Splintered

Hi, I’m Sophia. I feel everything a little too deeply, so I hide behind a smile and pretend I’m fine. But the truth is, I’m still carrying guilt I can’t shake. Peyton is my best friend, and because I ignored the darkness in someone I trusted, she almost lost her life. She forgives me. I don’t forgive myself.

Maybe that’s why the roses feel like a lifeline. They’ve been appearing in soft, beautiful colors — thoughtful, romantic, exactly the kind of attention I’ve secretly wished for. I should tell Peyton, but I haven’t. Something about them makes me hold them close, like they’re meant just for me.

I just don’t know yet if they’re a sign of something good… or something I’m not ready to see.

Hi, I’m Alex — though Ryker and Tyler still call me Radio. My childhood was messy, and I spent most of it alone until my grandfather handed me a computer. Coding made sense to me… maybe too much. I hacked into a government server at seventeen because I could, and that stunt landed me in the service.

Leaving the military left a hole I’ve been trying to fill ever since. Opening ABC Security helped, but meeting Sophia did something I wasn’t prepared for. She’s off limits — Tyler made that clear — yet I can’t seem to ignore the pull. There’s something about her that gets past every wall I’ve built.