Chapter 1
The day began like any other day. As the girls were preparing to leave town, they had no idea what would happen. Eighteen-year-old Elena Richard walked up the creaky stairs and into her bedroom; she packed all her belongings and put on jeans, a sweater, and boots. Then she walked with her backpack up to the bus station. As soon as Elena arrived at the bus station, she bought a one-way ticket. After gaining access to the station, Elena made her way to the location where the bus had left, which was in Port Sunfield. She had flashbacks of her past life as she waited for the bus. Elena hated what the drinking had done to her father and was not sorry about leaving. When she tried to persuade him that he should receive treatment, he refused, thinking he knew better than her. Due to all the fights between Elena and her father, Elena longed for peace and perhaps for a life where there would be no negativity in her life at all.
Even though the bus hadn't arrived yet, Elena decided to dash to the washroom as soon as possible. She runs there and does what she needs to do. She saw Aiden, a nineteen-year-old boy from her school, as she left. Aiden Enger is an old classmate. He is a tall, medium-built man with dark hair, and has an average appearance. Aiden's hair is in a neat bun as he smiles at Elena. Elena noticed Aiden as soon as she returned to the waiting room. She decided to go over and introduce herself to him. As it turns out, Aiden is one of the rebels at school. He has gotten countless suspensions and even detentions throughout his life. Elena was not surprised to see him out of school that day. As soon as Aiden remembered Elena, he talked to her about why she wasn't in school. She told him that he shouldn't make a fuss about it. Aiden doesn't know that Elena is running away from her vicious father, so Elena begins to open up to Aiden about her situation as time goes on. Although he came across as the “ wrong boy” type of guy, Aiden looked cool. From that moment on, Elena liked talking to him, and from that point on, the time passed very fast, and then the bus to Craven Heights appeared. Then Aiden decided to get Elena's number to keep in touch with her, and so she gave him her number, and off Elena went to get on the bus to Craven Heights.
In the meantime, after the accident happened to Mariah Talen. She could not stop thinking about her husband's terrible behaviour. In the two months since Derek pushed her down the stairs, nothing has changed due to his actions. After getting a new job at a coffee shop, Mariah worked on herself. Derek still tries to contact her even though she doesn't want anything to do with him. After waking up in the morning, Mariah turns to her left, grabs her phone and checks the time. Then she walks to the washroom, brushes her teeth, takes a shower and combs her hair. After doing that, Mariah wanders through the apartment and into the kitchen; she makes herself something to eat. Now she is ready to leave her house for work. When she arrived to work, she had a hectic day as usual. When her job hours are over, she comes home, walks to the sofa, falls over on the couch, and begins reflecting on the day. When she contemplates her life, the only option she deems fit is to leave the town. Finally, she musters up the courage and takes a taxi to the station. The cab arrives at her apartment, and the driver picks her up. Mariah gets inside the cab and is dropped off at the bus stop. When Mariah arrived at the bus station, she got her ticket and waited for the bus to arrive. As she waits for the bus, another girl happens to be in a similar situation as Elena and Mariah.
Currently, Kayla Weber is a foster child living in a foster home. Unlike most foster homes, Kayla's place is huge and spacious. There are three bedrooms in the house. Among the three bedrooms is Kayla's blue room, which is cluttered and unorganized. Her foster parents are not able to understand her at all. This was true of her biological parents as well. That's why she has decided to stay with her friend Ella for the time being. Ella invited Kayla into her home and told her she could stay there whenever she wanted, as long as she wanted. After visiting with Ella for a few days, she decided it was time for her to leave. After all, Elena didn't intend to return. The only thing that makes her life worth living is her relationship with Jalen. It was going well between Kayla and Jalen; he started college in Port Sunfield, their hometown. When Kayla discussed the internship opportunity with the guidance counsellor, she was looking forward to starting the internship in Craven Heights as soon as possible.
Seeing that the bus was leaving for Craven Heights, Kayla got out of Ella's car and headed into the station. She walks through the cold, gloomy station; she opens the door and walks to the ticket counter. Kayla gives the guy her ticket; he looks down, checks it, and gives her a pass. She saw the bus approaching, grabbed her belongings on the floor, ran towards the bus, and hopped on. The situation's dynamics start to change very quickly as soon as these girls board the bus. At first glance, it appears that they have something in common. Mariah and Kayla were the first to get on the bus, followed by Elena. At this point, the bus had been on the road for more than two hours. It wasn't until the bus halted that the girls grasped what was happening. A moment later, they realized what was occurring. They discovered the bus driver had announced just what they had anticipated.
