She grinned. "Great! I'm assuming you told his bitch ass off?"

"Umm..." My face warmed as I looked away.

After a moment, Precious asked, "You did tell him off, didn't you?"

"Well...hey, class is about to start."

"Don't give me that bullshit! Aimee, don't tell me-"

The professor cut her off. "Alright, good morning everyone. I hope you all read for the quiz?"

My breath caught. Wait, what? Fuck!

Beside me, Precious breathed, "Oh my god, I forgot about it! Aimee, you-"

I hissed, "Don't look at me, I didn't read either!"

. . .

Fortunately, the quiz was based on a lot of stuff I'd already learned in AP psychology, so I wasn't as screwed as I'd thought. Plus, it distracted Precious from her questioning, so I was able to leave class peacefully.

Unfortunately, the distraction didn't stay on her mind as long as I'd have liked - not too long after I'd gotten into my room, there was a frantic knock on my door.

Frowning, I said, "Who is it?"

"Me."

I nearly groaned. "Precious, I'm busy."

"Busy avoiding me?"

Yes. "I'm tired 'cause of the test."

"I won't stay longer than five minutes, then you can go to bed."

"Or I can go to bed now."

"Then you'll face me later."

I sighed exasperatedly, then walked over and opened the door. "Fine, what is it?"

"Aimee, don't tell me you didn't end whatever the both of you had."

"And what if I didn't?"

"Girl, have you forgotten how pissed you were on Saturday?"

"Okay, I calmed down. What's your point?"

She groaned. "Oh my god, please don't tell me that you're going to let him get away with his shitty behavior. Have some self-respect!"

What the fuck?

I gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but you don't know shit about me. I'll appreciate it if you mind your business on this, thanks."

Her jaw dropped. "I-"

I slammed my door, locking it. Walking over to my bed, I dropped onto it.

As I was pulling my covers over myself, Precious yelled, "Fine, be a bitch about it! Just don't come crying when he shows you his true colors again and you realize how dumb you're being."

"Right, like I'd ever come crying to you. Fuck off!"

. . .

I forced my eyes open as my ringtone cut through my dreams. Rubbing at my eyes, I looked at the caller ID on the screen:

Dad.

I cleared my throat, then answered the call. "Hey Dad, uh... good afternoon. How are you?"

I was met with an eerie silence.

After a bit, I said, "Hello?"

"Haven't you heard the news?"

I sat up in bed. "Wh-what news?"

There was a moment of silence, then he said, "Your brother is dead."

My body ran cold as if a frigid wind had blown over it.

"What?"

"Your brother is dead."

"What are you talking about?"

"He got into an accident. He didn't make it."

"No. You're joking."

He coldly replied, "I'm not. I should have never got him that car, I knew he was too stupid to drive it."

My heart rate sped up. "Wh-what?"

"He was drunk driving. Which reminds me: did you know that he drinks?"

"I- no-"

He snapped, "Don't lie to me! You caught him drinking out of your bottle when he was 13, didn't you?"

"I- I stopped him-"

"Weren't you only 15 then? What kind of example were you setting by drinking while you were underage?"

"It... it was never too much-"

"Horrible example. You're a horrible example for your brother. What a failure you are."

My shaking hand could barely maintain its grip on the phone. "I... I-"

"You were meant to look after him. I trusted him, and you let me down. This is on you."

The phone dropped from my hand as I shook my head, clutching at it. My vision got blurry. "No, no..."

His voice multiplied, whispering from every direction, "Failure... failure... failure..."

The scene faded away as I jerked up in bed, my heart hammering against my chest. Immediately, I grabbed my phone and called my brother.

His phone rang several times. No reply.

My hands began shaking. Please, please, please...

His voice echoed in my ear. "Hey, what's up?"

My shoulders sagged. Thank god!

A moment later, he said, "Helloooo?"

Taking a deep breath, I replied, "Wow, you picked up! This is the kinda change that I like to see, keep it up."

He scoffed. "You barely call, so what are you on about?"

My face warmed. He does have a point.

"Aww, is that your way of saying that you miss me?" I teased.

"Woah chill, you've got too much dip on your chip. Anyways, what's up? I gotta get back to class soon."

"Oh, uh..."

"Oh yeah, did you see the pic of the car Dad got me?"

"Huh?"

"The one I sent you."

"Oh, yeah! It, uh...it looks good."

"Thanks. I'm surprised your jealousy let you say that though."

I furrowed my brow. "My jealousy?"

"Well the last time we spoke you were hating, then you didn't bother to respond to the pic I sent, so..."

My skin warmed again as I gave a shaky laugh. "Oh, my bad. I've had a bit on my mind lately."

"Hmm, you sure you weren't just salty?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Tim. The car looks bomb."

I could practically hear his grin as he replied, "It is! Maybe when you get back, I'll take you for a spin in it."

I rolled my eyes again but smiled. "Gee, I'm honored."

"As you should be. Anyways, how's college?"

"It's alright. Compared to highschool-"

A bell rang in Tim's background. He said, "Shit, I gotta go now."

"It's fine, we'll catch up later. Go, don't be late!"

"Yes ma'am," he snickered. "Talk to you later, Aims."

"Yeah. Also...be careful on the road, okay?" I gave a shaky laugh. "You know, don't drink and drive."

He scoffed. "Trust me, I care too much about the car to do something that stupid."

. . .

I browsed online for a while after that, then headed to Nabila's room.

Opening her door, I whined, "I'm bored-"

Nabila shrieked, slamming her laptop shut and sitting up in bed. The guy sitting beside her jerked as well.

I froze, eyes widening. What is going on?

The guy beside her placed a hand on his chest, letting out a large breath. "Christ, Nabila, why'd you jump like that?"

He was dark-skinned, of a similar tone as Nabila. He had a slim build and his hair was cut in a low fade and styled with waves. He was fully clothed, as was Nabila.

Nabila exclaimed, "I'm so sorry! I got startled."

Still confused, I said to the guy, "Hi, I don't think we've met before. I'm Aimee."

"Hey, I'm Andre."

Andre...isn't that the name of the guy who was dancing with Bila at the party? Interesting.

Struggling to hide my smile, I replied, "Nice to meet you. So...am I interrupting anything?"

"No, of course not!" Nabila exclaimed. "We were just watching a movie. You're-you're welcome to join if you want."

"Ooh thanks, but I just realized that I have some work I've gotta take care of." Grinning, I walked out of the room. "You both have a nice time!"

I barely got into my room before I started jumping. Oh my gosh!
. . .

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