I imagine it anyway, what she says. My father gone, no more reminders of the man who took my best friend from me, my angel. Then I push the thought away and bury it somewhere in the back of my mind where it belongs.

“I would, but I can’t do blood,” I say. “I get light-headed when I pull out my tampons.”

“Gross,” a deep voice says from behind me.

For a wild, crazy moment, I think Nate has found his way back over. I whip around with a smile for him.

But it’s not Nate. It’s Jared.

My eyes fall down the length of him. He looks like the most respectable fuckboy on the planet, as always, dressed in a silver Dior suit, crisp white shirt, no tie, with more than a little chest showing.

“What’d I miss?” He still hasn’t looked up from his phone.

A smile creeps across my face. “Let me guess. Six-two, one-eighty, nine inches.”

Mei snickers.

His eyes flick up and he flashes a smile, but his fingers are still moving. “I wish. I borrowed the Rolls last night. Forgot to delete the footage from my dad’s security system.”

Mei leans in. “You can do that on your phone?”

“If I couldn’t, I would be disowned by now. My dad would kill me if he knew I’ve been whipping all the hot boys around in his precious foreigns.”

I smile. This is exactly why I like Jared. Badass enough to hack and steal, smart enough to not get caught. I miss the days when he was still in the city full-time, before his dad went all bicoastal on us and bought a 90210 compound in The Flats so Jared could be close by when he went to USC. Now I only get to spend summers with him. He claims he’s not going back this fall, and I’m already planning on dragging him to Paris for fashion week in September.

When he’s done, he curls a ripped arm around me, leaning in to kiss both cheeks, then shifts for Mei.

“So who are you sociopaths plotting to kill this time?”

A ghost of a smile finds Mei’s lips. “Her dad.”

“Again?”

His lack of surprise makes me chuckle.

“He’s way out of pocket cutting her off like this.” Mei’s eyes flick to me. “And don’t forget he threatened to ship you off to Arizona last month. Ari-fucking-zona.”

I roll my eyes. “I’d rather do prison than rehab. At least there’s commissary.”

“At least your dad’s bank isn’t going under,” Jared says.

I slap him on the arm. “Don’t joke like that.”

“It’s hitting Page Six Monday morning,” he says, suddenly solemn in a way he rarely is. “We’re headed straight to the poor house.”

“Dude.” Mei looks concerned, and she never gives a fuck about anything. “What are you gonna do?”