"This story is about the boy I loved. This is about his suffering. This is about my suffering. All of it due to one thing. Affluenza."
TW : Key themes of suicide.
Sebastian Grey. Golden boy, trust fund baby, and Braylen Adams' mortal enemy. Braylen...
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SCHOOL STARTING UP again after winter break was a nonevent. The cold of December had turned into rain in January, and I found myself soaking wet before I even made it into the school.
Sebastian and I hadn't spoken since that day with his parents, nearly a whole week ago. He wasn't at school since we'd returned on Monday and I couldn't help but be worried for him. My subconscious kept reminding me that's that's exactly what he broke up with me for: caring too much.
"Where is Ash?" Robyn asked as she swallowed a sip from Devin's thermos of hot chocolate.
We were sitting in the cafeteria at Sebastian's signature table. I knew he hadn't told anyone else about what happened between us and I certainly didn't want to rehash all the details to my only friends.
"'Dunno," Hunter mumbles, resting an arm around my shoulders. "He's known to go off the grid, though. Braylen, do you know where he is?"
I take a deep breath, trying to ignore Devin's eyes boring into me. Did he know? "I'm not sure. It's not like I'm his babysitter, or something."
Everyone's expressions change and I grab my backpack quickly, storming out of the cafeteria before they can ask questions or I can cry, or something.
€
I go to classes and take diligent notes, but I might as well have been asleep for what I retained. The week passes by until Friday finally hits and the empty hole in my chest has taken over my entire body.
Sebastian hasn't returned to school yet.
I'm walking out of school to find my bike; Robyn had already left without me. We weren't fighting exactly, but I knew she was angry with me for not opening up to her and shutting her out. I didn't mind riding alone too much anyways.
I unhook the lock on my bike when I hear the sound of soft laughter. It's coming from the wall opposite the bike racks, down a short alleyway.
I lock my bike back up and follow the noises, sticking my hands into my pockets. The sound leads me to a corner where I find a group of kids smoking pot, huddled together to keep warm. They laugh again as their eyes take me in. "Braylen Adams," Cora says, stepping out from behind a boy. She walks up to me, all swagger. "Haven't seen you since the waltz practice. What's up?"
I blush and weigh my options. The empty part of my heart aches. "I'm here to smoke," I say with about as much conviction as I can manage.
Cora grins and the rest of the people cheer loudly. "Nice to see we're corrupting you, Adams," a boy named Jackson says. He walks up to me and hands me the blunt he'd been using. I look at him and then Cora before I glance back at the thing. Then, I bring it to my lips and inhale the smoke, blowing it out a second later. "You're pretty good at that."
