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Chapter One

Taylor D'Angelo grimaced as she handed over her debit card It was the reloadable kind, and she filled it up fro of every eted expenses Then she crossed her fingers, lit a candle, and begged the god of all things financial to let her go one more month without a crisis

This ods were apparently pissed, because as soon as the cashier swiped that card, Taylor would be officially one-hundred and fifty dollars over her et

All because of soh theof her battered but reliable Toyota Corolla

Six years ago, she'd talked herself into buying the shiny gray car in the back of the used car lot Not a dealership No, she'd gone to the kind of place that either took cash or used a guy na It had taken her a solid afternoon to finally retted the decision The car was plain, with no bells or whistles, but it was hers And it represented freedom

That was one of the few tiot from her dad As far as she was concerned, it was blood money For years, she'd tried to pretend the e rolled around, and she'd had to make a hard decision--postpone school so that she could work and save tuition ood

She'd enrolled And she'd used the money for her first semester's tuition and for the deposit on her apartment

By sophoed to score some scholarships Between thather own Her father's money could rot in the bank, for all she cared

For thather masters, she could easily donate all that was left to charity

Except she didn't She wouldn't Because soain Not for an education, but for survival

Soht have to run

Please, God, no Let it be over Let me be safe

Across the counter, the register spit out a receipt, accompanied by an electronic chirp that pulled Taylor frohts The cashier slid the receipt toward her, and for just a minute, Taylor hesitated It would be so easy to use her stash to cover the deductible To get ahead of the rent and the groceries Would that really be so bad?

Yeah Yeah, it really would

Taylor sighed, the pen loose in her hand

"Soirl behind the counter had perfect skin, perfectly manicured nails, perfectly styled blonde hair, and probably a perfect life to go with it, not to h college, but actually loved her

Bitter much?

Taylor shook her head "No No problem It's just been a crappy week The expensive kind"