By Morning Light

Extended Summary

"Up here, there isn't son of so-and-so. There is you. And there is me. That's it."

And then she smiles, like it actually is the most simple thing in the world.

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"To him the stars seemed like so many musical notes affixed to the sky, just waiting for somebody to unfasten them."
-Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

Leo, named after Leonardo DaVinci, is the city's golden boy. His parents own almost everything in the state and half of the one next to them. He is expected to go where he's supposed to. Do what he's told. Be the perfect son. He is the embodiment of perfection to those around him. But at night, when he has those twelve hours to himself, he drives up to a secluded part of the city, past the woods, and onto a cliff. He turns the on his radio, sits on the hood, and watches the stars. Every night for as long as he could remember he has done this and every night he is alone. Until one night, he isn't.

Leah is new to the whole idea of living in a city. All her life she's lived in a small town where everyone knows each other and most people get along with one another. When her parents drop the bomb that she and her three siblings will be moving, she's excited. Leah never wants to live a life with regrets. She doesn't want an I wish life, she wants an I did life. She always has these crazy schemes that get her into trouble in more ways than one and there's never a dull moment around her. But the one night she decides to slow down and enjoy the moment is the one day she stumbles across the best view the city has to offer.

And a boy.