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"That's great!" Ronnie said from the other end. After the very creepy text messages, I decided calling up Ronnie would sooth my rattling thoughts. "I'm happy that you were able to tell him where your heart stands."

"Yeah, it was great...until he didn't say anything back to it. Actually, wait. No, he did. He asked me if I wanted something from the kitchen."

I had already counted the amount of CDs, tapes, and Vinyl records he had. I recounted them backwards from the ending number, thinking that would help. Counting was always my favorite form of relaxation, but it wasn't doing anything at the moment.

I then reorganized his music collection and washed all the dishes in the sink. My mind was going on overdrive, pretending that I hadn't gotten a text from Segg.

"I can't believe he did that."

"I can't either. It wasn't like I had it planned out or anything. It...it just came out. He was moving away from me before I could take any of it back. I couldn't simply take it back after that point."

"The hell you can." She huffed. "Deny, deny, deny. That's my saying. Deny until he can't even remember what you were last talking about. If it comes down to it, flash your boob-that way he definitely won't remember what you said."

I snorted a laugh. "That wouldn't help."

"Yes, it would. It could end a lot of arguments."

She couldn't see me, but I was surely rolling her eyes. I was going to miss her after senior year. That was a fact. Once college came around, I would miles away from here. I'd already started my Common Apps and submitted an application for Syracuse and few other New York colleges. I craved going back to the East coast-not necessarily Maine though.

Where was Dakota going to college? Was he staying in California or was he planning on going out of state, like me? We hadn't talked much about college, for the most part, but I knew it would be brought up sooner than later. I didn't expect him to follow me to college, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't mind if he went to school miles away from me. Long distance wasn't my thing and I didn't know if this...'this thing' we had could last with distance between us.

Not wanting to upset myself even more than I already was, I asked Ronnie something. "Why is it you called earlier?"

"It's not really something I can completely talk about over the phone, but after you guys were dropped off, Heath and I started talking. I ended up going over to his place to review some things he had already picked up from Pierson's laptop. It's some fairly interesting things off of his Facebook. He kept all of his passwords inside a note on his computer. It was way too easy to get in."

"Let me guess, you started reading one of his messages and you found out he's a part of Segg." I groaned. Pierson was among the first people I assumed was a part of Segg. It wasn't because I couldn't trust him, but because of the kinds of jocks he hung out with.

"We don't have any solid evidence to back that up, but we did uncover that he's been joking around with Franklin about Segg. Franklin is definitely a part of Segg and he was almost trying to convince Pierson into joining this year. That's what we can understand in the conversation. Franklin was boasting about deflowering three freshman and two juniors. I guess deflowering is one of the competitions they have. Franklin suggested that he tried to bag you into bed, get your virginity and all."

"Well there's nothing they can deflower from me. That ship has sailed," I mused with a bite. "What was Pierson's response?"

"You don't want to know."

"I clearly do want to know if I'm asking."

"You really need to read the entire conversation, Silvia. Before you jump to any conclusions-"

"Just tell me, Ronnie."

She took a sharp intake of air. "He said he would think about it. Franklin said he would check to see if you already had someone pulling some kind of prank or contest over you. It's like a rule or something that more than one thing cannot be done on one person. About a day after that was sent, Franklin told him that there was already someone who had won the bidding on your prank."

"There was a fucking bidding match on who would prank me?" I seethed. "That's disgusting. Did they say who?"

"Alexander Iverson." She informed. "He didn't say what his prank was exactly. Given the fact that he's gay, I doubt it has anything to do with having sex with you."

My words were muted out by the pounding on the front door. It was brutal, urgent. I brought the phone down to my side and got to the living room. I wasn't ready to face Dakota yet, but I knew I had to eventually. I couldn't run from him forever-even though that sounded a lot more appealing.

It was funny, in a way. A boy written off as the most insensitive, cruel soul in all of Crescent Heights ended up being the only person to sooth my demons enough to hear my story. I knew he had demons of his own, but he was seldom to bring them up, let alone mention them. In his presence, my detrimental past didn't intertwine with his. They were at bay, fostered inside the darkest crevice in my heart.

Despite how strong I felt about him, I should've given him more time to process this relationship before throwing the "L" word into the mix. I was in the wrong and I knew it. I unknowingly wore my heart on my sleeves whereas he had his heart hidden, locked up and away from sight.

"I'm sorry what I said about kissing -" I began to apologize, opening the door, but I wasn't able to finish what I started. The person before me wasn't Dakota at all. She was the last person on earth I wanted to see on Dion's doorstep."Beth?"

"I k-know. I should've called or s-s-s-something." She shivered. mascara running down her cheek. At some point, it had started to rain outside. I was far too consumed by cleaning the house and distracting myself to even notice that small change in the weather. "But I figured you would be here with Dakota. This is the only place close enough to Franklin's house. I didn't know where else I should've gone. I knew I needed to leave."

Unasked for, she let herself in and wiped her black boots on the indoor mat. She rubbed her hands together as if she had just survived the biggest torrential downpour known to man.

I hadn't closed the door. She was out of her psychotic mind if she thought I was going to let her stay here."How did you know I was here? I didn't tell anyone I was going to be here."

She fished out her phone from her purse. "You posted on Instagram a photo of your caramel popcorn. It had Boulder Valley as your location. I found out on my own that you'd be at Dion's apartment."

Now I really didn't want her and her stalker tendencies here.

"This is bad timing for us." I said. "I don't want to come off rude, but I can't have you stay here. Dakota only stepped out a moment ago to take a walk. He'll be back any second."

"His car wasn't in the parking lot." She shrugged shamelessly. "I'm observant."

"You say observant; I say stalker-ish."

"Potato, po-tah-toe."

"What is it that you want, Beth? If you want a place to crash, this isn't it. Dakota wouldn't let you sleep in here."

Beth came around to the couch and sat down.

This girl was getting a little too comfortable.

She shuddered. "I can't go home."

"Yes, you can." I gestured to the door. "It's only a few miles away. You can make it; I believe in you."

She buried her face into her hands, frowning and sighing into her palms. I was about to snap at her again, but I stopped myself when I heard the soft sound of her beginning to cry.

This Saturday wasn't going the way I wanted it to.

"I can't go home. Not at this hour."

"You can take the bus."

"I wouldn't know where to get off." She stated. "Not only that, but my parents wouldn't let me if I even attempted to knock on that door at this hour. I tried to call my brother--since he was at the party and has a key--but he wouldn't answer. Xander ditched me at the start of the party. He left me with Franklin. Even though I told him-a million times-that Franklin made me feel uncomfortable, he was relentless to not listen to me...You know Franklin. He's really persistent. Even after you say no."

Those words hit a chord deep down inside. I feared to ask her if Franklin had done anything to her. Beth was usually a vibrant person, yapping away about auras and whatnot. She was only a shell of that person now, blinking in space with glossy eyes.

I shut the door. I remembered that I still had my phone on a call.

"I'll get back to you later," I told Ronnie.

"Is Beth there with you? I could've sworn that I heard her voice." I hesitated on a reply back. "Oh my God, she is there! You fucking let her inside! Tell her to go home! This is a trick!"

"She needs somewhere to stay."

"This is exactly like a scary movie. You're letting the psycho killer into your house. Right now, the audience is most likely screaming at the screen and telling you that you're an idiot. That is the biggest bad move ever. You're walking right into her trap. She has to be working with Xander or something."

I glanced over at Beth, who was still bawling her eyes out. "I don't think so."

"Stop being so gullible to whatever she tells you."

"I won't."

"I know you, Silvia."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"We need to meet up and talk about this Pierson thing though."

"How about before school on Monday?"

I was already waking up bright and early for track practice.

"Works perfectly for me." She said. "Seriously, Silvia. Be safe. She's crazy about getting Pierson. If that means getting you out of the race, she'll do whatever she needs to. I'm not saying she'll kill you. She seems more like the 'I'll-kidnap-you-and-shelter-you-in-my-attic' kind of crazy chick."

"She's not like that." I whispered into the phone.

"Are we talking about the same Beth here? The same Beth that pretended to be you at Pierson's party just so she could get into his pants? I don't get why you even want to help her. Tell me, Silvia. What has she done for you other than screw you over?"

Ronnie was nothing but right. Despite agreeing with her, I knew that I needed to be there for her. There was something, something I had only ever seen in myself, glimmering in Beth's eyes now. She looked at her reflection in the TV with disgust, glaring and whimpering. I never had anyone for me after what happened four years ago.

I had to.

. . . .

Beth took the couch and I slept in Dakota's bed. She didn't feel comfortable enough to talk what happened at Franklin's party. I said I would give her as much space she needed. I wasn't rushing her to say anything. She had, however, told me that she hadn't seen Dakota at the party.

When morning came, she was gone and Dakota wasn't back at the apartment yet. I called up Ronnie and she drove me home. I apologized for constantly asking for a ride. She shrugged it off and said she didn't mind. I gave her gas money, but she refused it.

For the rest of the weekend, I didn't receive any texts or calls from Dakota. He was silent on his end and I didn't want to push his boundaries. It was obvious that what I'd said last night had caused this entire relationship to crumble. Who knew three words could do so much damage?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _

Song for the chapter: Smother by Daughter

Literally the entire song, but since I should pick a line. Here you go:

Lyrics: ❝I want him, but we're not right.❞

Cast for Heath Slater:

me after I posted these gifs:

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