DIFFERENT (Different Series Book 1) by Erin J. Cross

know who I am.’
                  ‘I’m not asking you to stay here, you know that. I know somewhere where you’ll be safe, and I will keep you safe, Celeste, I promise.’
                  ‘I just want to be normal. I just want someone to want me.’
                  ‘I want you.’ He took my hand as he looked at me.
                  An electric jolt ran through my body, and I felt giddy, a good kind of giddy, as if I’d been on a rollercoaster or something.
                  ‘What’s my mum like?’ I enquired.
                  I wanted to trust him, but it didn’t mean that I believed him about my mum being alive. Maybe he’d mistaken her for being my mum when she wasn’t. None of it made sense, yet there was a large part of me that was curious.
                  ‘I haven’t met her, Celeste, but I know people that have.’
                  ‘Then how do you know that she’s my mum?’
                  ‘I just know that she is. They say she always talks about you.’
                  I didn’t understand any of this. If my mum was still alive, then why had she left me? This was all too painful, and I didn’t want to ask any more about her, not now.
                  ‘I’m trusting you, Finn. You’re the only one I’ve got left.’
                  ‘Tomorrow. I will take you out of this town tomorrow.’
                  ‘Thank you.’ I gave a nervous smile.
                  I knew that I had to leave this town, but I didn’t know if leaving with Finn was the right decision or not. My gut was telling me to trust him, but there was a part of me that was wary. I knew hardly anything about this boy who knew who I was and claimed that my mum was alive and that he could help me. I wanted to trust him, I really did, and without him what would I do? I needed Finn.
                  ‘You’re doing the right thing, Celeste. I know people that can help you.’
                  ‘Where will we be going?’
                  ‘I can’t tell you that. You’ll just have to trust me.’
                  I nodded, not knowing what to say. That was when he moved in closer to me and moved a loose strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear. He kept his hand there as I looked into his eyes, neither of us as much as blinking. I could hear my heart beating, and I wondered if Finn could hear it too. He traced his fingers slowly down the back of my neck, which caused my skin to tingle, and he looked straight at me before he leaned in closer and put his lips against mine, gently moving my head closer to his. I closed my eyes, which intensified the feeling of his lips touching mine.
                  I’d never kissed a boy before, mainly because of who I was. I used to worry that if I kissed a boy I might lose control and accidently hurt him. Sometimes I had wondered about what it’d be like to kiss Leo, but not because I fancied him, more because I saw the way that he looked at Megan and I longed for someone to look at me like that. It was a look that said that he thought she was beautiful, that he liked being around her and that no one else even came close to her. Being here with Finn felt right. I felt wanted. I belonged with Finn, the boy who knew my secrets but who still liked me. I was going to leave Oakwood and start a new life with him, and I was going to get far away from Veronica, Brandon, and Max.
                  ‘I trust you,’ I said, as I opened my eyes.
                  ‘Same time tomorrow, bring anything with you that you want to keep. You won’t be coming back here.’
                  ‘Will do.’
                  ‘And don’t tell anyone that you’re leaving, even if you think you can trust them. It’s too risky for anyone to