by Mila Gray
My thoughts are interrupted by shrieks of laughter. I look up. My mom, Kate, Cole, and Robert are on the balcony by our front door. Kate is filming me on her phone. They’re in on it, I realize.
They walk down the stairs, and I notice they’re all carrying bags. “Where are you going?” I ask, confused.
Tristan hands Robert my car keys.
“We’re taking a road trip,” he tells me, putting his arm around my mom.
“We’re going to drive your car to Florida,” my mom says.
“And then we’re going to Disney World!” Cole yells.
“You are?” I ask, thoroughly and completely discombobulated.
“Yes,” says Kate.
“We figured we’d have a vacation too,” my mom says, beaming up at Robert, who kisses her gently on the lips. My heart almost bursts with happiness at the joy on her face and the love I see radiating from both of them.
“We’ll move your things into your new apartment so it’s ready for you when you get back,” my mom adds.
I look among them all, choking up with emotion. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Try ‘good-bye,’ ” Tristan says. “We have a flight to catch.”
I’m going on a plane? For the first time. Oh my God.
I look at my family and have to bite my lip hard to stop the tears from welling up.
“Good-bye,” I say.
They throw their arms around me, pulling me into the center of their circle, and I breathe in deep, not wanting to let go.
“Here,” says Cole, pulling away. “I made you something.” He pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket. I unfold it and see it’s a drawing, but this time there are no guns and no blood. There’s a yellow circle in the sky and a boat on the ocean. I recognize myself and Tristan on the deck. We’re waving and smiling at four figures on the beach, all holding hands: my mom, Cole, Kate, and someone else. “Who’s that?” I ask.
“That’s Robert,” Cole answers, blushing a little.
I think I might cry, but I manage to blink the tears away. “Thank you,” I say. “I’m going to frame it.”
Cole grins at me. “Bring me back a present,” he tells me.
I hug him again.
“You’re going to miss your flight,” my mom says, crying for the both of us. She squeezes my hand and kisses me on the cheek. “Go, have fun,” she whispers, smiling at me. “Make memories.”
“I will,” I tell her, reaching backward out of the circle and finding Tristan’s hand.
He links his fingers through mine and squeezes, tugging me toward the horizon. “Let’s go.”
More from the Author
Run Away with Me
Stay with Me
Come Back to Me
Acknowledgments
Many, many heartfelt thanks to Nicole at Simon & Schuster for the wonderful editing advice that helped me shape the novel.
Amanda, my book agent, whose honesty, hard work, and support over the last decade are so appreciated. I would be nowhere without you.
John and Alula, who show me the real meaning of love every day.
About the Author
MILA GRAY is the pseudonym for Sarah Alderson, a British-born, Los Angeles-based screenwriter and author. Sarah is the author of several YA novels, including Hunting Lila and The Sound, as well as several adult psychological thrillers. She currently writes for the CBS television show S.W.A.T.
Simon Pulse
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Mila-Gray
Also by Mila Gray
Come Back to Me
Stay with Me
Run Away with Me
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition December 2019
Text copyright © 2019 by Mila Gray
Jacket photograph copyright © 2019 by PeopleImages/Getty Images
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Interior designed by Tom Daly
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gray, Mila, author. | Title: Watch over me / Mila Gray.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2019. | Audience: Ages 16 up. | Audience: Grades 10–12. | Summary: Told in two voices, eighteen-year-old Zoey Ward struggles to protect her mother and siblings from her violent father, and her brother’s best friend, Tristan, a member of the Coast Guard, tries to make her feel safe.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019032636 |
ISBN 9781534442818 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534442832 (eBook)
Subjects: CYAC: Family violence—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | Family problems—Fiction. | Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. | Love—Fiction. | United States. Coast Guard—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.G7798 Wat 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032636
