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Dedication: Pixilights for the amazing cover! Thank you!

Recap:

"I didn't know who else to turn to, okay?"

"That's what happen when you're a bitch. You have no friends."

She sneered at me and opened her mouth, just as I heard a scream and a loud crash. Without a moment of hesitation, I bolted up the stairs and pushed through the door. I froze, my heart jumping into my throat.

"Oh my God..."

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My heart plummeted into my stomach as my eyes drank in the scene before me.

Chase, was on the ground, his face battered, bruised and coated in blood. Xavier had a swollen eye and a cut arching over his left eyebrow. There was another guy, whom I've never seen before, nursing a swollen and bloody nose, off in the corner.

Lastly, there was a man, wrapped in an expensive looking suit, his demeanor portraying utmost wealth and power, standing off to the right, his chest puffed out, a knife in his hand.

"Oh, great," he said sarcastically, his voice causing a shiver to run down my spine. "Here come the children to save the day. Anyone else we're inviting to the party?"

"Let's just all calm down," I said, my voice sounding much stronger than I felt.

My knees wobbled together as I stood there, desperately wanting to reach out to Xavier and hold him. But, I couldn't. The amount of testosterone and tension in this room, was enough to make me suffocate. I had to tone this down, before it got too out of hand.

"Calm down?" the suited guy questioned, a hint of dark humour in his tone. "This pathetic imbosile lost my product. It was worth thousands," he hissed, his eyes narrowing. "And you're telling me to calm down?"

"Yes, I am," I snapped, staring challengingly back at him. I forced my fear into the back of my mind and focused on the matter at hand. I needed to be fearless right now. "For one, this has nothing to do with me or him," I said, pointing to Xavier. "Unfortunately, his dimwit of a brother and his even dumber girlfriend, thought it was a good idea to drag us into this mess." I waved half-heartedly to a sobbing and irritating Megan, who was not helping me with this at all. "So, leave this one out of it." I gestured to Xavier again. "Chase is an idiot and I don't like him, I'm going to be honest. But, I don't want to see him get killed over this, okay? So let's just calm down and come up with a way to deal with this."

He dragged his tongue across his teeth as he took in my words. He lent back onto the table behind him, running his finger over the blade of the knife. I gulped, my throat starting to feel dry. I had to keep strong, if I showed weakness, we were done.

"You see, little girl," he said, the words 'little girl' came out dark and bitter. "He must take punishment for this."

"Yep, I get you," I replied with a nod. "Honestly, I kind of want him to be punished. But he's seventeen, he should be worrying about exams and girls, not this shit." I shrugged. "He's too young to die, don't you think?"

"No."

"Okay," I said awkwardly. "How about you punish Andrew, for letting Chase handle this operation? Really, it's his fault for hiring someone so careless and incompetent."

"He didn't lose the product."

"How do you know that?" I asked. "Chase could just be a pawn in all of this."

"Listen here," he growled, pushing off the table. "I don't give a fuck who did what. All I care about is that my product is gone and there is no money for it. Now, someone has to pay."

I rolled my eyes. "You're just as stupid as the rest of them, then."

He barred his teeth at me as his upper lip curled. "What did you say?"

"Drug dealer and a murderer too?" I questioned, trying my hardest to block out the sobs of Megan beside me. I just had to keep going... "Long jail time for that."

"You don't scare me," he hissed, taking another step towards me. "This does not concern you."

"It does, actually," I said back, my eyes narrowing. "Put the damn knife down and step away before you do something you regret."

He let out a bark of laughter. "I won't regret anything, sweet heart."

Suddenly, Xavier lunged forward and tackled the suited guy to the ground. The other guy, with the broken nose, who had remained silent throughout this entire ordeal, sprang to his feet, ready to go for Xavier.

Xavier and the suited guy fell to the floor as they wrestled with each other. Megan screamed and I shoved her away. One, to get her out of the way and two, because she was really starting to piss me off.

The broken nose guy picked up the knife, that had been dropped to the floor. I could see what was going to happen. He was going after Xavier.

It all happened so fast.

My body turned, reacting faster than my mind. There was an empty bottle of Scotch beside me. Reaching out, with one fluid movement, I smashed the bottle against the table. Megan screamed louder and Chase wobbily got to his feet.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, making me feel strong and careless.

I charged forward, the broken bottle in my hand. The guy was so close. Chase, however, got there before me. He pushed the guy aggressively and they both fell down.

By this point, the suited man was on top of Xavier, his fist pounding into his face.

Without thinking of the possible consequences, I ran forward and shoved the broken bottle into the man's side.

I will never forget the ear-splitting scream that tore from his throat. He swung around, to reach for me and I thrust the jaggard glass deeper into his side. He crumpled to the floor as blood began to pour from his wound.

Megan's scream made me tear my eyes from the quivering man on the ground.

Xavier had made a recovery and had the other guy in a head lock, but it was too late. The damage was done.

I felt the blood drain from my face. My heart jerked in my chest as I stared at the scene before me.

Chase laid on the floor, a knife sticking out of him.

He had been stabbed.

***

                                                                      ****** A Few Months Later ******

The waves tumbled together, before smoothing out, leaving a path of white froth in its wake.

Tucking a loose tendril of hair behind my ear, I took a sip of my water. Brooklyn sat beside me, her knee bumping mine.

My eyes closed. I could still hear the sirens. I could still see the flashing blue and red lights. Megan's scream in my ears. And the blood. So, so much blood.

"Chase." I could hear Xavier's broken whisper, as if his lips were against my ear. "Don't you dare leave me."

"What are you thinking about?" Brooklyn's voice sounded distant in my ears.

"That day," I replied, flickering my eyes to hers.

I tried my hardest to not think about it. Xavier refused to speak about it, so I couldn't discuss it with him. It's hard not to think about it. I'm over it. It's done - it happened. We can't go back now. But, in saying that, I do sometimes wake up, covered in sweat, able to hear that man's voice. Able to see the blood seeping from his wound. Able to see Chase, lying motionless in front of me...

She nodded. "Oh."

It was a day I won't ever forget. It was one of the most terrifying days of my life. And those days after...

The doctor had stared at me, his eyes filled with a serious, solemn stare. "His condition is critical. We're not sure if he will make it through the night."

The man I stabbed with the bottle, fought to cling onto life. He almost died. I almost killed him.

However, if that day never happened, I wouldn't be where I am now. We would still have the fear of Andrew and Chase hanging over our head.

Megan rang the ambulance for Chase and the police were automatically notified. Xavier, Megan (unfortunately) and I were free of charge due to our lack of involvement. I also wasn't charged for the man's injuries as it was an act of self-defense. Chase was favoured by the judge for being a minor under influence and only had to serve a set amount of hours of community service and a few months of time in juvie. It would be on his criminal record, but he got off pretty lightly, I thought.

Andrew and the two other men involved, were all sentenced to jail. Good riddance, if I do say so myself.

I shook my head, pulling my thoughts back into reality. When I closed my eyes, I dreamed of that day. The horrible, terrifying day.

"Do you want to go get some hot chips?" Brooklyn asked me. Trust her to be talking about food. "I'm craving them."

I glanced at her. "I can't, remember?"

"Yes you can," she said, rolling her eyes.

"No, I can't! If they can't, I can't."

Three months ago, as I was bumming around, killing time until Brooklyn and Xavier finished school, I walked past a sign that said 'worker needed'. It was at the local gym. I had an interview with Craig, whose father owns the gym. He runs a series of personal training and fitness classes. It was his business and he wanted an assistant.

I had been helping him with his clients and have built up my own circle of clients who I take jogging each morning at 7am. I also hold a fitness boot camp the evening of Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 5pm.

Next year, Craig and his newlywed wife, are travelling around Europe for 12 months. I was going to take over his business, until he returns.

"You're no fun," she sighed dramatically. "I miss binge eating nutella and ice cream with you."

"Those were the glory days," I laughed, before stretching. "You really should join my boot camp class. It's really good for you."

"I couldn't think of anything worse," she admitted, shuddering. "I'm allergic to exercise, remember? Every time I try, I begin to sweat a lot, I go all red, it's terrible."

I snorted with laughter. "That genuinely happens to most people."

She stuck her tongue out at me.

"Hey, what are you doing this Friday?" I asked her. "I was thinking we could do a movie night or something. We haven't had one for a while."

An awkward look fell across her face and she immediately looked down at her lap. "Oh, I have plans. Maybe next week?"

I frowned at her. "What are you hiding?"

"Hiding?" she asked, whipping her head to me. "What makes you think I'm hiding something?"

"Um, you've been my best friend for like ever, I know when you're lying."

"I just have plans."

"Doing...?" I pressed.

"Just hanging with Jayden."

I narrowed my eyes at her. She was still lying.

Since Brooklyn and Derek broke up, over six months ago, recently she has been hanging out with my friend, Jayden. They seem to be getting along quite well. I liked Jayden a lot more than Derek. I was glad she found someone I finally can stand to be around. It was going to make group hang outs and double dates a lot more bearable now.

"Cut the shit, what are you not telling me?" I asked her.

"Xavier hasn't said anything to you?" she asked quietly.

"No..." I trailed off, a feeling of nervousness creeping into my stomach. "What?"

I racked my brain, trying to wonder what it could be. My eyes widened and I fumbled for my phone. It was November the 1st. On Friday, it would be the 5th, meaning, it was our formal and end of year dance, at school.

"Holy crap, it's the formal this Friday!" I exclaimed. I had been so busy, I had completely forgotten. "Wait, what are you wearing? Why haven't we organised anything?"

She bit her lip, looking down into her lap again.

"What is it?"

"You're not allowed to attend," she said quietly, her head hanging. "We tried, Xavier had a meeting with the principal, but he said because you were expelled, you're not allowed to attend."

My heart clenched as I listened to her words. Even though a school dance was not going to be the highlight of my high school life, Brooklyn and I had planned to go, ever since we were young. I was going to wear a vibrant, red dress that highlighted my hair, and she was going to wear a soft, white dress, laced with gold. We had it planned for a long time.

"Oh." I eventually said. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"I'm really sorry, Faith," she sighed. "I didn't want to bring it up so I just... avoided talking about it."

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Yeah, that's cool. What are you wearing?"

She knew that I was more affected by this than I was letting on, but she never said anything. She pulled her phone from her pocket and showed me a picture of her dress. It was gorgeous. It a floor length gown, that fanned out from the waist down. It looked like a princess dress.

"You got the dress," I whispered, staring at the gold lace.

"Yeah, my mum found it online."

"You are going to look stunning in that," I breathed, a genuine smile coming onto my face. "I can't wait to see you in it."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," I grinned. "You shouldn't be uncomfortable talking to me about this. It was my stupid fault I can't go. Doesn't mean you should not get to be excited about it."

"You're right," she said, with a small smile. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You going with Jayden?"

"Yeah..." she trailed off. "That's not weird for you, is it? Considering you two... hooked up that time."

"It's definitely not weird," I told her and I meant it. "We're much better off as friends. I was still hung up on Xavier and I'm obviously in love with him, so I do not care, one little bit. I'm actually glad you've found someone like Jayden. He's great."

She let out a breath of relief. "Oh good. This has been really eating me up."

Things like the school formal, were a good distraction from everything. Even though it had been six months, it still felt like only yesterday. I wish I could be excited about attending the formal. I wanted to obsess about what I was going to wear and how I was going to arrive. It sucked that I had to sit in the back seat and watch my best friend do it, by herself.

"You're stupid," I said, flicking her nose.

She let out a laugh. "I know. Sorry."

"Stop saying sorry," I laughed, even though it was slightly forced. "It's all good, seriously."

"Okay," she replied, giving me a small smile.

"Is Xavier going?" I asked her, frowning. "Wait, he can't go without me, right?"

She shrugged, another weird look falling across her face. "I don't know."

I sat back and stared out at the ocean. He hadn't even mentioned anything about it. Maybe he wasn't going? Do I want him to go? Of course I don't want him to take another date...

"Maybe he doesn't even care about it," I wondered aloud.

"Maybe."

"Weird he hasn't even mentioned it though, right?"

"It's not weird," Brooklyn said. "Don't overthink it. He's probably just in the same situation as me."

"You're probably right," I mumbled, taking a sip of my water.

"A movie night sounds really good though," she pressed. "How about Saturday or Sunday?"

"That works for me."

"Hey, have you heard anymore about Megan?" Brooklyn asked.

"No, I don't really care about her," I shrugged. "I'm glad she left."

"You're savage," she laughed. "But seriously, I feel sorry for her."

"Why?"

"Her parents shipped her off to a convent... She's like the opposite of that. She's going to-"

I let out a loud laugh. After the whole drug incident, her parents went crazy. They pulled her from school, got a restraining order on Chase and shipped her to Tasmania, where a convent was. Their aim was to school rebellious and misbehaved teenage girls and re-shape their values.

"I wish I could see it. It would make me so happy."

"You're a cruel, cruel girl."

"I know," I grinned. "You can't tell me that it's not karma coming back to bite her in the ass."

Brooklyn looked at me, before bursting out laughing. She slapped her knee, before slapping my shoulder. I snorted with laughter, doubling over.

What goes around, comes around.

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What do you think about Andrew being sentenced to jail, whereas Chase only having to serve a few months in juvie?

And what do you think about Faith's new job?

Anyone think that Megan got what she deserved?

Thank you for reading!