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"Do you really have to do this right now?" I groan, sipping my recently brewed green tea as Sarah rolls her eyes. "Yes I actually do Delilah. Now the less you talk the sooner I can finish it so we can do whatever you came here for." She looks at me over the edge of her book which makes me crack a smile.
"It wasn't my decision to come here, JJ didn't want me to be alone at my house and he knew you would take care of me. Or at least not let me choke on my own vomit." She purses her lips, shaking her head before going back to whatever she was writing down.
I let her be for a little bit, deciding to curl up on the tiny couch next to the table, enjoying the view of the outside. This doesn't go on very long, when I see a figure walking along the side of the house.
"Sar, topper two o'clock." I stand up from my seat, pulling my T-shirt down and crossing my arms in front of my chest as he opens and closes the patio door.
"Hey." Comes timidly out of his mouth as he takes a step towards her but I wedge myself in between them. "Hey how's John B? Is he- is he doin' all right?"
I try not to raise my eyebrows in surprise as Sarah deadpans behind me, "Like you give a shit." He tries to take another step towards her but I step in his way again.
"Lilah can you move please, I'm trying to talk to my girlfriend here." He gestures to Sarah, his eyes widening with annoyance. "No I'm not leaving you alone with her, whatever you are going to say to her you can say to me too."
"Fine." He grumbles before stepping to the side to make eye contact with her. "You realize I did not push him. He lost his balance and fell."
"Don't you lie to me." I can hear Sarah's eye flashing, even without seeing them as Topper tries to take another step towards her. "He fell against the rail. Not my fault." I glance at Sarah as she starts to get up from her seat, her eyebrows in a permanent furrow. "That is messed up."
"You forget about us, like- midsummers was supposed to be our— our coming out party. It was supposed to be something special." Sarah starts to walk away from him, both topper and I following in suit. "What does it matter, topper? We're in high school. It's not like we're getting married." Her eyes are on fire now as she spits her words out.
"I don't care if we're in high school! I love you!" He reaches for her hand but she pulls it away. "No you don't topper! You love the idea of me. You love being seen with me.. but you don't love me." I could hear the hurt in her voice. Sarah had never been in a serious relationship before this one and even though she wasn't attracted to him anymore I could tell she still cared.
"You have no idea what I'm feeling. You have no clue. What about- what about this summer? Right? This summer was supposed to be legendary." He says, more hurt coating his voice than before but Sarah tuna her back to him. "I don't care anymore topper. I can't be with you. Not after last night."
"Oh after last night. Oh you- you wanna talk about last night?" His voice is a little louder than before, the hurt a little less prominent. "Did you forget the part where you cheated on me? Huh? Did you forget about that?" He yells, stepping so close to her that he's in her face.
"You're a slut! You know that? You're a slut!" That's where I draw the line. "Topper stop it! You have no idea what's going on outside of your own life!" I shove him backwards, stepping in front of Sarah.
"Oh you shut the hell up Delilah. Don't think I don't know what you and that blonde do together. You're both slut banging pogues." He spits out, his eyes full of fire.
"What JJ and I do is none of your fucking business! Ans you know what! If I had it my way you would be out of Sarah's life a while ago but she's my best friend and she liked you. So let it happen but deep down I knew you were an asshole and Sarah knows now too."
"Don't you dare speak on Sarah's behalf. Everyone around you either leaves or dies and I'll be damned if Sarah goes down with you. We all know who should have died in that ocean that night." He spits at me, fuming and I'm done. Done listening to him spew bullshit he knows nothing about.
"Topper you need to leave, now." I grit my teeth together and although he doesn't like it, he listens to me. With one huff he's out the door, slamming it behind him.
Sarah looks at me, tears brimming her eyes and I pull her into my chest as she lets out a sob. "It's okay. It's okay, just let it all out." We sit there for a little while, her head on my chest until tears aren't running down her face anymore.
"You're not a slut. You know that right?" Her chin lifts up so that she can meet me in the eyes. "I know. And just so you know you're not one either, mistakes happen and topper was just one of them. I just wish he didn't matter to me as much as he does. He was my first serious relationship and that means something." My hand ruffles her hair and I pull her into another hug.
"You deserve better and no matter how much he cares about you and vice versa no one should disrespect you like that." A smile surfaces her face and I can tell she's thinking of John B. He's good for her and I really hope it works out for them I really do.
We sit in silence for a little bit longer until Sarah looks at me, a glaze coming over her eyes and I know what's already coming. "He had no right to say that stuff about Charlotte. " Her voice is timid when the words leave her lips as she squeezes my hand.
"I know, it's not like I haven't heard it before from my dad. To hell what Topper thinks he's a jackass anyways." A soft laugh escapes Sarah and I's lips before the familiar feeling of my stomach churning blooms in the pit of my stomach and I make a run for it to the closest bathroom, emptying the contents of my stomach into the bowl.
"I thought it was over but apparently not, baby really just wants me to be miserable huh." I mumble to myself just as Sarah comes in, a washcloth in hand.
"Here take this to wipe your mouth." She attempts to hand it to me but not before another wave uproars and I'm doing the whole thing over again. After around an hour of this cycling before we hear two voices at the door.
"Hey where are you guys?!" One shouts as Sarah gets up from her spot next to me on the tile floor. I lean my forehead against the edge of the seat, taking in all the fresh air I can to soothe my stomach, not that it would do much good anyways.
"Hey you guys are back already?" I can hear Sarah say from the entryway followed by John b speaking. "Yeah we found where it's hidden but I can talk to you about it later, where's Lilah? Is she feeling better?" The some footsteps are sounded through the corridor before all three of them are inside the bathroom with me.
"Go away, I look and feel like how a trash chute feels." I don't even look up to make eye contact with either of them, afraid that if I do I might throw up again. "How about we go take a walk, John B let's go take a walk." Sarah sputters before pulling him out of the room, just leaving JJ and I.
✧✧ I cannot say enough how thankful I am for you guys for reading my story. 33K reads that is literally insane I have no words Thank you so much for just reading it and maybe enjoying it maybe not I don't have control over what you guys think of the book but just thanks for reading it and I hope to post a new chapter soon.
