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WE WALK INTO MY room after going out to lunch, and before we head over to her parent's house, I know I need another pill. It's not that being around her parents is something I can't handle without being high. I actually enjoy their company. It's just that if I go too long without, the anxiety creeps in.
Paige watches as I pull the bottle out from its hiding place and grab one. Still, as much as she doesn't try to stop me from taking them anymore, I turn away so she doesn't actually see me do it. To be honest, I'm ashamed of it. I mean, I went and got a drug problem. That's nothing to be proud of. But if I had to choose between taking a pill or dealing with the hell that goes on in my mind on a daily basis, I'll pick the pills every day of the week.
Once I'm done, I put them back and change my shirt real quick. As I turn to Paige, there's something off about her, but when I press my lips to hers, she turns right back into the girl I remember.
EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE going perfectly, so it's only fitting that shit needs to hit the fan. And it's not even me or Paige that causes it. It's fucking Carter. He spends days watching Paige and me, and each time he gets a little more irritated with it all. Until finally, he snaps.
We're sitting on the couch watching some stupid show of people trying to do this nearly impossible obstacle course, only to wipe out, when Carter gets home. He looks over at us, and I only glance back at him for a second, before pulling Paige closer to my side. She giggles at something on the screen, but then Carter walks around and stands directly in front of the TV.
"Oh, isn't that just cute," he sneers.
I roll my eyes and try to see past him, but he won't move. "Do you have a problem?"
"Yes, actually," he admits. "But not so much with you as it is with her."
"With me?" Paige asks, sitting up.
He crosses his arms over his chest. "You know, I always knew he had a hold on you, but I never thought you would be this easy to fucking manipulate."
"Watch yourself," I warn, but he's not having it.
"Watch myself?" He turns to Paige. "Do you even realize how fucking brainwashed he has you? So, what? Because Jacey is sad it's suddenly okay for him to get high all the damn time?"
"Trayland," I bark.
"No. Fuck you!" he roars at Paige. "You're fucking enabling him. You're supposed to help get him better. You're supposed to care about him enough to get him to fucking stop. And instead, you're just letting him fucking do it!"
I get up and stand in front of Paige to shield her from his verbal onslaught. "You might want to stand the fuck down and mind your own business."
He chuckles darkly and gets into my face. "Or what? Are you going to hit me again? Tell me how much of a fucking prick I am for giving a shit about your stupid ass? Go ahead."
"Jace, don't," Paige pleads.
Carter smirks. "Yeah, Jace. Listen to your little girlfriend, or is it only her who caves to what you want?"
My fist tightens, and before I know it I'm swinging it directly into his face. My knuckles crack against his cheekbone, and Paige shrieks as we become a tangled mess of punches on the floor. The two of us swing at each other,—months of built-up anger finally boiling over.
Each of us gets a few hits in before Paige finally manages to squeeze herself in between us. We stand up, and she keeps a hand on my chest to hold me back. It's not that she's physically strong enough to do so, but she also knows neither one of us will do anything that would risk hurting a woman. Especially not her.
"Did you ever even get him to tell you what happened?" Carter asks her in outrage. "Or did you just let him convince you that taking drugs is the answer to it all?"
"Carter!" I growl. She doesn't need to be involved with all that.
"What?" He presses. "If she's going to keep letting you kill yourself, isn't she at least entitled to know what it's all about?"
She looks up at me with tears filling her eyes, and I can tell he's getting to her. As I go to pull her closer into me, she backs away. If she wasn't going to run before, she sure as hell might now.
"What happened, Jace?" she practically whispers.
I shake my head rapidly. "I can't."
"You can," Carter says. "Tell her. Tell her what turned you into the mess that you are. Explain the night that took you from king of the universe to some college junkie that can't make it through the day without a fucking fix."
Focusing on Carter, my anger starts ratcheting up again. "This is all your fault! Things were going perfectly fucking fine before you had to go and insert your damn self into it like you always fucking do!"
He straightens his shoulders and uses the two inches he has on me to his advantage. "Tell her."
"No."
