Chapter 1
ONE
E ighth-Grade Gym Class
Haley wiped the sweat trickling down between her ample breasts, silently cursing the sports bra that was supposed to keep them in check. She hated running. Any girl her size would have felt the same. Haley was what her grandmother called “pleasantly plump,” with “junk in the trunk” and “more than a little upfront.”
Her body had betrayed her in sixth grade, transforming her from one of the guys to a social outcast in a single summer.
The girls she’d once called friends began whispering behind her back and were suddenly busy whenever she wanted to hang out. Her mom insisted they were jealous of her new curves. But Haley didn’t care about the reason. She just wanted her friends back.
Even the boys she’d grown up with acted differently around her, stammering and blushing whenever she came near. When they were in packs, their hurtful comments about her body cut far deeper than they would ever know.
Haley felt her body had morphed into something she didn’t recognize. Inside, she was still the girl everyone had deemed acceptable the year before. Mother Nature had played an ugly trick when she’d bestowed Haley with a bountiful backside and a rather excessive chest. There was no hiding it.
Friendless and miserable, Haley had even begged her mother to get a note from Dr. Haggen to excuse her from running the eighth-grade mile. Not only was gym class co-ed but there was also a high likelihood that her neighbor and nemesis, Ian Johnson, would be in her class.
Ian Johnson—whom Haley privately dubbed Satan—was one of the worst boys imaginable. Unlike the others, he didn’t blush or laugh nervously around her; if anything, her new body seemed to anger him.
She had no idea what she’d done to make him act so hatefully toward her. It was his fault that they didn’t get along. She couldn’t remember exactly how it started, but she knew one thing: Ian Johnson was the worst.
Coming around the track’s bend, Haley wiped her forehead and glanced up, hoping she was close to the finish line.
Ian looked over his shoulder about fifteen feet ahead, and their gazes met. A familiar charge passed between them, the same electric pulse that always did. Haley blinked, breaking the connection. Ian’s expression darkened, and he gave her an ominous nod.
If there were any justice in the world, maybe the ground would open up and let her disappear.
She had no idea what it meant but didn’t have long to ponder. Two boys brushed past her on either side, startling her. She stumbled, and one of them deliberately stuck out his foot, tripping her.
She fell forward, instinctively putting her hands out to break her fall. Her knee twisted, and she landed on her arm, painfully contorted beneath her.
She heard a sickening snap, followed by a scream—her own, she realized moments later as her gym teacher rushed to her side.
“Her arm!” one of the girls shouted. “Is that the bone sticking out?”
“Give her space!” Coach Larsen commanded. “Haley, are you all right?”
She tried to answer, but the pain was overwhelming. Her vision blurred, and her pulse thundered in her ears. Through it all, she saw Ian’s pale face as he pushed through the other kids to lean down and peer at her.
His face was tight with an expression she couldn’t read. Was it guilt? Concern? Haley didn’t know. He reached out a hand but stopped short when he noticed her wince.
“Was it them?” Ian’s voice was low and steady, but there was an edge to it. His eyes darted toward the two boys who had tripped her.
Haley blinked back tears, caught off guard. Why did he care? He’d been mocking her for months. She expected him to laugh with everyone else, not to come to her defense.
“Ian, move back,” Coach Larsen ordered as he arrived with the school nurse. Ian ignored him, his gaze still locked on Haley.
“Was it them?” he repeated, his voice sharper now. His knuckles were white, and his fists clenched at his sides.
Haley shook her head. “I… I just tripped.”
Ian’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. He straightened up, glaring at the boys so fiercely that one of them took a step back. Without another word, he turned and stalked off.
Haley’s arm throbbed with pain, yet her mind stayed on Ian. Why had he looked at her like that? Like he cared?
Coach Larsen’s whistle broke through her daze. “Let’s get you to the nurse’s office, Haley.”
As they helped her up, Haley glanced over at the edge of the field. Ian was still there, watching her. And for the first time, she felt something other than hate toward him—something unsettling and entirely new.