The drive back to my house went in a blur. I had too many questions. Too many doubts. But most of all I just needed to talk to my best friend. Neil. He had told every single thing regarding my family and my life to Sam. I knew that because when I questioned Heather to find out if she was bluffing about the whole thing, she rattled off every little thing that had happened to me in the last few weeks in a blink of an eye. It proved her point. It proved Max's point. 

One of my friends had gone behind my back. And there was only one thing I wanted to know now - Why?

When I pulled into my driveway, Ash and Neil's car were already parked in it. Ash had the extra key I had given her the other night, so they were already inside the house and I found all three of them in the living room, bickering about something. 

When Ash spotted me her face broke into a huge grin. "So? How was it?" 

"How was what?" I frowned. 

"Don't play dumb, I know what you and Tyler were up to this morning." She wriggled her eyebrows, making both Neil and Avi groan. "I need details." 

"No! Please, " Neil jumped in, "Spare us the details." 

"But how–" I trailed off and they chuckled at my confused expression. 

"It was an educated guess." Ash grinned. "I went to the kitchen and saw the dirty dishes, your discarded t-shirt. So...things got wild after a romantic breakfast?" 

 I was in no mood for all this questioning. I signed and shook my head. "I didn't sleep with him." 

"But…?" She prompted. 

I just rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen, dumping all the bags I was holding, and took a deep breath. I would have to talk to them about this. It's now or never. No point in hiding things. 

Just then Avi walked in. He studied my face for a long moment before asking "You okay?" 

"Nope." 

"What's going on?" 

"I'll tell you what's going on," I muttered striding back into the living room with Avi hot on my heels. 

"Whoa! Why do you have that if-you-look-in-my-direction-I'll-murder-you face?" Neil chuckled, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I'm glad you asked. I'm pissed, Neil. Really pissed." I clenched my jaw and shook my head. "No, I'm not pissed. I'm furious." 

His smile faded. Maybe it was my attitude or maybe the frantic energy of my movements had him concerned too. "What happened?" 

"Let me start from the beginning." I clasped my hands together. "You remember how Courtney's birthday party was crashed by a few guys from Edgewood high? And you guys suspected that maybe Max was also there that night?" 

"Yeah but he wasn't, we didn't find him."

"Oh, but I found him, " I said and their eyes widened in surprise. "I found him, spoke to him, and had a full-blown panic attack after that. But that's not what's important. You know what I learnt after our little chat?" 

"What?" Ash asked, looking on edge. 

"He knew about everything that's been happening in my personal life with great detail. And claimed that it was one of my friends who kept him informed. That one of you guys was betraying me."

"Please don't tell me you believed him." Avi looked at me, incredulous.

"Of course I didn't." I shook my head. "Not until today."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"What happened last night was pre-planned. He knew I was home alone and he decided to act. There were only a few people who knew about my parents going out of town; you guys and Tyler."

"You can't be fucking serious. You think we told him?" Avi asked.

"No, it was Sam."

"What the fuck!? Now you're just being crazy." Neil got up from the couch. "What's gotten into you?"

I ignored his comment and continued. "You told her about it, didn't you? You gave her all my life updates!"

His eyes flashed in anger but he nodded. "She was concerned, and I trust her."

"I had told her about my date with Ryan, she knew you were home alone, " Ash murmured, realization dawning on her face.

"Stop it! C'mon you guys, you know her, she'd never do anything like that," Neil defended her like I knew he would.

"But she did." I met his stare. "She went behind my back, and told heather all the shit she needed to know."

Suddenly I was glad Neil didn't know much about Julian. And I hoped that he hadn't babbled about whatever little he did know. Because if he had, then we were fucked.

"You don't know that." With his jaw clenched, in barely contained anger, I saw Neil in a completely new light. A new version of him that I wasn't a fan of.

"Why would you even tell her about it? It's my personal life. My family problems. You had no right!" I yelled. 

"Because she is my girlfriend and I didn't think it was a big deal!" he yelled back at me. 

"Did you know she was reporting everything back to Heather?" 

He stared at me dumbfounded and shook his head. "You can't be fucking serious." 

"Oh, I am." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Yes or no, Neil." 

"Of course not! I can't believe that you would even think that I would betray you like that." He looked at me, his eyes full of hurt, and I felt guilty for placing any blame on him. He was my best friend and deep down I knew he would never do anything to hurt me, but I was in desperate need of some reassurance from him. But now I saw that my need for reassurance came with a cost. Our friendship. 

Before I could open my mouth to apologize he asked, "Who told you about all of this?" 

"Heather, " I muttered and all three of my friends turned to look at me, shocked. 

"Explain." This time it was Avi, who looked at me in disbelief. 

I told them about our conversation earlier and at Courtney's party. I told them about how Max had been treating her and that he had her wrapped around his finger in the name of love. He was using her, abusing her, and she wasn't the same person anymore. She might still hate my guts, but I felt sorry for her. 

"Are you serious right now? You believe her?" Neil spoke up as soon as I had finished. "You believe her word and start blaming me and Sam?" 

"I didn't blame you." 

"You doubted me. You doubted our friendship." 

"Guys, calm down, please, " Ash intervened but we ignored her. 

"Because your girlfriend was bitching about me behind my back and sharing my personal life with others!" 

"I'm going to say this just once, V, " Neil spoke through clenched teeth.  "She didn't do it. She would never do something like that." 

I knew he loved her, and the anger I saw in his eyes right now, proved that fact again. Although it hurt to see that he didn't believe me. He didn't even pause for a second and think about what I was saying. I swallowed back the sudden lump in my throat and tried speaking in a calmer tone. "I know it's hard to believe Heather's word, but I do believe it. You have to trust me on this." 

"Bullshit, " he spat. "What is wrong with you? Do you remember the times she has been a total bitch to you? Sam is your friend. Not Heather." 

"Is she really our friend?" This time it was Ash who questioned Neil in a small voice. 

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Neil turned to look at her. 

"It's just...she's been spending an awful amount of time with Courtney and her friends, which includes Heather. And we haven't even seen her for days," Ash answered. 

"So? She is making new friends ever since she has joined the cheerleading squad and I can't force her to hang out with us just because I don't like them. I thought you understood that."  

"Yes, but it just looks like she dumped us as soon as she found a new set of friends. It was like she was forced to hang out with us because of you," Ash spoke softly, avoiding his glare.

Without another word he abruptly turned around and started walking out of the room. Avi shot up to his feet but I gestured him to stop. I had to fix this.

"Neil, where are you going?" I followed him. 

"Out and away from you guys." 

"You're going to meet Sam aren't you?" 

"Got a problem with that?" He turned to look at me with a hard look and I flinched. 

"I can come with you so that we can talk about this with her–" 

"No!" His voice was final, leaving no room for any argument. "I trust her and I don't want you throwing accusations at her. She doesn't deserve it." 

I was taken aback by his dismissal. "So you're just going to let this go? That's it?" 

"I…I don't know..." he trailed off and I slowly nodded, my heart breaking in my chest. 

"Go." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Just fucking leave."

This had all gone horribly wrong. It wouldn't be the first time when I had let my emotions take over and acted out impulsively, but I refused to believe that this time it was my fault.

"Don't make me choose between you both, " I heard him say softly. "Please."

"It looks like you have already made your choice," I whispered. "Just leave." 

He hesitated for a second but then gave me a tight nod and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him and the house was silent again.

***

Ash told me I did the right thing by being honest, and that it was Neil's fault for blowing up like that. Avi thought I could have handled it better, and was upset with both of us. And me? I felt unsettled.

Neil and I hardly ever fought, and whenever we did, we sat our asses down and made it right.

But this time it was different and I didn't know how to deal with it. So I was sitting on my bed, hours after our fight, being all miserable and sad, debating if I should call him or not.

Suddenly my phone buzzes with an incoming call and I almost fall off my bed in my hurry to reach it. I frowned when I saw the called ID. Julian.

"Hey! All okay?" I asked as soon as I answered the call. It was past eleven and he usually never called so late at night.

"No, it's not." I heard him sniffle, his voice distraught and strained. I sat upright on my bed, my heart beating faster. "Can you please come and meet me right now? I need you."