Total pages in book: 8
Estimated words: 6797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 34(@200wpm)___ 27(@250wpm)___ 23(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 6797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 34(@200wpm)___ 27(@250wpm)___ 23(@300wpm)
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
LACY
I hop off the bus, happy that this will be the last time I’ll ever have to use it. I’m the only senior at my high school that rides the bus because my father won’t allow me to drive or get a ride from a friend. Not that I have any friends I could ask. It’s hard to stay in with any group of friends when you can’t hang out or even text.
My parents are crazy strict, and I don’t understand it. I’m freaking eighteen, and I was sure when I had my birthday last week things would change for the better. Nope. I begged and pleaded to at least get a phone, but I was told no. If I wanted one I’d have to buy it myself. I might be an adult, but I still live under my father’s roof, which means he rules our home and my life.
I hate him.
I’d be more than happy to get a job if it got me out of this house. When I told him I would get one, he said he’d think about it. Now I’m starting to feel trapped with no way out. Can someone run away at my age? There’s nowhere for me to go, and I hate the hopelessness that washes over me.
With how I feel, it makes me wonder how my mother does it. He keeps her on a tight leash too. She turned into a robot, but I guess she’s always been that way. I try to search my mind back to my childhood as I make my way toward the house.
When I see a black SUV parked outside on the curb, I wonder if someone is visiting. I’m sure my father knows it’s here because he’s always so paranoid. He has cameras all over the outside of the house. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re inside too.
I’m not sure what my father does for work, but he spends his days in his office, and often he goes out after dinner, which I’m thankful for. I hear him stumble home drunk most nights, but I’ll never understand why Mom is so unbothered by it. I don’t think I’d like my husband going out most nights and stumbling home drunk with no clue where or who he’s been with.
The worst is when I hear the two of them going at it after he gets home—and I don’t mean fighting. Thankfully, it never lasts but a minute or two, and I can usually ignore it.
I stop when I get to the SUV and glance inside. All the windows are blacked out, so I can’t tell if anyone is in it, but I do notice that it's running. Just then the back window rolls down, revealing the handsomest man I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Lacy.” He smirks.
“You know my name?” I squeak in surprise.
“What are you doing, girl? Get in this house!” I spin around to see my father standing on the porch. “Leave Corano alone.”
“It’s Mr. Corano to you, John,” the man says, and I stand there a bit shocked. I’ve never seen or heard anyone correct my father. That only makes this Corano guy hotter than he already is.
My father’s jaw tightens like it always does when he’s annoyed. “Sorry, sir. Lacy, get in the house,” he orders again. This time I don’t move because my feet feel stuck.
“Go on,” Corano encourages, and I start to walk away from him. I’d rather stay and stare at the handsome man, but he clearly wants me gone.
I hurry up the stairs of the porch, and my father hisses at me, “To your room and don’t come out until I send your mother to collect you for dinner.”
“What are we having for dinner?” I ask, but I’m stalling.
I peek over my shoulder to see Corano is now out of the SUV and strolling up the sidewalk toward us. I could tell he was a big man when he was inside the car, but he’s way bigger than I thought. I don’t think I’ve seen anything built the way he is.
He’s not big in the same way as my father, whose belly hangs over his slacks, and the buttons of his shirts are always straining. Father isn’t tall either. This Corano is easily close to seven feet, and even though he’s built, his suit fits him perfectly.
“In,” my father snaps at me again, and I bolt into the house and up the stairs to my bedroom.
The whole time, I’m wondering who Corano is and if he’s staying. We never have guests at dinner. My dad will sometimes have people over, but they stay in his office and, more often than not, I have to stay in my room. I’m starting to think I’m an embarrassment to him. The last year he’s grown worse with keeping me locked inside the house.