𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟-𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑

Lie lie and lie again

Abby's POV

"So, are you going to the party tonight?" JJ asks, walking towards the front of the boat. He tells Pope to toss him a bottle of beer. "Stuck up rich people and Rafe. No thank you," I answer, inhaling the smoke from my blunt. I squint my eyes closed as beer gets into my eyes because of JJ. "Damn it, JJ!" I yell, rubbing my eyes. A small chuckle escapes his lips. "Sorry."

I toss my flip-flop at him, the shoe hitting him right in the eye. "Whoops," I smile, steering the boat to the left. "You should go," Kiara chimes in, taking the blunt from my fingers. My eyebrows furrow. She did not just say I should go to a kook party. "Are you feeling ok?" I ask, leaning forward. I press the back of my hand to her forehead, checking for a fever.

A laugh comes out of her mouth. "It will give you a chance to fuck with Rafe." Ya. That's the last thing I want to do. After what happened last month in the abandoned garage, I've been avoiding him. Not just because of him choking me and not killing me but because of what I told him about me. I gave him the best leverage to use against me and he just might. On the other hand, if I go to this party, I can make sure he doesn't use said leverage by either bargaining or lying to him. Either can work. But if I fuck it up, I could end up making things so much worse.

"Fine. I'll go." She smiles, inhaling the smoke from the burning green plant. "But you have to come with me," I smile. She shakes her head. "Absolutely not."

"Ok," I say, taking the blunt from her. "Then I won't be going either." I bring the blunt to my lips, inhaling the smoke. She grits her teeth, annoyed. "Fine but I'm bailing if Rafe comes talk to me."

"Deal."

**********

I pull on my boots before standing up, walking out of John B's room.

As I walk out of his bedroom, I see JJ putting a ziplock filled with weed into his jean pocket. "You aren't going so don't bother bringing that," I say, snatching the bag from him. I toss it to Pope who keeps it away from JJ. "You're such a cunt," he sneers, trying to get the bag of weed from Pope. I smile, grabbing my phone before heading out the door with Kiara and Sarah. I hop in my car, Sarah sitting in the passenger seat and Kiara in the back. "You okay with seeing your brother after what happened?" I ask, looking at Sarah. If my brother tried to kill me, I would never want to look at him again.

She nods. "If he sees that I'm in the same room as him but won't even acknowledge his existence, it will definitely fuck with him." I smirk before driving off, heading to a girl named Kristina's house, where the party is being held. "You guys got your fakes on you right?" I ask, glancing at Sarah and Kie. They nod. "Why do we need these again?" Kie asks. "If the party gets busted, we won't have to run. We simply show them a fake," I answer, glancing at Kie in the mirror.

Sarah reaches for the aux cord, and I slap her head away. "No." She glares at me. "My music is not that bad." I look at Kie in the mirror, suppressing my laugh.

I grab my phone, turning on Bluetooth, and going to Spotify. I pull up my stoner playlist, Chase Atlantic beginning to play once I click play.

Once we turn into the street where this girl lives, we see lights lighting the mansion up and can faintly hear music blaring. I drive to the end of the street, an insanely large black mansion coming into view. Damn. I turn around, parking on the side of the street before getting out of the car. "Make sure Kiara has fun," I say, looking at Sarah. I might be coming here for business but that doesn't mean they can't have a little fun.

As I walk towards the mansion, an idea comes into my head. Rafe stole coke from Barry a few days after I met with Barry. Rafe couldn't possibly do all that coke which means he's selling it. And giant parties with rich people are a perfect place to sell. As I walk into the lively party, I am greeted with smiles and glares from all around. I look around the house, looking for signs of Rafe, and see him eventually sitting down on a couch. An absentminded smirk comes onto my face, and I pull out my phone, clocking the camera button. If I don't get him for murder, then I can at least get him on possession of drugs and distribution.

I walk over to the large table standing a few feet away from Rafe and press the record button. I place the phone up to my ear and turn, my side facing Rafe so that my face is covered, and my phone is pointed right at him.

"How much?" a female voice asks, her voice highly overpitched and flirty. "50 a line," he answers, his voice no longer shaky or anxiety riddled. Guess he snorted some coke on the way here. Better be good shit. Multiple people ask for a line or two, my phone catching all of it. As I look into the reflection of the glass window, I see Rafe do a large line of coke. Holy shit. A line that large could kill a person. His problem is worse than I thought.

Once I capture him doing a line, I end the video and send it to JJ, John B, Pope, Kiara, and Sarah, who will all make copies of the video to add to the building pile of incriminating evidence against Rafe.

I slide my phone in my pocket, finally turning around so my face is facing Rafe. It takes a few seconds for him to look up and notice me, but once he does, his jaw clenches. "We need to talk," I say, my voice emotionless. "I don't think we do," he smiles, trying to sound unbothered but failing.

"We do, blondie. Don't piss me off because I'm not in a good mood. I might be inclined to send a few things to some people," I say, raising a brow so he knows what I mean. "Upstairs. Last bedroom on the left," I say, walking towards the staircase. "Now Rafe!" I yell, walking up the staircase.

As I walk down the ridiculously large hallway, I have to squeeze through couples nearly fucking in the hallways, girls tripping every second, and have to dodge the smoke coming from vapes, not wanting that shit in my lungs. Eventually, I get to the last bedroom on the left, thankfully unoccupied. I take a seat on a black desk chair, spinning around the room, waiting for Rafe to show up. After a minute, he opens the door, locking it behind him. "What the fuck do you want?"

I pout. "Now is that any way to treat a girl who just came to talk?" A dry laugh escapes his lips. "You don't talk. You threaten, mock, and bitch." I nearly laugh at his words. "How ironic..."

"Are you going to sit in the chair and roll around like a toddler or are you going to tell me what the fuck you want?" he sneers, glaring down at me. "The one throwing a tantrum is calling me the child. Very ironic," I smile, twirling a piece of my hair in my fingers. He glares at me but says nothing, most likely wanting me to answer his question. A sigh escapes my lips as I realize I can't just play with him. I'll have to bring up the day in the abandoned garage.

I stare down at the floor, my vision defocused. "Look Rafe, what I told you in the garage... I need you to forget it," I say, my voice sounding vulnerable. His eyes narrow. "And why would I do that?"

I stand up, huffing. "Because if anyone finds out I'm here and it gets back to those people, I'm dead. If you aren't a killer, then you won't help me get killed." He lifts his head a bit, looking me up and down. "Well, that would solve one of my problems, now, wouldn't it?"

A tear falls from my eye and my hands begin to shake. "Please Rafe."

He looks at me for a moment, noticing the single tear traveling down my cheek. "I won't on one condition. You give me the evidence you have on me."

"So, you can go turn me into those people right after it?" I ask, my voice hostile. "I am not ordering or telling you to do this. I am asking—no, begging you not to do this. I will get on my knees and beg if I have to, Rafe. Please."

I can see his expression soften just a bit. "Whatever. Fine," he says, putting his walls back up. By the look in his eyes, I can tell he believes me. Good. A sinister smile rises to my face. "Damn you really are gullible," I snort. His eyebrows furrow.

"You believed my little sob story and agreed to keep it a secret. You should learn to tell when a person is lying," I laugh, lying through my teeth. Everything I told him was true. But he doesn't need to know that. If he believes I was lying, then he won't use it as leverage because in his mind my story isn't real.

"Did you honestly think I would tell you my whole life story after a month and a half of knowing you and that I would let myself cry real tears in front of you? That's pathetic."

I walk towards the door, looking him up and down before opening it. "The black shirt looks good. At least you don't look like a traffic cone anymore," I smile, walking out of the bedroom.