I sat there in my black dress and shoes, Josiah and Melanie on either side of me. I could feel the tears threatening to fall as they welled up. My mother was giving her speech. She was doing her best to hold back the tears and not look at the coffin beside her. She caved in. She took a quick glance at his small body inside, and collasped to the floor crying. Watching her suffer like that brought the tears in my eyes out as well. How could this have happened? How could he have just wanted to die like that? My both of my friends' arms wrapped around me. I thought back to the day when he told me that he was going to die. Oh, how I wished I could go back in time and change his mind about all this. He wouldn't have wanted us to mourn and suffer like this. I curse the creator of those vicious, unruly, killer Trengers. At the moment, I could only ask him this in my thoughts: Why? Why would you want to leave us like this? We loved you and you knew that! My heart is aching because I will never again hear your jokes, your laugh, your voice, and your wise words. I will never again see your smile, the sparkle in your eyes, your childish ways, and your silly handwriting. I will never again feel your tiny arms around me, your comforting kisses, and your soft hair when I had to fix it in the morning because it would be sticking every which way. Just, why? I, Tenleigh Renae Leeper, miss you with all of my heart and soul.
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]