The Lies We Breathe

Prologue

Looking back on things I once took for granted, I realize how young and naive I was. It never occurred to me how swiftly life could change.

Just a few weeks ago, I was a carefree seventeen-year-old eagerly anticipating another summer of cruising up and down the coast with my best friend, Jackie, in her old convertible.

But things did not unfold as I thought they would. Instead, in the middle of the night, I received a jarring phone call from my father, the head of the local police department, informing me with a trembling voice I wasn't used to, that Jackie had been badly injured in a hit-and-run accident on the highway leading to Highridge, the rich kids' school.

The ensuing days were a blur of emotion. Forgotten were old friends and the beach. Jackie narrowly escaped death a few times, her body a damaged mess. Yet, somehow, as if in a miracle, she pulled through. She was placed in a coma and we all could only pray and hope for her recovery.

All through the summer, I sat by Jackie's bedside, observing her struggle to breathe and wishing it was me instead. Every time I looked at the machines and tubes that kept her alive, a new wave of anger surged through me. Jackie was one of the best people I knew, and she truly loved life. She didn't deserve any of this.

And whoever did this to her, didn't deserve to get away unpunished, either.

From the hospital window, I would watch Highridge's imposing building towering over the city, and ball my fists in anger. That fateful night, the school's summer break ball was held there. It could only have been one of them.

Some spoilt kid - still out there and still free!

The police were at a loss. No surprise there. Where money ruled, evidence could easily disappear and lawyers took care of the rest. This is how things had always been done in Ocean Shore. The unfairness of it all was eating me alive and made me punch my pillow at night.

The longer I watched the fortress of exclusivity and power, the more convinced I became that if Jackie were ever to receive justice, I would have to take matters into my own hands.

They thought themselves Gods that could get away with anything. I was keen to prove them wrong. A plan began taking a clear shape in my mind.

But how was I to know that I was setting myself up for disaster by going against the offspring of some of the most powerful families in this town? Families that have ruled here for centuries. And how could I have ever prepared myself for dealing with someone like Blake Shields - someone who hated me since the moment he set his eyes on me, who was willing to go to great lengths to win, who was used to playing dirty, and who was set on getting me kicked out of Highridge at any cost.

Needless to say, our hate quickly became mutual. I never really wanted to put my fingers around someone's neck and squeeze hard, until I met him. Now, it's just a matter of seeing if I stick around long enough to find out the truth while he makes my life a living hell or if he breaks me first and I give up.