"Lacey, where's Dylan?" Carlos asks me before he glances around. "I don't know and I don't care," I tell him. I wonder if the guys knew about Jacob cheating on me at Dylan's party. Do they think the same way about me and Jacob? Casey nods and takes my hand in hers. "Okay. Let's get out of here." It's barely going to be midnight when Casey and I get back to the apartment. I don't speak until we actually got inside. In the bathroom, I wash my face and watch the makeup disappear down the drain. When my face is fresh, I walk into my room and see Casey typing away at her phone. Probably texting Carlos to find out what happened. "You can wash your face, if you want to," I tell her. I want to delay the talk as much as I can. But she doesn't. "I want to talk first," she says, patting the spot next to her on my bed. "Tell me what happened." As I'm telling her everything I heard and everything Dylan and I said to each other, it all sounds so silly. Maybe I overreacted. It wasn't at all Dylan's fault that Jacob cheated on me. He didn't know me last year, so he wasn't intentionally hurting me when he offered a room to Jacob and Lauren. Casey doesn't express any emotion, even after I finish telling her. "I don't think," she says hesitantly, "Dylan was trying to hurt you." "I know," I nod. "But it still hurt to find out from Lauren first." Dylan's intentions might've been good, but he took too long to tell me what he knew. Casey casts her eyes away and seems to be thinking hard. "If Dylan is the one who offered the room to Jacob, why didn't Jacob tell you when he saw you getting close to Dylan? He clearly doesn't like Dylan, why not try to separate you guys with that?" The thought hadn't crossed my mind. Jacob easily could've revealed Dylan's part in all of it. Why didn't he? Did he not remember? "I think I have to talk to Jacob. I'll be officially done with him once I have this talk," I tell her. "I promise." She takes my hands and holds them. "All I want is for you to be happy. Seeing you with Dylan made me happy because you two are so right for each other." There's hesitation from her. "But?" I ask. "But, like you always tell me, you don't need a guy in your life to make you happy," she says. "If Dylan really cares about you, then he'll respect your decision to do your own thing for a little while. And if you do want to be with him, then I'm sure he'll be happy with that too." This is a lot to think about, especially about Dylan. Before I can make any decisions, I need to talk to Jacob. Jacob is wary when I text him on Sunday. He doesn't want to meet up with me at first, but I convince him that it's important for both of us and he finally agrees. We decide to meet at the food court in the mall. When I get there, I find a small table off to the side. I sit anxiously in my chair and people-watch while I wait for him to arrive. I'm dressed down for the occasion. This morning I threw on some denim skinny jeans, a loose t-shirt, and my old converse. Jacob, however, looks like he's ready for a business meeting. His brown hair is gelled up, for once. He also has on a light blue button up shirt that is rolled up to his elbows and a pair of navy dress pants. He's like a whole new person. "Before you make any comments," he holds a finger up as he sits across from me. "I had a job interview before this." A job? "Where are you applying? The secret service?" "Very funny," he gives me a dead pan look. "Anyway, what do you want to talk about?" I'm still stuck on the job part. Jacob's parents are well off money-wise. They always made sure he had his weekly allowance. Are they trying to humble him by making him get a job? "Wait, why are you getting a job anyway?" He shifts in his chair. "Well, my parents are divorcing and my dad is taking everything. My mom's job pays well, but only enough to cover certain things. I had to step up to help her." Is that why he missed class last week? "Jacob, I'm sorry," I find myself saying. "My dad is such a prick. He left my mom for some new chick who started working at the firm, then he left me and my mom with nothing," he practically spits. "After all my mom has done for him, you know?" I want to say karma is a bitch, but it won't make me feel any better. His mom doesn't deserve it. "I know what you want to say. Nothing like a taste of my own medicine, right? Maybe I deserve it, but my mom doesn't," he sighs. "You didn't deserve it either." "Which leads me to what I want to talk to you about," I say. "I saw Lauren at Dylan's party the other day." "You were there?" he asks, raising a brow. "For a little while. I overheard her say that Dylan offered you guys a room." He just nods before taking his glance away from me. "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him. "You saw me getting closer to Dylan, why didn't you tell me he played a part in all of this?" He puts his hands on his face and drags them down. "His part is tiny, Lace." I put my hands on the table. "You could've easily used that against him and you didn't." "I thought about it," he says. "It wasn't worth it, to be honest. You were already hurting from your parents, from me, and I didn't want to ruin something else for you. Plus, I've been hanging out with Lauren and, shit, I don't know—" "You actually like her," I say. "I fell for her last year, before the accident. I thought about leaving you, but then your parents..." he trails off like he can't even say it. "I couldn't break up with you." I'm processing his words. Everything I want to know, and don't want to know is coming out. It's relieving, but it's bringing back memories from those days after the accident. "I had her in a class and she knew you so we kind of bonded over that. I couldn't stop thinking about her," he hangs his head. "I felt bad because me and you had already been together for a while. I figured it was just a phase. I didn't think about her until we ran into each other at Dylan's party. We had a lot to drink and when Dylan offered us the room, we went for it."