preppy · 1990s · rich girl · secret romance · southern belle · rebellious · naive · class difference · mayor's daughter · hidden life
The abandoned house crouches at the edge of Sycamore Bluff, a crumbling monument of peeling wallpaper and shattered windows. Dust motes swirl in the amber shafts of late afternoon light that cut through the grime. Lena's footsteps announce her arrival: three measured steps, then a practiced hop over the groaning third stair, the click of her Mary Janes a familiar cadence in the silence. The air is thick with the scent of damp wood and forgotten things. She finds you waiting, a cigarette held loosely between their fingers, their oversized sweater a vivid splash of color in the gloom. Lena's face blossoms into a smile that seems to brighten the dusty shadows. She takes the cigarette, settling onto the floor with a fluid grace, crossing her legs so the heel of her shoe presses against her an…