On pills you didn’t force down his throat.
I should have been there to stop him.
He wasn’t your responsibility. He was a grown-ass man who chose to mix his drugs. That shouldn’t be on you.
If anyone’s to blame, it’s the guy who gave Atlas those pills.
We never did find that out. The police investigation into the whole thing was useless. They put it down to reckless partying and did barely any follow-up. We were all too shell-shocked and devastated to push for anything, and it all got swept under the carpet.
It seems too late to action anything now, and what good will it do? It won’t bring Atlas back.
But it might stop the person from giving drugs to someone else?
I frown, rubbing my forehead.
I never usually let myself sit in these kinds of thoughts. I don’t want to tarnish Atlas in any way. He’s my best friend. He?—
Glancing left, I look at Zander, smiling at something Wily just said, then laughing when Grady adds a witty one-liner. I’m only tuning in now, so I don’t really know what they’re talking about.
But these guys right here… they’re my best friends now.
Because Atlas OD’d.
Atlas was reckless.
Atlas left Dani and me.
A hot rush of anger fires through me. I never usually let it. I’ve been clamping down that emotion for years, throwing it on myself instead. Hating myself for not being there for him. But what abouthim? He wouldn’t have been thinking about me and Dani, the consequences of his actions as he downed more drinks and swallowed those drugs.
He may not have meant to kill himself, but he did.
He left us.
“I have the right to move on.” The words pop out of me, and it’s not until Zander glances my way and says, “What?” that I realize I even said them aloud.
“Huh?” I turn to him.
“What are you talking about?” His eyebrows wrinkle. “What do you mean, you’re moving on?”
I blow out a breath, then feel Grady’s fingers grip my shoulder. “You do have a right to move on. To be happy. It’s okay to fall for Dani, you know?”
“Oooo.” Wily laughs. “You getting hardcore feels for Dani? When did this happen?”
“They’ve been going on all those dates. It was bound to happen.” Zander grins. “I’m happy for you, man.”
“Yeah.” I nod, letting myself smile. “She’s awesome.”
“She’s hot,” Wily agrees.
I throw a frown over my shoulder.
“What? She is!” He looks to Grady for backup. “I’m not saying she’s as pretty as my Satch.”
“She’s definitely not as gorgeous Blake,” Grady mumbles.
“Hey!” I snap. “She’s a fucking queen.” Scowling into the back seat, I point between them. “And she’s stunning. Every inch of her.”
Zander snickers, pulling into the stadium parking lot. “All of our women are beautiful. We don’t need to be getting into an argument about this.” Braking, he cuts the engine and eyeballs me. “Now, what’s this about ‘every inch of her’? Did you two get it on last night?”
