"Blake," Mom says softly sob into her shoulder. "Sweetie, why are you crying?"

I shake my head and pull back so I can look at her. "I'm sorry mom, I should've listened to you!"

She wipes away my tears and holds my face in her warm hands. Her eyebrows furrow as she takes in my state. "What happened?" Her tone, is far from what it was like when she was on the phone, it's gentle. "Blake, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"I was wrong," I choke and heave a deep breath, "I was wrong about him. If it weren't for my stupid feelings none of this would've ever happened!"

Mom tries to say something but I pull away and shake my head, furiously wiping away my tears. "I trusted him and he lied to me! He's just like the rest and I'm pathetic for running after the same type of people over and over and over again!"

"Tell me what he did Blake, I'll get the lawyer on it and we can settle this for once."

My heart feels like it's on fire, each memory of Bellamy adding fuel to the fire yet I can't find the words to say to mom. Despite everything I'm feeling, a part of me still yearns for him and it's keeping me from telling mom anything.

Our first dance at homecoming, our kiss at the lake house, all the dates we went to, everything I had ever done with him played in my head. I let out a pathetic sob.

"There's nothing to tell mom. It's over now, I'm only going to focus on myself from now on. If I have to move to New York early then I will; I'm going to do what's best for me."

Mom softly smiles at me and reaches out to pat my arm. "I know you feel like you should protect him, but he can't live like this forever. Any time you want to tell me something, you can." She wipes my cheeks and kisses the top of my head.

I hug her tightly before trying towards the fridge and taking out a bucket of ice cream. I know I won't be able to sleep tonight and mom doesn't question it either, we simply walk to the lounge and skip through the channels on TV until we land on a rerun of Gilmore Girls.

Three Days Later...

The first thing I do when I get my phone back is to check all my notifications. A smile stretches across my face when I see the multiple messages and missed calls from my friends. We did keep in touch through Brianna but I didn't want to hog her phone for too long.

Natasha left the most amount of messages despite knowing my phone had been confiscated. A hundred and eighty messages, and I bet most of them are just her complaining about anything and everything. Feeling too lazy, I skim through the messages and tell her I'll meet her tomorrow.

I go to the list of messages and frown when a certain name is missing from the list. I check my call log but Bellamy's name is no where to be seen. I didn't want to talk to him but a part of me believed that he would've tried to contact me. I guess I really am an idiot for believing in him so much.

I sigh and return to answering all the messages I received. Being grounded was the worst thing ever especially in summer!

"Hey Blake," I hear Brianna call from upstairs. "I'm going out with Chris, don't go out and don't tell mom I left either."

"Why shouldn't I tell her?"

"Come on, you've been using my phone ever since you were grounded, don't make me tell on you."

I roll my eyes, and I'm about to respond when I get a text from Harry asking if I'm free. Mom said no friends but how would she know when she's at work?

I smirk and ask him if he can come over. I hear Brianna stomp down the stairs and I bend over the back of the couch and peer at her from the end of the hallway.

She's dressed in a black pleated sundress, with a large floppy black hat covering her her blonde hair, big black sunglasses that cover almost half of her face.

"Why are you dressed like that?" I muse. I get off the couch and walk to the foyer, standing a few feet away from Brianna who's adjusting her hat in the mirror.

"No reason," She answers all too quickly.

"It's like you've taken inspiration from Pretty Little Liars for a funeral outfit." I stop mid laugh and squint at Brianna. "Please don't tell me you're going to Mandy's."

Brianna sighs. "It's not her funeral, just a little memorial service until her body is released."

"And you think it's okay for you to go there?" I argue, I run a hand through my hair.

"The entire town is invited, nobody's going to notice me. I'll be in and out!"

"That's not how it works, what if they harass you again? Do you really want to be insulted in front of everyone?"

"This is only happening because of you! You're always so shady about what you're doing and now I know exactly why! Instead of telling me what to do why don't you go fix the shit you started!"

I scoff as she storms out the door, closing it shut with a loud bang. I sit down on the stairs, completely shaken by her sudden outburst.

I sit there until I hear footsteps outside the door. I see curly brown locks through the peephole and I open the door with a smile.

"It's been so long!" I shriek, pulling a slightly shocked Harry into a hug.

His chest vibrates as he laughs. "You almost scared me," He says as we pull back. I gesture him to come inside and I follow him into the lounge.

He looks around before settling down on the couch in front of the large window. I sit on the couch adjacent to his.

"I almost thought you were ignoring me," He jokes.

"Oh please, I sent you texts through Bri!" I remind him.

"How is she, wait, Eliza isn't here, right?" His eyebrows crease as he looks up at the ceiling as if he can see through it.

"No, she's going to Mandy's memorial service." I grit my teeth together. How can she blame me and leave like that? 

He raises his brows, "Really? I heard what happened the other day, she's brave for going back there."

"Brave," I snort, "She's a complete idiot!"

"Nah—" Harry tries to dismiss me but I interrupt him.

"I'm starting to think Mandy's family brainwashed her, that's the only reason why she would blame me for everything. Cops said I'm clear, what more proof can I give everyone?"

"Hey," He says, reaching out towards me and placing a hand on my knee, he gently rubs his rub across it in a soothing manner because removing his hand.

"Think of it this way, her best friend is gone forever. She's going to want to attend her her funeral, memorial, whatever. You being blamed for everything is tough enough for her, just let her be. Brianna's smart, she wouldn't do anything that would get her in trouble. Just give her some time."

I stare down at my hands as he talks, picking at the skin around my nails. "But what if something happens to her?" I ask.

"You have to trust her decision and you have to let her grieve. They were extremely close, I can't imagine how she's coping with all of this." Harry sighs.

I take in what he said and nod as I'm hit with a realization. I've been too selfish and too controlling towards Brianna. If I'm going to keep the truth about Mandy from her then I shouldn't expect her to listen to me.

"Shouldn't you be at the service?" I ask in an attempt to divert the attention from me to him.

He shrugs but I know there's more to it than that. "Come on!"

"I-I just can't go." He runs a hand through his hair, and let's out a frustrated groan when his fingers get caught in his curly hair. "It feels wrong to go. Bellamy felt the same too."

I subconsciously perk up at the mention of his name and I hate it. I have nothing to do with him anymore. "What's the reason, why won't you guys go?"

Harry narrows his eyes at me. "He didn't tell you?"

"He was busy," I lie, and poke him for answers. "You've known her for a long time, why would you skip?"

Harry kicks his shoes off and lies down on the couch, covering his face with his hands. "I felt guilty. I've pulled a lot of pranks on her, and when she and Bellamy broke up, I planked her even more just to mess with her."

I can feel the embarrassment and guilt in his tone and with every word my frown deepens.

"I was really testing her patience. I didn't care if I was going too far with a prank, I find wanted her to feel miserable. When Brianna and Bellamy made up with Mandy, I told her that I didn't regret anything I did to her. I told her that she deserved every bit of it but now," He chokes, unable to finish his sentence.

I walk over to him and pry his hands away from his face. His eyes are red, and tears stream down his face. I rub his arm and I sit on the floor beside the couch he's lying on.

"How the fuck am I supposed to face her family?" He asks.

I open my mouth to say something but my mind is blank. What could I say to him that won't hurt him more? I let him cry, and silently wipe away my own tears as I think of what he's feeling.

Now I truly understand that we should be careful of what we say because we may not always get a chance to apologize.

How are we feeling about this chapter?

I wish I developed stronger relations between the characters in the first book because writing about them is so much fun but oh well. Gonna do in this book what I couldn't in the last.

Oh and if any of you are looking for a cover, please check out my cover shop! I'm really bored these days and I'm looking for stuff to keep me busy.

Also, I'm sorry about the late update, wattpad had me all over the place with the new update.

Happy Fourth of July! Please be safe xx