Page 9 of The Boy I Hate

Samantha:Tell your brother I’ll be ready at 10:00 a.m.sharp.

Reply dots came right away,as though Renee had beenwaiting.

Renee:Swwweeee! I will.Thankyou!!!!

Samanthagrinned.

Samantha:You’rewelcome.

Samantha setthe phone back on her desk, exhausted, and pushed her half-empty suitcase to the side of the bed and climbed inbesideit.

“Seventy-two hours,” she whispered. That was all she had to survive to get to NY. Seventy-two hours with TristanMontgomery.

God savehersoul.

5

ChapterFive

PresentDay

“He’s late,Ren. Are you sure he’s coming?” Samantha let the curtains slip between her fingers, allowing them to fall closed as she turned back to pace across the living roomfloor.

“He’s coming, Sam. I called him ten minutes ago, and he said he’s on his way. He’ll be there.Relax.”

“We’re going to hittraffic.”

Laughter came from the receiver. “Lunch timetraffic?”

“Be quiet!” She held back a tiny grin and leaned against the wall. “I’ve been dressed for over an hour, I hardly slept, making sure I had everything ready, and his being late really pisses me off. I thought you said he’dchanged?”

“He overslept, Sam, he’ll be there. Look, if he isn’t there in thirty minutes, I’ll buy youacoke.”

Samantha closed her eyes. “A rumandcoke.”

“Whatever you want,” Renee agreed. “But I have to get back to practice. Can you call me when he getsthere?”

Samantha sat down on her couch and clicked on the TV. “Sure. But if he’s not here in an hour I’m leavingwithouthim.”

“Fair enough,” Renee replied. “I’ll see you in afewdays.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Samantha placed her cell beside her on the couch and leaned back to switch the channel to Judge Judy. She’d been so stressed about this morning’s trip that she’d hardly slept at all. She kept having dreams about Tristan. About him hanging by his fingertips on the edge of a cliff and calling her name. “Sammie!Sammie!”

She would try to go to him, but the closer she got, the faster her heart would pound, because she couldn’t make her feet move. Even though she could see he was falling, she couldn’t go to him. She was afraid that if she did, she’d go over the cliffwithhim.

The dream was dark and disturbing to say the least, but there was so much truth to it. She was afraid of seeing Tristan again. Afraid that seeing him would pull her wild heart right out of her chest. Just like he had in the middle of the lake six yearsearlier.

* * *

Six yearsearlier

“Just jump,already!”

Samantha stood at the water’s edge, looking down from the dock as Tristan waded in the darkness of the lake below. A shiver raced through her. Not because it was cold—if anything, it was a hotter than usual. She shivered because suddenly she wasn’t sure she wanted to be there. She looked back over her shoulder. Toward the cabin where her best friend was still sleeping, sure she was making a huge mistake. But the evening was perfect, the sky crystal clear, displaying a plethora of stars too many to count, and the smells of the wilderness mingled with the scent offreedom.

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