"I can't believe you slept with my brother the same day we broke up," Cassie shouts at Stephanie over the blaring music.

"I didn't! You're the one who broke up with me for another guy!" Stephanie yells back.

"I broke up with you because you were planning to sleep with my brother!"

"Well, you broke up with me, and now you're here with some guy!"

"And you're here with my brother!"

"Hi," I interject, extending my hand towards the mentioned guy. "I'm John, Cassie's brother."

"Yeah, I got that. I'm Peter, the guy," he responds, giving my hand a firm shake and offering a grateful smile.

He seems like a decent guy.

"Peter?" Stephanie squints at him, then shifts her accusing gaze to Cassie. "Peter, your therapist?"

Oh, Cassie...

"I ah..." Cassie starts, but Peter interrupts.

"I'm no longer her therapist. I'm her boyfriend."

"When did that happen?" Cassie raises an eyebrow at him.

"Just recently," he replies, patting her back.

"So... When you told me you were seeing a therapist, you meant seeing him naked?" Stephanie asks.

"It's a recent development," Cassie replies.

"Congratulations. Let's get drinks to celebrate," I suggest.

"No way am I drinking with this slut," Cassie retorts, crossing her arms.

"Are you kidding me? You're calling me a slut? You slept with three girls yesterday, and today you're sleeping with your therapist."

"Fuck you, Stephanie."

"Okay, girls. Let's step outside and get some fresh air," I say, grabbing both of them and guiding them out of the club. We walk a few steps down the street until we reach the sandy beach. I light up two joints in my mouth, filling up with smoke in the process, and pass one to each of them.

"Now, let's take a deep drag," I say. "Think about what's really bothering us and calmly express it out loud."

"I'm upset that you couldn't even wait one day before sleeping with him," Cassie says.

"I could say the same thing. And I didn't sleep with John," Stephanie responds.

"Oh, come on," Cassie mocks.

"I didn't sleep with John, but you slept with Peter."

"That's none of your business."

"Then it's none of your business who I sleep with," Stephanie retorts.

"I'm sorry, is Peter your brother?"

"That's not the point. You're acting like I did something wrong by moving on the day we broke up, when you did the same."

"You moved on to the last member of the family you haven't slept with."

"Enough, Cassie," I interject firmly.

"Fuck off, John. I warned you not to get involved."

"You don't get to decide this," Stephanie pushes back, and Cassie takes a step towards her. I step in between them.

"Take a puff, Cass," I tell her, and she swings a punch at me. My initial instinct is to duck, but I remember Stephanie behind me and decide to take it to the teeth.

The impact of the hit reverberates in my head, and anger surges through my muscles, urging me to retaliate. Instead, I snatch the joint from Cassie's hand and take a deep drag.

"Maybe we should leave," Peter suggests.

"No," I say, stepping back from between Cassie and Stephanie. "You both are embarking on new journeys in your lives. You need to be honest with yourselves and with each other, so you can move forward unburdened by the past."

They both take a deep breath now. The taste of blood buds from my lip.

"I think it's messed up how you treated me when we were together," Stephanie says quietly.

"I think you only got together with me because you craved chaos. Games were the only thing that interested you, and I'm tired of playing," Cassie responds with contained anger.

"How else could anyone keep up with the amount of shit you do? You're mad at me when I haven't even slept with John. Meanwhile, you were sleeping with Katie and who knows who else while we were together."

"We said we weren't exclusive..."

"That's true. I still stayed loyal to you. I'm not upset that you didn't give a damn. I'm upset that even though you didn't care about me, you now think you have the right to decide who I can and cannot be with," Stephanie says, her anger contained but palpable.

"There's only one person you can't be with, Stephanie, and that's John."

"But he's the one person I want to be with," Stephanie answers quietly.

Cassie looks at Stephanie, then at me, and finally at Peter. For a while, only the sound of the waves crashing on the shore fills the silence.

Then Cassie steps forward and embraces Stephanie. "I'm sorry. I was selfish."

"It's okay," Stephanie smiles softly at her. "I'm sorry too."

Cassie nods slowly and steps away. She stops before me, glancing at my bruised lip.

"Sorry for punching you... again."

"Yeah, let's not make it a habit," I say, taking another long drag from the joint.

"Come on," Cassie says, placing her hand on Peter's waist. "I'm tired."

"Nice meeting you," Peter nods at us before they leave.

We sit down and gaze at the ebb and flow of the waves. I listen to the soothing sound of the ocean and the crackling of the joint as I inhale.