Mine! by Brian P. White at Inkitt

Prologue

Cover art by kasun2050 on fiverr.com

TRIGGER WARNING: this novel is about one’s journey through the perils of obsession and the importance of self-respect. As hot as I intend some of this to be, not all of it will be (i.e. unwanted yet consensual), and the main character will face devastating loss. I hate breaking narrative (too distracting), so this is your only warning.

PROLOGUE

Finally, I thought while fidgeting with my diploma, my name in bold among all the fancy cursive. I, Joyen Traci Malick, graduated the nightmare called high school without much help from any of my obviously-in-it-for-the-money foster parents that didn’t even bother to show up for this triumph. It didn’t really matter. Soon, I would—gulp—fly off to the East Coast to chase one of my two biggest dreams, but I didn’t want to go without taking that chance I had been putting off on my other dream. I just had no idea what to say.

Mark Frisch stood amid the shifting crowd, staring at the AstroTurf under his expensive sneakers as everyone else filed out of the football stadium. His warm, green eyes lit up with that big, brilliant smile—like a young Dennis Quaid—for every farewell he gave to each passing body, but I knew who he really wanted to see. His bourgeois parents hadn’t arrived yet either, once again abandoning him like this wasn’t the most important day of their son’s life. Just him by his gorgeous little lonesome. It was the perfect opportunity.

My heart raced as I stepped toward him, tucking my diploma under my arm while running through various greetings in my head. The butterflies in my doughy belly almost stopped me again, making me fear once again how hard he would laugh at my chubby ass trying to ask him out, but I had waited too long for this moment. For him, my knight in shining—

“Finally, huh?” startled a gasp out of me as V.V. stepped in my way, her bright blue eyes beaming between her toothy grin and her short blond mane. “Can you believe it?”

After catching my breath, I placed my shaky hand on my bestie’s shoulder. “Yeah, finally. Excuse me.”

“Where are you off to?” my buddy asked while blocking my path again, but a glance in Mark’s direction answered that in short enough order. Those eyes fell back on me with an odd mix of annoyance and disappointment. “Oh, come on, not this again.”

“He’s alone, and I’m done waiting,” I said while trying to move around her bestie.

“Normally, I’d be in your corner about it,” V.V. said while stepping in her my again, “but every time you try you practically swallow your tongue. Why blow it on tonight of all nights just to run away crying again, Joy Toy?”

Joy groaned. “Please stop calling me that.”

Her eyes fell to the shiny blue grad cap in her hands. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I should drop that. It’s just …” She fidgeted with her cap while picking her eyes back up to meet mine. “Look, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something.”

“Can’t it wait?” I asked desperately as I slid past.

“No, it really can’t. I’m about to—”

“Look, V.V., you know I love you to death and beyond, but—”

V.V. stared me down. “Unless you had a chance with Mark Fucking Frisch.”

That shot through me like a punch in the face. “V.V.—”

My so-called bestie threw her hands up in the air. “No, you’re right. You go land that big fish you’ve been after more than half your life. Why not? You’re going to flight school when you can’t even ride up a damn elevator. Why shouldn’t you try landing the dick of your dreams when you can’t even talk to him?”

I glanced around for sudden spectators but found none, my cheeks flushing hotly. “Please, lower your voice.”

“I’m trying to tell you something important, here, Joy Toy, and I thought you’d be my friend for a few minutes when I need you the most. My mistake.”

Despite bristling from that damn nickname, I took a breath. “I’m sorry, but I can’t put this off anymore. I don’t know when I’ll ever get to see him again. I need to do this now.”

V.V. aimed that frown past me. “Too late.”

I turned around, and my blood ran cold.

Luciana Alvarez stood before Mark, chatting him up with that coquettish smile every boy in San Diego High had stuck his dick into at least twice. His smooth lips stretched into that sharp grin for her when she pressed that buxom body against his side, letting her greasy fingers stroke his chocolate curls before following her out of the stadium to do God knows what.

It should’ve been me he left with, my body he held like that. Damn it!

An arm landed on my shoulder. “Oof,” V.V. said. “Brutal.”

I shoved the arm away. “I would’ve gotten to him first if you hadn’t cut me off.”

V.V.’s smarmy little grin vanished. “You’re mad at me? You finally got the gal-balls, here. Why don’t you just use them and snatch him away from the Harlot instead of blaming me?”

“Because you keep doing this,” I snapped, my head burning with fury. “He’s all I ever wanted, and you know that, but you keep blocking me every time I work up the courage.”

She sneered while she roared back. “Then don’t waste time bitching at me. He’s still on the field. Go, swoop down and take him, Miss Acrophobic. You don’t need me!” Then she blew right past me to God knows where, pushing through everybody in her way, and that was that.

I trembled fiercely, my anger giving way to remorse. “V.V.?”

No response. Just vanishing into the departing crowd.

“V.V.?” I called again, but all for naught. My eyes burned with tears as my best and truest friend in the world abandoned me, just like everybody else in my life. Even with a diploma in my hands and scholarships to get me through flight school, I felt like I had nothing.