The next evening, at around eight o'clock, I stand outside Eli's dorm, feet nervously tapping the floor.Two hours ago, he sent me a message asking whether we could meet and talk in his room. He said Jude wasn't going to be around for the evening, which is why I agreed to his plan.Now, here I am. The truth is finally going to be revealed, and I'm unable to think past the nerves plaguing me right now. I've tried to think of ways to make the truth less harsh, but I cannot even think past the thought that I'm going to hurt his feelings, and I have no idea how to fix that.Taking a feel breath, I lift my hand and knock on the door.A few seconds later, the door opens, revealing Eli on the other side. His lips curl into a smile when he sees me. "Hey. You’re here."I nod, returning his smile and walking into the room when he steps aside. I remove my shoes while he closes the door, and then follow him into the living room.I take a seat on one end of the couch and grab a throw pillow, huggi

"Eli?" Isaac's voice floats into the room. "Eli?" Simon echoes him, giving me a bewildered look. There's no time to think, so I hurry over to the door. "Let's talk outside," I tell him, stepping up beside Isaac.Isaac gives me a worried look before retreating into the living room.Eli looks at me, his eyebrows drawing together. "I'm sorry. I had no idea she would do something like that."I shrug and cast a worried look over my shoulder. Thankfully, Jude is out of sight. If we leave now, everything will be fine. "It's fine. Let's talk outside," I repeat."Oh, ok..." he trails off, and I realise his gaze has shifted from me to somewhere behind me. My stomach twists. The look on his face is enough. I don't need to turn to see that he's looking at Jude. "What is he doing here?" Eli asks, his face morphing into a tense expression. Then his eyes come back to me, and the hurt I see in them is too much. "Are you here with him?"I shake my head instantly and wave my hands in denial. "No!"

"He needs to get into surgery right away, but the substances he took might interfere with anaesthesia, so we have to carry out some tests to find out what he took first. While we wait for that, we'll try to stabilise him from the drug effect and take measures against infection and further blood loss. It might be a while before we are done with him. But don't worry, his outlook is good."I nod, relieved to hear that. "Okay.""Just hang around the waiting area, and I'll come to you when we are ready to proceed," the doctor instructs."Okay, thank you," I say as he walks away.With a deep inhale, I walk back to the others. They all gather around me."What did he say?" Eli asks."They need to carry out some tests to find out what he took before they can operate on him. But he said he's going to be okay.""That's good," Simon mumbles.We all settle around the waiting room, waiting. It's crazy how this night has turned out. It feels like so long ago when my biggest worry was Eli and Jude fi

"That was the end of our friendship," Eli continues. "I haven't talked to him in years. Then tonight happened." He shoots to his feet and paces in front of the bench. "I almost forgot about him. The thought of him made me so angry, that I would instantly shut him out of my mind as soon as my thoughts went in his direction. It's been a while since I thought about him." "It must have been hard seeing him tonight," I say. "Yeah, well, yeah. Especially because I can't even be angry at him anymore." He sits back down. "When he followed me outside earlier, he broke down." "Why?" "He told me why he fought with your brother. Will got suspended from the school's football team a few weeks ago, and your brother took his place. When he saw Trey getting high last night, he got mad. He couldn't stand it that the guy who had taken his spot was getting away with the same thing that ruined his life." He scrubs a hand down his face. "And then he started crying, saying how he has lost everything a

I groan inwardly when I get back to my apartment and Tori is already there, making something in the kitchen. I was hoping she wouldn’t be back yet and I could get some time to myself without worrying about her saying or doing something that will ruin my mood further. But no worries. All I have to do is stay in my room and avoid all sorts of contact with her. My hope for a peaceful evening goes down the drain seconds later as I cross the living area, headed for my room. “You’re here to pack, right?” she asks. I’m of half a mind to ignore her, but I can’t resist the urge to disappoint her. “No,” I reply, retrieving my room key from my bag. “You have three days to move,” she says. I stick my key into my lock. “I don’t have to go anywhere. This is my apartment too. You can move if you want.” The sound of her scoff fills the room. “Did you forget that it’s my name on the lease?” Damn, she’s right. When I agreed to move in with her from the school dorms, she had already found the ap