Two weeks later

"Natalia, what a surprise to see you here! Your parents told us you were being shipped off to boarding school." Sam greets me as I get out the elevator.

"It was a bust. Decided to make a jail break."

He nods his head, "figures. Need a place to crash?"

I nod my head. My suit cases rolled in behind me being brought in by the door man.

"Nice timing. My parents are in Fiji for the next week."

"Sweet I can crash until then?"

"Yeah shouldn't be a problem. They probably won't be back for at least three weeks when they do their monthly checking up on me."

We moved to the kitchen after tipping the door man for the help.

"So the official story is that you were sent to boarding school. What actually happened Talia?"

I sigh. Sam and I didn't keep secrets from each other, "what do you know?"

He shrugs and walks to the fridge grabbing a bottle of Voss water, "I actually don't know much. Your parents are doing a good job on containing this one. I did have a weird convo with your brother. Thought he was gonna eat me alive."

I roll my eyes and take a seat at the kitchen island, "well the after party that we both attended-"

"Man is this about the bad batch of pills?"

I look at him, "what?"

Sam sighs and leans on the counter, "well someone there threw in a cocktail of pills that was supposed to make you feel really euphoric."

"What?"

He nods his head, "yeah you don't remember? I tried to convince you to leave with me whenever they pulled them out, but you weren't budging. You were already out of your mind sloshed."

I put my face in my hands, "ugh."

"So this is about that night," he takes the lid off of his water and takes a sip.

I nod my head, "umm, yeah. My parents just assumed I ODed by myself, and tired to send me off to rehab."

"Oh shit."

"Yeah it's pretty bad."

"Damn my bad b."

"I mean I guess it's been a pretty eventful summer."

He smiles, "and we still got a month left."

"Where's the gang at?"

Sam scratches the back of his neck, "Well..."

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't tell me everything's gone to shit since I've been gone."

He shrugs," Girls will be girls," girls. My girl. Oh my fucking god.

"What about Jaleena is she pissed at me?" He didn't say a word, "shit!"

"Where's your phone at? She said she left you about a million messages."

"I currently do not have one."

"Natalia how did you get here then?"

I shrug, "I have my ways."

"I will go get you a phone in the mean time you can use mine if you'd like." He pulls his phone out of his pocket and tosses it to me.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. I'm gonna let you have your privacy and run to the store, do you need anything else?"

"No. Just don't tell anyone I'm here."

He kind of salutes me and walks away.

I put in the pin to unlock his phone and scroll through his contacts until I get to the J's. How should I go about this? Call? Maybe text?

By the time I get to her number I had already pressed FaceTime without realizing what I had done. It rang three times before she answered.

"Hey Sam, now is not a good time." She's not looking at the camera but instead has it propped up somewhere in her room as she's shoving things in a box.

"It's not Sam."

She stops and immediately goes to pick up the phone, "oh my gosh Natalia."

"Hey," wow. That's all I had. Man am I pathetic.

"Umm, hey."

I ran a hand through my hair. What else was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to go about this?

"Where have you been?"

I shook my head, "that doesn't matter-"

"Yes it does Natalia."

"Look. I-i'm sorry." My voice broke. I tucked a stand of hair behind my head and sniffled trying to hold back tears.

"That's all I get? An I'm sorry and some sad sob? Not even a sad story?"

"Look I just- I just think we moved to fast-"

"So we talk about it. You don't disappear without a trace for two weeks."

"I know I had no choice-"

"Your Natalia you always have a choice."

"Jaleena just let me- just let me talk." She didn't say anything but her lips formed a thin line and didn't show any moves to speak anytime soon, "I messed up I know, but can we talk in person?"

She looked around, "I don't know. I'm kind of busy."

"I'll be at Sams for a while. Maybe stop by whenever you can?"

"We'll see. I have to go Natalia."

I nod my head, "please. Stop by whenever you can."

She doesn't say anything just gives me a look and hangs up. I sigh and put the phone face down on the counter. What had I done?

-

Sam came back around two am. Surprisingly still sober he plopped down on the couch next to me with a sigh. I pushed pause on the Netflix show I was watching.

"I thought you were just going to the store?"

He sighs, "that was before the boss called me." He rolls his eyes.

I knew not to ask about the boss, but if he was bugging him then it must've been a hard night.

"Rough night?" I asked throwing my leg over his lap so I could straddle his waist.

"Something like that," he smirked, "this will make it all better though," he fiddled with the waistband of my shorts.

"It will?" I question. He pulled me closer and his hands traveled up my torso to my bra clasp.

"It will," he whispered in my ear unhooking my bra. His lips found their way to my neck as my bra was thrown off to the side.

Before I knew it my back hit the couch and Sam is on top of me.

-

"Knock, knock, knock," I shuffle under the covers. I hear three more knocks harder this time. I groan my hand hangs over the clutch and the blankets suffocate me as I try to move awake.

Three more knocks are heard, but now it isn't knocking instead banging. I groan and sit up, looking around. Where the fuck?

Blankets were piled on top of me and quite a few pillows laid behind me. Memories from the night before flood back as I process where I am. Sams loft.

I wipe my face with my hand, "Sam I know your in there open the fucking door!"

My eye brows scrunched as I realized the knocking is a person at the door. I yawn and stretch pulling the blankets closer to my naked body. The person bangs on the door once again. Damn who did Sam piss off this time?

I stood up from the couch and dropped the blankets scurrying around to find something to cover up with. Sams T-shirt from the night before lays on the coffee table, so I throw it on.

The person knocks again. I angrily stop to the door and throw open the door, "what the fuck do you want?!"

The person on the other side stares at me like I'm a ghost. Realization hits me as we stare at each other. She shakes her head and turns to leave. I grab her by the wrist and pull her into me.

She fights against my grip trying to push me off I don't let go.

"Natalia let me the fuck go," She grits her teeth as she speaks.

I shake my head, "I'm so sorry," I speak into her hair.

"Let me go I gotta go," her voice is shaky.

"Jaleena look," I let go and grabbed her by shoulders so she couldn't leave, "I'm sorry how everything turned out."