Chapter 5:

Crossing the Line

The tension that had been building since the confrontation finally snapped on our last night before I was supposed to head back to the city. The house was quiet, Mom and Dad long asleep, but Jake and I were in the living room again, the space between us charged like a live wire. What started as another late-night talk quickly spiraled into a major fight.

“You’re really leaving tomorrow?” he asked, voice tight as he paced in front of the couch where I sat. “After everything after showing me that side of you you’re just going to go back to filming with strangers? Acting like...