Page 114 of Under the Influence

It wasn’t.

I had just lied to Aspen the night before. And throw all the problems Aspen and Zander were having on top of that, it looked bad. Really bad.

I should’ve gone to Aspen first, but I was fixated on getting the video taken down as fast as possible. The only thing that seemed to occupy my mind at the time was to save Kane. It was the first thing I did, every single time. No matter what dark road he was headed down, I’d make an excuse for him. If anyone found out that Kane was in the video, he would’ve gone to jail. So I went to Zander, and we managed to get the video down. We have no idea how the video was even posted to his account. He swore he didn’t do it, and I believe him. He wouldn’t want to get Kane in trouble or make himself look bad, and I know Kane didn’t, but who?

Not to mention how pissed I was that Kane was nowhere to be found. There was a sex tape floating around of us, and he was MIA when I needed him.

I didn’t make it to Aspen’s house in time, and what happened after that was just a horrible mixture of blood and tears.

I feel the wetness on my cheek and realize the memory made me cry. I miss her so much. She’d been my best friend since we were little, and we did everything together.

When she started dating Zander, I remember feeling a little like the third wheel. They were so crazy about each other that any free time they had was spent together. When I met Kane at a party that Zander had for his birthday, the rest was history.

Aunt Lauren walks in, situating herself at the foot of the bed. Ignoring my tears, which I’m thankful for. She’s terrible at the mom thing anyway.

“I know it’s still a couple of weeks away, but Jovie and I are going shopping tomorrow for homecoming dresses. You should come with us.”

I sigh. That’s the absolute last thing I’m gonna do.

“I’m not sure if I’m even going to homecoming. I’ll have Mom send a dress down from home if I do. There are three or four in my closet that no one here has ever seen.”

“Have you not asked anyone?” she gasps. “You realize you are running out of time, right?”

I can’t help but be super annoyed by her. “It’s just a stupid dance. Seems a little irrelevant with everything else I have going on, don’t you think?”

She stands up, completely ignoring me and the situation. “If you’re going to ask someone, you better get on it.”

“Why is Jovie getting a dress? I don’t think she’s asked anyone to go with her.”

Lauren waves me off like it’s no big deal, “Oh, Jovie is going with Nash. They always do these things together.”

“They do?” I question.

She scoffs, “Of course they do. They are dating and all. They are so cute together too, don’t you think?”

I laugh, “Yeah, if walking red flags are your thing, sure.”

Lauren sighs, placing her hand on my arm, “I wish you and Jovie could get along. It would be so much better for all of us if you two weren’t at each other’s throats all the time.”

“She hates me, and she always has,” I remind her.

“This is all new for her too. Just give her some time to adjust. Y’all will find a way to co-exist.”

I nod, not wanting to take the conversation any further. Jovie is her daughter, after all. Her loyalty will always lie with her. There is no way to convince her that Jovie is a snake. A shark. Whatever.

“Oh!” She stops before reaching the door, “Jovie told your mom about how you didn’t wanna bother them with having your car brought down. You should’ve said something! Anyway, they had a delivery service drop it off. It’s in the garage. Same curfew as before.”

She walks out the door, leaving me there gaping like a fool. I turn and scream into my pillow, trying to refrain from going into Jovie’s room to strangle her.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FOUR

NASH

“What are your plans for today?” Carson asks, throwing me a towel from the closet inside the bathroom.

“I guess school, then baseball, and I’m working at the marina until close.”