: Nardelli Elisa
: Paper Stars
: Tektime
: 9788835448228
: 1
: CHF 5.10
:
: Kinder- und Jugendbücher
: English
: 773
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

Amber and Justin... two peculiar kids, with a difficult past behind them and a clear goal in common: not to love. Love had hurt them at an early age and neither of them wanted to experience that pain again. Amber is an elusive, reserved girl, different from the others, beautiful and attractive in the eyes of the boys, but with a past that has left her with indelible scars. Justin is a charming boy with beautiful blue eyes, but with an arrogant, conceited and shameless character; full of resentment towards his parents, who were guilty of neglecting their children due to exaggerated entrepreneurial ambitions, and with a repressed thirst for revenge towards a group of people who had killed his brother in a settling of scores. The protagonists meet when Amber leaves London, the city she hates so much for the difficult childhood she had experienced, to move to New York where she attends one of the most prestigious universities. As time goes by, the two begin to get to know each other better, to trust each other, and to protect each other from the monsters of the present and the past. When love brings them even closer together, they stop denying it and give in to that strong feeling. But their lives have never been the same; in fact, an unexpected proposal will force Amber to make a radical change that Justin will not accept.

Chapter 11


I entered the building slowly because I wanted to savour the whole evening again. I sat on the floor with my back against the wall, looking at the stars. Why did Justin interest me so much? He was a boy like any other, yet I felt the need to be close to him.

That evening the sky was full of stars, which made me even happier. As a child I loved looking at the stars, in fact every Christmas I always asked for the same present: a telescope. I could never get one because it cost too much, and the nuns had many children to look after. They would always give me the same gift, a blanket (which sometimes had holes in it) and a pair of socks (also with holes in them), ah and sometimes they would give me hairpins, but I would sell them to buy candy. I didn't keep them because my hair always had to be free, I couldn't remember the last time I had tied it up. Hair is and was a part of me that described my rebellious character. It was wavy and black and had always been my favourite part of my body. I also had beautiful eyes, green like the grass of a meadow, but they did not describe my character, they only showed my moods and sometimes they didn't show that either.

I looked at my mobile phone and saw that it was two o'clock. I got up from the floor and hurried inside. I arrived at my room and saw that the door was ajar, who knows why? I didn't think Ali would leave the door open at two in the morning. I walked in and couldn't believe my eyes!

Ali was lying on the floor, bleeding.

"Ali!" I shrieked as I approached her. She wasn't moving, giving no signs of life. I felt her pulse and luckily her heart was still beating. I was anxious and a panic attack was threatening to make my brain go haywire. It was strange that I was getting agitated, I usually kept calm even in the most desperate situations but seeing a girl in a lake of blood was a scene that had messed up my mind as well. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know whether to move her, whether to leave her there, whether to call someone... then I saw her phone and instinctively grabbed it. I couldn't call a friend of his I didn't know them well. I saw Justin's name in the address book and decided to call him. I just hoped he would answer.

"What the fuck do you want?" asked the voice on the other end of the phone. The voice was hoarse, maybe he was sleeping?

"Um, Justin it's Amber," I said uncertainly.

"Oh, Amber, why are you calling on Ali's mobile phone?" he asked, definitely changing his tone.

"Ali was attacked and she's here in our room, in a pool of blood" I mumbled agitatedly.

"What!!!?" he shrieked."Ali was attacked?!"

"Listen I don't know what to do, you can come. I was going to take her to the hospital, but I don't have a car and from what I understand she's not quite right with the law," I explained.

"Yes, you were right to call me. Lock yourself in the room, I'm on my way,' he said and ended the call. I did as he told me. I began to clean up the blood. From time to time, I checked if there was still a pulse. I had known her for a short time, but I didn't want her to leave me. Seeing her in that state reminded me that I too had been at risk of being attacked. I had been fighting my death phobia for years and only after a long time had I overcome it.

I took his mobile phone and started looking at the gallery. There were a lot of pictures of her with her group, but Justin wasn't in any of them. I saw Justin's number and pressed to see the chats. Nothing. No chats. I grabbed my phone and copied t