A word of advice: don’t trust a man driving a pink taxi. He will attempt to set you up with your nemesis (whether it be one-sided or not. Apparently, Henry never felt threatened by me, the jerk) and accidentally give you food poisoning by ordering bad Chinese take-out.
I finished signing the paperwork at the hospital. Getting my stomach pumped was not on my to-do list today, but then again, neither was being essentially kidnapped. I sighed as I made my way to the waiting room, wondering how long it would take Abigail to get here. I pulled my phone out of my pocket just as Henry plopped down in the seat next to me. Even after getting his stomach pumped, Henry looked gorgeous. He made me so angry. “So,” Henry said after I’d glared at him for a minute, “great date, huh?” Someone’s phone began to ring and I saw that it belonged to the guy. He pulled it out of his pocket, looked at the screen, and then tossed it to me. I barely caught it I was so surprised. He ducked out of the plane, and I was left standing with a ringing flip-phone. Someone behind me grumbled and I quickly exited the plane, looking for the random man who just threw me his phone. The searching was futile. There had to have been three hundred different people standing in the wet field, and none of them looked familiar.
The phone was still ringing shrilly, and it was starting to get on my nerves. I flipped it open and held it to my ear, feeling every bit the spy in a bad 90s movie. Chapter One
Two weeks before graduation, my best friend Zelda found an old, piece-of-junk-barely-taken-care-of-pretty-sure-it-was-driven-off-of-a-cliff-at-some-point 1971 Chevy Nova in a steely gray color that matched her eyes. She bought it right there and decided that we needed to take a trip, as a last “hurrah!” before we all left for college the next fall. She brought a map of the United States to school the next day and proceeded to show us her plan for the ultimate road trip in her new car. Unfortunately, Harry already had a summer job lined up, and Eve's parents refused to let her travel the country in a less-than-reliable car. And Laura, well, she had an aversion to death. Frankly, I did too, but Zelda was too excited for me to say no to. So, that is how I came to be at some trashy gas station off of Highway Whatever in the middle of Kansas, three hours after visiting the World's Largest Ball of Yarn and six days after I graduated high school. Zelda got a T-shirt. I got a bottle of aspirin. Chapter One
London, 2003 It was another dreary, rainy day in London, but Adeline Kingsbury didn't mind. She dipped her brush in the grey oil paint she had by her side and continued to paint the grey sky she was currently looking at through her giant window. Her art studio was perfect: a large room with wooden floors and a window that took up over half of the far right wall, an old couch her mother had thrown out months ago had precedence in the middle, and the art supplies that filled every available space. Adeline loved her art studio; it was her only time away from the rushing of everyday life, and often times it felt more like home than her family's own large mansion did. She had just put the finishing touches on her latest painting (Why Stay Inside When You Can Dance In the Rain?) when her phone began to ring. Adeline rushed across the room to where her coat hung on the coat rack, pulled out her phone, and quickly flipped it up to answer the call. "Hello?" she answered. "Adeline," her mother responded, her voice just as commanding over the phone as it was in real life, "what are you doing? Where are you?" "Going to my next class," Adeline lied. She was studying business and art history at University, although her parents didn't know about art history. Being the only living heir to her parents, Adeline was meant to be the next CEO of Kingsbury's Castles, a hugely successful real estate company that had been in the family for years. They were known for their success at buying grand houses at great prices, even when the family only wanted a one-story house with two bedrooms. Elaine and Austin Kingsbury had a way of making your life seem more than it really was. Kingsbury's Castles truly was a successful business, with great reviews and happy employees. It would be a wonderful, steady job for their only daughter. The only problem: Adeline had no interest in real estate whatsoever. "Oh, sorry darling. How has class been so far?" "Fine. Great. Look, Mother, I really have to go. I'm going to be late. Love you." "Huh? Oh, yes. You too, dear. Oh, and don't forget about the dinner with the Lowells' tonight!" The phone clicked, and Adeline closed her phone, returning it to her coat pocket. She sighed and closed her eyes, dreading the idea of faking her way through a conversation with Ransom Lowell and choking down the organic food that Mrs. Lowell always had prepared. She was the type of mother who didn't believe in vaccinating her children. Yes, tonight was going to be a long night. Adeline was truly getting sick of dodging Ransom's proposal attempts, for of course they would be married, the only children of two of the wealthiest families in London. They would be marries in autumn, with Adeline in a dress with lace sleeves and a full skirt and Ransom in a sharp black suit. Then, they would have three children, all blond-haired and blue-eyed who would grow up to be a doctor, a real estate agent, and a disappointment, in that order. It made Adeline sick to her stomach to think of her guaranteed marriage to Ransom Lowell, a boy with cold eyes and an even colder tongue. Adeline prayed that she would come down with some sort of sickness before tonight. She sighed. "I need new art supplies," she told herself. Adeline shrugged on her coat and left her studio. Prologue: White Tulips
The day before I turned five was the day my world changed. Before, I was Tallulah Evans, resident of the blue two-story house on Earl Boulevard. There were white tulips planted all around my house because that was my mom's favorite flower. I, being the soon-to-be-five-year old I was, also thought white tulips were my favorite flower. I had a pink room, as so many little girls do. I was extremely impressionable. My older brothers, Danny and James, thought it was hilarious that I did whatever they told me to do. That's why, the day before my fifth birthday, the day the new neighbors moved in across the street, they dared me to go introduce myself to the son. And say that I was in love with him. And, being the four-year old idiot that I was, I did it. Danny had held my left hand and James my right as they'd marched me across the street. Once I was safely deposited on the grass, they had both run at the mother and father who were arguing over something to do with the boxes. I remember looking around for the boy I was supposed to confess my love to. I remember seeing him for the first time: He was walking through his new front door. Now, I know I was only four-years old, but I swear, in that moment, I knew what love felt like. Of course, I'd always had crushes on boys with blonde curls. Suddenly, I was embarrassed that I had to tell this boy that I loved him. It was apparent to me at this point that I had a crush. And to say that I was in love with him? I may have been an idiot, but I wasn't stupid. But I knew I had to; I'd never backed down from a dare from my brothers. They'd tear me to shreds if they knew I'd chickened out, or worse. They might tell this boy about my crush. So, I had sucked it up and walked over to him. He had glanced at me as I came up and stood in front of him. I'd shoved my hand in front of his face and waited. He'd stared at me. I'd given him a large smile, the one that showed a dimple. I may have been an idiot, but I knew I was adorable. Impressionable, but confident. "Hi, I'm Tally. I live across the street," I'd said. He'd looked at me before grinning back and taking my hand, shaking it with all of his might as five-year old boys do to girls they just met. "I'm Ian. It's nice to meet you." "I love you," I had replied. I remember his brow furrowing just a bit before my brothers grabbed me by the arms and dragged me back to my house. The next day was my birthday. My parents had decided to just throw a small party, but invited some last minute guests. I had walked down the stairs in my generic pink tutu, and saw the boy from across the street sitting on the floor in front of his parents who were talking to my parents. They had all looked up as I'd made my entrance, Danny and James being stupid and throwing pink confetti at me that they would later have to clean up. "There's the birthday girl!" My dad had said, coming over and swinging me up into his arms. "Mark, Adelaide, this is our daughter, Tallulah. Tally, these are our new neighbors, the Mallards'. And this," my mother had gestured to Ian then. "Is their son, Killian. He's only a few months older than you." I remember daring Ian with my eyes to say anything about yesterday. I knew I wouldn't get in trouble for it, my brothers would be blamed, but I didn't want to be humiliated on my birthday. He had looked me straight in the eyes, then smiled a mocking smile. "I've been five for four and a half months," he'd bragged. I'd broken out in a grin. Maybe I'd fallen a tiny bit in love with him. |
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