A/N Any symbols will be in the start of every authors note so you can see them throughout the book.
Anything in italics is a flashback.
Anything in bold is a thought to herself.
Anything with < and > is a text.
To start and end a chapter, I use *****.
To do a time skip, I use ~~~.
*****
   My little footsteps padded through my small bedroom, heading towards my window. I heard my mother and father screaming to each other outside. I wanted to make sure they would be okay, but last I got involved, I was pushed to the side.
   I saw my mother get pushed into the side of our red mini van. My father raised a hand before I ducked underneath my window sill. I did not want to see either of my parents get hurt any longer. I covered my ears with my small hands to try to block out the screaming. When I heard the front door slam, I hid under my bed. My breathing was quiet and I did not dare make a peep.
"Opal?" I heard my mother call out to me. "Where did you go?" I could see her feet walking back and forth under my bed. My breathing hitched when I saw my mother's hair drape underneath the side of the bed. Her face appeared next to mine while she dragged me out.
"Do not hide like that anymore." She tried to sound stern while comforting. "Daddy is just stressed."

   When I was a mere 4 years, I realized my parents were in a loveless marriage. I was the only glue holding them together. Throughout all of their years of fighting, though, I never quite saw another one that bad. I never did find out the direct cause though, just the consequence of it.
   Maybe I should start by introducing myself, though. My name is Opal Swan. I am nineteen years old, living on my own for the past three. My parents never knew what loving someone was, not even their own children. My mother comforted me so I would not keep her up at night. My father never tucked me in and I could not remember getting a hug. I had a younger brother, but when I was hardly nine, he passed away.
   The day I moved out was the day I decided to stop being scared. I changed myself. I made a pact to myself to never feel love. Not for anything, not for anyone. All I wanted with my life was to party and end the night with a hot hookup. I had a decent paying job, and told myself that schooling could wait.
   All of this was true, but the day I met Mitchell Marner, he tried to change that.

*****