Page 1

CHAPTER 1

ARIELLA

S taring up at my new house, I shifted on my feet uncomfortably as I flicked a glance over my shoulder into the black night surrounding me and quickly pushed the doorbell. I'd always been afraid of the dark, of what lurked behind the blackness invisible to the naked eye. It was an irrational fear, but it didn't matter. It was always there, lingering, threatening to consume me.

Footsteps.

Glancing behind me again, I hit the doorbell again. "Come on, Mom," I muttered, humming and bouncing slightly as my nerves began to get the best of me. "What's taking so long?"

Footsteps again.

I spun around, squinting to see through the blackness. "Who's there?" I couldn't see anything but darkness past the front steps. "Mom?"

Silence.

Blowing out a sigh, I twisted back to the door, wrapping my arms around me. "Get a grip, Ari."

The front door opened. "Ari." My mother stepped back to let me in, and I rushed through the opening. "I was expecting you earlier."

I stopped in the entranceway and turned back toward the night. The door clicked shut, sealing out whatever lurked in the shadows.

I didn't know it then, but what I had to fear was living inside the house, not hiding in the darkness.

I sucked in a deep breath as I turned my gaze, sweeping over the foyer that I never thought I'd be standing in again. It still looked exactly the same: white walls, white and black marble tile flooring, and a tiered glass chandelier hanging low from the ceiling that looked like raindrops descending from the roof.

My chest tightened, and my heart ached as the memories of my best friend Kacie greeting me in this exact spot only two days before her death flooded forward. I wasn't supposed to stand here again, but here I was, standing with the last person I ever thought would answer this door.

"Traffic was terrible," I lied, shoving the memories back as I slid out of my coat.

The truth was I didn't want to come.

I didn't want to live with my mother in her new husband's home. The home where I'd had dozens of sleepovers with Kacie before she died, but I didn't have a choice.

This had never been part of the plan. When my mother left my father for Kacie's dad, I moved with him hundreds of miles away to a small town after he sold our family home.

I was furious with my mother.

How could she do that to my father?

How could she do that to her best friend, Anne, Kacie's mom?

How could she do that to me?

I planned to live with my dad until I moved into my dorm on the Westbrook University campus, where I had a full dance scholarship, including room and board. However, there was a mix-up, and they gave my bed away. So now I was homeless, and I had no place to go but my mother's new house, which was a few blocks away from campus.

"Well, it's no problem." She smiled, her hair darker and shorter than I remembered. "I'm so glad you're here."

She stepped in to hug me, but I remained stiff. The betrayal was still too fresh.

She pulled back, her smile faltering slightly. "But unfortunately, I have to leave to meet Dennis now."

Dennis. My new stepfather. I bit my tongue to keep from saying what I really thought.

"Come on," she waved for me to follow her, "I'll show you where your room is." I followed her through the all-white pristine living room to the forged iron and mahogany wood staircase. "You'll have the house to yourself tonight. Zaiden had practice, and if he does show up, it's usually only to grab something and leave."

My eyes widened. "Zaiden?" I gripped the banister, my knuckles turning white.

"He goes to Westbrook," Mom said, continuing up the stairs without noticing my reaction.

Zaiden Knight. The same Zaiden who looked me in the eyes at Kacie's funeral and whispered, "You are dead to me." The same Zaiden who was now apparently my stepbrother. I hadn't prepared for this because it was never in Zaiden's plans to go to Westbrook.

"I thought he moved away for college."

She shook her head. "No, he changed his mind. Maybe he can show you around campus and introduce you to new friends."

A harsh laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "No thanks." The last thing I needed was for them to try to force Zaiden to have any type of relationship with me. It had been almost a year since I'd seen him, but I didn't know how he would feel about me living here with him. Maybe enough time had passed that he wouldn't still hate me. "I can figure it out."

At the top of the staircase, she swerved left and stopped in front of Kacie's old room. "Suit yourself," she shrugged. "Here's your new room." My gaze followed her hand, and my heart pounded erratically as she reached for Kacie's doorknob, twisted, and pushed the door open.

"Mom." My voice cracked. "No. You can't be serious. This is Kacie's room."

"Ariella." She drew out my name with a sigh.

"Six bedrooms, Mom." I gestured down the hallway. "Six. And you're putting me in this one?"

"Kacie's not here anymore." Her lips pressed into a thin line. "There's no reason for this perfectly good room to go to waste."

My face twisted with horror as my eyes shifted to the room. "Where are all of Kacie's things?"

"Her father disposed of them." My chest tightened, and it was hard to breathe. "Everything is new for you. It's your room now."

I shook my head, unable to speak. "I?—"

"Oh, honey." She placed a hand over her heart. "Kacie would have wanted you to have her room."

My jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached. "Well, she's not fucking here to say that, is she? Would she have wanted you to fuck her dad behind your best friend's back?"

"I know you're angry, and you're saying things you don't mean."

I grunted. I meant everything I said. My mother was always good at being oblivious to reality.

"So, I'm going to let you cool off, and you can apologize later." We both knew I wouldn't apologize, but she spun on her heels and bolted for the stairs.

Watching her disappear down the staircase, a tear streamed down my cheek as the anger boiled over.

I didn't want to be here. My gaze shifted back to Kacie's room. My room. I didn't want to move into it like she never existed.