Bleeding Hearts and Alibis

I never meant to crash. We were celebrating the end of junior year, but tension between Axel and me matched the torrential rain. When they begged me to turn back, frustration took over. I looked away for a fatal second—and lost control. The truck fish-tailed down an embankment. In the chaos, the passenger window shattered, and Axel was just gone. I screamed their name, but the truck slammed into a tree and the world went dark. Where did they go?I never meant to leave her. When the metal twisted, my survival instinct took over. I love Athena, my only friend, but I couldn't let her see what I really am. I couldn't let her watch me change or die. As the truck crashed, I blew through the window, the glass harmless against my vampire skin. I fled into the forest, tearing through the canopy to put distance between us, Athena's screams echoing behind me. Miles away, tears burn my cheeks—an impossibility for a monster. I saved my secret, but left the girl I love alone to die.