Page 34 of The Heavier the Guilt…

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Dillon squawked, and I really couldn’t blame him. “This is Rosa fucking Venice that we’re talking about, Finley. What the fuck?”

I stopped to look over at him. “I’m not interested in drama, Dillon,” I semi-lied. “If she actually liked me, that’d be one thing. However, I’m not interested in performing for her like a trained lion just because she’s a woman scorned.” Dillon’s eyes rounded in shock. “Plus, I don’t know about you, but the last thing that I want to do is be fucking a girl while she’s thinking of another guy. I also don’t need her announcing to the world that I fucked her just to get back at her ex.” I shook my head. “I don’t give a fuck how hot a girl is; I don’t need that kind of shit just for some pussy.”

“It’s not just pussy,” he argued. “It’sRosa fucking Venice.”

“Yeah, a girl that never attends any of our parties and barely speaks to anyone that goes to school here because she’s always considered herself too good for us,” I pointed out. “Fuck that shit.”

There must have been something in my voice because Dillon went from shock to eyeing me suspiciously. “You okay, man? You seem like…you seem like you’re in a bad mood or something. Still hungover from the weekend?”

I let out a deep breath. “It’s just been a rough morning,” I lied.

“Okay,” he relented. “I get it, still hungover.”

If that’s what he wanted to believe, then that was fine with me. In fact, everyone could believe whatever the hell they wanted about me right now. All I cared about was how Edie was trying to blow me off, and how I refused to let her. No matter what, we were friends. We were friends, so she didn’t get to just dismiss me like some fuckboy.

“Well, we’ll talk about Rosa some more when you’re not in a shitty mood,” Dillon said before slapping my shoulder, then walking away.

Super.

~

Edie~

When I had woken up this morning, my feelings had still been hurt. So, instead of acting like the mature adult that I’d kept labeling myself as, I had called Calliope and had lied about needing a ride to school. While I knew that I couldn’t avoid Lars forever, I didn’t need him trying to explain to me why he shouldn’t have kissed me again. No doubt that he probably felt some guilt because of Talon, but still. The female in me was taking his rejection very personally, no matter how much I was trying to be worldly about it all.

So, right on track with choosing immaturity over decency, I had made sure to keep my head down when Lars had walked into fourth period. I’d felt his eyes on me as soon as he had walked into the room, and if anyone had noticed him glaring at me, they’d been wise enough not to say anything about it. The easy-go-lucky Lars Finley was long gone, and everyone was noticing it.

Now, where Lars sat in the back row, I sat somewhere in the middle and near the windows. So, luckily, I wasn’t stuck sitting next to him, and that was a good thing. I also didn’t sit next to him in sixth period, so that was another positive in an otherwise craptastic day. Of course, I was going to have to wait for him after school and ride home with him, but I was hoping to be over my funk by then. Yeah, I could always catch a ride with Calliope again or ride the school bus, but people would start to notice, and I wasn’t ready for the entire school to know that Lars and I might not be friends anymore.

Before I could fall farther down that rabbit hole, Martin Nordstrom was leaning over in his seat, presumably to get my attention.

When I looked over at him, I asked, “Yeah?”

“So, is it true?”

My stomach dipped. “Iswhattrue?”

“That Finley almost killed Max Halford the other night?”

My face pinched. “What? What are you talking about?”

Martin shrugged. “There’s a rumor going around that Lars caught you and Max in a dark corner, and that Lars almost ripped him apart for it.”

I immediately rolled my eyes. “People are so stupid.”

His brows jumped. “So, it’s not true?”

“The truth is way less dramatic than the story that’s going around, I assure you,” I replied dryly. “Firstly, Max and I were justtalking. Secondly, if Lars wanted to kill him, then he would have.”

“I can see that,” he murmured before glancing back at Mrs. Joiner really quickly, making sure that she wasn’t paying attention to us. “So, then is it true about you and Finley?”

That had my back snapping straight.

“What are you talking about?”

“Everyone’s saying that he’s acting crazy because he’s got it bad for you,” he said.

I blinked at him.

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