Chapter 1
pushed the front door open after school and found my mum in the backyard giving Charlie, our dog, a bath.
Poor Charlie.
He looked like he'd already accepted his fate.
"Hi, Mum," I called as I dropped my school bag by the back door.
She looked up and smiled.
"Hi, Liv. Back from school already?"
"Yep. Homework is calling my name." I sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately."
Mum laughed.
"There's leftover pizza in the fridge if you get hungry."
"I'll keep that in mind."
I headed upstairs before my homework had the chance to escape.
My room was quiet, exactly how I liked it.
I threw myself onto my bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment, replaying everything that had happened today.
Especially...
him.
With a sigh, I reached into my drawer and pulled out my dark blue diary.
Time to embarrass myself on paper.
Dear Diary,
Today was pretty much the same as every other day.
I saw Adrian.
Again.
Honestly, how does someone manage to look good every single day? It's actually unfair.
I've liked him for seven years.
Seven.
Years.
He probably doesn't even know I exist.
Actually... scratch that.
He definitely knows I exist.
He just sees me as the girl who's always around.
The little sister.
Or maybe...
the cousin.
Speaking of cousins...
May.
She isn't actually my sister.
She's my cousin.
Her mum—my mum's older sister—died when May was only four.
Then, about a year later, her dad disappeared from her life too.
So Mum adopted her.
We don't really talk about it much.
Kind of a weird family story.
Anyway...
May studies abroad now, but she comes home during holidays.
She's pretty.
Smart.
Confident.
Basically good at everything.
I love her.
I really do.
I never wanted to study abroad because I'd miss home too much.
...and because Adrian was staying here.
Wait.
WAIT.
Pause.
I haven't even introduced myself yet.
Hi.
I'm Olivia Winfrey.
Just your average teenage girl living a very average life.
Before we moved here, I honestly didn't even know this town existed.
Fitting in wasn't easy at first...
but eventually it got better.
Mum settled in and made some amazing friends.
One of them was Adrian Cole's mum.
She's practically my second mum now.
She treats me like her own daughter.
Sometimes I think she likes me more than Adrian.
Don't tell him I said that.
Back to the point...
I should probably stop thinking about Adrian.
It's been seven years.
If he really liked me...
something would've happened by now.
Instead...
I'm pretty sure he likes May.
So maybe it's time to move on.
Even if my heart clearly didn't get the memo.
Okay.
That's enough emotional damage for one diary entry.
See you tomorrow.
— Olivia
I closed the diary, slid it back into my drawer, and stretched.
Just then...
Knock.
Knock.
"Sweetie?" Mum called from outside my room.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to the grocery store. I'll be back in a bit."
"Okay, Mum!"
A few seconds later, I heard the front door close.
I let out a small sigh, grabbed my homework from my school bag, and finally got to work.
What felt like three centuries later...
I dropped my pen onto the desk.
"Finally," I muttered, stretching until my back cracked.
Homework was officially defeated.
Next mission—
A shower.
I grabbed some fresh clothes and headed into the bathroom.
About twenty minutes later, I walked downstairs, towel still hanging around my neck.
Just then, I heard the front door open.
"I'm home!" Mum called.
"I'm in the kitchen!" I shouted back.
I walked over to help her carry the grocery bags inside.
Little did I know...
that ordinary evening was about to change everything.
