Prologue

Our sun is strangely powerful. A gas giant composed of mostly hydrogen and helium, twenty-seven million degrees (Fahrenheit) at its core and so large that a million Earths could fit inside. It provides light for our crops and stability for life for millions of years. The same sun shown over one of my namesakes, Helen of Troy, as she provoked the Trojan War and the same sun will shine on my descendants years from now. I’ve always loved to sit and bask in the light of the sun, it provided me a feeling of comfort and protection. It’s always been my safety blanket, my go-to for hot summer days when there’s nothing else to entertain me. It’s always been my protector, my guardian watching over my shoulder while lighting my path ahead. Even in consideration of all that, I’ve always known that not all crimes exist in the dark.

Introduction

Redland. One word, seven letters to describe my life. I’ve lived here since I was born and will most likely die here when I’m old. Hidden in the depths of America’s breadbasket, Redland sits as the county seat for Ashy County, which is filled with nothing but cornfields. A monotonous name for a monotonous town filled with citizens that are only copies of one another. If you don’t fit the copy standards, then you live on the edge of Redland’s society.

My father is the sheriff for Redland, so sadly I have strong ties with the town. I’ve always had a passion for leaving this place. As many memories I’ve created here, I just feel as if there’s no future for me. Ideally, I would just hit the road and drive until I hit the ocean or my old car breaks down, but sadly that’s not how things work for me. Currently I’m working at a failing gas station on the outskirts of town, trying to help bring in a little extra income for the household. Since my mother flaked and left our family, I feel a certain responsibility as the oldest sibling to pick up some of the slack. Dad’s sheriff job pays pretty well, but it’s not easy to care for three children as a single parent. Especially considering I have two younger twin brothers, Reed and Elliot, with a destructive streak in the household. They aren’t particularly intending harm against our development, they’re just rowdy, obnoxious, and contain an abundance of energy. Reed has ADHD as well, so he’s always energetic and craving the hot summer days.

I’ve had my gas station job since I got a license at sixteen, but back then my money solely went to my plan of escape from Redland. I felt less charitable toward the household and more like a grain of dust in the wind, ready to fly and see where I go. One of my goals is to see the ocean, I’ve always read stories of the water hitting land in loud yet soothing crashes and the feeling of hot sand stuck between your toes. It’s a feeling I’ve always dreamt about. Another one of my goals is to track down my mother, who lives somewhere in the country. Dad doesn’t know where she is, but I feel like I could track her down to get the answers I desperately need. Every few years she moves from town to town, so a couple years after my parents’ divorce, which was thirteen years ago, my father finally lost contact with my mother. The only reason he kept in contact was for my benefit, just so I could hear her voice. By then she had a new boyfriend, so Dad didn’t feel the need to talk to her. Reed and Elliot were only infants then, so they have no clue what happened and don’t remember her.

Anyway, I have a lot of questions to which only my mother has an answer. I want to know why she left us here without a reasoning for her leaving. I also want to know why she wouldn’t take me with her. In my thoughts, I’ve pictured what my life would have been if I had trekked off with Mom. Maybe I would have attended one of the most prestigious schools in New York, or perhaps I would have jetted off with her and her new boyfriend to Paris only to stand upon the Arc de Triomphe and gaze over the magnificent city. I possibly could have been living on a beach in the Carribean, or even travelling to see the aurora borealis in Alaska. Although after all those dreams, I have to force myself to return to reality because no, she didn’t take me with her. I was too much baggage, too much of a chain connecting her to Redland.

I haven’t talked to her in eleven years. In the end, it’s probably for the better. As great as my other life with her is in my head, I know for a fact that I would be disappointed with how that life would actually turn out. I still think it could be better than Redland, though.