I watch as the numbers get closer to Trystan and Ryder's floor. Worry starts to eat at me from the inside. Storm is annoyed at me and Trystan and Ryder are falling out with their parents because of me. It feels like I can't do anything right.

The lift eventually pulls to a stop before the doors open seconds later. Trystan and his father are both missing from the room, however, their mother is still there talking to Ryder and the other guys. When they hear the lift arrive, they all look toward me as I walk out of it.

When they notice that Storm is not with me, some of the guys send me sympathetic smiles. Colton stands up and looks like he wants to say something, but Trystan and Ryder's mother says something to Ryder before coming toward me. I see Colton out of the corner of my eye fall back down onto the sofa.

"Bambi, right? Can we talk?" she requests. I hear tiny feet padding on the floor and welcome Sophie with open arms. I hold her shoulders as I try and figure out what Ryder and Trystan's mother's motives are and whether to go with her. Not wanting to make a bad impression, I agree.

"Mom," Ryder calls in a warning tone.

"What? I just want to get to know her, girl to girl. We won't be too long," she replies.

"You can bring her," she continues looking down at Sophie who doesn't look like she's going anywhere. Their mother's trying to sound accommodating and polite, her too-big lips stretching into a smile, however, her eyes don't get the message and her smile seems somewhat forced and judgemental.

Sophie tugs on the fabric of my shirt, and without taking my gaze from Trystan and Ryder's mother, I bend to pick Sophie up. I situate her on my hip, and she begins to play with the hair she can reach.

"Why don't we go out to the balcony." What kind of conversation does she want to have with me, where no-one else can hear us? I follow behind her, meeting Ryder's concerned eyes as I pass him. Now I'm worried.

She pulls the door open and steps to the side allowing me through. As I go through the door, I get a waft of her sickly sweet perfume.

"You seem like a nice girl," she says, turning to me as the door closes behind me. Her tone is trying to be as sweet as her perfume, making her pixie-like voice even higher, however, it's not working as she continues with a but. "But what are my boys to you, what are they all to you?"

I move Sophie in my arms. "They're just friends," I tell her, but as I say it I don't believe it. Are we just friends? I've kissed more than one of them, and after all that are we staying "just friends"? Friends don't kiss.

"Unlikely," she says, almost mocking me. "Which of my boys are you sleeping with? Or is it both? Have you got them both wrapped around your little finger?" I go to say something opening my mouth, but she continues, her sickly sweet tone gone altogether. "I know, I know, you "love" each other. This isn't a new thing, trust me, I've heard it all before. But, honey, it's not love, is it?" she says as if I could confide in her.

"I-" I start, going to defend myself, wanting to tell her that I don't love them, but she soldiers on not giving me the chance. A part of me, as she talks, knows that I wouldn't have got anything out anyway as I would have stopped myself. Do I love them? I don't think that I'm in love with them, but I love them for everything that they have done for me.

"We're not blind. We've seen the money leaving the account, and it didn't take us long once we came home to realize what was happening. They can be stupid with their money - they don't realize that people will use them for it. A hotel room, a phone, a bracelet to name a few. This isn't things you buy a 'friend'," she says.

"I didn't ask them to buy all of those things for me," I object, clutching Sophie tighter to me.

"Hm. Maybe at first, but you can't tell me that once they started spending the money on you, you didn't enjoy it. Who would stay in a hotel that someone else paid for if you didn't want to?"

I blink back the tears, not knowing how to reply or what to say. Even if I deny all of her accusations, it will come across like I am trying to save face, and some part of me feels guilty already at using them, so what Trystan and Ryder's mum is saying is just making that worse by making me question my intentions. Am I just using them for their money? Panic starts to rise, at what their mum is insinuating. Is she going to cut off their allowance? Am I going to be homeless, I don't know if I'm ready to return home. I don't have enough money to pay the rent, and would probably end up on the streets eventually anyway.

"But unfortunately, honey," she continues, using the fake endearment to make it seem less hurtful unsuccessfully, "they're going to get bored soon, and move onto another girl, I know my sons, and that money you're using them for, is going to disappear. I've seen many a girl creeping out of here in the morning, thinking that I can't see them while I'm eating my breakfast, you're not the first and won't be the last. And if they don't see reason soon, I'll be sure to make them realize that you're just material orientated like the rest, and as a result, after the money stops coming, they'll leave. They usually can't see it at first, thinking that the girls love them for who they are, but once I intervene all that money that you are indirectly getting will dry up, so why not get out now and go back to wherever you came from. I'm sure your parents wouldn't want their daughter soliciting herself." Her eyes move to Sophie, looking like she wants to say something further, but she stops herself, for which I'm grateful.

Instead of giving her the satisfaction of seeing me upset, or a reply, I decide to leave. I turn, yanking the door open to the apartment in anger. I sense her following me back into her place, and instead of hanging around, knowing that she is judging me, I make my way to the lift.

"Mummy," Sophie complains, trying to get down and go to the guys. I ignore the guys, calling over my shoulder to them.

"Bye. I'll see you at school." Yet again, I'm causing problems with the guys. I'm not going to be responsible for Ryder and Trystan losing their money and family. I seem to break everything that I get in contact with. I drove my mum to alcoholism, and now I'm breaking apart a lifelong friendship, and getting in between them and their families.

"Hey!" Ryder says, followed by the sound of his feet hitting the floor quickly. I steel myself, not wanting to look at him. "Hey!" Ryder calls louder, grabbing onto my arm, turning me. I press my lips together, avoiding his eyes. "What did she say to you?"

"Nothing I didn't already know," I reply honestly. The lift dings and the doors open. I turn from him and go to enter the lift.

"Say bye to the guys, sweetie," I say to Sophie, who calls out to them in farewell.

"Bambi," Ryder says clutching my arm tighter.

"Ryder, I want to go home." He loosens his grip, and I take the opportunity to escape. I step into the lift, pressing the ground button, before the button which closes the door so he can't follow me. I get a glimpse of a triumphant smirk from his mum before she returns to speaking to her husband, and Ryder looking shocked, before turning back to the room and throwing his hands up into the air as if to say he doesn't know what to do. I place Sophie down on the floor as the lift starts to move, and I lean against the wall, my eyes squeezed shut to try and stop the tears that I have already cried enough of.

As I ride down in the lift, I remember that Ashton was the one to drive me here, and as a result, I left Levi's car at the school. I don't know where it is now. Did the guys pick it up and take it back to the hotel? Did they leave it, or have they brought it here?

Eventually the doors open and I can leave. I prepare myself for the walk home, knowing the way as a result of having done it before with Storm.

Thinking of Storm, I almost let out a humourless laugh at the fact that the roles are reversed from only minutes earlier. I'm the one fleeing, hoping that no one will stop me.

Hi!

I am so sorry for the long wait - I have been working on finishing some of my other books before the end of the year, and as a result, I have been putting more attention (but not my whole) on them, which will then allow me to give more attention to this book, and some of my others - I've got a lot of books! ;) I want to give my attention to one or two books, not five. This will eventually mean that the update schedule will become more regular, as I will have more time to give to each book. If you guys can just hang on a bit longer, it will all be with it (it doesn't mean I will not be posting any more of this books this year, I will try to get something more up). I feel so bad that I haven't been regular at all with my updates, so I want to rectify that.

What did you think?

What will happen next?

Thanks for reading, voting, commenting, sharing, and following (along with sticking with me through very long waits)!

CC ;)