Seventeen year old Safaya Bennett must navigate young adulthood under the stresses of her sins, her crumbling relationship with her twin sister, Rue, and a crippling mental disorder that makes her very dependent on her relationship with Nate Jacobs...
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For everyone who was calling me manic, I was, like, 92 percent correct.
After that night with my sister, I went to see Fez at his house in an effort to get his help. The common denominator between Safaya and Jules was Nate, and he had caused them both extreme trauma and pain. I wanted it to end and I knew Fez wouldn't have any hesitations on helping me. I convinced him to maybe flash a gun around and scare Nate into leaving us alone and it seemed like a really good idea ...
until Fez's house got raided.
When I heard the news I automatically knew it was Nate's fault and felt guilty. Safaya had no idea of what happened and I wanted to keep it that way. She always cared for Fez, she just had weird ways of showing it, but I knew she really liked him as a person. If she heard what happened and put the pieces together, there's no telling what kind of danger she and her anger would get herself into.
Safaya was spending time with Maddy lately since the incident. They'd been shopping for the winter formal and trying to develop a new friendship after almost a year of despising each other. Her bruises were beginning to heal on her face and back, but I knew she had mental scars that would never leave her. For now, everyone seemed to be doing better following the events of a few days ago.
But something was different about Jules.
I know she was out of town recently and when she returned home, all she talked about was some girl named Anna whom she met. I knew they went clubbing and that they had kissed, but, she neglected to tell me about her hallucination about Nate covered in fucking glitter in the club. How even though he had hurt her and threatened her so many times, she was still in love with him. In love with the person he pretended to be.
In my heart, I still loved Jules no matter what happened when she was away. She brought me happiness that I could never find in myself and even though we seemed to be on different pages, I would still do anything for her. Which is why I was standing in her bedroom, wearing a purple corset top, and clearly uncomfortable.
"Jules, I am deeply uncomfortable right now." I stood in front of her closet stiffly. There was a lot of skin being shown and honestly, I hated it.
She got up from her bed with a big smile on her face. "Listen, you look hot," She came in front of me. Placing her hands on either side of my face. "And the fact that you usually dress like Seth Rogen, although you make it look cute sometimes, like, it crushes my soul."
"I don't dress like Seth Rogen." I defended. Part of me knew she was right but I didn't want that label put on me. Fashion was more of Safaya's thing and Jules' thing, but I just threw clothes on that were comfortable and baggy. I never cared about what I looked like because it didn't matter to Jules.
Jules walked to her vanity, picking up something from the desk. She returned back in front of me and grinned. "When was the last time you didn't wear a hoodie and sweatpants?"
