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“And Leo knows that?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“It’s no wonder he flipped out.” Andrea laughs. “So what happened next? Because I know Leo didn’t stay calm if you’re this sad about it.”
“Well… Nik stabbed him.”
“Wait.” Andrea’s brows furrow. “Nikolai Pavlov?”
“Yes, Dre. Catch up, sheesh.” I roll my eyes as if it’s obvious, even though I’ve only just said his name. I’m just a little exasperated having to relive it. “Anyway. Nik stabbed Leo… And then Leo told me if I didn’t break it off, he would tell our father so they would start a war for interfering with our engagement.”
“Motherfucker,” he spits. “He’s a snake.”
I nod. “I know. But I did have a relationship, I guess. We…we love each other. You should’ve seen him, Andrea. He crawled, begged, told me he loved me, and I couldn’t take it back. I had to leave him.”
Andrea closes the space between us, embracing me in the tightest hug he’s ever given me, and I just break down in his arms. Sobs explode from my chest, making me breathless, while tears stream down my face. I’m ugly crying, though I don’t even have the energy to care as my heart feels like it’s breaking all over again.
“It’s okay, sissy.” He rubs my back. “Everything is going to be okay.”
“One day it will be,” I agree. “But now I have to get presentable, wash my face, and dress for a party Annie is taking me to.”
“I can take a hint.” Andrea chuckles as he pulls away, his boyish smile melting my heart. “I love you, though.”
“To the moon and back,” I tell him, which is what we have said to each other since he could talk.
Two hours later, I’m standing in the middle of a house with Annie. The smell of cigarettes and weed wafts through the cramped space, and I gag a little. Ihatethat smell. She doesn’t seem to mind though as we push our way past people and grab some drinks from a guy in a red shirt who already looks wasted.
I down the drink in one go and Annie bumps my shoulder with hers, laughing and passing me another. I repeat the process, uncaring of what anyone thinks. Some guy approaches and grabs me by the hand, trying to dance, and I let him press his body to mine.
It’s a house party, the last one we will have for high school, more like a graduation party, if you will. Everyone is excited to go off to college, except for me. I’m dreading it, absolutely terrified of seeing Nik with other girls. Soon enough, he will forget about me and move on, and that’s scarier than Leo rubbing girls in my face any chance he gets. Nik, on the other hand, probably hates me now, and I can’t even blame him for it.
The guy dancing with me has black hair and green eyes, almost the same shade as mine, and he pulls me toward a bathroom on the other side of the house. I let him. I have no reason not to. Just when I think he’s going to want to make out though, he pulls out a baggie from his pocket and dumps white powder on the sink’s counter. “Here, this will make you feel like you’re on top of the world.”
“Oh, really?” I ask him with curiosity, because if I could feel even a little better it would make me a better person. He offers me a straw and sets the powder into three lines. “How does it work?”
“You cut it with a credit card like I just did, then you snort it with the straw.” He grins. “Pretty simple. Just snort hard.”
“How many?”
“Just one, rookie.” He laughs at me. “Don’t get wild on your first try.”
I put the straw to the line, then the upper part to my nose. “Like this?”
“Yeah. Now snorthard.”
I snort hard, my nasal passages burning like I’ve never felt before, and a nasty taste in the back of my throat. I grimace, feeling nauseous from the taste.
“Snort again.”
I do. “God, that’sdisgusting.”
But there’s a rush going through my body, and it feels like I’m floating. “Worth it, trust me.”
A euphoria flows through me, and suddenly my heart begins to pound in my chest. I can hear it in my ears, like I have palpitations in a scary way. “What’s happening?”
“It’ll go away in a minute,” he promises. “Now let’s go party.”
I follow after him again, back to the spot where we were dancing, but Annie is no longer there. A rush of energy flows through my body as if I could do anything, and I grab another drink and swallow it down.
