Nathan Northwood is simply living the perfect life every teenage boy dreams of. He is rich, handsome, captain and star player of the basketball team, could have any girl he wants and is basically the king of EverGreen High. However, Nathan wears a c...
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HOPE
"Cayden!" I yelled as I entered the street racing area of the factory, my skateboard tucked under my arm.
Cayden was seated on the hood of a car with Maya while Bree and Alec were slumped in chairs of their own next to each other as they were all engaged in a conversation.
Cayden glanced in my direction, followed by the rest as I marched over to them.
"Hope-"
"What did you say to Nathan at the parking lot three days ago?" I met his puzzled grey eyes. "I'm trying to get my best friend back and don't need anybody to mess this up for me. He actually considered me a friend. And now he doesn't even want to look at me anymore!"
Guilt immediately washed over Cayden's face. "I was just looking out for you. I didn't mean to-"
"-Looking out for me? What does that even mean? I don't need you to look out for me. I'm perfectly capable of doing that on my own, and just because Nathan hurt you, bullied Heaven and Owen, doesn't mean he hurts everybody he meets," I snapped, the anger burning through my veins.
"Hope, calm down," Alec began, rising from his seat along with Bree.
Inhaled sharply as my hands clenched into fists. "I'm just so tired of everyone thinking that Nathan is the villain here. Let me remind you, Nathan did not rape Maya every night. Nathan did not send those texts telling you to kill yourself. Yes, he did make lots of mistakes, but so have you guys. Don't pretend you don't have shitty history too."
"Trust me, Hope, we're not pretending," Bree cut in, her voice firm.
I ignored her and averted my attention to Maya who's face was creased with concern. "Maya, Nathan did love you. He cared about you. You were the only person he was able to breathe properly around. When you jumped, it was like his right to breathe was taken away from him. When you came back, he didn't just magically forget about you. He was pressured into getting together with all those girls every week. When you came back and he saw you getting close to Cayden, he just freaked out."
Maya's lips remained shut as my words slowly processed through her mind.
"If you guys deserve justice, forgiveness and a fresh start, then he does too. Trust me, he is no different from you guys. Plus, something really bad is happening to him and I need to figure out what that is and help him. I want my best friend back and you guys need to start playing a fair game here. If not, stay the out of the way."
"What's happening to him?" Maya and Cayden immediately questioned at the same time, their voices laced with fear and genuine worry.
