"You don't understand, you've already lost me!" She screams at the adolescent boy.
"What do you mean Carlie, what are you trying to say?" His eyes fill with the tears he holds back, he couldn't lose her like he lost Rosie. He won't let her slip right through his hands, he couldn't lose her.
"Harry, the truth is you never had me in the first place. It was a game, it was all a game." He gives her a confused look, "What? This whole time, you were just playing a character? Well, who are you today?" He sickly laughs and lets the tears fall.
"I'm Carlie, the real me. I-" She takes a step forward and he backs up, "don't, don't you dare." "Harry, I'm so sorry."
"You know what, I'm sorry too." She tries to take another step forward but he backs away once again.
"Harry, don't, please!" She pleads with the half broken boy in-front of her.
"Just one question. Did you ever, for even a second, think you might actually love me?" He looks down then back up, but before she could answer he stopped her, "You know don't even bother, I don't think I could handle the answer." With that he runs off into the darkness leaving Carlie to cry alone.
"I did Harry, I actually thought I might."
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]]