Prologue - Taylor

Ten Years Ago

TJ Rubens is a god in a teenage boy's body. He has to be. He is tall, tanned, and has the most kissable lips I have ever seen. His lips aren't the biggest, but they are pouty, and the most perfect shade of pink.

There is something about TJ that makes me turn into a puddle of stuttering goo whenever I see him. It is like my mouth cannot work properly when he is around.

I stare out the window of our beach house, watching TJ run towards the shore in his boardshorts, his blonde hair flopping as he runs.

I grab a beach towel and run to the backyard of our rented beach house. The beach house is vast, standing three stories high. There is a wraparound deck and it leads straight out to the beach.

It is the second day of our family vacation, and the first day we are enjoying the beach, since after arriving yesterday we spent it unpacking and cooking pasta for dinner.

TJ's family has been close to mine since our fathers started working together three years ago. My crush on TJ has only blossomed since then. He has never shown me much attention, as he and my brother were the same age, but they're only two years older than me; now that I finished my freshman year of high school, I feel ready for love.

I know from the countless chick flicks and romantic comedies I've watched that TJ and I are meant to be. He is the athletic hot jock, and I am the shy girl who is his friend's little sister. It's almost as if our fate has been predestined—or at least that's what I tell myself as I approach TJ on the beach.

The sand is soft and hot beneath my toes, and it makes me feel calm.

By the time I reach TJ, he is lying on the sand, oblivious to the world with his head buried in some sports magazine as he lies on his stomach.

I walk up to him and clear my throat, trying to pose and show off my new swimsuit.

"Hey TJ, mind if I set my towel down next to you?" I ask, shuffling my feet in the dry sand.

"Do what you want."

He doesn't even look up at me.

My heart starts to deflate as I realize his attention is elsewhere.

Maybe I just need to try a little more flirting to get his attention.

I lay my colorful towel out next to him gently, so as to not blow sand everywhere. He'd hated it last summer when I got sand all over him and his boardshorts.

"What are you reading?" I ask, trying to make more conversation.

TJ holds up the cover, and I see it's some basketball magazine. I know nothing about basketball, so I just smile at him as I flop down onto my towel.

That action seems to catch his attention, and TJ finally looks at me as I struggle to look hot on the towel.

"I didn't know whales could survive on land," TJ mutters before laughing to himself.

I look around and don't see any whales on the beach.

What is TJ talking about?

He keeps laughing and a heavy weight fills my belly.

Is he laughing at me?

"What's so funny?"

TJ shrugs as he sets his magazine down and faces me.

"Why are you wearing that?" TJ asks with a chuckle.

My face flushes, but it feels good to know he is noticing me.

"Because we're at the beach. Duh."

TJ's eyes roam my body and my skin tingles. I hope he likes what he sees.

"But whales belong in the water."

My mouth goes dry as the realization hits me.

TJ is calling me a whale.

Tears prickle at the corner of my cheeks as I rush to my feet.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? I gotta make sure you get home safe."

Feeling utterly confused, I turn to face TJ and see him standing as he approaches me.

"Here, take my hand and I'll take you home."

He holds out his hand to me and a small smile plays on my lips. TJ Rubens wants to hold my hand.

I take his hand in mine, and he starts walking us towards the water. I say nothing as he leads me to the ocean.

The feeling of his soft skin against mine is so distracting and heat is floating up my arm. The feeling is intense but is cut short when TJ drops my hand suddenly.

"Wh—" I start to say, but I'm cut off by TJ picking me up and hoisting me over his shoulder. "TJ, put me down."

TJ laughs, but it isn't the nice laugh I've heard a million times. It is something sinister.

Maniacal.

"But the whale needs to get home," TJ says as he walks us into the ocean.

It is at that moment that it hits me. I am the whale and TJ is going to dump me in the ocean. This isn't just a playful moment between us, but a cruel joke.

"TJ, put me down right now. I mean it!" I yell as TJ wades waist-deep into the water.

"Fine."

TJ tosses me off his shoulder, and I start to fall towards the water.

Face-first.

I splutter as my hands go out to catch myself and my mouth fills with salty water. My hands hit the wet sand, but so does my face. It hurts as my cheek scrapes against the rocks and shells that coat the ocean floor. I just know I am going to have a nasty bruise on my face.

Tumbling around for what feels like forever, I finally break the surface and gasp, sucking in deep gulps of air.

My dark hair is stuck to my face and my eyes sting from the salt water. Everything inside of my chest burns as I cough up liquid.

"TJ…why did you do that?" I call out when I see him doubled over laughing on the shore.

I'm shivering as I stomp toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when he speaks.

"Fatty the whale didn't enjoy that?"

My blood runs cold as TJ's eyes gleam with mischief.

I know he called me a whale, but I thought it was just to be an ass, but now I am seeing that isn't the case.

He is calling me fat.

"Aw, is fatty going to cry?"

I can't even look at TJ as I run back to the beach house, sobs wracking my body. The boy I thought I loved was truly a monster. He not only threw me into the ocean but called me fat. There is no coming back from this.

The worst part of all of this is that I trusted TJ. I thought he would be impressed by my bikini, but it ended up being the opposite.

Back in my room, I stare at myself in the mirror.

There is sand in my long dark hair and my eyes are rimmed in red. I have never seen myself look so defeated.

At this moment it becomes clear to me. TJ Rubens is no god, but a devil. I know that this will be my last summer in New York with my family. There is no way I can tell my family about what TJ did to me. They either wouldn't believe me or they'd make a big deal out of it.

I'm one to keep out of drama, and since our fathers work together, I don't want to impact that relationship.

So, I keep my mouth shut the rest of the summer and endure countless cruel whispers and words from TJ. Every word about my weight cuts deep, but I know that this cannot last forever.

Summer will end, and I will not be back. I will pursue a career where I deal with bad people and put them away for life.