Her real parents abandoned her. Her adoptive parents force her to lie.
Jes Delaney can't remember anything before she was found at four, barefoot in the headlights of an old Ford. At fifteen, she has adjusted to moving without notice and never fitting in, but everything changes with her adoptive mom's hometown. There Jes falls for her mom's nephew, a love she hides when his betrayal leaves her isolated and driven to unravel the past.
After Jes befriends a strange new student, she discovers an unbelievable secret: he's from another planet and searching for a missing girl that just might be her. As Jes will learn, truth comes at a cost, but will she give up love to find out?
Excerpt:
The stone heaved a chilling breath through the fabric against my skin. My throat knotted around a sobbing mess no fifteen-year-old deserved, though tears were useless at this point.
Arms outstretched, I could feel my left hand but not the other. Pink and green stars danced across the ceiling, jarring with bass chords of music like a thunderstorm. My favorite song, but all I could picture were the people who left me in New York. I closed my eyes and their faces glared in black-and-white, not as my parents but as crinkled newspaper clippings.
Somewhere a switch flipped and row after row of fluorescents hummed to life, glowing beyond my eyelids. At the same time, the music died in a massive screech. The darkness in my heart dissolved with the voices around me. I opened my eyes to see Pade shoving through the crowd.
He dove to his knees beside me, taking my good hand in his. "Are you okay?"
Instead of his eyes, I focused on the skeleton face that glowed from the front of his T-shirt. The sunken eyes tugged at the corners of my mouth, reminding me of, well, something like hope.
His fingers tightened around mine. "Tell me where it hurts."
Pade's cologne teased my nose, threatening to unearth a longing no one could know about. A fog surrounded us as I raised my eyes to his. Voices pressed closer, threatening to steal his dark eyes, but I banished all thoughts of who he really was to me. I tried to push up with my free hand, but crashed down hard on my elbow.
"Hey," he said, in a flurry, and reached for my damaged hand.
I jerked back. "It's fine."
A ref dropped to my other side. "Let me see. Try to move your fingers. Good." She turned to Pade. "The wrist isn't broken, but she needs to have it checked out. Are you..."
"Yes," Pade said, with authority. "I'll call her mom."
"Get back everyone," the ref said and helped me to my feet.
"Don't call, please." I reached for Pade, but he was already cutting our path to a set of benches.
Lights switched off above and the music returned, which brought clapping from every angle. Since the ref had my good arm, I stared down and not at the faces.
"Just relax," she said, nudging me ahead. "Let your boyfriend handle this."
As she smiled, my heart sank. The girl was older, not really a woman, but definitely older than the sixteen years Pade could claim. Her eyes sparkled and I realized two things: she liked Pade and she was happy for me. I wanted to tell her Pade wasn't my boyfriend. The words were in my mouth, at the tip of my tongue, but I failed to spit them out. Explaining would be weird after the way he held my hand.
If only she could tell the truth without having to move again.
Jes Delaney can't remember anything before she was found at four, barefoot in the headlights of an old Ford. At fifteen, she has adjusted to moving without notice and never fitting in, but everything changes with her adoptive mom's hometown. There Jes falls for her mom's nephew, a love she hides when his betrayal leaves her isolated and driven to unravel the past.
After Jes befriends a strange new student, she discovers an unbelievable secret: he's from another planet and searching for a missing girl that just might be her. As Jes will learn, truth comes at a cost, but will she give up love to find out?
Excerpt:
The stone heaved a chilling breath through the fabric against my skin. My throat knotted around a sobbing mess no fifteen-year-old deserved, though tears were useless at this point.
Arms outstretched, I could feel my left hand but not the other. Pink and green stars danced across the ceiling, jarring with bass chords of music like a thunderstorm. My favorite song, but all I could picture were the people who left me in New York. I closed my eyes and their faces glared in black-and-white, not as my parents but as crinkled newspaper clippings.
Somewhere a switch flipped and row after row of fluorescents hummed to life, glowing beyond my eyelids. At the same time, the music died in a massive screech. The darkness in my heart dissolved with the voices around me. I opened my eyes to see Pade shoving through the crowd.
He dove to his knees beside me, taking my good hand in his. "Are you okay?"
Instead of his eyes, I focused on the skeleton face that glowed from the front of his T-shirt. The sunken eyes tugged at the corners of my mouth, reminding me of, well, something like hope.
His fingers tightened around mine. "Tell me where it hurts."
Pade's cologne teased my nose, threatening to unearth a longing no one could know about. A fog surrounded us as I raised my eyes to his. Voices pressed closer, threatening to steal his dark eyes, but I banished all thoughts of who he really was to me. I tried to push up with my free hand, but crashed down hard on my elbow.
"Hey," he said, in a flurry, and reached for my damaged hand.
I jerked back. "It's fine."
A ref dropped to my other side. "Let me see. Try to move your fingers. Good." She turned to Pade. "The wrist isn't broken, but she needs to have it checked out. Are you..."
"Yes," Pade said, with authority. "I'll call her mom."
"Get back everyone," the ref said and helped me to my feet.
"Don't call, please." I reached for Pade, but he was already cutting our path to a set of benches.
Lights switched off above and the music returned, which brought clapping from every angle. Since the ref had my good arm, I stared down and not at the faces.
"Just relax," she said, nudging me ahead. "Let your boyfriend handle this."
As she smiled, my heart sank. The girl was older, not really a woman, but definitely older than the sixteen years Pade could claim. Her eyes sparkled and I realized two things: she liked Pade and she was happy for me. I wanted to tell her Pade wasn't my boyfriend. The words were in my mouth, at the tip of my tongue, but I failed to spit them out. Explaining would be weird after the way he held my hand.
