“She walked away first.” She didn’t just walk away, she ran. I wasn’t the only one who put up walls.

“Whatever you have to tell yourself, prick. But we both know that’s bullshit. She laid her heart at your feet and you stomped on it.”

My stomach knots up remembering Elizabeth’s face that day in the library. The pain of watching her walk away aches in my chest.

“If you pulled that shit on me, you better believe I would’ve let you twist in the wind. And loooooved every minute of it. But no. Not Lizbit. That girl loves like it’s going out of style. Even after you devastated her, she’s still defending you.”

I let out an aggravated sigh and ask, “What are you talking about?” Elizabeth wants nothing to do with me.

“I’ll admit it’s awesome she finally told that absentee jackoff of a father to go screw himself—”

“No fucking way,” I interject confidently. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before Elizabeth would ever talk back to her dad.”

Jackie deadpans, “Better get the Devil a parka and some mittens then, because it’s a fucking blizzard down there.”

I shake my head, not believing. Jackie rolls her eyes at me.

“It was over you. She told him off for you.”

A pinch of shame twists my gut.

“He found out about the five grand?”

I should have given it back to her. I have most of it. What I didn’t spend on food and basic survival has been sitting untouched in a bank account for weeks. I don’t deserve it. Loving her isn’t a job. Fuck, it wasn’t even a choice.

“Five grand?” Jackie scoffs. “Who cares about money? It was about you using her to beat a drug rap. Not exactly on-brand for Richard ‘The Dick’ Wilde.”

“Are you high right now?” I ask in all seriousness. Elizabeth didn’t even know I was in trouble. And if she did, she wouldn’t care.

“Christ on a cracker! You may be hotter than the sun, but you really are a dim fuck.”

I stare at Jackie blankly, waiting for an explanation.

“She’s the one who broke into Monte’s room and got the evidence to clear you. Idiot.” Jackie’s tone is condescending as shit, but all I can focus on are her words. “It was totally badass by the way.” Her eyes dance with mischievous pride.

The room is spinning. My heart rate is jacked. Hope springs up in the back of my mind, but I beat it down. I can’t believe it. I wouldn’t survive being wrong. She hates me. I know she hates me. She’d have to after everything I said. There’s no way she’d help me out, save my life. What would she get out of rescuing me and losing her father? Nothing.