Love Freely
Chapter One
After my Uncle Joe died in that car wreck, my
cousin Brittany just…snapped. She came to
stay with us to get better, you know?
Then she fell head–over–heels for my
boyfriend, Chad. Everyone acted like I had to
give him up.
Even Chad said, “Come on, Reagan, she’s
been through so much. Can’t you just cut her
some slack?”
Later, I ended up in a car accident myself.
While I was being rushed into surgery,
Brittany was sobbing in Chad’s arms.
“Everyone cares so much about her, even if
<
she dies. Nobody cares about me when I’m
alive.”
I died on that operating table. Brittany ended
up snagging my spot at Stanford and
marrying Chad.
Then I woke up, back when Brittany first
came to live with us.
- 1.
“You BITCH! You killed my dad, and now you
want my boyfriend too?”
I barely even opened my eyes before she was
on me, shoving me against the wall. Brittany
was holding a pair of scissors, practically
foaming at the mouth, ready to slice my face.
<
I instinctively pushed back, and she went
flying. The scissors went skittering across the
floor. Brittany stumbled backwards and went
tumbling down the stairs.
She scraped her hands up pretty good, blood
everywhere. She just sat there on the bottom
step, bawling her eyes out.
Everyone in the hallway stopped, staring.
“Reagan, what the hell are you doing?”
It was Chad, rushing over.
He helped Brittany up. “Are you okay?”
My best friend, Ashley, came hustling behind
him. She saw what was going on and lost it.
<
“Chad, are you blind? Brittany just tried to
carve Reagan’s face!
“Whose boyfriend are you anyway? Brittany
might not know, but you should!”
Ashley’s voice was loud, maybe a little too
loud. Brittany started shaking like she was
terrified. She buried her face in Chad’s chest
and cried harder.
Chad frowned. “Ashley, you know Brittany’s
not doing well. She’s got serious issues since
her dad passed away. You gotta have a little
compassion.”
Brittany, feeling protected, tugged at Chad’s
sleeve, repeating over and over, “You’re my
boyfriend.”
く
Chad patted her head gently. “Yeah, I am.”
Brittany perked up, glaring at me. “Stay away
from Chad, or you’ll regret it!”
Chad sighed, glancing at me with this.
apologetic look. Then he scooped Brittany up
in his arms. “Let’s get you to the ER to get
that hand checked out.”
