Seventeen year old Safaya Bennett must navigate young adulthood under the stresses of her sins, her crumbling relationship with her twin sister, Rue, and a crippling mental disorder that makes her very dependent on her relationship with Nate Jacobs...
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It's rare to find people who do the right thing in tough situations. You never know how you're going to react when faced with a challenge like this.
I decided to stay outside after my conversation with Nate. I was seconds away from either murder or crying so hard that I died from dehydration in the middle of the dance floor. Eventually, Jules found me and we talked for a little bit. The allure of a high school dance had expired and me being in my feelings, I decided it would be a great idea to leave. I didn't just mean the dance. I wanted to go home and pack a bag full of my shit and just leave this town and salt the Earth behind me. And because it was Jules, she went along with it, and we were headed to the train station without a care in the world until my own fear set in.
Safaya was at the snack table grabbing a cup of pretzels and punch. Dancing with Maddy had made her thirsty trying to keep up. Plus, when she was nervous she liked to snack. She reached for her food but was startled by a looming presence.
"Be careful. Wouldn't wanna mess up your dress." TJ stood in front of her.
She jumped slightly. "Shit!" She held a hand to her chest. Bursting into laughter when she realized who it was. "TJ! You scared me!"
"Gotta keep you on your toes, Bennett." He laughed with her. "Whenever you get the chance and your heartbeat slows down, I was wondering if you'd like to dance--"
"Safaya."
Nate approached the table. He was returning to the dance after speaking with me and seeing Saf with TJ wasn't something he had expected. Jealousy and irritation hit him like a truck and he knew he needed to take control of the situation immediately.
"What the hell do you want?" Saf narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm in the middle of something. You can't just interrupt my conversation."
Nate stood in front of her, blocking her view of TJ completely. The shorter boy watched the scene before him and he didn't like what he saw. "Don't fucking embarrass me." Nate whispered into her ear. "I need to talk to you. Now."
"I think the fuck not." She retorted.
The boy licked his lips, snaking his hand around her back and brushing against her ass. "Saf, stop being a fucking cunt for two seconds and just talk to me."
"Um, are you alright?" TJ asked. Stepping up to Nate and looking between him and Safaya.
My sister took a breath. "Yeah!" She said falsely. "I'm just gonna go talk to Nate for a second but I'll be back." She promised.
She knew that Nate would never stop bothering her. She figured this would be the last conversation that they ever had and she wanted to get it over as quickly as possible with little to no blood shed. As they walked through the groups of people, his forceful hand grabbed her wrist and started yanking her through the crowds. The two of them reached the school hallway quickly and then outside, to the exact same spot where I spoke to him. Jules and I were long gone so he had the space to himself and he intended to use it. When they reached the outside air, my sister snatched her wrist away from his tight grasp.
