THE TRUTH

I couldn't find Noelle. I called her and texted her several times, and she had yet to respond. Giving up, I decided to investigate. Such a deja vu. I would find all the most sketchiest things about Daniel Kenton, the new guy, and spill it. I would do anything to kick that guy's ass out of this school.

To be honest, I had no idea how. I didn't have an idea where to start. I had no fucking idea. Maybe, if I was lucky, I could confront Ivy about all of this. Maybe I could get her to confess to using. That was highly impossible though. She would obviously deny. What if I had Noelle's help? She was friends with the ever-so-genius Ariana, and she was one of the most manipulative girls I knew.

I found myself storming over to Ivy's room, quickly knocking on the door. When she didn't answer, I opened it to find her practically binge drinking. She was obviously a hardcore drinker, because three empty beer bottles were sitting on her nightstand. She was working on the fourth one. However, she stopped immediately when she saw me. I noticed an empty box of pasteries sitting down on the floor, a spot of powder on the floor. Powdered donuts?

"Reed!" she blurted. Her jaw dropped so low it could have hit the floor. She placed the beer bottle on the desk and touched her hand to her mouth. "Oh my God," she whispered to herself.

I tossed my Hermes scarf down on the floor. It made me feel like it was cutting off my circulation. "What is going on?" I demanded.

"Can you close the door?" she asked, flicking her eyes to the door.

Okay, so she clearly wanted me to hear out her explanation. I turned around and closed the door. I turned around, seeing her placing something inside her handbag. I heard something shake in there.

I suddenly loved my alertness.

"What was that?" I immediately asked, looking at her bag.

"Nothing," she said, shrugging.

I grabbed her bag from the table.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, her eyes wide. She straightened up her posture.

I fished around and finally found an orange bottle of pills. My hand shook as I held it. Why was I so shocked? I had suspected this for a while, now. Why did it seem like this something new? "What is this, Ivy?" I murmured quietly.

She still wouldn't make eye contact with me.

"You lied to me. You lied to everybody!" I ranted. "We all thought you were going to be clean with the help of rehab, but that clearly isn't happening. Why, Ivy? Why do you think it's okay to do this?"

"I-after I found out I was pregnant, I didn't know what to do. I don't want to go to rehab," she protested, smoothing back her black hair.

Finally, I snapped. "Ivy, admit it! You're not pregnant!" I shouted.

There was a long moment of silence.

Ivy rubbed her temples and flicked on her second lamp light. "You caught me. I'm not."

"Why would you do this? Do you realize what you put us through?" I snapped.

"I lied because I knew Josh was going to leave me. I knew he wouldn't leave me when I was shot, but what about when I was going to recover? What would happen then?" she explained, her eyes desperate. I sat down on her bed. "So, I told him I was pregnant. I was with him at the time, and obvious assumption would mean Josh being the father, not Gage. Josh began to suspect he wasn't the father. We didn't even go far. I told him Gage was the father so I would have backup. That if Josh left me, Gage would be there for me."

"You used him?" I asked flatly. "It's a classic."

"Reed, I want to be in a relationship! Josh was the only one who truly loved me. Then everything happened, I mean for God's sake, he jumped in front of a gun to save you! I just wanted to keep us together. Maybe, if you can stay beside me. Motivate me to stop. I'll go to rehab. I'll stop."

Her eyes pleaded. Her voice cracked. She blinked back her tears and looked up at the ceiling. "Please, I really need your help. I want to pay Daniel back. I have the money. I just...what if he changes his mind? What if he decides to hurt me? You said you'd help me through this, Reed. Please."

I stared at Ivy. This girl changed so much since my departure to St. Barth's. What happened to that smart, vulnerable yet composed girl that I knew? She was an addict now. There was no stopping for a while.

I shook my head and threw the bottle down at her bed. "You're in this by yourself," I said. I walked out of the room and slammed the door shut. I stood there and thought, but I was completely distracted. All I heard were her muffled cries.

I speed-walked through the hallway and skimmed around for Daniel. Twenty minutes before classes started, and I still couldn't find him.

Five minutes later, I saw him talking with Gage and Hunter, laughing. He was loading his books into his leather, messenger bag and smiled at Hunter. Boy was actually attractive. If only he wasn't a crazy drug-dealer or a horrible driver. I stormed over.

"You stay away from Ivy," I said through my teeth. "Stay away from everybody. In fact, you should leave this school."

"Reed, what are you doing?" Gage asked, looking at me like I had two heads.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daniel said. He didn't look one bit nervous.

"Yes, you do. You are a liar. I will find a way to bring you down. You're not here because of school. I know why you're here, and I will tell the Dean what the truth is."

Daniel shoved me, making me bump into a freshman. Okay, this kid had serous anger management issues.

"Did you just-"

"Don't push her, man," Gage said, shoving him back.

Gage, being protective? Really? Okay, back to the point.

"Sorry," Daniel said, tugging on his messenger strap.

I glared at him. "You won't get away with this."

Daniel scoffed. "Reed Brennan, you're accusing me of something that I never did."

"Drug-dealing? I think it's safe for me to say that's the perfect accusation," I said, narrowing my eyes. I adjusted my scarf on my neck. "Step up to the plate, or I'll tell the Dean. I have evidence. Whatever you plan to do, don't bother."