I don’t know why it never occurred to me. I was so fixated on the guys, so sure that these ugly words were from them. But Ryder doesn’t have the finesse or the subtlety for a pain like this one—when guys hurt you they want the credit. Girls are best at the cuts beneath the surface, the bites you don’t see coming until you’re dragged underwater. And Ava has been taking those bites from Danielle for too long—it was only a matter of time before she bit back. Still, it breaks my heart to see their friendship turned into something so ugly. Danielle and Ava were each other’s everything once, and now they’ve ended up like this. I can’t let that happen with Hannah.

“I’m sorry about Charlie. What I said.” Hannah has always supported me—has always been such a wonderful, beautiful friend. I need to be the same for her.

“You’re right though,” Hannah says. Her voice is shaky. “I know I shouldn’t, but . . . I still have feelings for him. He stopped by my house this morning and said he wanted to take me to prom and I just couldn’t say no. I’m so weak.”

“You’re not weak. You’re in love.”

“Sometimes I think it’s the same thing.”

And then because Hannah is being so honest, I know I have to be too. “Turns out you were right too. About Andrew.” Even though saying it makes me sad, Hannah’s face lights up like I’ve given her the best news. I guess I just need to let her be happy about it.

We stop at the edge of the dock, but Danielle and Ava don’t notice us.

Ava is crying, one hand waving angrily in the air, the other holding up her dress. “All I ever did was try to be your friend—for eight years—I tried so hard, and you just knocked me down.” Her voice is shaky with tears.

“My friend, Ava?” Danielle says. “If you had a problem with me, you should have told me. Real friends talk shit to your face and not behind your back.”

“Real friends don’t talk shit at all, Danielle. That’s what you don’t get. You’re so mean to me. All the time. You stopped being my friend years ago. You’ve just become such . . . such a bitch!”