⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF SUICIDE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Chapter 25

"What is it?" Kayden looked over my shoulder and eventually took my phone from my hand. I tried to deny it, but it was written all over those comments.

"Everyone blames me for the shooting."

It wasn't my fault, right?

Of course it's not!

Gray was the one that put their lives in danger. Not me.

Duh! He was the one that brought a gun to the school.

That comment about me breaking his heart.

Girl, they don't know about your situation with Gray. He has to have a heart for you to break!

Only a handful of peers were defending me. Including Angela who insisted that I had no hand in what happened. Others argued that they didn't know the whole story and that they didn't have the right to jump to conclusions.

"Just because Bella had a relationship with the shooter, that doesn't mean anything," one of the more positive comments said. All the students trying to back me up even started fights that involved inappropriate language and threats to go to hell.

Kayden pulled me out of my thoughts. "What the fuck? Hashtag Bella The Killer? That was nowhere near your fault. Why would they blame you?"

I'm asking myself that same question.

"I'm the one that triggered Gray into bringing a gun to the school," I said, completely ignoring the argument my heart had with my brain. "It was me who made him snap." The questions that I asked myself while I was locked in the closet. Why are they doing this? What happened to him that made him snap? Why this school? I was the answer to all the above. "It was my fault."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's my fau—"

"No." He leaned over the handle of the cart and gently took my chin in his fingers. "Let me ask you something. Were you the one that brought a gun to the school?"

"No, but I—"

"No 'buts'. Were you, or were you not, the one that brought the gun to school?"

"I wasn't."

"Exactly. You weren't. You may have been the one that unintentionally made him mad enough, but there was no way that you would've known he was going to shoot someone. Ignore the comments. Ignore everyone who says otherwise. You are not Bella The Killer."

He was right. Those low-lives had nothing better to do than to misconstrued me as the bad guy and I was stupid to let them affect me for even a half a second. I slowly nodded my head as his lips planted a soft kiss at the top of my head.

All negative thoughts drifted away as I leaned closer to his chest, letting him wrap his arms tightly around my back. He whispered that it wasn't my fault until the words were tattooed into my brain.

"I highly recommend that you turn your phone off until everything... calms down. The rest of us, we'll report the comments and block those accounts. We're not gonna let them get away with this, my love. I promise."

When Kayden dropped me off at home, I noticed that Olive's car was parked along the curb behind us. Through the opened curtains, I saw that the living room lights were on and Olive and Zach were waiting for our return right by the window.

Kayden instructed me to stay in the car while he got out and opened the door for me. One step inside the house and I was already bombarded with hugs from Olive and forehead kisses from Zach.

"Do not listen to a damn word they say. You didn't do shit. It was that psychopathic bastard that put their lives in danger. Not you." Olive pulled away, but her fingers remained interlocked with mine. She dragged me up to my room, leaving the boys to pick out a movie for us to watch. "Where even were you guys?"

"Kayden and I were on our first date," I casually revealed as I lifted my top off to change back into my pajamas. I spun on my heel to see her glued to her spot by the door. A blend of shock and confusion were written all over her face and you could tell she was processing my words with her stuttering.

"You can't just, you can't just, just casually mention this to me without details. How did he ask you? When did he ask you? What was the first thought that entered your mind? Because clearly, it wasn't to tell your best friend that your dream was finally coming true. You didn't even bother to tell me? Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me or something?"

"If I told you right away, we wouldn't have had this fun moment now, would we?"

In no way did she look amused. She pointed at her straight face. "Not laughing."

I filled her in on what happened at the barbecue. There was not one detail that I missed. I even mentioned that I walked in on him with a towel and how drool was dripping from my lips, how his arms felt around my waist and his whispers against my face.

I described the butterflies that fluttered around the core of my stomach when he held my hand while driving and when he draped his arms around me going into the coffee shop.

The whole time, Olive's eyes were glued to mine with a wide, open smile and she was even drooling at some parts. Mostly, the part about him in a towel and his hair being soaking wet. At the end, she used my bathroom while I joined the boys downstairs.

Zach was on the phone with the pizza place ordering a cheese with olives. Cans of soda and a bowl of fresh popcorn were arranged on the coffee table and they put Friends on for background noise while they looked for a movie for us to watch.

"Bella?"

I turned around to see Olive holding up the charm bracelet I threw on the counter before my date with Kayden. I had completely forgotten it was there. I meant to put in my jewelry box before I left, but that thought was long forgotten the second I walked through the door to leave.

All eyes were on me while I sunk into the material of the couch. She was switching glances between me and the bracelet with her brows furrowed and her forehead lined with wrinkles. "You still have this bracelet?"

"I know. I was planning on giving it back soon. Maybe tomorrow?"

An expression of skepticism was etched into her features. Her teeth were clenched in guilt because she knew how hard this would be for me and she slowly shook her head. "Are you sure? I mean, I know it's gonna be hard but wouldn't you rather get it done as soon as possible? The longer you put it off, the harder it's gonna be."

I knew I had to give it back sooner or later. It was a gift that he bought for me when we were still dating, but now that I ruined things between us, I was unsure if I should keep it. I sighed, grabbing my keys off the end table and leaving through the front door.

This is gonna be as hard as shit.

-

There was no turning back now. A text had already been sent that I was coming over, he already replied with his address and I stood at his front porch. Unless I wanted to look like a coward and risk Garrett catching me walking away.

This was the most thoughtful present I'd ever gotten and Garrett was so kind to custom-make this bracelet for me. The fact that he skipped school and went out of his way to pick it up for me just made it that much more special.

His footsteps could be heard from the other side which elicited moisture to creep up on my palms. He opened the door in his LA Lakers jersey, a pair of black sweats and a ghost of a smile touched his lips when he saw me.

"Hey," he greeted with his hands in his pockets. Garrett looked me up and down and a deep chuckle escaped his lips. "Cute pajamas."

I giggled. "Thank you. Can I come in?"

Garrett stepped aside and allowed me inside where the living room was to the right.

Family pictures were framed above the fireplace from when he was a toddler to a teenager. An eighty-inch TV was mounted on the wall in front of a gray sectional couch and you had a full view of the beach.

You could see the foamy waves crashing against the sand and hear the surfers cheering as they caught each wave. This was my dream house.

"What did you wanna talk about?" His eyes were boring into mine as I continued to stare out the window and when I turned around, I noticed that he was already sitting on the couch.

"I wanted to apologize again for... you know," I started, taking a seat next to Garrett.

He scoffed and dropped his head. "Stop right there. You don't need to apologize. In fact, I'm the one that owes you an apology."

I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?"

He hesitated, but leaned forward with his fingers interlocked on his knees. "I overreacted. Of course you like Kayden. The three of you have been glued to the hip since kindergarten. You're right, too. I shouldn't have asked about your feelings for them on our date. I was just trying to make small talk."

He paused to watch his fiddling thumbs and a mortified blush took over his cheeks. "And... after the school was off lockdown, I drove there to make sure that Trey was okay. Then... I saw you with Kayden holding hands as you followed a police officer and... realized that you two actually... look good together. I was able to tell right away that you and him belonged together."

It dawned on me why I was here in the first place. I reached into my back pocket to pull out the bracelet. With hesitation, I held it out toward him. "Here. You can have this back."

He shook his head and rested his hand over mine. "Keep it."

My lips shivered into a small smile. I was taken by surprise when he said that. Before I came here, I was savoring every last moment with this bracelet—whether it was in my pocket or on my wrist. At least it was in my posession.

I thought it was going to be taken away from me. He took the bracelet and clasped it around my wrist.

"It was a birthday present. I wasn't expecting you to give it back."

"But you spent all the money on—"

"I had that bracelet made for you. And besides, even though we're not together anymore..." Garrett leaned back and held my hand without intertwining our fingers together. "I hope we can still be friends."

There was a sense of relief that washed over me knowing that things were cool between us. That was all I wanted since the party. I could see a friendship growing between us. Forcing myself out of my reverie, my eyes found Garrett as his face lit up.

"Did you see the news about the shooter getting arrested?"

I immediately sat up. All thoughts about Gray and any videos of him getting arrested vanished after the lockdown was over.

When you watch movies about bad guys tormenting the protagonists and you wait for the police to come out of nowhere to take the bad guys away, you feel satisfied.

Here I was, seconds away from being consumed by that kind of satisfaction while Garrett searched for the video on YouTube on the TV. Once the video started, I could only see the side of his face from a distance as the cops led him inside the police car. He didn't show any fear or guilt.

It was like he knew he would suffer the consequences, but none of it mattered to him. Watching the video of Gray getting his comeuppance, I knew it was for good this time. I was safe and was gonna stay safe as long as he was rotting away in that cell.

I left Garrett with a friendly hug and a confirmation that we were still going to be friends. When I drove home, I found my parents' car was parked in the driveway. I grew more excited to go inside.

Every conversation, every kiss, every tiny romantic gesture that came with this date was about to spill out of me to mom — whether she wanted to know all the details or not. There was a spring in my step as I practically jumped out the car and skipped toward the front door. The state's best surgeon would have to surgically remove the smile plastered off my face.

"Mama, I'm so glad—" I paused to take in the tension in the room. Mom and dad had a somberness haunting their downcast eyes and the boys and Olive were watching me with anxious expressions etched into their facial features. "Who died?" An awkward chuckle left my lips as I watched everyone's saddened faces stealing glances at me.

The longer I stood there, the more scared I was that someone in my family or in one of my friends' families actually passed away. It was pin-drop silence in a room filled with people. That was when an eerie feeling stirred in my stomach. "Wait... did someone actually die? Is it gamma? Is papa okay?"

"They're okay, my love," mom spoke up.

"Then what happened?"

"Baby, it's Gray."

Now, I was intrigued. What could've happened to Gray that had everyone looking depressed? He was in jail. He deserved whatever it was that the other inmates were doing to him. "What about him?"

Dad sighed. His eyes finally lifted to meet mine, but the hint of sadness that clouded his eyes were gone. It was like he was trying to be the strong one. "Princess... he killed himself."