❝ I don't even know why I even think of him so much, but I do, and it hurts.❞ - A boy by the name of Lucas Middleton dies of a terminal illness, and with an assembly in school, his death changes the lives of a peculiar group of people. A story that is told in three different perspectives: ISABELLA DEL VECCHIO, the anxiety-ridden, closeted new girl with a hopeless crush on another girl, who has absolutely no relations to the dead boy. As she finds the girl that she yearned for crying in a bathroom stall over the death of one of her friends, she finds herself getting pulled deeper and deeper into the death of the boy that she hasn't even ever spoken to in person. NATHAN SMITH, the star player and captain of the baseball team, the most popular boy in school, and absolutely heartbroken over his best friend's death. He's confused, bewildered, sad and angered all at once. And sooner or later, he discovers his conflicting feelings about his ex-best friend, and that maybe it's alright to be the one that needs comforting. LUCAS MIDDLETON, the quiet nobody that nobody every really took notice to and is just about managing with his daily financial needs. He has confusing, horrible, and hopeless feelings towards his best friend that is his polar opposite. He's always wondered why his heart beats quicker than usual when he was around him, or why his stomach would be filled with butterflies when he looks into his eyes. And with a diagnosis of a terminal illness, he has come to terms with and knows that his death won't be far. Only question is, how far? (EXTENDED SUMMARY INSIDE)

Valeria didn't rush. She never did. Inez was pinned beneath her, wrist locked overhead, the hold precise and impersonal. Not pain. Control. Inez scoffed anyway. "That's it?" she sneered. "I've had tutors scarier than you." Valeria said nothing. The silence pressed in. "You don't scare me," Inez added, louder. Brattier. "You just-" "Enough." One word. Flat. Final. Valeria lifted Inez's chin with two fingers, detached as a correction. "Look at me," she said coolly. "If you're going to embarrass yourself, do it properly." Inez laughed, brittle. "You think this makes you powerful?" "I don't think," Valeria replied. "I decide." Her gaze never wavered. "You provoke because it's the last control you have." "I don't belong to you," Inez snapped. Valeria leaned in, voice razor-thin. "You are my wife. You belong to consequences." She released her grip. "Say it." A"No." Valeria waited. The quiet broke Inez, she hated being ignored. "...I'll behave, I'll be a good girl" Inez muttered. "Specify." Inez swallowed hard. "...I'll be your good girl" Valeria stepped back, already distant. "Good," she said. "Remember why." #1 older women-13th February (FAST PACE BOOK)