Chapter 1
Sara
Sweat poured down my face as I sent my round-house kick high in the air. I wiped the droplets away with the outside of my arm, attempting to keep them from entering my eyes. I definitely did not want to be blind right now. Kickboxing was hard enough without my ability to see being impaired.
"Five more; Keep going! You're doing great!" I heard my instructor yell. Ugh. My butt was burning and my heart was pumping faster than ever. I didn't think I could do one more, let alone five. But if I wanted to go undercover for the government, I needed this. It was my dream to work as an undercover spy for the U.S. government and it was very important that I be in the best shape possible.
"Excellent job! Now just walk in place. Let's get our heart rates back down."
I slowed down my pace and let my legs move at a steady pace. I could feel my lungs filling with air. In through the nose, out through the mouth. I put my hands over my head as the cramps began. I winced in pain trying to take in deeper breaths. In, out. In, out. Finally I could breathe again and my heart rate began to decrease. I stretched my arms out as I kept the pace with the instructor.
"Well done, class. I will see you on Friday." Today was Tuesday. The room became loud with gossip and we all turned around to leave.
"How'd you do, Sara?" Matt asked me as we walked to the back of the room to grab our gym bags. Matt was an old friend from high school who didn't leave Los Angeles, like me, when our class graduated. We had attempted to date once, but it didn't go very far. We just weren't compatible. He wanted to just lay back and raise a family but I had too many goals for myself. I wasn't going to stay put long enough to even think about marriage.
"Great. My butt hurts and my arms are weak. Sounds like a wonderful work out to me!"
Matt just shook his head, stifling a laugh. I smiled. "See you on Friday," I told him as I snatched my bag up off the floor, heading for the door. I took a drink from my water bottle before walking outside. My teeth chattered as I walked toward my car. The night air was colder than usual. I wrapped my arms around my chest, trying to keep myself warm. After sweating, being outside in the cold breeze was not ideal. I did not want to end up with pneumonia or anything. I unlocked my car and tossed my bag in the back seat, slamming the door in a rush so I could turn on the heat in my car. I flung open my door and plopped down in my seat.
"Damn it!" I yelled after I turned my key three times, unsuccessfully getting my car to work. "This car is brand new! There's no way the battery could've gone dead already!" I jumped out of my seat and stomped toward the hood of the car. I raised my hands in the air and nearly screamed when I realized that I still needed to pop the hood. I threw my arms down at my sides and walked back toward the driver's seat.
"Need some help?" a male voice asked. Huh. I hadn't even seen him pull in there. He was driving a bright yellow mustang and had a smirk on his face as he asked me the question, copping a lean.
"No, I'm fine." I replied, my face bright red. It was bad enough that my car wasn't working, but why did he have to be so cute? It just made the situation so much worse! His dark brown hair fell in waves, some falling in his face and he had a smile that could make any women turn into the witch from The Wizard of Oz. His eyes were baby blue, brought out even more by his high cheekbones.
"Are you sure?" he asked, standing up from his lean that positioned him against his car.
"Yes." I sharply replied.
"Okay," he said with a smirk. He didn't move.
I stomped back toward the front of my car and opened the hood. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. Great, my battery must be dead. Now I need to ask this guy for a jump. I turned around to ask him for help. His hands were in his pockets and he smiling at me, as if he already knew that I was going to need to ask.
"Alright, I guess it would be nice if you could give me a jump." I told him, sighing in defeat.
"No prob," he said as he walked toward the back of his car. He popped his trunk and began searching for his jumper cables. "You're Sara Andrews, right?"
I felt panic begin to prick at my body. "Yeah. Why?"
"I took your kickboxing class last week and thought I recognized you, that's all." He grabbed the cables and closed his trunk.
"Oh," I responded, slightly relieved but still a little wary. He opened his car's hood and then attached his jumper cable before walking toward my car. He tried to make conversation as he helped me get my car started.
"So where are you from?" he asked.
"Los Angeles. Here. I never found the urge to leave after graduating high school. I love this place too much."
"Nice. I'm not originally from around here, so this place makes me panic sometimes." He laughed.
"Really? It's not too bad. Where are you from?" I asked him.
"Oh, you've never heard of it, I'm sure." He looked down at the engine, no longer smiling.
"Try me." I knew nearly every place in this country possible. I was going to need to know that information some day, I was sure. I had studied maps and encyclopedias since I was a little girl. I shuttered at how nerdy that must sound to others.
"Trust me. You've never heard of it. Okay, start your engine." I sat back down in the driver's seat and turned my key. The engine roared to life. Now all that needed to happen was for the juice from his battery to make its way into mine. When I turned to look back at this guy's car, he was right by my side, his hand reaching for my shoulder. "Geez!" I yelped as I jumped in my seat. I reached in my purse for my pepper spray as I realized what was going on. This guy didn't want to help me. He wanted to hurt me. But before I got the chance to turn back around, I blacked out.
Gabrielle
"Gabi! Wake up!" Mom yelled from outside my bedroom door. I hated it when she did that. Couldn't she just come in and poke me or something? I glanced at my clock. It was 4:30 in the morning and I had to help with chores. I hated Wednesdays. I had to pick the eggs from the chickens, milk the cows, and clean the barn. All before 7. I rolled out of bed, my eyes barely open, and changed into jeans and a t-shirt. I yawned as I walked down the stairs, holding onto the railing as tight as possible to keep from tripping. I had tripped so many times walking down these stairs it was ridiculous. Staying up last night to watch Never Been Kissed was obviously not a good idea. The movie was good but I'd never do that again.
"Gabi. Wake up," my mom said as she handed me my Pop Tarts. Brown sugar, my favorite. I smiled, ate them quickly and then pulled my boots on. I gulped down my glass of milk that had been sitting on the counter before heading toward the back door.
"Thanks, Mom," I said on my way out. I grabbed the bucket that was lying beside the house, put on my gloves and walked across the backyard. I tripped once on my way to the barn, causing me to jolt awake. Luckily, I didn't fall. I opened the barn door, walked back toward the chicken coop and began to search for eggs. Wow. There aren't too many eggs today. Mom wasn't going to be happy. I sighed. Great. I'm going to have to do this again tomorrow. After searching for every possible egg in the coop, I put my bucket of eggs near the barn door and walked into Madeline's stall.
"Good morning, Maddie!" I exclaimed as I ran my hand down her neck. She mooed. I grabbed the stool and pail from the back corner and began to milk Maddie. She was so calm today. I smiled. Living on the farm had its perks. It was peaceful, I got to be close to the animals and I wasn't as wrapped up in society as everyone else seemed to be. I didn't have a Facebook account or a MySpace account or anything. When would I ever use them? I did keep in touch through e-mail, but mostly I read in my spare time. I didn't even own one video game. After a while, I got as much milk as I needed.
"Thanks, Maddie!" I told her as I patted her head on my way out. Again, she mooed. I closed the gate to her stall and stretched my arms high above my head. I leaned back a little, trying to get rid of the kink in my back. Milking a cow did things to your body. Finally it was time to clean. I grabbed my shovel and started with the horses. I had to get rid of all the manure before I could put more hay back in the stalls.
"Hi there," I heard a voice say from behind me as I was shoveling. I jumped and spun around to see who was talking to me. He giggled. "Sorry to scare you."
"Oh, it's okay," I replied, the blood already starting to rise in my cheeks. He was cute. His brown, wavy hair fell in his face and his bright blue eyes peeked out over his high cheekbones. "Can I help you?" I asked.
"I was wondering if you guys might need a stable hand. I just recently came to Dallas and was told that the Snyder residence might be interested. Are you Gabi?"
"Oh yeah, that's me! Um, I'm not quite sure what's going on, though. I don't think we've ever actually been asked that before and I don't think we put out an ad about a stable hand, but let me go check." I opened the gate to the horse's stable and walked into the hall of the barn. I closed the gate behind me. "Why don't you come with me? I can introduce you to my—" I gasped as I saw his hand touch my shoulder and then everything went black.
Brooke
"They came! They came!" I squealed as I burst in the front door of my apartment. My roommate was sitting on the couch, surrounded by pop cans and bags of chips. I reminded myself that we really needed to clean. I jumped onto the couch next to her and ripped open the manila envelope. I pulled out the pictures and she squeezed as close to me as possible so we could critique them together.
"These are awesome pictures, Brooke!" Katie screamed. I had just gotten my pictures developed that I was going to be sending to modeling agencies, hoping for a break through. I was 5'9" with black hair and blue eyes. I met the qualifications. I just worried that there were so many other girls out there like me, struggling through school and looking for a break. At least my roommate was excited.
"Thanks, Katie. I hope they like them!" I responded, worried. She seemed to sense my anxiety.
"If they don't Brooke, they're idiots. Every guy in this town wants you. I'm sure they'll want you, too," Katie said with a genuine smile. That was why I loved Katie so much. She was everything I wasn't—and couldn't—be. Guys never took me seriously. I was just a pretty face with a great body. Katie was so much more. She had the brains, she was sweet, she could make anyone laugh; she was everything I wished I could be.
After we had finished dinner and watching re-runs of Friends, the phone rang. Katie answered. "Hello? Oh hey, Jack! Yeah, she's here. Wait, what's going on? Yeah, let me ask. Hey Brooke, do you want to go to a party tonight?" My eyes lit up.
"Of course I do!" I squealed. "Tell Jack we'll be there in an hour." I didn't hear the rest of their conversation because I was running to my room, looking for an outfit to pick out. A party; I loved parties! I flew open my closet doors and began looking at my clothes. So many! I sighed. Well, I guess we'll begin at the front. I looked at each shirt and pushed them aside. I wanted something sexy. Jack was so hot. I needed to look sexy. As I reached toward the back of the closet, I saw my pink, sparkly halter top and knew it was the one. I dug through my drawers for my dark jean mini skirt and dressed as quickly as possible, putting on my silver heels as a plus. I smiled. There's no way Jack is going to resist me tonight.
Katie was done with her hair by the time I got to the bathroom. She knew the system. She did her hair as I dressed (it always took me forever) and then I did my hair while she dressed. We usually did our makeup together. She had pulled her blonde hair back into a curly ponytail, highlighting her facial features. "Be back in a bit," she said as she practically skipped toward her bedroom.
I smiled then pulled my hair out of the ponytail it was in and shook it out. I ran a brush through it before bringing the curling iron into the picture. By the time I was done with my hair, it was down in loose curls and Katie had already started on makeup. 20 minutes later, both of our faces on, we were ready to go—and late as always.
"You told Jack we'd be late right?" I asked.
"No, but I'm sure he knew," Katie said with a giggle. I laughed. We reached Jack's house in no time.
"Ow, ow!" I heard Jack bark as we walked toward the door. "Don't you two look mighty fine tonight?!" He smiled.
"Hi Jack," Katie and I said at the same time. We kissed him simultaneously on both of his cheeks.
"Yeah!" he yelled as the other girls just cast us evil glances.
"Brooke!" I heard a male voice from behind me say.
"Do I know you?" I responded as I turned around, my right hand on my hip. I was here for Jack. That was my mission. I was not going to spend much time talking to this guy. I had to get him to leave as quickly as possible.
"Well, I just came to Las Vegas not too long ago, so I doubted you would remember me. I'm Aiden."
"Fine. Nice to meet you," I said as I started to turn back toward Jack.
"Wait a minute," Aiden said. "Can I ask you a quick question? Alone?"
Alone? Oh, so this was how it was going to be. I was going to have to let this guy down easy. "Fine," I said as I started walking toward the sidewalk, my arms crossed over my chest. Aiden followed. "What's up?" I asked as I turned toward him, a glare clearly showing on my face. At another time I might've been interested in getting to know him a little better. His brown wavy hair fell in his face and his bright blue eyes were just gorgeous, highlighted by his high cheekbones.
"I met your sister the other day," he said.
"Sister? I don't have a sister." I was not in the mood for some silly conversation.
"Actually you do. And well, you're going to meet them," he said as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"What?" I attempted to get out. But it was too late. Everything went black.
