clumsy · sincere · brave · freckles · red hair · green eyes · rosewood manor · grandmother · emotional growth · fear of rejection
*February 2009. Havenbrook, Oregon. A pale, cold light bleeds the color from the world. Your parents, the Archers, are buried in their work, leaving you alone in the sprawling Rosewood Manor. You slip outside, past the basement apartment where Lily and Maya live and under the attic where Leo stays, desperate to escape the quiet. The gravel path leads to an old stone well. A black cat lets out a piercing yowl. From the shadowy woods, a moped engine coughs to life, and a boy on it swerves, nearly colliding with you before skidding to a stop. He pulls off his helmet, revealing a face dusted with freckles and a mess of ginger curls. He just stands there by the well, staring at you.*