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"Oh, don’t I know it You’veprick"

"Get out" I turn, head for the staircase "I don’t need to listen to this"

Luc ets in my way Refuses to let me pass "This is exactly what you need to hear"

"Get out of my way, man"

"Not until I say what I cah"

"You haven’t heard shit You never do You’re too locked in your own head, too busy being self-absorbed and tortured and fked up to hear what you need to"

My hands clench into fists "Get the hell out of my way"

"What are you going to do? Hitto do if you don’t get the fk away from me"

"Have at it" He spreads his ar world Mad at yourself Mad at your ht as well bemy fist into his stomach, folloith an uppercut to the jaw that lays him out on the floor "Is this what you want?" I shout at hierly to his feet, his fingers probing at the bruise I can already see for such a puy and get your fking act together You’re rich--"

"Is that it? Is all this about the fkinge, pulls out a few ice cubes, and wraps them in a towel "You’re the most talented snowboarder I know--"

"Ash is--"

"No Not Ash You We’ve been boarding together for over a decade Been on the pro circuit together for four years You do shit that no one else can even co"

"That’s not true"

"Really? What about that inverted 1440 you pulled out of your ass the other day? Has anyone else done that, like ever?"

"Probably"

"Bullshit If they had, ould have heard about it" He sighs, presses the ice to his injured jaw, and I feel like an even bigger prick than usual "Everyone knows you’re the ht now You could take the top spot at the trials At the X Ga ho on your fking boarding, you’re drinking yourself into a co what I was thinking only about an hour and a half ago Not that I’m about to let hi, man"

"Really?" He looks around "What?"

"Excuse ?"

"What do you mean?"

"It’s pretty self-explanatory What the hell else do you have going on besides boarding?"

I don’t say anything, but then he doesn’t expect me to No one kno fked up rew up together He was there when April died Whenkilled herself When my dad told me what I already knew--that it wasfault

"Oh, right You don’t have anything else"

"That’s not true"

"Really?" He starts ticking things off on his fingers "Your father’s a douche on’t have anything to do with you"

"Because he blames me for--"