For those of you who haven't read the book, here's a quick summary:

Be the smartest. Be the best. And be invisible when necessary.

Virgil Black knows that's how you survive in his household. So he's the perfect student, perfect athlete, and perfect son, all to keep his father happy and off his little sibling Talyn's case.

The Blacks look perfect on the outside. But nothing is ever as it seems, and this flawless family is hiding a dark secret.

Virgil will do anything to keep Talyn safe from their father's abuse. But when Virgil starts secretly dating Roman Prince, the boy he's been crushing on for years, his world shifts. As their relationship deepens, the tension, violence, and stakes at home escalate, culminating in an explosive accident that will leave everyone changed.

When Virgil arrives in the hospital after the accident and tries to take his own life, everyone- from his friends to his doctors to the investigator on the case and his family -wants to know why.

Only Virgil knows what really happened that day, and he's not talking.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

Below are some clips and scenes that fit.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

His phone rings and interrupts their giggling. He doesn't recognize the number.

"Hellooo?" he warbles like an old lady for Talyn's benefit, watching their reaction.

"Virgil?" the voice asks, confused.

"Yeah, ha. It's me. Who's this?"

"Roman."

"Oh!" Heat climbs up his neck and fills his cheeks. Talyn blinks at him. "Sorry! I was just goofing around with my little sibling."

Talyn takes offense at that. "Little?" they repeat, hands on their hips.

"Is it a bad time?" Roman asks.

"Yes. No. Um, hold on..." Virgil presses his hands together and mouths, Gimme a minute, please?

Talyn struts out, flipping their hair over their shoulder. "It's a boy, isn't it?" they shout, then run out of the room as Virgil chucks a pillow.

"I'm back," Virgil says, trying to compose himself.

"How old is your sibling?" Roman asks. His voice is gentle and warm.

"Ten going on twenty-one. They were just showing me their talent show dance."

Roman laughs quietly. "You sound happy when you talk about them."

"Really? I guess they make me happy."

"It's cute."

Virgil rubs his flaming cheeks. "Like my blushing and constant staring?"

Roman coughs. "For the record, last night I was talking about my constant staring. Now I know why you seemed offended." He chuckles. "But yes, you do blush ridiculously easy. I bet you're blushing right now."

The constant warmth in his cheeks rings with the definite truth in Roman's words.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

"Dad," Virgil groans. "Trust me, no one wants to spend Valentine's Day at the high school."

"But it falls on a Saturday," Logan replies.

"More reason to not spend it at school."

Logan pours himself another glass of wine. "I think you're wrong. Besides, if you had a boyfriend, you'd feel differently."

Virgil stares at him in disbelief. "Is this your first day living here?"

Leaning against the counter, Logan takes another sip and pretends he doesn't understand.

Last year, a month before homecoming, Logan was well into his fifth glass. Sitting at the dinner table, he spoke without thinking, "Valerie told me that her son is working up the courage to ask Virgil to the dance. Isn't that so sweet?"

Declan turned a dark shade of red. He snatched the wine glass from Logan's hand. "I won't have my son fucking every jackass that looks his way!" he roared, then hurled the glass across the room, shattering it against the kitchen cabinet.

Logan turns to him now and scowls. "You know what? You're mean. Just like your father."

Virgil spins on his heel and flees upstairs to call Roman. He suddenly needs to study at the library tonight.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

Patton carefully lowers himself back into a seat. He hands a cookie to Virgil and he accepts it, ignoring Logan's icy glance.

"So Virgil, tell me," Patton says, reaching over and gripping his hand. "What schools are you looking at?" His eyes are blue, like Logan's, but they're filled with pride. Unconditional love must have skipped a generation.

"Cornell," Logan answers, before Virgil has a chance.

"Oh." Patton's voice is arctic. "Like Declan?"

Logan gives a tight smile and sips his tea.

"What other colleges?" Patton asks, turning back to Virgil.

"Declan is fairly certain he'll get into Cornell," Logan answers again.

Patton meets Virgil's eyes. "Is that where you want to go, Virgil?"

"Father, don't interfere! This is my family!"

It's an age old argument. A wound that never heals, a scab that bleeds every time they're together.

Patton shrugs. "Are you sure about that, Logan?"

Eyes narrowed, Logan shoves his chair back with a screech, scraping the floor. He jumps to his feet. "I'm going to pick up Talyn from school. Why don't you two spend some quality time together?" He sweeps out of the room and slams the front door behind him.

A few moments later, Patton smiles innocently. "I can't help myself."

"That's what I love about you," Virgil says. He takes another cookie.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

"You humiliated us!"

Declan shoves him, hard enough to send him sprawling to the floor.

"Declan does the disciplining," Logan once told Mr. Terrence at a PTA meeting.

"Discipline? How?" Mr. Terrence asked.

"Oh, you know." Logan's lips tugged into a tense smile. "Just little swats here and there, just to get their attention."

Now, Logan cowers in the car, because if he doesn't see it, it doesn't exist. Virgil curls into a ball, biting his lip so he doesn't cry out as blows land on his hip, his back, his chest.

It's almost over. He can take it.

But Talyn couldn't. Virgil can never let this happen to them.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

"Who's jacket is this?" Declan snarls. He shakes it like a wild animal shredding it's prey.

Tears spring to Virgil's eyes, but he steels himself. "It's Roman's. Roman Prince's."

Declan looms over him. "The friend from the game."

Virgil nods.

"I told you to stay away from him. And you've been dating him behind my back."

"Yes." Virgil tries to gather his courage, that same confidence he has on the court. But the quiver in his voice betrays him.

"And you brought him here? While we were gone. To screw around. In my home?" Each words drags it out longer; the eye of the storm.

Like a submissive dog, Virgil casts his gaze downward. "I like him," he mumbles. "I can't help liking someone. I'm seventeen."

Declan tosses the jacket at him. He grabs the vase from the table and flings it across the room, where it shatters into a million tiny shards. Virgil flinches.

"In my home?!" Declan shouts. He smacks Virgil across the face.

Virgils stumbles, reeling from the force. His cheek stings, but the pain is always temporary. It's the hatred he remembers, the rage.

This strike is different. His heart hardens. Blinding, reckless fury consumes him, igniting him from the inside and chasing away the terror.

"YOU CAN HIT ME ALL YOU WANT!" Virgil screams, tears streaming down his face. "I DON'T FEEL IT ANYMORE! IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING!"

Declan flinches for the first time. Uncertainty flickers in his heterochromatic eyes.

"Go to your room," he mutters. His shoulders slacken, the tension fleeing his body.

Virgil waits for the inevitable kick; it never comes. He races up the stairs and slams his door shut.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

"Dad!" Virgil yells. "Get out of your seat! I can land, but only from your seat!"

Together, Virgil and Logan try to yank him out his seat, the toy model of the Earth passing them by.

Virgil claws at him, desperately attempting to save them all from what he's done.

Declan struggles to undo his seatbelt, his fingers clumsy and shaky. Logan yanks at him, but it does no good.

With one last groan, Declan's eyes flutter shut and he collapses forward.

It's too late.

The plane dips into a nosedive. As they begin to plummet, the world spinning around them, Virgil buckles himself in and puts his head between his knees.

"I'M SORRY!" he screams, and then-

Smoke ripples before him in waves, disrupting his vision. His arms dangle, grazing the ceiling which is now the ground.

He is upside down.

Declan's body is crumpled beneath him, his neck twisted in a funny angle. Blood stains his coat.

Fuel and smoke combines for an acrid scent, the sort that urges Virgil to think, move, get out. He unbuckles himself with one arm; the other is numb and useless. He tumbles out and lands on Declan's body, crying out in horror. He crawls towards Logan, who hangs in his seat, his deep blue eyes vacant and still wide with fear. Virgil wants to hold him close and apologize.

Instead, he drags himself to a torn hole in the back of the plane and falls out.

The world is upside down. The bright blue sky greets him like the bottom of the ocean.

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

After a week of trying to get him to commit a day of seeing them, Thomas texts him an ultimatum.

Either lower the drawbridge or we're storming the castle.

Half an hour later, Thomas and Remy wave at him nervously from his front porch.

Remy rushes over the threshold first, nearly knocking him over in a hug. He immediately begins to cry. When Virgil glances over at Thomas for assistance, he walks over and peels Remy off.

"Okay, my turn," Thomas says. He wraps Virgil in a hug too, but his arms are gentler, as if he's afraid Virgil might break. Then, the one person who can joke about nearly anything whispers in his ear, "I'm so sorry."

They sit in the den with the TV on, but they aren't watching. Remy and Thomas both bite their lips, eyes darting everywhere and anywhere except for the bandages on his wrists.

Remy rambles on, briefing him on what he's missed since he was gone. He and Nate are dating again. "We had a long talk. We really like each other, but we're taking it slow. It's only been like three weeks, but-"

"It's a world record," Thomas remarks.

Remy grins in agreement.

They chat comfortably for the next few minutes, and then Thomas brings up the million-dollar question.

"Why are you avoiding Roman?"

Virgil's fingers tap on the arm of the sofa. "I'm not ready."

Remy glances at Thomas, then at him. "Ready for what?"

They seem genuinely confused. They have no idea how hard it is to see everyone he had decided he was willing to leave, especially Roman. How does Virgil face him and see the pain in his eyes, knowing that no matter how much he loved him, it wasn't enough?

"He's really hurting, Virgil," Thomas tells him. "He misses you."

Virgil looks away. His voice breaks. "I miss him too."

¶∆¶∆¶∆¶

So guys, my updates might start back up again, but they'll be infrequent. I've got some shit going on and my home life hasn't exactly been ideal.

If you guys could comment requests and any other ideas you have, that'd be great, because I really want to upload what you guys want to see.

I hope you all have a wonderful day! ~kc