Chapter One Maggie hated herself at that moment. So much so that in her thoughts, when she cursed herself, she called herself by her given name of ‘Margaret’ instead of what she insisted everyone else calls her, Maggie. She lay there with tears swelling in her eyes, but refused to allow one teardrop to fall down her cheek. You’re so stupid, Margaret. You will not cry. Not in front of your stepson. You’re a grown woman, an...

Chapter One Maggie “I can’t believe how warm the water is,” Maggie said. “Well, that’s Florida, babe. When you get this much sun and heat all the time, you get warm water,” her husband, Jack, said. Jack wore his sunglasses and carried a can of beer in his hand as he waded into the water. Maggie had bought a black one-piece bathing suit that morning before they all went down to the beach. She wore that instead of the slend...

Maggie The following morning, Maggie was woken up by more of Jack’s yelling into his cell phone. She flinched and blinked stressfully until she realized he was on the other side of the room. Apparently, his friend in Michigan was attempting to take sole ownership of the gyms that were in Michigan, and Jack was having none of it. He said he was going to Michigan that morning to “end this friendship and end Adam.” Maggie ha...

Chapter One Maggie The drive home was a quiet one. They listened to the radio mostly, but occasionally spoke to each other as Nick drove the three-and-a-half-hour trip back to Atlanta. They both spent their time contemplating life when they returned from vacation, but more importantly, what the future would look like now that the two of them had come so close in body and mind. Nick, being a 19-year-old boy, was sure to se...

Nick Nick didn’t know how much more he could take. He sat there in a daze as the grown-ups talked. That’s how he felt, like a child sitting at the grown-ups’ table. Only he didn’t belong to anyone. He didn’t have a biological mother because she ran away. He didn’t have a stepmother because he had ruined that relationship over the past week. And now he wished he didn’t have a father. He sat at the hotel kitchen table in a...