Underneath the Sycamore Tree

It happened in stages.

My father left.

My twin sister died of an incurable autoimmune disease.

My mother started breaking down.

Then I was diagnosed with the very thing that took my other half from me.

That was when I realized Mama’s eyes turned gold when she cried.

So I moved in with my father and his new family—new wife, new son, new stepbrother.

Kaiden Monroe made me feel normal.

Hated. Cared for. Loathed. And … loved.

Somewhere along the way, I’d found solace in the boy with brooding eyes.

But everything happens in stages.

And nothing good ever lasts.