"I need to talk to you," Karson told me, barging into my house as he walked past me. I was still holding the door open as he strode past me.

"Alright then, come on in I guess," I mumbled under my breath, sarcasm dripping from every letter. I walked over to Karson who already made himself comfortable, sitting on the blanket I was using not even five minutes ago.

He was sitting up straight, his body tense. I walked up to him and crossed my arms over the other. "What are you waiting for? Talk."

He rolled his eyes before standing on his two feet. His hard gaze met mine and we were only separated by the wooden coffee table.

"Those are Jason's hands," he shortly said, giving no other information.

"Excuse me?" I retorted, forgetting about the events of last night. The way his hands wrapped around my neck, leaving bruises on my body.

"We all saw the bruise on your neck," he pointed at my neck. "That is obviously covered in makeup now. I'm not fucking stupid."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to panic. I started playing with the hem of my shirt, nerves racing through my body.

He looked down at my hands, his eyes slowly reaching mine with a bored expression. "I've noticed that when you're nervous or lying, you tend to play with your fingers or shirt. You suck at lying, princess."

My eyes widened in shock, he actually paid attention to me. He was the only one who pointed out the things I fidget with when I got anxious. "I'm not telling you anything. We're not friends, remember?"

"I couldn't give less of a fuck about you, but Jason is a dangerous son of a bitch. I'd prefer not to see him kill anyone I know. That would put me in even deeper shit," he narrowed his eyes at me, discreetly looking around my house until his eyes landed on a small picture frame on our fireplace. It was really the only picture we had around the house. It was a picture of my dad and I standing at the beach, looking at each other laughing as the camera caught us in that perfect moment.

"So this is about you?" I deadpanned, staring back at him with the same bored expression he wore.

"Yes."

"What was the fucking point of coming to my house just to tell me that Jason choked me and that you don't want him killing anyone you know? That makes absolutely no sense," I argued.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "All I'm doing is warning you. Don't go fucking around with him because he'll get you and the people around you in deep shit."

"I don't fuck around with him!" I hissed, my face hot. "He's my mother's little fuck buddy, so I have no choice but to be around him!"

"I'm saying be careful, you bitch. Look at what he did to your neck," he pointed at my neck once more. "You don't think he could do worse to you, or even your little siblings?!"

"You don't think I know that?" I gave a humorous laugh, totally aware I just admitted that Jason was the one who choked me. I felt the rage welling up in my chest. "I've known him since I was 14! You don't think I know what he's capable of doing?!"

I let it all out, pissed that he had the audacity to come to my house just to tell me not to fuck with Jason. I'm only 17, what does he expect me to do with a 40 year old man?

"I've known him longer than that!" He growled, stepping to his right so he could get around the coffee table. He took short steps as he came closer to me.

"Is this some sort of competition on who knows him better!?" I bitterly spat out.

He took a step forward, his body only a few inches away. I could smell his minty breath fan across my face as his eyes stared into mine. His eyes held a look of hatred, he was pissed.

"This is all I'm going to say," he harshly whispered, staring down at me. "If you don't want your siblings or friends to get hurt, you need to stay the fuck away from him. He's more fucked up than you think."

"Thanks," I blinked at him, the sarcastic evident as I gave him a no shit expression.

He took a step back. "I'm being serious."

"I'm sure you are," I rolled my eyes. "This was so unnecessary."

"I'm just trying to help you keep your siblings from getting killed," he deadpanned. I glared at him, my fists clenching at my sides.

"I hate you," I growled, pushing my finger into his chest. "Thanks for helping, but I don't think I need your advice."

"Do what you want, but when you come to me crying because of what he's done, don't expect me to cradle you like a fucking baby," he shoved my finger away.

"Why the fuck would I go to you in the first place?" I scoffed, turning away from him.

He grabbed my arm, twisting me around so I was facing him again. Our chests were almost touching as I glanced down at his freckles scattered across his cheeks I didn't know he had. We were so close.

"Don't turn your back on me, princess," he growled, his eyes traveling back and forth between each eye.

"Fuck you," I pushed on his muscular chest, making his grip on my arm loosen.

"Fuck me? No thanks," he smirked, taking another step towards me. My heart beat loudly in my chest as he kept walking towards me. My back hit the wall, no where else to go. He raised his hand up, causing me to flinch. I squeezed my eyes shut, memories of last night resurfacing.

I opened my eyes to see Karson staring at me with a look of confusion. He stepped back, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Did you think I was going to hit you?"

"N-no," I stuttered. I don't think I'm scared of him hitting me, I think it's just an instinct now.

"You know I would never hit a girl, princess," he explained. "Even you."

"Sure," I snorted, not sure I fully believed that.

He looked at me one last time, shaking his head as he turned on his heel. He trudged towards my front door before stopping. I followed behind him, my hands holding onto each other for warmth. "I fucking mean it, Dakota. I would never lay a hand on a girl. I may be a bad guy, but I would never stoop that low."

I just nodded my head, not sure how to respond to that. His eyes shortly glanced behind me before continuing. "I'm also serious about Jason, don't fuck with him," there was not an ounce of playfulness swimming through his eyes. He was dead serious.

"Yeah, yeah I get it, now get out of my house," I rolled my eyes, shoving him out of the door. He silently nodded his head, a small smirk tugging at his lips before he finally left. I immediately shut the door behind him and went back to the living room where I originally had quiet time.

I couldn't believe I thought he was going to hit me. I felt so stupid. I could've blown everything right then and there. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

He's not Jason or my mother.

My mind wandered off to last night once more. The boys saw my mother drunk and they saw how she acted. I internally cringed at the thought of facing them on Monday. I didn't want to talk about the events that went down last night. I just hope they forgot by the time Monday rolled around.

~•~•~

Monday came around way too fast. My siblings eventually came home a few hours after my odd encounter with Karson. I ended up telling Jace what happened that night, even including what Jason did. He was definitely not happy when I showed him the bruise on my neck.

The color of the bruise did go down quite fast, so I no longer had to wear makeup to cover it. Although I bruised easily, they would go away pretty fast if it wasn't bad. I was surprised when I woke up this morning to see the bruise had almost completely faded.

I was very exhausted this morning, not getting too much sleep last night. I stayed up almost the whole night, my thoughts racing as I thought about what Karson said about Jason. I knew he wasn't a good guy, but the way he talked about Jason made him seem to be so much worse than I ever imagined.

I walked into my high school with my head hung low, the loud students giving me a headache. I lifted my head up to make sure I didn't walk into anyone and my eyes immediately landed on Karson. He was with a short girl who was basically grinding up against him. I recognized her because she was in one of my classes last year. Her name was Sarah, she had long, brown hair and she was wearing a short mini skirt that barely covered her ass. She was very pretty but she was like every other popular girl that went to this school, basic with no personality.

They were just talking, but by the way she was giggling and the smirk that was set on his face told me otherwise. Karson wrapped his arm around her waist before leaning in to kiss her. He squeezed her ass, making her squeal loudly, causing students to look in their direction. I scoffed in disgust, turning my head so I didn't have to look at that anymore.

I walked to my class, looking for Nora on the way. I couldn't find her anywhere, even though she was usually waiting for me by my locker. I looked around, my eyes squinting as I searched for a certain redhead. As I continued to look for her, my body collided with a broad chest.

"Woah now pretty girl," Braxton chuckled, holding me in place. I could feel my face heat up from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, blondie. I was looking for Nora, but I can't find her anywhere," I admitted, smiling as I watched Colton walk over to us. He gave me a small smile and I gave him one in return.

"I think I saw her go into the library," Colton added. In the library? That would be the last place Nora would ever be. She hates anything to do with reading, she thought it was a waste of time to just stare at words on a page.

"Really?" I asked uneasily, confused as to why she would be in there.

"I'm pretty sure I saw her walk in there with some guy," Colton told me, shrugging his shoulders. I glanced over at Braxton whose jaw was now clenched after Colton mentioned Nora being with some guy in the library. Maybe she found a new guy. I frowned, wouldn't she tell me?

I shook my head, maybe I'm just overthinking. Nora usually gives me life updates after something new or exciting happens. She tells me about new guys she finds in public or just at school. Even if there was a new guy in the picture, I shouldn't be upset if she hasn't told me. I haven't been telling her much about my life recently which made me feel like such a shitty best friend.

We needed to have a girls night soon.

"Another girl already?" Colton muttered under his breath, his eyes wandering off to watch the make out session between Karson and Sarah right in the middle of the hall. I made fake gagging sounds, making Colton chuckle beside me.

"So about that night," Braxton trailed off, clearing his throat.

"Can we talk about it later?" I asked, looking around at the hundreds of students roaming the halls. "Maybe somewhere where we aren't around a ton of people?"

Braxton just nodded his head, patting Colton on the back as we walked to my locker. They both leaned against the locker next to mine, waiting for me to finish. I was putting my last textbook in when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Holy shit," Karson came up to us, out of breath. He glanced at me, giving me a dirty look before turning to his friends. "Her ass felt so fucking good."

I scrunched up my nose and scoffed in disgust. "I'm leaving."

I did not want to hear where the rest of this conversation was going. I slammed my locker door shut, pushing past Karson as I headed towards the library. The library was on the second floor, so I quickly made my way up the stairs to find Nora. I felt like I haven't really talked to her in ages.

I pushed my way through the crowded halls and stopped when the library came into view. I grabbed the metal door handle and pulled it open. The librarian was sitting at her desk with a novel gripped tightly in her hands. She didn't even acknowledge me as I walked by her desk to find Nora.

I went up and down the aisles, trying to search for my best friend. I looked down the fantasy aisle and saw her sitting with her back against the wall as her body slightly shook. My heart felt heavy as I watched sobs rack over my best friend's body.

"Hey gorgeous," I quietly whispered, walking up to her.

She whipped her head up, revealing her bloodshot eyes. She roughly wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, sniffling from crying. She shot up, standing as she looked directly at me. "You shouldn't be here."

"It's the library?"

She scoffed. "You shouldn't see me like this. You already have so much on your plate, I didn't want to bother you with my problems. I just come here when I'm sad so you don't worry."

I frowned when she mentioned she didn't want to bother me with her problems. "I want to be there for you, Nora. It doesn't matter what I'm going through right now, you are just as important. Don't pull that bullshit on me, your problems are my problems."

She slightly giggled at my comment as she wiped her nose with her sleeve. I walked closer to her and grabbed both her hands, smiling at her. She returned the smile, but her eyes began to water as her lip trembled.

"Come here," I pulled her into me, allowing her to wrap her arms around my waist. She gripped onto my sweatshirt as her head rested on my shoulder. Her quiet sobs filled the library as her body shook. I gently ran my fingers through her hair, trying to calm her down. Colton was way off.

I hated seeing the people I love cry, it broke my heart.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked as I gently rubbed her back. She shook her head on my shoulder, her sobs finally settling down. She still held on to me, my sweatshirt soaking up her salty tears. She slowly released her arms and stepped back. Her eyes were swollen and her cheeks were slightly red.

"I hate boys," she admitted, finally breaking down as I grabbed a tissue from my backpack and gently dabbed it under her eyes. She had mascara running down, so I quietly wiped her cheeks as she continued. "There was this guy I met at a party a few weeks ago and he seemed to really like me. I guess I was wrong."

"Whose party was it?" I asked, crumbling up the tissue in the palm of my hand.

"This guy named Derek. He goes to a Highland High School, like a town over," she explained, pulling her light blue skirt down. "We met at the Varsity football game last weekend. We would meet up with each other after school and would either go out to eat or just watch movies at my house."

I kept nodding my head, letting her know I was listening because I didn't want to interrupt her. The bell rang a few minutes ago, but my best friend was more important right now.

"We clicked really well and we got along really fast," she sniffled before continuing. "He invited me to a party last night, so I went. I looked so good too."

We both smiled at her comment. We were still standing, facing each other as her eyes traveled between the books on the bookshelves and my eyes.

"When I got there, I looked for him of course and I saw him making out with another, more pretty girl. I know we weren't dating but it just hurt, you know? I thought we had something good, but I guess not," she frowned, meeting my eyes as she finished summarizing last week's events.

"No one is prettier than you, so get that through your thick head. Anyone is lucky to have you so that's his mistake. He's a fucking loser anyways, choosing some girl over you was such a bad decision. No one can ever replace you, gorgeous," I smiled at her, hoping my advice would actually help.

"You are," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. I gaped at her, looking at her as if she was stupid.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not, Dak. Look at you, you have dirty blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes and a perfect body. Any guy would be lucky to have you," she mumbled, her eyes looking down at the floor.

"Looks aren't everything, Nora," I told her, upset that she thought so low of herself. I'm such a hypocrite. "If people knew what goes on at home, I think they would just run away."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't think of that."

"No, no, it's okay. I just want you to realize how beautiful you are. Don't compare yourselves to others, okay? You are gorgeous and you have such a beautiful personality," I complimented, smiling as I saw her eyes light up with confidence.

She pulled me close to her. "One day, Dakota, you are going to find that one guy who makes you so fucking happy. I can't wait for that day. You deserve to be happy more than anyone else in this world."

I blinked at her, a sad smile pulling at my lips. "That won't be any time soon."

"You keep telling yourself that," she winked before grabbing my hand and leading us out of the library. Keep telling myself that? What?

I stared at her with confusion, but she ignored me and continued to pull me along next to her. She abruptly stopped in the middle of the hall, making me run into her back.

"Thank you."

"Thank you?" I asked as my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Thank you for being there when no one else was. Thank you for truly caring about me," she smiled.

"You're my best friend, Nora," I playfully winked at her as she giggled in response. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am now," she beamed before we both ran off again. I'm glad she was okay. I think she needed that and I'm glad I was able to find her in time to comfort her so she wasn't alone. Everyone should always have at least one person they could trust to cry on their shoulder when you've finally had enough.

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