Ava’s POV
The entire walk home, I couldn’t stop thinking about Zach.
He had followed me despite my protests, despite me telling him to leave me alone. He had never done that before. In fact, he had never even been nice to me. So why now?
When we reached my street, he finally stopped. “Take care,” he said, his voice oddly soft before turning around and walking away.
I stood there for a moment, watching his retreating figure. A part of me wanted to believe his kindness was real, but I wasn’t stupid. People didn’t change overnight.
Shaking my head, I turned and walked into the house, expecting the usual, my stepmother yelling at me, Sarah glaring at me with pure disgust, maybe even a slap if they were in a bad mood.
But the moment I stepped inside, I froze.
Something was wrong.
The d
