My Skater Boy // V.H.

65 - Epilouge

Five Months Later; Vinnie's POV:

I thought I could do it. I thought that if I followed her words and found her in all that I did, that I could go on without her. But I fucking can't. The nightmares are too much. I couldn't step foot into the LA house without thinking of her so I moved out.

It's summer now. Twelve days before her twenty-first birthday. I miss her.

"Vinnie?" The girl in front of me says, meeting my eyes again and offering me the drink she just bought me.

"Sorry." I exhale, taking the drink from her and offering her a smile. "What were you saying?"

"How are things with social media? What's your following up to now?" She takes a sip of her fruity cocktail and all I can think about is Esty drinking straight from a whiskey bottle.

"Uhhh..." I pull out my phone, "5.9 mil on Instagram and 14.9 mil on Tiktok..." I look back at her and she is now leaning over the bar, pushing her breasts up so they are more visible. Her black sequin dress doesn't leave anything to imagination as it is, if she leans any further forward they might just fall out of her dress.

"Do you want to get out of here?" She bites her acrylic nail as she smiles at me seductively and I feel my stomach turn.

"Where to?" I drain the rest of my glass, the taste of the whiskey burning down my throat. Her smile grows and I nearly roll my eyes. I'm not going to fuck this girl, that much is clear.

"We can go to my place." She bites her lower lip making lipstick stain her teeth.

"Hey, babe. Thought I lost you there for a moment." A hand comes down on my shoulder and I turn. The voice is familiar but I can't place it.

"Jessie." I breathe. Her eyes tell me to follow along and I plaster a smile, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into my side. The feeling is foreign and I am still holding a grudge against her for paying Adam's bail, but if she's saving me from the girl who is drooling over my following count, I'm happy to play along.

"Malik is waiting outside. You wanna get out of here?" She leans into my neck, her breath tickling my skin.

"Yeah." I nod. "Excuse us." I raise my empty glass to the girl that is staring at me dumbstruck.

Jessie intertwined our fingers, pulling me through the dancers and out the front door. When the hot summer air hits my face, I pull my hand from hers, only getting me a chuckle in return. "She really did a number on you, huh?" She's wearing a tight red tank top and a black jean skirt.

"I don't know what you mean." I pull the pack of cigarettes out of my jacket pocket and light one, blowing out the clove and tobacco flavored smoke.

"I heard about what happened. I'm sorry." She rests a manicured hand on my arm and I glance at it. The heat of her fingers burning through my light jacket.

"Shit happens." I shrug, taking a long drag and flicking the ashes to the ground.

We stand in silence for a few minutes and then she turns toward me, her hand outstretched, asking for the cig. I hand it to her and mindlessly stare at the people walking past. I lean my back against the building, waiting for Jessie to say something. She doesn't.

"What the hell happened to you? Jack said you up and left after Esty left." I take the cig back from her as she hands it to me, but I don't put it back in my mouth.

"I had to take care of some family matters." I realize now that her voice is off. Not the annoying valley girl accent that ground my gears. No, it sounds almost foreign.