I want her to see this, how real it is, how real we are.

But when I find her, she’s making vomiting motions at Kiki, who mercifully refuses to laugh.

Suddenly, I can’t see Chase or the spotlight or anything else other than red.

How fucking dare she? What is her absolute need to make sure I’m miserable at all times? She chose to drop out of touch with me and send me back to my life without so much as a note that whoops, by the way, she’d be moving here and I’d have to see her every fucking day. What am I supposed to do with that? What am I supposed to do with this?

The minute the dance ends, I tell Chase I’ll be right back. I have never appreciated more that he is not a follow-up–question kind of guy. He gives me a quick kiss and turns to his buddies, and I grab Jasmine by the wrist and yank her out into the hallway without giving a single damn who might be watching.

“What the hell, Lar—”

“No,” I cut her off. “That is not your question. That is my question. What the hell happened to you, and why do you hate me?”

“God, Larissa, could you be any more dramatic?”

“Cut the shit, Jasmine. You’ve spent the entire last month acting like I barely exist, like last summer never happened. It happened. We spent every damn day together. Every damn night together. Did it all really mean so little to you?”

I expect a smartass answer, but she draws herself up to her full height, towering over me in her glittering stilettos. She’s shaking, anger radiating off her skin. “You don’t get to ask me that.” Her voice drips with venom. “You don’t get to tell me I’m the one who doesn’t give a shit when you’re the one practically married to someone else.”

“God, I’m not—”

She throws up her arms, bangles jangling. “Yeah, you are, and that’s fine. You have a life and so do I and neither of us has to explain or apologize.”

“I’m not asking for an explanation or apology! I want you back! Where did you go?”

“I am right. Fucking. Here,” she spits. “How do you not get that? I am here. In my senior year. Away from my friends, my life, my mom. Why do you think that is, Larissa?”

“How am I supposed to know when you won’t tell me anything? When you didn’t even tell me about your parents changing up custody? You knew you were coming to my school and you didn’t even tell me!”