Page 5 of Your Side of the Offense

Pulling a blunt from my pocket, I light it. I need one if I'm going to poke at my broken heart. After pulling twice, I pass it to Jaden.

"We need to grovel,” he repeats and I nod, the weed hitting me and I lean back into the couch.

"What if she has a fucking boyfriend?" The word sounds bitter even to my own lips.

Jaden rises and passes me the blunt, sporting a scowl, mirroring what I feel.

I pull on the blunt.

"Then she better get ready to dump that asshole, because that's not going to happen."

I smile a sad smile, knowing he means what he's saying. Jaden hides a monster behind the civility. A dark entity only a few smart people are observant enough to see and keep at bay.

"She'll be mad," I say, then take another pull.

"I don't give a shit. She's still ours."

"I hope she still thinks so," I murmur more to myself before I pass the blunt.

***

We load the last of our suitcases in the trunk and I swing myself into the driver's seat. Harvey is drunk in the back, staring into nothing, barely awake. Archer is on his phone. Jaden next to me is busy tapping his leg. No doubt anxious. Our plan is to see her as soon as we arrive. Hoping to locate her before classes start next week.

Honestly, none of us know what the fuck we are going to say to her. Even though it’s that bitch's fault, there isn't an excuse for what happened.

It shouldn't have happened.

I tighten the steering wheel as I drive onto the private air-strip road, making our way to Archer’s parents’ jet.

We were all fortunate to be born in excess, even though that means shit in the grand scheme of things. Money is just money, after all. We are all rich kids, but it doesn't mean we don't struggle either.

Harvey's great great-grandfather is one of the founders of the college we are attending, which means everybody over there is about to get on their knees to suck his dick. Archer is from old mining money. Jaden is from oil. And I am from banking wealth.

But we still have problems. This summer was supposed to be the summer of all summers traveling around the world with her before college, but everything went to shit.

I pull the car on the strip and park. We take our luggage and enter the plane. Seated in our usual seats, we call for something to drink.

"Have you seen her Instagram?" Jaden asks.

We turn and look at him.

"She posted something?" I ask, pulling my phone from my pocket.

He raises his phone for us to see, and my heart jumps a little. She looks happy sitting with her mom, nana, and sister, Blue, in a boat.

I open the app and go to her page.

"I'm still blocked," I sigh. "How come she never blocked you?"

"Maybe because I didn't comment drunk on her post and asked for her back like an idiot." Jaden chuckles.

They all chuckle.

It was a low point for me I admit.

She blocked our numbers everywhere, refusing to see us at all. We went drinking one day, and it was the only way I could reach her. I was blocked half an hour later. The guys had a good laugh about it and the kids at our school had a field day with the screenshots the next week.

We spend the rest of the trip stalking her Instagram, but we don't get more than that. According to the page, she’s still at home. It sucks we can't even ask when she's coming.

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