𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 | SPINOFF

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

JAXON
CRIST

Liliana's voice sliced through the room like a blade, her tone sharp and unyielding. "Are you even listening to yourself right now?" she snapped, glaring at me with a mix of disbelief and frustration. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest, and her eyes burned with something unspoken—a kind of helpless anger I wasn't sure how to diffuse.

I frowned, feeling the tension in the air thicken with every passing second. "What did I do?" I asked cautiously, already regretting opening my mouth. We'd been talking about the mess between Stella and Avery, and I had simply pointed out that Stella had her own struggles, just like Avery. It wasn't meant to be a big deal.

"You don't get it," Liliana said, scoffing bitterly. "I'm not picking sides. I never pick sides. I defend Stella all the time, but the way you're talking about her? Comparing her to her dad? Jaxon, you guys are missing the point entirely."

"Dollface," I interrupted, trying to defuse the situation. "Let's not argue about your falling-apart friend group. We can keep our relationship good if we just leave this stuff alone." I forced a smile, hoping it would lighten her mood, but her response was anything but encouraging.

Liliana rolled her eyes, her frustration only growing. "You don't get it. She's a child, Jaxon. She's fifteen. Stella's the one turning eighteen; Avery's just a kid. She's got so much going on in her head that you guys don't even realize. We have to be careful with her. Pay attention to her. She already tried to kill herself once—she'll do it again if she feels like she's not safe. Me and Marci talked to your parents about it. We're trying to get her to stay at your house more because it's better for her there."

The weight of her words settled uncomfortably in my chest, but I tried not to show it. "You're a great friend, sweetheart," I said softly, "but you know Avery. She'll never stop. Like Stella said, she's stuck in this cycle. One week, she's our best friend, and the next, she hates us. That's just how she is."

Liliana scoffed again, her patience clearly wearing thin. She stood abruptly, grabbing her book from my desk. "I'm done with this conversation," she said coldly. "I'll go sleep over with my messed-up friend and your sister. We don't judge her, Jaxon. We love her. Stella comes first for me—she's been my best friend forever. But that doesn't mean we should just ignore Avery's pain. Even if Stella has her own problems with her dad, comparing the two doesn't help anyone."

"Hey, don't leave like this!" I called after her, but she silenced me with a glare so sharp it might as well have cut me in half.

Before I could follow her, Alessio strolled out of my bathroom, still toweling off from his shower. His phone was in his hand, the screen lit up with a FaceTime call. "Who are you talking to?" I mouthed, hoping for a distraction.

"It's Stella," he replied, tilting the screen toward me. Stella's face appeared, her dark under-eyes a stark contrast against her otherwise soft features. She sat at her pristine white desk in a room that screamed luxury. Everything around her was pink—her pajamas, her bedsheets, even the stationary scattered across her desk.

"Hey," I said, raising a hand in greeting. "How's Avery?"

Stella sighed, her exhaustion palpable even through the screen. "She's ignoring everyone again," she said flatly.

I shrugged, unsure of what to say. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Rolling her eyes, Stella leaned back in her chair. "Just make sure she's taking her meds and staying away from that shit she smokes. Of course she's ignoring you. I've been telling you guys for months—this isn't on me. She's bipolar. And don't even get me started on Astor. I swear to God, I want to beat that guy into the ground for what he's done to her."