Sebastian"Don't worry. I can't ruin the family name more than you already have," he says before hanging up.I can't help but take the phone away from my ear and stare at it.Did that just happen? The audacity Noah has is amazing. What the fucking hell, man?"Are you off the phone?" Maximilian asks, causing me to look up at him."Yeah," I state, turning off my phone and placing it on my desk."Okay, good," he finally stops pacing, and I return to looking at my laptop. "On a scale of one to ten, how mad should we be that Via is skipping school again?"His words make me stop short. Did I hear him correctly?"What?" I ask, looking up from my laptop."I said," he clears his throat, "how should we deal with Via skipping school—""Again."Jesus Christ, my ears didn't deceive me. I did hear him correctly the first time. My girl really is skipping school yet again.Dammit, there I go with the "my girl" phrase when she doesn't even talk to me. I'm an idiot."Nothing. She said she wants space,"
MaximilianWe instantly grab the few things we have and get ready to leave."You guys seem really eager," she says with a small laugh as she wraps herself in a purple fuzzy blanket."Yeah, no shit we are," I mumble more to myself than to anyone in the room.She doesn't know how eager we are. Today has basically been the highlight of nearly two weeks.Via goes to pick up Lance, but Nathaniel stops her. "He's heavy. I got him."She nods, then follows us out of her house. We wait until she's done locking the door before heading to Alexander's house."Don't fall, firefly," Sebastian tells Via as he reaches a hand out for her and guides her through the snow.Once we get into Alexander's house, Via snuggles up into Sebastian's arm. No doubt because it's just as cold in here as it is outside."It's freezing," she says as we walk into Alexander's kitchen."Yeah, I didn't think I'd, let alone we'd be here today," Alexander says as he disappears into the living room."I'm going to go put Lance
MaximilianThat's where everything took a turn. It always goes back to four years ago, or in Alexander's instance, six years ago.I look at Via and watch as she studies us while taking small sips of her tea. How do we look in her point of view because from my point of view I don't see us as solid friends. Fuck, I don't even think we're friends period.Looking back on it, I don't think we actually were ever solid friends. We were more like acquaintances with a need for support to survive to some degree.Via stirs her cup of tea and tilts her head. She then narrows her eyes at me. "You expect me to believe that you guys would never lie to me again?" She looks away from me and down at her teacup. "I know you guys are great liars but don't lie about that too.""Via—" I trail off, not knowing exactly what to say.Well, that's false because I do know what I want to say but I know Via isn't going to want to hear it. She's set on being pissed at us, therefore anything I try to say will just b
ViaAs I recall the naive moment when I climbed into Ezra's automobile, I feel as though I had been hit with a whiplash. My foolishness led me to get into his car, and now that I'm going at a rapid pace, I'm struggling to maintain my composure."Girl, you're afraid to go fast?" Elizabeth shakes her head, glancing at me through her rearview mirror."No." I shake my head as Elizabeth starts to slow down. "I simply don't enjoy it," I stifle a giggle."Okay, if you say so." Elizabeth quickly pulls into the parking lot as the park suddenly comes into view."Alright, let's go, girly!" Elizabeth remarks as she shuts her car's roof...."Well, today was fun." Elizabeth reapplies her rich, dark crimson lipstick while I watch. She almost seems to be putting blood on her lips."See, I told you it would be!" Elizabeth remarks as we enter her vehicle."However, you were accurate. I grin as I work to remove the purple bingo paint from my hair, saying, "They were competitive.""Yeah—" Stephanie ends
ViaOver the course of tacos, Stephanie and Elizabeth had made it abundantly plain that they did not intend to attend school that day. To tell you the truth, I had no intention of going back either. As a result, we made the decision to go to the movies rather than going to class."So, I don't want to be pushy," I said, swirling my horchata thoughtfully. "But can I ask what's in that box we got earlier?"After an extended period of stillness between them, Stephanie let out a deep sigh, and then she looked at Elizabeth for a moment before finally nodding her acknowledgement."Alright, we'll tell you," Stephanie said with a firm nod, bearing a serious expression on her face. "But you gotta promise not to judge us.""Yeah, this is a judgment-free zone, okay?" During the time that we were coming to a stop at a red light, Elizabeth made a comment and glanced back at me. "Got it?"In an honest response, I said, "Yeah, I promise," while simultaneously experiencing a mixture of interest and co
Maximilian"Where are we going?" Via asks as she puts on her seatbelt.I can't believe I'm actually fucking doing this."On an adventure," I say as I turn the car on and put my own belt on. "Which requires a long drive."Younger me would've probably never even thought of doing this. Which is exactly why I have to do this."Are you mad at me?" she asks, looking at me."No," I say and instantly pull into the road."Are the others mad at me?" she says, causing me to look over at her for a few seconds.She's running her hands through her hair and looks uneasy."No," I say once again and switch gears. "I have a question for you."I hear her shift in her seat. "Yeah?"I stop at a red light and turn to her. "Be honest with me." I tap my thumb against the steering wheel. "Why do you like us?"She looks at me, confused. "What?"The light turns green, and I begin driving again. "Why do you like me and my friends, Via?" I ask as I keep my speed under thirty."Because—" She trails off. "Where is
Maximilian"You're just fine the way you are." I drive up to the half-empty parking lot for the hiking trail and park in a spot far from the other cars. "Let's go." I walk to her side and open her door."I've never been up here," she says as she looks around."After the conversation I had with your dad, I don't think you've gone anywhere, period," I say as I take her hand in mine.She frowns. "Yeah, true," she says as she follows my lead. "Sometimes—" She cuts herself off. "Never mind.""Tell me," I tell her as I look around."Sometimes I think they never wanted me to grow up." She looks down. "I think my dad and brothers always expected me to be a child playing with Barbies and my toy cars.""Because they love you," I say as I stop in my tracks. "I would've preferred for my family to have wanted me to never grow up instead of telling me to grow up faster."I look around and try to remember where the lake is."Your parents made you grow up fast?" I hear Via ask, which causes me to fre
Maximilian"Yeah, I wouldn't be able to do that." Via says as she shakes her head. "I wouldn't have been able to control my anger.""Yeah, I know." I look at her. "I learned that after the whip cream thing at school."She turns a light shade of pink but then glares at me. "You guys did it on purpose. Didn't you?" She says accusingly."Yeah." I nod. "I wanted to make sure that the time you spent away from us didn't change your feelings towards us and the others did too.""I wanted to strangle you guys every time you guys talked and laughed with them." She says as she rolls her eyes at me.Chances are I would've let her, but that's a conversation for another time."Yeah, you're nothing like my mom." I look away from her and add another rock to my tower. "My mom was always so unbothered as if she was only ever in it for the money." My tower falls and I sigh. "Once I found this place-" I trail off. "I didn't want to go back. At all. I just wanted to be at peace."Via tilts her head at me.