Chapter 2

I woke up to my ancient alarm clock blaring at six AM. At least I had plenty of time to get ready and walk to school.

Melissa would already be at work by now, and Frank usually didn''t crawl out of bed until after eleven.

I slipped out of my room as quietly as possible and tiptoed to the bathroom. Waking Frank up was basically asking for a death wish.

In the bathroom, I ran a comb through my long chocolate-brown hair. Everyone on Melissa''s side had platinum blonde hair, which made me stick out like a sore thumb. Then there were my eyes - I have this rare thing called heterochromia, so they''re two different colors. My left eye is this really pale blue, and my right one is deep brown.

Grandma hardly ever talked about my dad, but when she did, she''d mention he had the same condition.

Part of me thought that''s why Melissa couldn''t stand me - her own daughter. Something went down between her and my father that made him bail on both of us.

Every month, Grandma used to get these mystery checks made out to me. When I moved in with Melissa, she started getting them instead. The only difference? She spent every penny on herself and Frank.

I stared at my reflection and sighed. I felt like a walking freak show. Sure, I had friends back at my old school, but there were always kids who made my life hell because of my eyes. It took forever to actually accept this part of myself and think it was something beautiful.

I threw on the most basic outfit I could find - skinny jeans, white tank top, black jacket. The goal was to disappear into the crowd.

I grabbed the granola bar I''d bought yesterday and headed out. Following the directions that girl gave me, I was relieved the school wasn''t too far. The walk ate up half my morning, and by the time I got there, the parking lot was packed. Kids were jumping out of cars and streaming toward the entrance, chattering away.

I slipped into the crowd and tried to blend in.

My first stop was the office, which wasn''t hard to find thanks to this huge sign hanging from the ceiling.

"Well hello there, sweetie." A round woman in a purple sweater beamed at me, her glasses sliding down her nose. "You must be new."

I nodded and gave her a small smile. "Aurora St. Claire."

Dad gave me his last name when I was born, and even though Melissa kept pushing me to change it to Frank''s, I refused.

"What a gorgeous name." The woman smiled, shuffling through some papers. "Here we go, Miss Aurora." She handed me a packet with a warm smile.

"Thanks." I smiled back and turned to leave.

I was studying my class schedule when I slammed into what felt like a brick wall - except brick walls don''t smell like expensive cologne.

My butt hit the floor hard, and the entire hallway went dead silent.

I looked up at whoever I''d crashed into and my jaw literally dropped.

Standing over me were two massive, very pissed-off twins. I''d never seen guys who looked like they''d stepped off the cover of a magazine instead of wandering the halls of some random high school.

Both had jet-black hair, sharp jawlines, and these incredibly dark eyes. They were built like athletes - all muscle but still lean. One twin had his hair buzzed on the sides with length on top, while the other had that perfectly messy look that most guys try and fail to pull off. Each was ridiculously gorgeous in his own way.

One of them had this tall blonde wrapped around his arm, and she was looking at me like I was something she''d scraped off her shoe.

"What the hell is wrong with her eyes?" the blonde sneered, staring down at me like I was trash.

I barely glanced at her - I couldn''t stop staring at these two god-like twins standing over me. They exchanged a look, like they were having some silent conversation.

I bit back an eye roll, but my mouth had other plans. "It''s a condition."

"Fucking freak," the blonde spat. "Watch where you''re going next time."

With that, the insanely hot twins and the bitchy blonde walked away. The twins hadn''t said a single word to me, and I couldn''t decide if that was good or bad. The look in their eyes was ice-cold, and I had this sinking feeling I''d just met my new tormentors.

So much for keeping to myself.

I picked myself up off the floor and somehow found my locker. I couldn''t help scanning every hallway, hoping to catch another glimpse of those twins - just to let my eyes feast on them one more time.

After giving myself a serious pep talk about blending in and not drawing attention, I made avoiding them my top priority.

My first class was twin-free and blonde-free. The teacher pointed me to a seat in the back, and I plopped down next to a girl with thick glasses and crazy red curls.

She gave me a friendly smile. "I''m Tori."

I glanced around at all the nosy students nearby and lowered my voice. "Aurora."

"Whoa, cool name." Tori nodded, doodling on her paper.

I shrugged. "My dad picked it."

"My dad wanted to name me Charlie." Tori looked horrified, and I couldn''t help giggling. "Your eyes are awesome, by the way."

"Thanks." I smiled. It was rare to get compliments on my weird eyes.

"My childhood friend had the same thing, but only in one eye." Tori grinned.

I spent most of class talking to Tori and trying to casually ask about those god-like twins I''d literally crashed into.

"Oh, the twins." Tori blushed and scowled at her paper. "Kade and Alec."

"Which is which?" I frowned. Their names totally fit their whole bad-boy vibe.

Tori looked confused. "I always mix them up, but I think the one with longer hair is Alec and the other''s Kade."

"Got it." I nodded.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t get them out of my head. The way they''d looked at me was so cold, but it made me feel... strange. Yet I kept thinking about them.

"I wouldn''t mess with them if I were you," Tori warned, shaking her head. "They sleep around. A lot."

"Wasn''t planning on it," I said quickly.

Right then and there, I promised myself I''d stay away from those twins. Not that they''d ever go for someone like me anyway. They seemed to be into the whole glamorous model type.

I was the complete opposite - I kept to myself and was a total klutz.

Tori and I made weekend plans while we chatted. She told me about her job at this restaurant in town and even offered to help me get a waitressing gig there.

She said she''d give me a ride after school tomorrow for an interview.

"It''s not fancy or anything, but it''s the nicest place we''ve got in this town," Tori shrugged. "You can make decent tips if you know how to flirt."

I laughed. "I have no clue how to flirt."

I was definitely worried about waitressing. My clumsiness got ten times worse when I was nervous, and nobody wants a waitress spilling drinks all over them.

"You''ll learn. It comes with the territory," Tori said.

I felt like I was having a lucky day when I walked into my next class and saw Tori in the back.

We kept talking through the whole period.

"People here really aren''t that bad," Tori smiled. "You''ll be fine as long as you avoid Grace and her crew."

"Grace?" I frowned.

"The blonde who hangs with the twins," Tori explained, and suddenly I could put a name to that perfect face. Grace was the supermodel-looking girl who''d called me a freak. Great start.

"I think I already screwed that up," I grimaced.

Tori shuddered. "Just stay completely away from the twins from now on. She''s dating Kade and she''s crazy possessive."

I was more than happy to follow Tori''s advice, but apparently my luck had run out.

My next class had both twins in it. They sat by themselves at this big square table. My heart practically fell out of my ass when the teacher told me to sit with them. Walking toward the back, I managed to kick someone''s table leg and nearly face-planted. I caught myself just in time and ignored the snickers from other students.

With my face burning and my stomach doing backflips, I sank into a chair at the twins'' table. I avoided eye contact until I could get my racing heart under control.

I could feel two sets of eyes burning into me, and I let out a shaky breath. When I finally looked up, I met both their gazes. They were sitting across from me, those dark eyes boring into mine.

Sitting this close to them was torture in the best possible way. I got a much better look at them, and they were even more devastating up close.

Kade was slightly more muscular than his brother, but their faces were almost identical. Thick eyebrows, long lashes, full lips. Sitting there in silence, I tried to pick a favorite and realized it was impossible. They were both equally gorgeous and I couldn''t choose.

"Oh look, Kade," Alec smirked, his voice dripping with amusement. "It''s the little girl with the weird eyes."

My voice caught in my throat at the sound of Alec''s voice. It was deep and rough around the edges.

Kade''s lips curved into a smirk while his cold eyes looked me over. "This is the girl Grace was talking about?"

"The one who doesn''t watch where she''s going," Alec smirked at his brother.

They were talking about me like I wasn''t even there. Like the brilliant, articulate person I am, I just sat there trying not to stare.

Both of them knew exactly how hot they were - it was obvious. That didn''t mean they had to be complete assholes. I was starting to regret this weird instant attraction I had to them.

"I hadn''t noticed," Kade sneered, and I held back a flinch.

Even though Frank tears me down when he''s drunk, you''d think I''d be used to this by now. For some reason, what these twins said actually got to me, and they were way harder to ignore than Frank.

"Oh look, Kade," Alec smirked. "The little doll is trying to ignore us."

My heart jumped at what he called me. I couldn''t tell if it was an insult or a compliment. The way they both stared at me scared me and awakened something deep inside.

"Ignoring us will only make things worse for you, sweetheart," Kade said, his dark eyes feeling hot on my skin.

My heart kept racing at these pet names. I had no idea what game they were playing - borderline bullying while calling me things that sounded almost... affectionate. I scolded myself for thinking they might actually like me. Why would someone like me catch the attention of two god-like twins?

I kept ignoring them, and Kade was right - it definitely made things worse.

The entire class they kept making comments that pushed every button I had. I wasn''t sure if they wanted me to snap or have some kind of breakdown, but I wasn''t giving them the satisfaction.

They made me do all the work on our group project - something that was supposed to take a week to finish.

I couldn''t decide which class was worse - the one with both twins, or my next one with Grace and her friends.

My next period had Alec, Tori, Grace, and the rest of her crew.

I was lucky enough to sit next to Tori the whole time, but Alec kept smirking and messing with me.

One look told me Grace absolutely hated my guts, and that wasn''t changing anytime soon. The more attention Alec gave me, the angrier she got. Why she cared what her boyfriend''s brother did was beyond me.

Somehow I survived the rest of the school day. We only had five classes, but they felt endless, and I was unlucky enough to have both twins in two of them.

My last class was gym. Gym was always the worst, but knowing I had it with both twins made it ten times worse. I was naturally uncoordinated, and feeling their intense stares would only make it worse. Luckily, I got to sit out until they found me a uniform. Knowing I''d officially start gym on Monday made my stomach twist into knots.

A whole week flew by before I knew it. Frank was as awful as ever, but I did my best to avoid any confrontations or his wandering hands.

The twins kept tormenting me, somehow managing to upset me and confuse me at the same time. Grace and her friends escalated from dirty looks and whispers to full-blown nasty comments. Tori and I got closer after I was hired at the same restaurant where she works - this little Italian place downtown.

I even made another friend in one of my classes - this athletic girl named Autumn with sandy blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

My first weekend in Georgia was here, and I planned to spend most of it working. After buying school supplies and groceries for the week, I had a lot of money to make up for.

I wasn''t sure if things were looking up or just settling into a new normal.