywood stars? My only hope was that I didn't run into people more intimidating than the ones in high school. At least as a senior, I'd learned who to stay away from.

Now I had to start all over again. Learn my way around a new school while staying out the way of upperclassmen. Shake off my anxiety and fear as I found my comfort zone. Still, excitement filled me as wondered about all of the good things that awaited me during my upcoming journey.

At the same time, heaviness weighed down my heart. So much had happened in the last few weeks. My best friend, Devin Worthy had been a victim of bullying. Later, she was murdered while performing a scene during our high school play.

We'd both been accepted into Reyersen. It was our dream to attend and be there for each other no matter what. Now I was going alone.

Footsteps bounded down the hallway. Seconds later, my bedroom door swung open and in bounced my little brother, Daniel. He did his famous dive onto my bed and looked up at me with his brown eyes. "Is thirty minutes up yet?"

"Hello. You didn't knock."

Daniel's tousled sandy brown hair flopped to the left, covering the freckles lining the top of his ear. "You've always told me if it was an emergency, I didn't have to knock."

Alarmed, I stood and checked outside my doorway.

Quietness.

Everything was still except for the television blaring in Mom and Dad's room.

I turned toward Daniel. "Where's the emergency?"

"Me."

"Is this a brother and sister talk?"

Daniel nodded and set his teddy bear next to him.

I closed the door behind me.

Daniel had just come back from spending another weekend with his sperm donor. The perfect name for a man who'd treated Mom horribly just to get what he wanted. Daniel. Although, with Mom being a former paralegal, she had to be planning ahead. Doing everything she could to look good in front of the courts as the custody battle played out. The only problem is that Daniel was going to pay the price, no matter what happened.

Suck it up Oliana. Daniel needs you. I downed my energy drink, ignoring the fact that I wanted to burst into tears. "Is this bear new?" I asked, rubbing my fingers over the fluffy blue bear.

"Mom gave it to me before I went to Marc's."

"Does it talk?"

"No. I wanted a new game."

"Did you have fun at Marc's?"

"I don't like him. I like our dad here at home."

My guess was the sudden jump of going back and forth between two homes and adjusting to the different sets of rules was already hitting Daniel. "It's crazy. I get it. Just know that it's going to take a while to get used to everything."