ON PAUSE -- Going to Edit
"Are you sure you don't have feelings for him? I think it's obvious he feels something for you."
"I'm sure of it," I muttered. Something deep inside of me knew I was lying to myself.
**
Mariposa Romero is in her final year...
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I leaned against the cool railing and exhaled. I rubbed my hands together for some warmth and stuffed them in my coat pockets.
Everett and Miles were inside with Vince, celebrating his birthday. I had to take a much-needed breather after they started playing cup pong. The absence of Axel and Bella was apparent and did not go unnoticed by Vince. He quickly moved on when he realized they weren't there.
I was on the lawn that stretched far on the Young Estate. A couple of lights lit up the area, so it wasn't too dark.
I pulled out my phone, hoping for a message from either of my friends explaining why they didn't attend their best friend's birthday party. Unfortunately, there was none. My phone was dry, and the messages were still left on delivered. I couldn't believe Bella would do this to Vince, her boyfriend of many years. Putting my phone back in my pocket, I thought about how this year has been an absolute shit show. Not once did I think things would go like this.
"Hey, we're cleaning everything up since it's pretty late," Vince said behind me. I quickly turned to look at him. He had a solemn look; it was apparent now how much this birthday sucked.
I frowned and kicked the grass. "I'm sorry for how things turned out. This wasn't supposed to be a party of four."
He rolled his eyes. "I enjoyed tonight."
I let out a dry laugh. "No, you didn't."
"I did, thank you. It may suck a little that the others didn't show." He shrugged. "They'll come around. I hope."
"You're sleeping over, right?" I asked him. "I need to head home soon, it's almost 1 a.m., and there is no chance I'm staying here."
He looked in thought for a moment before saying. "I'll go home with you; I can drive if you don't want to."
I waved him off. "I'll be fine; you can stay here."
He shook his head. "I'd rather be home. It's been fun, but I need some downtime to myself." He let out a dry laugh. "Let's go back inside."
I followed him back to where the other two were. The place was already halfway clean.
"We can leave the rest since the cleaners will come in tomorrow and leave everything spotless." Everett interrupted my thoughts. "Mari, there are many guest rooms to choose from if yo-"
I smiled. "Actually, I'm going to drive home. It's supposed to snow in the morning, so I want to be home before the storm hits. Thank you, though."
Everett looked unsure. Miles gave me a look before walking away.
"I'm going with her, gotta make sure she makes it home in one piece," Vince teased. "Plus, I'll probably have birthday breakfast with my parents."
I rolled my eyes and snatched my purse from where I had left it. "I'll be in the car."
