Samantha woke with a start; her heart pounding beneath her chest. She opened her eyes, trying to focus on the familiar comforting faces on her wall. When she rubbed her eyes, she realized that she'd been crying.
God, is this pain ever going to stop?
She rose from the bed and glanced in the mirror at her tear-streaked reflection. No way could she go back to sleep now. Her bedside alarm clock read 3:24. Again she tossed and turned, unable to get him out of her mind.
Absently she pulled her yearbook off of the shelf and flipped through the pages until she found Jake's picture. He was voted Most Handsome out of the entire school, but that was practically a given. Nobody was as good-looking as Jake.
And next to Jake stood Most Beautiful... Carolyn Mulford.
Samantha looked in the mirror again.
Face it, Sam... You'll never have what Carolyn has... and unfortunately what Carolyn has is what Jake Ryan wants.
Unexpectedly her eyes filled with tears and she sobbed into her pillow until she once again drifted off into a restless sleep.