Shut Up And Kiss Me (gxg)

17. What The F*ck

       I WAS OUT OF BREATH after five minutes.

       It definitely hadn't been a good idea to try and run home. But every time I thought of Monroe's fist cracking against that old man's jaw, my adrenaline surged.

       I was almost home―almost there―when Skylar's car pulled up beside me.

       "Talia," she said, leaning out towards me, eyes blazing.

       That one word broke me. Maybe it was the way she said it. Because in an instant, I could see it: Skylar and I throwing paint at each other in the elementary school bathroom after finishing a project on the different planets. She'd gotten Neptune and I'd gotten Mercury.

        I could see the brilliant blue sky in eighth grade after we'd pulled the fire alarm and ran, laughing so hard I had to tumble onto the field. Surrounded by the grassy field, I'd blinked up at the sun and thought, Make this moment last forever. 

         I could see my sixteenth birthday party, where she'd organized everything from the crystal cups to the backyard hammocks. That night, she held my hand as the clock ticked to midnight, and beneath the fairylights, strung together between thin branches, I made a wish.

         I wished she'd always be my best friend.

         Now, her brown eyes narrowed at me, leaning out with the window rolled down, I broke.

        God, I was one dramatic motherfucker.

       "Just get in the damn car, Talia," Skylar sighed.

       "You're not mad?"

       "Of course I'm still fucking mad! But whatever you're about to tell me overrules that."

       So I got in the car, and I told her what had happened. When I finished, she only laced her fingers through mine.

       It was all I needed.

       "You're still an asshole," she said, "for not texting or calling me back. And ditching us without a word. Or a warning."

       "I know," I mumbled.

       "But I guess it makes sense why. Oh, fuck you. You're forgiven. And I love you."

       "Don't get all sappy on me now," I teased.

       Her eyes widened in realization. "There's this video of Monroe that went viral like twenty minutes ago. You said four guys . . . wait. Have you seen it? I wonder if it has anything to do with . . ."

       With what happened to me on Friday?  I thought. Definitely. But I only said, "Maybe. I was actually on my way to―um. Find her."

       Skylar didn't question that. She just raised an eyebrow and shoved on the gas pedal.

       I clutched my seatbelt. In less than two minutes, we were parked outside of Aaron's house.

       "Go get her, tiger!" Skylar shouted before pulling out. "And I'm calling you later!"

       Her car screeched down the street. Now, standing in front of Aaron's front door, I drew in a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

       What, exactly, had Monroe done?

       Maybe this had . . . nothing to do with me. 

       I could've been hallucinating it. It had been dark Friday―maybe I didn't see the men properly.

       She could've gone and beat four entirely random men unconscious. And it had nothing to do with me.