Loving The Bad Boy

Purple and Blue, Tried and True

"Kristen, I'm going, with or without you."

I could hear the panic in Kristen's voice as she pleaded with me through the phone. "No, Liz, you can't. We can't-"

"Yes, I can. And I will. I am not asking you to come with me . I am simply informing you of my choice and giving you the option to join me if you wish. If you decide not to, I'll just need the address to Reed's house. And if you refuse to give it to me, I can always find Hayven or another one of Reed's friends and ask them."

"Liz, you don't know what the hell you're getting yourself into-"

"You're right. I have no idea what awaits me once I reach Reed's house. All I know is that Reed needs me right now. And that is more than enough."

Kristen let out an anxious sigh, pausing on the other end of the line for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Fine. I'll be there in ten . But if we end up in body bags Liz, don't say I didn't tell you so."

Ten minutes later, Kristen's car pulled up in front of the school, signaling me over with a few honks.

Climbing into the car, I couldn't help but take note of Kristen's stiff posture as she white-knuckled the steering wheel.

"Kristen?" I asked carefully as we pulled out of the parking lot. "Are you...are you scared?"

"No!" Kristen shot back defensively, her answer perhaps a little too quick. "Me, scared? Please. I'm not some prissy little wimp."

I narrowed my eyes at her slightly, doubt filling my features. I'd never seen her like this before.

"You don't have to come, you know-"

"Yes, Liz,I do." Kristen said, shaking her head. "You don't get it. I mean, Reed and I, we've been friends, like, forever. But...I've never really had the guts to do this, do what you're doing now. I should have, I could have so many times before. I knew what was happening, but..."

Kristen bit down on her lip, swallowing hard. "I never did. I owe at least this to him...I'm glad he has you, Liz. Really. I mean, you're doing what I've been trying to get the guts to go do for years and you've only known him a few months."

Letting out a guilty sigh, I shook my head, smoothing out the creases in my skirt more in anxious habit than anything else.

"You give me too much credit. Today, Reed needed me, and I.....I let him down. I doubted him, Kristen, when the cops found the drugs on him, I thought maybe he'd...I don't know... It was positively horribly of me to even contemplate such a thing-"

"Liz." Kristen cut in, letting out a tight laugh. "You're only human, just like the rest of us screw ups. You've gotta cut yourself a break at some point. Reed likes you. And he doesn't like many people, whether they're just his friends or something more, like with you. But when he does, he sticks with you, no matter what. Trust me, I've screwed him over enough times to know he'll stick with you even when you give him every reason not to."

Nodding, I found no comfort in Kristen's words. I didn't deserve for Reed to forgive me, and the knowledge that he would probably do so in a heartbeat only made me feel even worse than I already did.

"Hayven and the others...do they know about Reed's father?"

"Are you kidding? I think Reed would just about fucking die if they did. I mean, he can barely even stomach the fact that I know, and if he figured out you knew too-"

"He told me, Kristen."

Kristen did a double taking, sneaking a glance in my direction. "Wait, what? He told you about his father?"