Melissa Toppen

Macallan Stewart. Gorgeous. Untouchable. Idolized. Star football player—both on and off the field. Women love him. Men want to be him. And I… Well, I’m too busy trying not to stab pencils into his eye sockets to allow myself to feel anything but anger, which definitely beats the alternative.

It had a good laugh when I found my boyfriend of four years in bed with my best friend. It was rolling on the floor when the same backstabbing beasts stole my dream school, landing me in a different state, where I didn’t know a single soul.

I remember the first time I saw Sutton Barnett in perfect detail–like a fragment of time suspended in front of my eyes. I remember his shirt–faded blue against tanned skin that had seen countless hours of the summer sun....

Alec Murray. He was the one. From the first moment I saw him, I knew. I had never been more certain of anything in my 16 years on this Earth....

Time is a funny thing. It keeps moving even when it feels like everything around you stops. It is the catalyst for everything. How we grieve. How we heal. How we live. Time was the one thing I tried but could never escape. Days passed in his absence. Months. Years.

It’s funny how differently we view life when we’re young. Everything feels possible- limitless. If only things could stay that way forever. Then maybe life wouldn’t be so complicated. Maybe Jace would still be the same ten-year-old boy I fell in love with....

I fell in love with Sutton Barnett the first time I saw him. I couldn’t explain it, or rationalize it, but in some weird way, it’s like I knew he was the one that would change everything. And he did. Just not the way I expected....

Our parents’ friendship meant we had to co-exist. But it didn’t mean we had to like it. He purposely did things to get under my skin. Like spreading rumors about me in junior high so no boys wanted to go out with me. Or sleeping with several of my high school friends....

Fabrication. The one word that describes my entire life. They didn’t want me to know my true identity. Now, I know why.... Abducted. Held against my will. I’ve become a bargaining chip in a blood feud that spans decades. Mateo Rivera is the one calling the shots....

When fate hands me yet another big f--k you, I’m not even a little bit surprised. Why should I be? I mean, after everything I’ve been through, why not throw my best friend’s ex-boyfriend into the mix and see how royally I can screw this up too. It doesn’t matter that he loved her first....

It was destiny - the night I met Hudson Demasi. I remember how effortlessly he stole my heart - his dark eyes and quick smile forever etched into my mind. We spent one incredible night together under a haze of tequila - a perfect night. And when I woke the next day, he was gone....

Hudson Demasi and I spent one incredible night together under a haze of tequila. When I woke the next day, he was gone. I never expected to see him again - especially not five years later standing on a stage in front of thousands of screaming fans as hot new country artist Hudson James....

We spent years loving each other, hurting each other, trying to forget each other, but no matter how hard I tried, I could never erase the memory of him....

Paxton Stewart.... The boy I spent my entire childhood pining after. He never saw me of course. To him I was just a child. His best friend’s baby sister. A silly little girl. Until I wasn’t anymore.... I thought I could be the one to change him....

Arrogant. Egotistical. Playboy. Three words that perfectly describe Atlas Keaton. My twin brother’s best friend. The absolute bane of my existence. And my new college roommate. It wasn’t by choice of course....

Sham. Fraud. Hoax. All words that describe my relationship with Callum Hanson. It didn’t start out that way. We used to be friends. That is until high school, when Callum decided he was too cool to be seen with his less than popular next-door neighbor....

I remember the very first time I laid eyes on Cole Lincoln. It still feels like yesterday when he stumbled into my life with his messy brown hair and dark eyes....

I had a lot of plans for my freshman year of college. Falling for my roommate’s older brother was definitely not one of them. Not like I had a choice in the matter. The second he walked in with that crooked smile and dark green eyes, I was a goner.

They say life never gives you more than you can handle. Tell that to someone who didn’t just watch the perfectly placed pieces of her future go up in flames. Enter Liam Mason. Mysterious. And even though he’s the last person I should want, I can’t help but be drawn to him....

At twenty-six, I thought I knew exactly what my life would look like. Marry my fiancé, Blake. Buy a big house on the California coast and have a couple of kids. Everything was so clear, until my mom got sick, and then suddenly it wasn’t anymore.