Must be nice to have friends.

Other than me and Dylan, Liam didn’t have any.

Because of him.

History. The nickname Tommy gave Liam burns like acid in my throat.

All Liam wanted was to fit in, to feel like he belonged…it’s the reason he forgave Tommy and befriended him even though I warned him not to.

Unfortunately for Tommy, I’m not the forgiving kind.

My footsteps pick up speed as he reaches the end of the block.

A wooded area is coming up ahead. Which means there’s no place he can run…no place he can hide.

Tick tock, fucker. Your time is coming to an end.

I’m going to do things to him that not even his worst nightmares can conjure up.

Euphoria fills me as he pulls out his cell phone and brings it to his ear.

He’s distracted. Perfect.

Without warning, I strike the bat against his back. To my amusement, he simultaneously trips over a crevice in the cement and goes down like a stack of bricks.

I take the opportunity to drag him into the woods, belly down.

“What the fuck?” he yells, clawing at the dirt and branches. “Somebody help!”

Sorry, man. There’s no mercy for a piece of shit like you.

I stop when I find a good spot and get on top of him, pressing his face into the dirt.

“Help!”

He struggles against me, but I mush his face harder before letting him up for some air.

If I kill him too quickly, I’ll miss out on all the fun.

“Why are you doing this?” he chokes out. “Who are you?”

Leaning down, I whisper, “I’ll give you a hint.”

His body tenses. “Jace?”

He tries to get up and we grapple in the dirt for a minute. I give him just enough leeway to turn over but the second he does, I wrap my hand around his throat and bash my forehead against his nose.

Confusion mars his bloody face. “What the hell? Why…w-why are you doing this?”

I spit at him. “Look who’s stuttering now, bitch.”

Before he can speak, I place the barrel of the bat over his crotch and press down on it as I stand up, crushing his nuts.

I laugh when he screams in agony.

“Stop!”

“Okay,” I tell him. “But if I do, this bat is going somewhere else. Somewhere a little narrower.”

I can feel the fear wafting off him. “I’m sorry for what I did to Liam at the dance.” He sucks in a shaky breath. “I’ll apologize when I see him. Swear on my life.”

Another bolt of rage slices through me. “You can’t, fuckface.”

“Yes, I ca—”

“He’s dead.” I apply more pressure and watch in delight as he trembles from the pain. “He ended it…because of you.”

And me.

“Fuck!” I’m not sure if his outburst is from the agony he’s experiencing or shock from the news. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be.” I lean down on the bat and he yelps. “But don’t worry, this will all be over.” I flash him some teeth. “Eventually.”

He looks up at the sky and curses. “I wish I never listened to her.”

I have no idea what he’s rambling about. “Listened to who?”

“Dylan.”

Evidently, I do still have a heart because it speeds up at the mention of her name.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“It was her plan.” His voice becomes hoarse. “She tricked me. She tricked all of us, Jace.”

I’m not sure what he’s getting at, but Dylan is my best friend, so the need to defend her instinctively trumps whatever bullshit Tommy’s slinging.

I stomp on his leg. “Dylan didn’t trick anyone, motherfucker.”

“Yes, she did.” He lets out an ear-piercing scream when I twist the bat. “Fuck, man. I have no reason to lie to you. I have a little brother too, so I know how it works. If Liam killed himself because of something I did, I know I have no chance of getting out of these woods alive.” His breath leaves him in shallow pants. “But you might want to know the truth before you bash my skull in.”

The shithead has a point. I ease up on the pressure ever so slightly. “Start talking.”

His expression flickers with guilt. “I’ve had a crush on Dylan since seventh grade.”

I stop him right there. The last thing I need is to hear him go on and on about how much he wants her. “I’m not interested in your—”

“It’s important,” he insists. “It’s why things went down the way they did at the dance.”

I’m not following. “What did you liking Dylan have to do with you taking Liam to the closet to see us, or making fun of him in front of the entire school?”

“That was the plan.” He slaps the dirt with his palm “She wanted to get back at you for going to the dance with Britney.” He sucks in a sharp breath. “Let me back up. I approached her in the band room closet after I heard you asked Britney to the dance. I knew Dylan would be upset about it and I was hoping to use it to my advantage.”

I press down on the bat.

“Goddammit, Jace. I’m not done.”

“Then I suggest you talk quicker,” I grit through my teeth. “Because every word out of your mouth makes me want to rip off your nads and shove them down your throat.”

He blanches. “She told me how upset she was, and I suggested that she even the score by going to the dance with me.” He shrugs. “I’d hung out with her in the band room a few times after school by then, and our conversations…I thought I finally had a chance now that you were out of the way.”

My mind floats back to when Dylan mentioned she spoke with Tommy after class.

I ignore the weird feeling brewing in my gut. Shady people aren’t honest with their best friends.

Not to mention, she dared me to kiss her that day.

“Okay. Then what?”

“She turned me down. She said she was already going with someone and it would do a much better job of pissing you off. When I asked her who…she told me it was Liam.”

He’s lying. “Dylan wouldn’t do that.”

“I have no reason to lie to you, man. Not now.” He swallows hard. “Can I ask you something?”

Despite myself, I oblige. “What?”

“Did Dylan ever do or say anything that would make you believe she was into Liam?”

The look on my face must give away my answer because he says, “I’m not trying to be a dick, but why else would Dylan go to the dance with him?”

That thought churns painfully in my stomach. As much as I hate to admit it, there was a small part of me that briefly wondered if she went with Liam to dig at me.

But then I quickly realized how stupid that was, because no matter how angry she was with me, Dylan would never make Liam her pawn.

I figured Liam had finally decided to make his move and she was starting to come around to the idea of him.

Which made me even more of a terrible brother for kissing her.

Regret and remorse punch through my chest.

I convinced myself I was going out there to confront her in order to protect Liam, but seeing her so close with Tommy made my blood boil.