"And the baby?" I pressed, thinking about how she was keeping something huge from Daryl. "Have you decided what you're going to do yet?"

Yeah, my best friend, the same one that had skipped town, was pregnant, and the father of her baby, who also happened to be Rourke's best friend, was currently crashing in our spare room.

Worse than Daryl not knowing about the baby was the fact that I did and couldn't tell a soul. Not even Rourke.

"Of course I'm going to tell him," she replied softly. "I was on my way to tell him that night…before it all blew up."

"Yeah," I said sadly, thinking about all of the hurt and pain she'd been going through. "Well, you know I love you and I can't wait for you to get your skinny butt back here."

"I love you, too, Merc."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Can you think about calling him?"

She sucked in a sharp breath. "I wouldn’t know what to say."

"How about you start with hello and let it roll from there?" I offered, kneeling down to fix my shoelace. "He needs to hear your voice, Molls. I think it'll really help."

"I'll think about it, okay?" she finally offered.

"Thank you." I sighed heavily. "That's all I'm asking."

55 One month later

Daryl

Today was the first day back at school since classes were dismissed for winter break and it had taken everything inside of me to scrape up the energy required to get dressed and drag my ass to class.

I should have been ecstatic to return to school, considering we'd won state last month and had been hailed as heroes, but instead I just felt empty.

I'd lost the only thing that mattered to me, and nothing could soothe the ache that she'd left in my heart. I felt her absence all around me, so much so that it made it hard to function.

Molly didn't come back before school broke up for winter break, and even though she'd texted on Christmas morning, and again a week later to wish me a happy new year, all of my other calls and texts had gone unanswered.

I followed her Instagram account, stalking her page countless times each day, but she never posted any updates.

She had disappeared from my life just as quickly as she had entered and I couldn't get past it.

I knew she was out there somewhere, licking her wounds and trying to heal the holes my family had put in her heart – that I had put in her heart – but being without her was crippling.

I ended up spending the holidays with Rourke and his dysfunctional family, who had graciously taken me in when I had no place else to go.

No matter how messed up his family was, at least there was love in their home, unlike the home I came from.

Mom had tried to contact me daily since I moved out, right along with the numerous texts Sophie had sent, but I had yet to return a single one of their phone calls and messages.