She shakes her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She can’t be serious.

I grit my teeth, failing to hide my irritation. “Let me get this straight. You won’t answer any of my questions, but you also won’t ask him to talk to me? I thought we were friends, Dylan?”

“We are.” Her forehead creases. “And as your friend I don’t want to lie to you. Therefore, I can’t answer questions about your history with Oakley. He’s my cousin and I love him, but I also love you and Jace which puts me in a very difficult position given your brother hates him and he’s responsible for your accident.” She looks down at the table. “I’m really sorry, but it’s exhausting being pulled in three different directions all the time, so it’s best I don’t get involved.”

I hate that she won’t give me anything, but it’s clear she’s not going to back down so I have no choice but to respect her wishes.

“Fine.” Turning to Sawyer next, I utter, “We were close back then. What do you know about my relationship with Oakley?”

Sawyer nearly chokes on her coffee. “Nothing.”

Exasperated, I look up at the ceiling. “For fuck’s sake, Saw—”

“I’m being serious,” she states. “You never said a word to me about it.” She takes another sip of her coffee. “Trust me, I was just as surprised as you were to find out about you two.”

Once again, I feel like I’m on a merry-go-round that doesn’t end. “Find out what about us?”

“I don’t know,” Sawyer insists. “I mean—I once overheard you two arguing about you sneaking into Oak’s bed in the middle of the night and him turning you down. But other than that, you never confided in me about your relationship with him.”

It’s all I can do not to scream. I knew the old Bianca was private, but not divulging anything to Sawyer—or anyone for that matter—about Oakley has seriously screwed me.

That’s when it dawns on me. Sawyer might not know about my relationship with Oakley, but maybe she knows about my friendship with Hayley.

Specifically, why I hated the girl so much.

After taking a lengthy sip of my macchiato, I decide to hit them with it.

“Oakley situation aside, there’s something else that’s been bothering me.”

Dylan stops eating her muffin. “What’s up?”

“I only get bits and pieces from my random flashbacks, but the few pieces I have make it clear I didn’t like Hayley very much and I was blackmailing her for some reason.”

Their eyes widen in shock.

I wince. “I’m hoping one of you might know why?”

Dylan shakes her head. “I don’t have a clue. I didn’t know Hayley very well, but she seemed like a sweet girl. I can’t think of a single reason you’d go after her.”

“Except for the fact that Oakley and Hayley spoke regularly, and they still cared about each other,” Sawyer mutters.

When we both look at her, she holds up her hands and says, “Again, I have no idea what your relationship with Oak was like, but given you were pissed he turned you down, and you went so far as to hook up with Morgan behind his back...who’s to say you weren’t also blackmailing his ex-girlfriend Hayley because you were jealous?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” My heart sinks. “I was just hoping there might be something else.”

Something that didn’t make me feel like a total asshole.

“I’m sorry, Bianca. I wish I could help, but I don’t really know much about your relationship with Hayley either.” Sawyer looks sheepish. “Although there was this one time we were at a party and Hayley showed up. You weren’t happy to see her, yet you made it a point to become fast friends with her. When I asked you what was up, you told me to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

Dammit. That totally sounds like something I would do.

Well, not me…her.

I rub my temples and groan. “Sometimes I seriously hate the old Bianca.”

I ruined this poor girl’s life all because I was jealous.

And now she’s gone.

Sawyer squeezes my hand. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“How could I not be? I became frenemies with Hayley in order to gather some intel I could use to terrorize her.”

Oakley had every right to be upset about it.

It doesn’t matter that I didn’t upload the videos.

I’m still the lowest of the low and I’m certain there’s a special place in hell for someone like me.

Dylan frowns. “You’re not the same person you were back then, Bianca. The fact that you feel bad about it now says a lot.”

I reach for my purse and stand since my next class starts in fifteen minutes. “Maybe, but it still doesn’t make me feel any better about blackmailing her over a guy.”

And it’s not like I can find her and apologize for any of it…

Because she’s dead.

Past…

“Hey.”

I peer up at Morgan through my sunglasses. “Hi.”

Earlier today she texted me that there was something super important she needed to talk to me about, so I told her to come over.

I gesture to the raft I’m currently floating on. “As you can see I’m busy, so make it snappy.”

She blinks. “Seriously?”

Ugh.

Annoyed, I get out of the pool. “What do you want, Morgan?”

Her green orbs peruse the length of my body before she looks up at me. “I think I’m ready.”

Grabbing my towel off the back of a chair, I stare at her. “Ready for what?”

Drawing a breath, she takes a step forward. “For this…us.”

Color me confused.

I raise an eyebrow. “Us?”

Her teeth sink into her lower lip. “I want to be with you, Bianca. And now that I’m no longer pretending to be with Oak—”

I stop her right there, because holy hell. “Morgan…no.” Deciding to be honest with her, I give her the truth. “There’s someone else I’m into.”

And if she utilizes even a fraction of her brain power, she’ll have no problem figuring out who that someone is.

Her face falls. “Oh.” She shuffles her feet. “I didn’t...I mean I guess I should have. I feel so dumb.”

Well, shit.

Despite my well-earned reputation as a stone-cold bitch, I do pity her.

In my defense, I warned her not to catch feelings for me, but she went ahead and did it anyway.

Which means I’m in the awkward position of having to deal with the fallout.

“Look, Morgan,” I start. “It’s not you, it’s me.”

“Come on, Bianca—”

“It’s true,” I insist. “You’re a good catch and someday you’re gonna make some girl really happy. It’s just…that girl isn’t me.”

Glassy-eyed, she shakes her head. “I’m so stupid.”

No argument there. However, I’m not completely heartless.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” I tell her honestly. “Despite how we started, that wasn’t my intention.”