I spent the night with Kairi after getting home and meeting her curled up in bed, her pillows soaked with tears. We didn't say anything to each other, but when I crawled into her bed, after taking my shoes off, and she moved closer to me, I realized we didn't need words.

I woke up the next morning to meet sunlight coming in through her parted white curtains, and the intensity of it almost gave me a headache. Immediately I sat up with one hand leaning behind me, I remembered everything. The look in Axel's eyes, the smile on his face, the pain in his voice. All because of my sister.

My legs and arms felt heavy as I struggled to get out of bed, and I wasn't feeling motivated to do anything. It was like I'd been wrung dry overnight.

Just before I stepped out of Kairi's room, I realized I hadn't been in there for a while. Last night, I'd just walked in, my head spinning, and when I saw her, my focus was on helping.

Her room hadn't changed much since the last time I saw it. The yellow wallpaper was still the same, her dresser still in the same position, and her study table still as messy as it had always been. Colored paper sticking out of her notebooks, her binder carelessly open, highlighters and pencils everywhere. From where I was standing, I could see the Post-it notes she had stuck to the table. She used to put those everywhere, even on the kitchen counter, after writing weird instructions on them, like P at 0:00, Fara, or Sesh w An. I never quite understood them.

I took a hot bath, sitting in the bathtub until my skin began to age, and trying to imagine a normal Sunday. Church, definitely, a nice meal after, movies, Mom. I stared up at my bathroom ceiling, the sound of disturbed water echoing in the room, until I convinced myself it was time to get out.

Before I went downstairs after getting dressed, I tried calling West again. This time, I was positive he'd pick up, but the line rang and rang until it stopped and went to voicemail. A strange anger—perhaps leftover from last night—burned its way up my feet until it blinded me, leading me to throw my phone across the room. The phone met the wall before falling to the floor.

I sat on the edge of my bed, my chest rising and falling as I struggled to calm myself. He wasn't worth it. A guy who'd ignore me despite knowing how worried I was about him definitely wasn't worth it.

I told myself that again and again until I felt calm enough to go downstairs. My phone vibrated from its position on the floor, as if urging me to get up, and it took me a while to realize it was set to vibrate and that vibration was definitely because a text just came in. Confused (and a little curious), I went to check who the text was from.

I hadn't heard from Skye since that day outside Foodie, so I was surprised to see a text from her at eight in the morning, with a photo attachment.

Did u know bout this, the text said.

"No," I whispered when I saw what the photo was about, and my legs felt even weaker.

The photo was of West. He was standing outside an antique store at night in dark clothes, and inside the building were guys similarly dressed, spray cans in the hands of some, metal rods in the hands of others. When I looked closely, I saw a familiar face. His arms were folded over his chest as he looked like he was listening to something one of the boys was saying.

Dray Fox.

"No," I heard from my mouth again, and before I knew what was happening, I was sitting back on my bed with my breathing unsteady.

I took a while to process what I just saw, then, figuring I couldn't just believe this, I texted Skye.

When and how did u get this??

Thankfully, she didn't take too long to reply.

Last night. Was on a ride when I saw him looking out for them so I hid in a nearby alley and took a photo

Delinquent.

Jamie's voice came from nowhere, mocking me, and I sat there, my phone in my limp hands, shocked.

"Kimie, breakfast!" I heard my sister shout from downstairs, but ignored it and turned to my window, suddenly confused.

I couldn't believe it. West was a vandal. An actual vandal. He was one of the reasons people were scared to stay out too late now. The same West that got me the best chips I'd ever tasted.

I don't know how long I sat there staring into my phone until the screen eventually went black, but it was long enough for Kairi to come looking for me. She stood by my door with a confused look on her face, her eyebrows furrowed. Her eyes stayed on me for a few seconds, before falling on the phone in my hand.

"Are you okay?" She stepped into my room, and I noticed she was holding an egg-stained spatula. "I called you downstairs for breakfast minutes ago."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't hear you," I lied, standing quickly and rubbing a hand over my face.

"What's wrong? You're pale."

"I am?" I asked before realizing I should be telling another lie. "It's probably because I just took a bath. I sat in the tub for a long time."

Kairi stared at me for a few seconds, before nodding slowly, like she was just choosing to believe me. "Breakfast," she reminded, walking out immediately, and I followed, still a little shaken.

I absolutely couldn't believe this. This was the reason West acted so weird when he saw Dray, and probably the reason he was ignoring me, too. He knew I was going to ask.

"Where did you go last night?" my sister asked as we went down the stairs, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I didn't reply immediately, too confused to know what to do, and she looked over her shoulder at me.

"Um, I went to see someone."

Kairi paused, almost causing me to slam into her back, then turned to face me. Even though I was on a higher step than she was, she still managed to meet my height. "Who?"

"Tybalt," I blurted. "A friend from work."

"I thought you didn't have friends," she pointed out, a strange look in her eyes, and I almost rolled my eyes in frustration. Trust Kairi to ruin your mood.

"Look, Kairi, I don't have the energy for this right now."

"You're lying to me, aren't you? You didn't go to see Tybolt—or whatever you called him—did you?"

"It's Tybalt," I corrected through gritted teeth, then stared at her. At the bags under her swollen eyes, and at the zit on her beautiful face. Maybe it was unfair, but when I remembered the look in Axel's eyes as he talked about her last night, I felt mad. At her. "What's your problem, by the way? What, so I can't go out anymore? And why would you accuse me of lying?"

"This isn't just about you going out, Kim, it's about where you went. And you know you're lying." She was quiet about it, talking to me gently, but it only managed to irritate me.

"Why do you even care?"

"I'm your sister."

I shook my head and walked past her, and behind me, she didn't move an inch. I wanted to feel guilty for being mad at her for something she had no control over, but finding out about West just before she chose to aggravate me was blurring my senses.

"It's him, isn't it?" she asked behind me. "You went to see Axel."

I stopped walking, then turned to her, surprised she figured it out. My silence probably confirmed her suspicion, because she continued, her eyes going glassy this time.

"You still don't get it, do you? Despite everything I said. I told you to stay away from him."

"No, you said you don't want to see him here again, remember?"

Kairi walked to me, the spatula still in her hand. "He's going to hurt you, Kimie. You don't know him better than I do."

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she didn't let me speak.

"Axel plays girls, okay? He's not loyal—all his loyalty is dedicated to a stupid orange ball—and I know he just wants something from you. Once he gets it, it's over. Trust me."

She wasn't wrong; Axel was just using me to get closer to her. But her pointing it out infuriated me. Who did she think she was?

"Seriously, Kimie," she continued, oblivious to my anger, her voice cracking just like it did the night Axel was here. "I'm not trying to ruin anything for you, and I don't mean to be nosy, but you can't be stupid with him."

"Maybe this is a good thing," I finally said, and her forehead creased with confusion, her eyes focused on mine. "Maybe we need to have this conversation to get things out of our systems. You know that Axel's gonna hurt me, but you're clueless about Dray, huh?"

Kairi inhaled sharply, and I could see the spatula shaking as her hand trembled. I honestly wouldn't have been surprised if she whacked me with it.

"That guy treated you like garbage, humiliated you in front of the entire school, and left you crying in the hallway. He didn't pick up your calls or reply to your texts for months. And suddenly he shows up at your door one afternoon and poof, things are fine. Are you blind, Kairi?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that Dray isn't good for you. He's hurting you as we speak."

"Bullshit!" Kairi snapped, walking past me and heading to the kitchen immediately.

My sister had never uttered a swear word in her eighteen years of life, so I was shocked when I heard what came out of her mouth.

"Y'know, this is the part of you I hate," she shouted just before she disappeared into the kitchen. "You always have something to say. You think you know better when in reality you're just a fragile duckling cluelessly flapping her way around."

I went to meet her, to see if she could say all of that to my face. She was standing in front of the sink, her head lowered, and I saw her swipe a thumb beneath her eyes.

"I stopped having the nightmares a long time ago, but ever since that boy showed up here, that night has been repeating itself. I'm scared of falling asleep and I don't wanna have dreams at night." She looked at me then, eyes red. "And here you are, talking about Dray who hurt me the least. For God's sake, I'm trying! But you always do something to frustrate me. Always."

I was mad. Really mad. But Kairi was emotional now and I didn't want to say anything that would upset her further, so I walked to the kitchen table and took a seat, burying my face in my hands immediately. I could feel the tears, burning hot behind my eyelids, and I drew in a slow breath to calm myself.

If Kairi knew what I was doing for her, she wouldn't have the audacity to say what she just did. I wasn't trying to frustrate her, I was doing my best to help her. I was revealing secrets because of her—for her justice—and suddenly I was the one frustrating her.

I released the breath I was holding, then put my hands down. I refused to look at my sister, blinking back tears as I remembered the photo on my phone. My stomach felt funny, rumbling and tying into knots, and I felt an ache in my heart. I felt betrayed.

Kairi sighed by the sink. "Let's just have breakfast," she suggested. I couldn't even think about putting food in my mouth.

"I'm not hungry anymore."

I saw her freeze out of the corner of my eye, before she slowly made her way to me. "Come on, Kim. Mom always told us not to punish ourselves with food."

"Well, she's not here anymore," I reminded her softly, and a heavy silence fell on us.

I focused on the table, staring at the pattern of the wood, and Kairi remained standing next to me. I sniffed once, breaking the silence, then stood.

"She can't do anything about it," I said to her.

"You can say what you want about Dray or about me, but don't you dare bring up Mom, Kimie," she warned, anger filling her hazel eyes.

I didn't say anything to her, content with listening to what she had to say. If I'd known what she was going to say next, I would've run up to my room and locked the door.

"What happened to her is because of you and you know that, so talk about her with some damn respect! It's the least you could do."

It was like I'd just been slapped, and her words reverberated in my head. This was the second time Kairi was deliberately hurting me. She really blamed me for our mom's death. Me.

I couldn't say anything, words stuck in my throat, and I could feel myself shaking. My legs felt like jelly, my arms as light as the air surrounding me, and I was pretty sure I would've fallen back into the chair I'd just stood up from if I hadn't heard the doorbell ring.

For some reason, I wanted to answer the door—maybe because I wanted to get away from Kairi, or maybe because I was holding my breath and was running out of oxygen—and I did just that. I could hear my sister calling me as I walked robotically to the front door, but I pretended like she wasn't there, only stopping to pull the door open.

Things were a little unfocused, my eyes a little blurry, so when I saw West standing outside, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. But then he took in my face, and before I knew it, his warm hands were on my arms.

"What the heck happened? Are you okay?"

I blinked several times, still not completely myself, then the photo of him and Dray on my phone flashed in my head, and I felt a burst of anger. I stepped further into my house, away from his grip, not realizing he was only holding me to keep me steady until my legs wobbled beneath me.

West wanted to help me, but I moved further and further away from him on shaky legs. He eventually took the hint and stopped trying.

"Kimie," he said, voice soft and pleading, and even though I was a little breathless, I still managed to feel angry. Somewhere, buried beneath all my other emotions, that anger still managed to stand out. "Kimie, calm down," he instructed, taking a slow step forward.

That was when I felt the tightening in my chest, and that was when I noticed I was struggling to breathe. The pain came instantly, and I put an arm out to hold something to keep me up. My other hand went to my chest, clutching it like that would help soothe the pain. I felt the tears, I felt the sweat, I felt the goosebumps. I was scared, and I couldn't breathe.

I felt a tentative hand on my upper arm after a while, and even though I didn't want anyone to touch me, it was just what I needed. I leaned into the hand, then was gently led to the sofa where I sat.

"You're okay," West whispered close to my ear, and just like the first time, I held onto those words and repeated them to myself until my breathing steadied.

I didn't know when I took his hand, but when I realized my skin was touching his, I didn't want to let go.

After my vision had cleared and my breathing had gone back to normal, I turned in the direction of the kitchen to look at my sister.

I was surprised to see her sitting on the floor, her head leaned back against the kitchen island as she stared devastatingly at me. Unknowingly, I squeezed West's hand, and he held on tight, filling me with a strange warmth.

When I looked at him, though, I felt mad again.

So, West is still alive. This chapter turned out suuper long and I had to split it. Teaser for the next part: a little tension, and a confrontation (which leads me to ask why you think West is here ;)). See you in the comments! 💕