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"You never told me that," he says with res aboutabout h? Why all of a sudden are you willing to open up?"

"I have no idea, other than you kind of seem like you needed me to"

Silence wraps around us I start to picture the drea in the fire and all I did atch hi back to reality, I bite a heap of the frosting off the cupcake thenit in front of his face "You want a bite? It’s really good"

His gaze flicks from my eyes back to the cupcake before he leans in and takes a bite off the top "It is really good," he re froh liest sensations possible

"I told you it was" I peel the wrapper down to get a taste of the cake buried beneath the pound of frosting, very aware that he’s watching my every move

"You’re not going to presshis brow

I sweep some cru for the last three days"

"If you want to tell me, you can" I s a s the rest to hi off the cupcake before responding "What if I told you I did crystal? That those three months just became three hours?"

"Then I’d say at least you have those three hours And trust e in three hours"

You can die in three hours and be brought back to life

His tongue slides out of hisit pink

God, I want to lick his tongue

"You’d be disappointed in hts "If I did do it"

"Yeah, I probably would, but my disappointet those three hours to four"

He chews on his bottom lip as he reflects on what I’ve said Then he opens his mouth and prettythe ehtstand, his intense blue eyes ona drop of frosting off his thuht?"

I rest back on iving you a choice made you think about what you really wanted to do"

He reclines back on his elbows and stares out the ithnot to feel too elated at the fact that I seeles his head to the side and looks at me "You seem older than twenty-two"

"Gee, thanks," I say dryly "Looking old Just what every girl wants to hear"

He shakes his head and then sits up straight "No, you don’t look old At all…" His attention is locked on et a glimpse of what I keep buried inside me "You just seem like you know more about life than most twenty-two-year-olds do Most would want to run away from my problems" He narrows his eyes "Are you here to join et fked? What is it?"

He’s being an ass again on purpose--I think to try to push h, knowing that he has to be the first to look away if this is going to work He’s challengingto

"No, that’s not why I’m here," I tell him "And I look like I know more about life because I probably do"

One…

Two…

Three seconds go by

His gaze grows row h with Conner I would have

But with Tristan I can’t

And finally he gives up

So away fro for a bues his teertips "I’m honestly not sure what happened but…" He shoves his hand into the pocket of his jeans When he pulls his hand out, his fingers are wrapped around a bag of tiny white crystals Meth Conner’s drug of choice and my mother loved it too "I found this in "

I’m shocked Appalled Disappointed Terrified Worried "Did you--"

He rapidly shakes his head "No, I could tell when I woke up I hadn’t done it, mainly because I had to fall asleep in order to wake up" He flicks the bag with his finger, staring at it with hunger glea in his eyes "And I couldn’t have fallen asleep with this shit in my system"

"Who knows you have that?"

"No one but you knows" He stares at the stained carpet in front of our feet

"So, why do you have it?" I’s is new to er, the uncertainty, the instability it brings into one’s life

"I told you, I have no idea Nor do I have a fking clue why I didn’t do it"

I s the massive lump in my throat "Why do you still have it?"

His expression swaret nervously, plucking at a loose string on the heet rid of it for you?"