“I wish I could hate you, but you probably saved my life that night, Legacy.” Her eyes widened in shock, as if she wasn’t expecting that. “You forced me to change—to be better. And I hope one day you learn that you are beautiful and capable of better things, too. I’m not letting you walk all over me with your knock off Louis Vuitton heels anymore. You are nothing. No one. I don’t want or need your validation anymore. And when my boyfriend isn’t drunk—”

“I’m still your boyfriend?” Oakley interjected, his voice sloppy and full of awe. I ignored him but felt a burst of affection.

“He’s not going to want you. He wants something real—something you’re not capable of being right now because you’re too busy tearing others apart and using their mistakes to make yourself look superior.”

“Yep. What she said,” Oakley added, making the growing crowd watching us laugh. Legacy’s face soured as she realized they were laughing at her. It was probably something she wasn’t used to, considering she was usually the one pointing the finger.

I took Oakley’s hand and led him out of the bar. I didn’t look back at Legacy as we left; I wasn’t about to give her another second of my time. My mom helped me get Oakley settled into the backseat of the car, and she started the drive home.

“Thank you fer coming to get me, Solbeer,” Oakley slurred as he fell asleep with his head in my lap.

28

Oakley slept like the dead. I, however, was up before the sun, because apparently being drunk made snoring about a billion times worse. It was a cycle, his soft gentle purr escalating into a burst of roaring snores, finishing with one final explosive snore. A snorgasm.

I sat up in the bed, all protective feelings from earlier gone. I was now thinking about whether or not I could get away with smothering him with my pillow. I finally gave up on the idea of getting any more sleep and opened up my laptop. I was briefly concerned about the bright screen waking Oakley up, but he snorgasmed again, and my moment of concern passed.

I wanted to face my demons head on, so I pulled up Instagram to see what the damage was. I didn’t even bother looking at the tagged posts, I went straight to the last photo he’d shared. I knew the first step would be to delete any unsavory comments or maybe turn off commenting altogether. The photo was of him on the airplane that brought us here, with his award winning smile and bright, hopeful eyes. He looked hot as hell. With a deep breath, I started reading.

LickMyKitty69: Omg did you get arrested for defending your gf?

Mrs.Hemsworth20: I want to sit on your face.

Comefeelme: Amanda Matthews is one lucky gurl.

ItWasntMe: #PutOakleyBackInTheGame #NoFatShaming