Semi-Edited!

*Little Warning: There is some strong language in this chapter. As well as bullying. I do not condone bullying. It is the worst thing and you should NEVER make fun of someone no matter what it is! 

Song above is....Broken by Jess Gylnne (thought it fit well later in the chapter) 

Happy Reading :)

When Monday came around I wasn't looking forward to school. After such a good weekend having to go back to the worst place and be called names, didn't sound appealing at all. I knew the moment I stepped through the front doors my good mood would disappear.

I hated how fast Sunday flew by. For some odd reason Sofia's Bookstore had a steady stream of costumers. While it was a good thing for the store and I was happy we were finally making more money, I had to cancel with Alex on picking up my car.

Since I ended up staying until closing time Helen was able to drive me home. Of course not without asking me what I did this past weekend. She kept glancing at my bruised knuckles but she thankfully kept clear of that subject. Although it didn't stop her from asking if I hung out with any boys. I was pretty sure my blushing gave me away but I ignored all her questions.

But now as I got out of Derek's truck and faced the school building I would have rather dealt with Helen's probing questions than be here. Even though I knew Alex didn't come to school until a bit later I still found myself searching the parking lot for him.

Of course I didn't find him but my eyes found someone else. Mitch. He was leaning against his car, his arm wrapped around Rebecca's waist as she leaned into him. Everyone was busy talking to each other but Mitch. He was staring right at me.

While Mitch wasn't glaring at me like he normally does, he still had a look on his face. He seemed too...calm. I didn't like calm Mitch. It meant he had something in mind and it was never a good thing.

Feeling a shiver run down my spine I quickly turned away, but not before seeing a smirk appear on Mitch's face.

Walking beside Olivia I tried to push Mitch to the back of my mind. Despite the sinking feeling in my stomach, I wasn't going to let Mitch ruin my day today; at least not anymore than he already has.

"I just did homework yesterday." Liv was in the middle of saying as we headed inside the building. "Which you can borrow if you need Riley." I just nodded along with her, not really hearing what she was saying.

For some reason the deeper we got into the building the worse the sinking in my stomach became. I wasn't sure why I had the sudden feeling that something was about to happen today.

So far nothing has. The usual amount of people were staring at me as I walked beside Olivia and Derek but that was about it. There was just this feeling I couldn't shake off.

"Riley?" Hearing my name I mentally shook my head at myself.

"Huh?" I looked over at Olivia, only to find her staring at me in concern.

"You okay? You spaced out there for a minute."

"Yeah I'm good." I waved her off. "Just tired, I had to work a double shift yesterday." That is probably the reason I was feeling off. Probably all in my head anyways.

"It was a fun weekend though!" I nodded my head agreeing. It was a fun weekend, well besides the whole getting felt up and punching someone. But it was nice spending time with friends on the weekend. It's been so long since I had that.

When the bell rang for first period we all said a quick bye and parted ways. I dragged my feet towards English, so not in the mood to be here. Monday's are always the worst. Thankfully English was my better subject, and all we were doing in class was reading Shakespeare; which was boring but not bad.

By time second period came around and I slid in the seat next to Olivia was feeling a bit better. I was still a little on edge but being around Liv's bubbly attitude made me feel better. I swear just being next to her you felt your mood instantly change. Liv was definitely the type of person you wanted to always be around.

However, not even Liv's good mood could made me like Calculus. The class period dragged on as Mr. Cannon went on and on about theorems and equations. When the bell finally rung I could feel a headache coming on from thinking too hard.

"That class is going to be the death of me." Liv groaned as we walked out of the classroom.

"Seriously." I groaned along with her. I was already dreading tonights homework. I was going to need to prepare myself for the splitting headache I would no doubt get tonight.

"Maybe we can get Derek to do it for us." Liv's grin turned mischievous.

"Don't you need to know math to be a doctor?" I laughed.

"Nope, I already checked. I've learned everything I need to know like freshman year; this is just extra torture." I laughed harder at her expression. But I whole heartily agreed.

"How about we hang out later and do the homework together?" Liv suggested a second later. Having someone else to suffer with would probably make it go by faster, so I nodded.

"Sure." I tried not to let my excitement come out. Having Liv voluntarily want to hang out with me meant more than she'll ever know.

"What are we agreeing on?" Derek's voice suddenly asked, appearing between the two of us and draping his arms across our shoulders.

"We're going to do our math homework together." Liv answered first.

"Oh a study date." I glanced up at him just in time to see him wiggle his eyebrows at us. The way he said it sounded so sexual.

"Really?" I scrunched my nose as Liv elbowed him in the ribs.

"I was kidding." Derek moaned. Liv looked around Derek's frame and sent me a look.

"You're so gross Dee." She shook her head at him.

"Not my fault you took it that way." Liv went to elbow him again but Derek quickly skipped ahead of us, avoiding her sharp elbow.

"Pig." She muttered under her breath but it held no anger. I doubt Olivia could ever be angry with Derek. "I'll see you at lunch." She said just as the warning bell rang.

Splitting ways I headed for government, yet another boring class but at least I had Derek in there with me. It's crazy how I had no idea that him or Liv were in any of my classes, same goes for Alex.

I was so stuck in my own bubble that I never paid any attention. I did know of Alex, Olivia, and Derek. It was hard not to considering the small ass town and that we've been going to school together for years. And then add in the fact that they were kind of the 'popular' group, along side Mitch and his clones of course.

I have always been just been...there. I wasn't anything special yet I wasn't picked on. All through middle school and even high school, until this past year, I've been in the middle. I had my own friends and I was happy with that. I didn't get involved in things and kept to myself. Which helped keep me away from Rebecca and her friends.

It was one of the reasons I knew nothing about Alex, Olivia and Derek. I definitely missed out by keeping my head down for so long.

Government passed by in the same fashion as Calculus did. Mr. Wittwear droned on about the Constitution but I thankfully at Derek to keep me entertained. It first started off with a piece of paper landing on my desk, that included a little drawing. Then it escalated to an intense game of hangman.

By time class ended Derek had yet to guess my sentence which was beyond hilarious. Every missed letter he'd throw his pen down and shake his head. He was just as fun to annoy as Alex.

"What the hell is the sentence?" He asked as I gathered my stuff.

"It's so simple." I shook my head at him. "It was 'mitochondria is part of a cell'." I held back a giggle at the expression on his face.

"I....you..." He seemed lost for words. With a wide grin I left the classroom, him slowly trailing behind me.

Skipping my locker the two of us headed towards the back of the school for lunch.

"You are so mean you know that." Derek finally spoke.

"I'm mean?"

"Who the hell writes 'mitochondria is part of a cell' in hangman?!"

"I do."

"We need to work on what you think is fun Riley. But don't worry you have the D-master to teach you young grasshopper."

"The D-master?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, everyone calls me that.

"No they don't, he just wishes they did." A new voice chimed in. Coming up beside us Alex sent me a smirk.

"For your information tons of people call me the D-Master."

"Like?" Alex fished. While Derek tried to come up with names of people, I glanced at Alex from the corner of my eye.

Today he was wearing a plain grey t-shirt but even though it was simple he made it look good. The grey made his eyes stand out even more. His blackish hair was in its usual messy yet done way, but a piece fell onto his forehead which made me itch to push it back.

I noticed his face looked a bit tanner today which was so not fair. Somehow he managed to get tan while all I got was a bright red sunburn on my shoulders and face. Thank god the red on my nose and cheeks disappeared but it only made the freckles on my nose more prominent. I was currently wearing a top that hid my pink shoulders from view.

I couldn't help but be jealous at how fast he got tan and how well he looked with it. Watch I'd probably look an orange Cheeto and we didn't need two of those in the world that's for sure.

"You know what, you and Riley are mean."

"Hey!" I argued.

"You aren't off the hook for what you did." Derek wagged his finger at me.

"What did you do?" Alex asked, looking down at me.

"I bet him in hangman during government." I rolled my eyes at Derek's childishness.

"Dude she put 'Mitochondria is part of a cell' as a sentence! Who the hell does that?"

"You said to do my hardest one!" I argued back.

"I meant something like 'Derek is so awesome', or 'Derek is the best person I know'."

"But that would be so stupid."

"You're stupid." Derek shot back at me. I gaped at him.

"You did not just call me stupid!"

"Yes I did." Derek pulled his shoulders back and sent me a triumphed smirk. "And I'll say it again, you're stupid."

"Alex! Derek is being mean to me." I whined. Seeing Derek's eyes widen it was my turn to smirk.

"I'm not getting involved in this." Alex shook his head at us and walked off towards the table. I had been too busy arguing with Derek to notice we were now outside at our lunch spot.

"Looks like I won this round Riley." Derek gloated.

"What? No you didn't." I started to protest. Derek didn't bother replying, his focus on fully on Liv who was walking towards us, her arms filled with bags.

"You guys better love me." Was the first thing that came out of her mouth as she neared us. When she set the multiple bags on the table my eyes went wide. Bags after bags of McDonalds was now sitting in front of us.

"Yes, food!" Derek cheered, immediately digging into a bag.

"Everyone gets some." Liv said, giving Derek a pointed look.

"Liv, why the food?" I asked.

"Why not?" She countered, taking a seat next to Derek. With my stomach growling I reluctantly took a seat next to Alex. I felt bad eating food that she bought but with a soft nudge from Alex I grabbed some chicken nuggets and fries.

"Mmm McDonalds." Derek moaned loudly. The way he did made a blush appear on my face. He sounded so sexual. It was like we were intruding on his own personal time.

"Dude save the noises for the bed room." I missed the look Alex sent Derek but when I did glance up I saw Derek rolling his eyes. Whatever Alex did shut Derek up though.

"So what should we do this weekend?" Derek asked a few minutes later.

"It's only Monday." I pointed out.

"So? Gives us a whole week to plan." He shrugged.

"Do you guys always do something on the weekends?"

"Yeah." Liv pipped in. "Even if its just hanging out at each others houses."

"So lets brain storm what we can do! Since Riley's new to the group we have to show her a good time."

"You know I'm fine just staying in right?" I didn't need to do anything elaborate in order to have fun.

"We can go hiking or something." Derek went on as if I didn't say anything.

"It's pointless to argue." Alex said next to me. Looking over at him I watched as his jaw moved as he chewed french fries. Something had to be wrong with me to find that oddly attractive. "They are still going to do whatever they want."

"I gathered as much." I looked back at Derek and Liv who were talking amongst each other and pointing at stuff on their phones.

"And you don't want to break Derek's heart do you?" The smirk teasing at the edges of his lips had me rolling my eyes.

"Yeah guilt tripping me won't work." I scoffed, biting into a french fry. I inwardly groaned. McDonalds had the best fries I tell you. "I can tell Derek no any time I want."

"Oh really?" Alex questioned, amused.

"Yep."

"Okay." He then nodded his head towards Derek, just in time for him to speak.

"Riley you down to go hiking this weekend?" Before I could even think my mouth was moving on its own.

"Sure why not." As soon as the words left my mouth I wanted to slap myself. Next to me I could practically feel Alex gearing up to tell me he told me so.

"Perfect." Derek grinned turning back to Liv who also grinned. How was I suppose to say no when he looked so damn excited?

"'I can tell Derek no any time I want'." Alex teased, throwing my words back at me.

"Oh shut it." I mumbled. When Alex starting laughing loudly I sent my elbow into his stomach. It did nothing but make him laugh harder.

While I tried to stay mad it was hard when hearing Alex laugh. He was definitely someone who didn't laugh too often so when he did you had to stop and admire it. Alex's laugh was a few octaves lower than his voice, making it kind of raspy but in a good way.

"What is he laughing about?" Liv asked, gesturing towards Alex, clearly having missed our conversation.

"Nothing, he's just being weird." I shot Alex a small glare hoping he wouldn't say anything. Thankfully before he could the bell rang for the end of lunch. With a satisfied smirk I gathered our empty bags and stood up.

"Hey Riley do you want to come over to mine later and do our homework together?" Olivia asked, as the four of us headed back inside.

"Sure!"

"Want to pick up your car first or after?" Alex pipped in. Remembering that my car was ready a grin appeared on my face. I never just how much I missed my car until I couldn't have it. I was definitely ready to start driving myself to and from school again.

"Lets pick it up first, then I'll head over to yours." I looked over at Liv to make sure that was okay.

"Sounds good to me."

"I can't tell you how excited I am to finally have my car back." I beamed.

Walking back into the hallway I was instantly hit with the feeling that something was wrong. The air in the hallway felt stifling and the further down we walked the more eyes were on us.

For a second I thought it was the usual because I was with Alex and his friends but it wasn't until every single person in the hallway stopped and stared. Not at Alex, Liv or Derek. No they were staring directly at me.

The girls were staring at me in disgust while some of the guys were smirking at me.

"Why is everyone staring?" I found myself whispering. The hallway was dead silent as the four of us came to a stop. At quick glance I saw the other three noticed what was going on but seemed just as confused as me.

With all the attention directed solely at me I felt myself shrinking backwards. Having almost the entire student body glaring at me was not a good sign. The last time this happened was when Mitch humiliated me in front of everyone.

As if my thoughts conjured him, Mitch suddenly stepped through the crowd straight ahead. Beside him his three best friends, Bret,Vik, and Rich, flanking his sides. The brutal smirk on his face made all the blood drain from my face.

This smirk was nothing like the one I've come to know that belongs to Alex. Alex's was more playful and teasing; Mitch's was not. No this was a cruel smirk that let you know he had something up his sleeve to ruin your life.

You would think everyone would see this smirk right now and finally see what he was like, but no. To them Mitch was in the right. He had every right to be cruel towards me. Towards the girl who broke his heart by sleeping with his three best friends. To them Mitch was a saint...always will be.

The closer he came the more I wanted to turn on my heel and run as far away as I could. Having Liv, Derek and Alex beside me helped a little bit but knowing they were about to witness something made dread fill my stomach.

There was no doubt in my mind that Mitch was about to ruin what little chance I had of happiness.

Mitch stopped a few feet in front of us, his gaze stuck fully on me.

"What is going on?" Alex's strong voice echoed around the silent hallway.

"Oh you don't know yet?" Mitch replied, amusement clear in his voice. As if right on cue my phone buzzed in my pocket along with the three of theirs. Just as I saw from the corner of my eye Liv and Derek reach for their phones, Rich handed Mitch a piece of paper.

It was only then did I notice everyone else was holding one as well as their phones. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest as the seconds went by.

From the corner of my eye I noticed Derek stiffen. Alex had yet to move, his back straight and his hard eyes staring right at Mitch.

"You're not going to check that Riley?" Mitch nodded his head towards everyone's phone. My hand didn't even try to go for my phone in my pocket. "It's okay I have a physical copy for you."

He threw the paper at me and it landed at my feet. Alex was the one to bend down, his enter body stiffening. For the first time since Mitch appeared I tore my gaze off of him to look at the piece of paper Alex held. Once I did my eyes instantly teared up.

In the picture you could clearly make out two people completely naked. The picture looked to be taken from outside a bedroom window. The guys face was slightly blurred but the girl on the other hand.

Nothing could compared to how I felt seeing MY face on the naked girl. It was pretty good quality photo as in you could see the outline of the girl and her face but blurry enough you couldn't make out anything else.

I knew it was photoshopped but whoever did it did a great job. Anyone would believe that was me. I felt like throwing up as I continued on staring at the photograph.

How could someone do this? Who could have done this? I should have known something like this was going to happen today. The moment I got out of Derek's truck I knew something was wrong. I should have listened to my gut when I noticed Mitch staring at me this morning.

"You know when this photo taken don't you Riley?" The way Mitch said my name made me flinch. "For those that don't that was a week before I found out and broke up with Riley." Mitch's voice raised so everyone in the hallway could hear us.

At the back of my mind I was wondering where the teachers were but I didn't give it much thought. My mind frozen.

"Busy fucking my friends behind my back it seems."

Each word made me flinch and cower back. I wanted to defend myself, to tell everyone it wasn't me in the photo but no words could come out of my closed throat. My throat was closing by the second, making it hard to breathe.

Tears pricked the corner of my eyes but I couldn't let them fall. Not here. Not in front of everyone.

"Should have been more careful Riley." The glint in his eyes let me know he knew exactly what he was doing to me. "Man to man I thought I'd warn you Kinley." Mitch finally looked away from me to Alex.

Alex next to me hadn't said a single thing yet and he stood completely still.

"She isn't someone you want to be with." Those words tore at my heart. In this moment I hated Mitch with my entire being. Instead of just talking to Alex privately, Mitch had to go and humiliate me once again in front of the entire school. Letting everyone hear every word he said. Making sure that I was standing next to the three people that were slowly starting to accept me.

After this they wouldn't. The picture looked too real to convince them otherwise. Derek and Olivia had yet to move; silent as night. And then Alex. He hasn't moved or even said a word.

"You don't want to be with someone so....loose." Mitch continued. I glanced up at Alex, a big part of me silently hoping he'll say something. Anything to stick up for me or to let me know he wasn't believing any of this.

My hope of him doing so was instantly crushed when he did nothing. Alex finally looked up from the photo to stare at Mitch. His face was unreadable and he didn't even once look at me.

It didn't take a genius to know he believed all of this. They all did. They really thought I was the girl in the picture having sex with one of Mitch's friends. With blurry eyes I looked around to find everyone looking at me in disgust, the air around me stifling with it.

My heart squeezed so hard in my chest I thought I was going to pass out. Just when I thought everyone was past this whole thing. That I may have found a group of friends. I should have known all of this was too good to be true.

Nothing could stop the tears from leaking from my eyes. The longer I stood there the more the walls closed in on me. I felt like I was suffocating. I couldn't be here any longer.

Out! Out! Out! I was inwardly screaming.

With one last look at a triumphed Mitch I shoved past Derek and Alex, running towards the school exit. There was no way in hell I could stay here any longer.

All I did was run. One second I was in the parking lot and the next running down the road, headed home. I could barely see a thing, tears blurring my vision. Sobs kept bursting free from my mouth.

My backpack banged against my back as I ran but nothing was going to stop me. The only place I wanted to be right now was in my bed. Away from everything and everyone.

The entire time I ran home all I could think about was that damn picture. I wasn't even sure where they got a picture like that but then to photoshop my face on it! Did Mitch really hate me that much to do something like this? How much more of my life did he need to ruin?

I wasn't entirely sure how far my house was from school but it definitely wasn't no two miles. I was a hundred percent sure I've never ran this far in my life, and by time I saw my house up ahead I felt like my legs were going to fall out from under me.

My breath was labored and sobbing was not helping. My hands were shaking so bad that unlocking my front door took longer than it should have. As soon as I got it open, I was slamming it shut behind me and running up the stairs. Now that I was home everything I was holding back was surfacing.The sobs I let out on the way here were nothing like the ones coming.

Only a second after I flung myself on my bed did my sobs come forward. As I sobbed my heart out I couldn't help but repeatedly ask myself, 'Why is all of this happening to me?'.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

An hour passed before my sobs finally settled down, leaving me laying there hiccuping. My eyes were red and swollen, my nose running making me sniffle every few seconds. I was definitely not a pretty crier.

I hadn't moved an inch since I got home and I didn't plan on it. I was going to stay in my bed for the rest of my life, that way I wouldn't have to see anyone ever again.

How was I suppose to even face anyone after today? Knowing that everyone now had 'proof' that I was some slut made it even worse. Before it was okay. I could ignore the remarks because they didn't know anything. Still don't. But with actual copies around campus! No one was going to forget about it any time soon that's for sure.

I knew the photo wasn't actually real and it wasn't my body but it almost felt like it was. Like how it must feel to have a nude passed around. That type of humiliation made me want to leave the country. I can't imagine what it would be like if it really was real.

The sound of my phone buzzing on the ground interrupted my hiccuping. It was probably the 20th time it's gone off in the last hour but I once again ignored it. It probably was some dumb ass group text with that photo and everyone was making comments about. How someone even got my phone number, or the whole schools, I have no idea.

I wasn't sure how long I ended up laying there staring out my bedroom window. All I knew was by time I forced myself out of my bed the sun looked to be setting. My tears were now all dried and my hiccuping gone. I now just felt numb.

I think a part of me was wishing all of this was a dream, well more like nightmare. That i'd just wake up in a bit and it would be time for school. Of course it wasn't and I'd be stupid to wish otherwise.

Getting in the shower seemed to take all my energy. I was exhausted emotionally and physically. This has been the longest school year so far and we were only in the beginning of November!

Sighing loudly I tilted my head back to let the water run down my face. With the water running down my face it almost felt like it was washing away all of today and the moment I step out everything would be fine. If only it was that simple.

I ended up staying in the shower until the warm water ran cold. All I did was stand there, my whole body numb expect my mind. My mind was going a million miles an hour and I could feel a headache coming, which in turn made me feel even worse.

I walked out of my bathroom wrapped in a towel just in time to hear my phone buzz again. Not wanting to talk to anyone I made my way over to it on the floor, ready to turn it off so I could stop hearing it buzz.

I was surprised to find 20 missed calls and texts from Olivia, a few missed class and text from Derek, and what really drew my attention was 5 missed calls from Alex as well as a few texts. All along the lines of...

'Where are you?'

'Call us back'

'Liv is really worried about you'

'Freckles'

'Freckles'

'Riley'

A huge part of me wanted to reply to Alex. To let him and the others know I was okay but then the image of Alex standing there not saying a word earlier popped into mind. I didn't need to see the judgement on his face or hear it in his voice. I wouldn't be able to handle the judgment from anyone.

All I really wanted to do was call my mom. To finally tell her everything that has happened and is going on. But I knew calling her would just make me feel even worse. I knew exactly how the conversation would go. I'd start to tell her only to get interrupted that she needed to go, then she'd hang up on me. Leaving me alone as usual.

With another sigh I turned off my phone, putting it over on my desk. Seeing a few past homework assignments laying out I remembered I left school early, ditching the rest of my classes. I didn't have it in me to feel bad about it, plus it was only two classes anyways.

I really needed to clear my head and I knew the perfect place to do so. Quickly sliding on some long PJ bottoms and one of my brothers old sweatshirts, I headed for my window. When Trent and I were younger we found out you could get on our roof through my window. We would play hide and seek, one of us always hiding up on the roof. We'd spend nights up here laying on blankets with food around us, gazing up at the stars.

It felt like ages since Trent and I did that. I never knew just how much I'd miss my older brother until he wasn't here. Before he went into the Marine's I thought I'd see him every other weekend when he went to college. If not I'd at least be able to see him on holidays and spring breaks. But it's been two years since I last saw him. Facetiming twice didn't count either.

It was times like these I hated that he enlisted. He should be home right now, not god knows where! I knew I was taking my anger out on my brother, but he wasn't here to vent to. And in a way it helped directing my anger at someone.

Climbing through my window I balanced on my window sill before jumping up a bit and heaving myself onto the roof. I sat down in the before spot where I could see down the street and the neighborhood. When it gets a bit darker I'll be able to see the stars clearly.

Being up here made me feel far away from everything. Like nothing could touch me up here. It was my own little happy place. A place I could spend hours sitting, despite school or the cold. It was that peaceful.

Running my hands over my pants my bruised hand caught my attention. It felt like years ago that I punched someone at a club, when it was in fact only three days. The pain in my hand secondary to what I was feeling at the moment.

My knuckles were turning and even uglier shade of purple and black, but it didn't hurt half as bad as it did the other day. I guess Alex was right about putting ice on it.

Once again Alex popped into mind. His face appearing in my head more and more recently. I wasn't quite sure I liked that I thought about him a lot. I was going to have to stop thinking about him, because I doubt I'd be hanging out with him again after this.

Sighing for the millionth time I pushed all thoughts of Alex out of my mind. I came out here to clear my head, not make it more confused with Alex in it.

* * * ** * * * * * * *

"Riley!"

The sound of my name being yelled made me sit up. I groaned at the feeling of the roof digging into my butt. I had been out on the roof for a good few hours now and my butt was starting to cramp from sitting for so long.

When my name was called again I moved to the edge of the roof, peering down. It was dark out now making it hard to see anything.

"Open the damn door freckles." Only one person called me that.

"Alex?" I called out, my voice raspy from crying so hard and not talking for a while. I was surprised yet confused as to why he was here.

"Riley?" I could kind of make out his figure as he moved around the front of the house.

"What are you doing here?" I yelled down at him.

"Where the hell are you?" He yelled back.

"On the roof. Now why are you here?" What the hell is he doing here?

"We need to talk."

I hated that. Everyone knew when someone says 'we need to talk' it is never good.

"No we don't. Just go home."

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" He asked, seemingly ignoring what I just said.

"Because I don't want to talk to anyone. Now please just go." I didn't want him here. I didn't want to do this all of this again. Hoping that maybe if I stop talking he'll leave, I moved back to my spot and laid down on my back. Fixing my gaze on the sky.

When I didn't hear Alex say anything else I took it to mean he left. Good. I thought. No it isn't, you are glad he came all the way here to check up on you. The other part of my conscious argued.

I was too busy arguing with myself to notice sounds coming from my bedroom. Not until a head suddenly popped up at the edge of the roof and spoke.

"You know you could fall right?" The sound of Alex's voice made me jump and let out a high pitch yell. I tried to calm my racing heart as Alex effortlessly lifted himself onto the roof. Slowly crawling his way towards me.

"How the hell did you get up here!?" I yelled, sitting up and glaring at him. Though I doubt he could tell with how dark it was out here.

"Your front door was unlocked. Which you should never do, you don't know who could walk right in." He chastised me. I rolled my eyes but I agreed with him. I was too busy crying to lock the door behind me earlier, not a smart decision.

"Yeah well that isn't an invitation to walk right in." I huffed.

"When you disappear for hours and not answer anyones calls, its warranted." I had nothing to say to that so instead I stared straight ahead.

Alex sat down next to me, close enough I could feel the warmth coming off of him but not close enough to crowd me. He sat there silently, staring out at the empty street. The stars our only company.

A few minutes passed in silence before I glanced at him, almost to see if he was really here right now.

"Why are you here?" I asked softly.

"Liv was really worried and threatened to call the cops so I decided to come over before she did."

"Oh." So he wasn't here because he himself was worried.

"And....I wanted to see if you were okay." I tried not to let hope flare in my chest but it was useless.

"I'm fine." I said but even it sounded fake to me.

"You are not fine." Alex called me out on it. "You can't be fine after that."

Even with my head facing straight I could feel his eyes on me, staring right at me as if he could see everything beneath the skin. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until he finally looked away from me.

Alex sat there quietly, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I could tell he was waiting for me to be the one to speak first. To let me talk about it when I wanted. And the weird part was I did want to tell him everything. To tell him what he just saw was not real, but I was scared.

He already thought of me one way. The way everyone has made me out to be. I had no clue what he was thinking half the time, his face usually a natural mask. So it was hard to know if he thought the same way as everyone else or if he didn't buy into it at all.

I would like to believe that these last few weeks has shown him I wasn't what everyone called me. That I didn't do the things that's been said I have. But what happened today further cemented the thoughts in everyone else's mind. Did it with his?

The longer we sat there the closer the words came to the tip of my tongue. What could it hurt telling him the truth. He either believes my side or he doesn't. And if he didn't believe me then it would just prove to me that I shouldn't be around him anymore.

"I didn't do it." I finally spoke, bringing my knees up to my chest.

"What?" Alex questioned next to me.

I couldn't bring myself to look at him as I spoke. I was nervous finally telling another person the truth, the full truth. A huge part of me afraid that once he heard it he'd call me a prude and leave.

"I didn't sleep with them." I hugged my knees tighter to my chest, almost as if it would guard my heart. "Everyone thinks I did but I didn't."

Alex stayed silent as I continued on speaking.

"It was that Saturday before when Mitch took me out to dinner. We were about to celebrate our five month anniversary, which in my mind was a big deal. The entire meal he acted strange but I brushed it off. He'd been acting weird for a bit and I thought it was because of football and the fact it was our final year; you know college and all that."

I shivered as images of that night flashed through my mind.

"When he brought me back home he came onto me. More so than before. He wanted to go further and kept hinting at going upstairs. I wasn't ready for that and when I told him he wouldn't listen. When he backed me against the wall I freaked out and kneed him right in the balls."

At the time I didn't know how else to stop him and I was afraid if I didn't he wouldn't stop. I remembered my brother telling me to knee a guy in the balls if I had no other chance to hit him, so I did.

"Mitch got pissed. So pissed." I whispered, my hand drifting towards my still bruised wrist. I remember the feeling of his hands gripping the stops of my arms so hard he left bruises. The next day and a few after that I had to wear long sleeve shirts to hide them.

It wasn't the first time in the last few weeks he'd gotten rough enough to leave bruises. The last month he got more rough. Mitch never flat out hit me but he'd grip me hard enough to leave bruises; on my thighs, arms, wrists, and even my waist.

It wasn't until that moment though that I felt truly afraid he'd hit me. The look in his eyes still made me shiver. He looked seconds away from hitting me right then. Even thinking of it sent a shiver down my spine.

"Anyways," I continued. "he left and when I showed up Monday morning to school he cornered me in the parking lot. In front of everyone came clean about a bet he had with his friends to get me to fall for him in five months. He lied that I slept with his friends, I guess payback for kneeing and not sleeping with him."

I squeezed my eyes shut as the memories played back in my mind. Still as painful as they were a few weeks ago.

"Of course everyone believed him, and now this fake photoshopped picture." I couldn't finish talking as my throat clogged up.

No. No more crying. I told myself.

I didn't dare look over at Alex, afraid to see his reaction. In a way it felt nice to get that off my chest. I didn't tell Olivia about how Mitch got a little abusive towards the end or what he did that night, so Alex was the first person to know.

A few more minutes passed of pure silence and when I couldn't take it anymore I finally looked over at Alex. He was already staring down at me. A look I couldn't place appeared on his face, and it actually made me slightly nervous What was he thinking about?

"Just so you know." Alex spoke for the first time in twenty minutes. "None of us believed that photo was real."

"You don't?" I squeak.

"It was one of the worst photoshopped pictures I've ever seen." He scoffed. "And don't worry, Noah got rid of all the virtual copies of the picture, and the janitor got rid of the paper copies."

"Noah did what?" I blinked up at him trying to decipher his words.

"He deleted all the copies from everyones phones." I gaped up at him, at a loss for words. One, how did Noah do that? Two, he would do that for me?

"I...how...thank you." I finally said. Alex just nodded, as if any of that wasn't a big deal. I wasn't sure what else to say. Alex always found a way to make me speechless.

I guess it was a good thing he came over. If not I'd be up here dreading the thought that him and everyone else believed what Mitch said earlier. And I was finally able to tell Alex the truth, to have know I wasn't like what the rumors said.

And to have him sitting here next to me meant more to me than he'll ever know. In just a matter of a few words Alex managed to ease my worries and make me feel better.

I laid back down, staring up at the stars, feeling lighter than I did earlier. Alex followed suit, his arm inches from mine. If I wanted I could intertwine our fingers. We stayed like that for a few minutes before I turned my head a little to gaze at the side of his face.

When I first met Alex I had the feeling he was going to turn my life upside down. Yet I never imagined I'd be sitting on my roof top next to him, feeling more at peace than I have since my brother left.

But what scared me the most was how easily I could feel myself becoming attached to Alex.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

...Do I need to go into hiding for taking so long to update? I'm sorry (again) for the late-ish update. I was suppose to write a lot while my parents went to Europe but then their entire trip went down the drain, and we ended up doing other things which kept me busy. And then this past weekend was Easter so busy with grandparents too. But no worries here I am!

I do want to tell you guys I have been waiting for this scene since before the book even started! I actually wrote that scene with them on the roof way before this book even came to mind. I remember sitting in a doctors office waiting for my mom and I wrote it down, promising myself I'd write it into a book. And now here we are! It's so cool how things work out.

I know every chapter I say this but I really do appreciate you guys. You are all so sweet and kind and understanding. I LOVE reading comments, reading the PM's you send me on here and social media. And now doing our Monday Questions its even better seeing your replies!! (quick thank you to those that sent cute date ideas to me, you guys really went hard at me! :D)

Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Hope the 8k words kind of made up for the lateness. As well as the Riley and Alex moment! I'm really loving this book so much! XD

LOVE YOU GUYS!

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-Ken

P.S If you follow me on Twitter or Insta (especially Twitter) I'm so sorry for the onslaught of Taylor Swift stuff :D I am so excited for her new song tonight and her outfits this week have been fire!