Soleil's P.O.V.
I walked in the house and Aunt Sarah wasted no time in bombarding me with questions. She was so nosy.
"So, who was your friend, Soleil? You two looked awful comfy," she said with a knowing look on her face.
"He's just a friend, Auntie. It's not a big deal."
"I don't know…that kiss looked like a pretty big deal."
"Well, you don't see my freaking out about it, so why are you?"
"Oh Soleil, you're so different from Jazzy. I guess I'm just not used to the way you work."
That made sense, I suppose.
"It's okay, Auntie. Jazmin and I just aren't how we used to be. I don't know what happened, but it's torn us apart. I keep to myself these days."
She nodded and began to walk away before turning back to face me again. "Oh, I almost forgot! Your mother called while you were at school. She mentioned something about your car. Perhaps you can give her a call to see what she wanted."
I shrugged and made my way upstairs to my room. I threw my bag on the floor and flopped down on the bed. Pulling out my phone, I scrolled through my contacts and stopped on my mom's number. I haven't talked to her in a while, so I was a little nervous to hear to her voice. I clicked her name and waited as the phone rang.
"Hello?" My mother's proper voice rang out.
"Uh, hi mom, Aunt Sarah told me you called earlier."
"Hello Soleil. How have you been?"
"I've been doing okay. I miss California." I made sure not to say that I missed them.
"Ah, speaking of California. I feel really bad about just sending you all the way out there the way we did, Soleil. I had your father send you the car today and it should arrive either tomorrow or the next day. Have you changed your mind at all about UCLA, honey?" She asked in a sugary tone.
So, that's what this was. She was hoping that by having daddy send the car that I would say yes to UCLA. As if.
"No mom, I haven't. Art is my passion; it's what I love to do. Why can't you just accept that?"
"Soleil, I want you to have a steady future and you just can't do that with an art degree!"
"And just what makes you an expert?! Do you have any close friends that I don't know of with an art degree?"
"No, I don't."
"Exactly, so what proof do you have to say that I can't have a stable life as an artist? I know plenty of people with a stable life who pursued their passion. Everyone knows that you're supposed to get a career doing something that you love instead of being miserable every day. I'm done with this conversation. Thanks for the car."
With that, I hung up on her. My mother was simply impossible. I don't know how I dealt with her all these years. I loved my mother she just…didn't understand me. There was a knock at the door and I opened it to see Jazmin.
"What do you want, Jazmin? I don't feel like dealing with you today," I said tiredly.
She raised her eyebrow and stepped in, closing the door behind her. I shook my head and sat back down on the bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling.
"Look Soleil, I know that I've been a bit of a bitch to you since you've been here-"
"A bit?" I scoffed.
"Okay, a huge bitch. I also noticed that you've been hanging out with Weird Will. I don't know if you know about him, but he's not right in the head, Leilei."
That was weird. I haven't heard that old nickname in years.
"Look, I know all about the rumor that was spread about him being a crack head and I can promise that he isn't. He told me the whole story today after school."
"Well, there's that, but that wasn't what I was talking about."
Huey's P.O.V.
I sat in my room, lying down on my bed and staring at the ceiling thinking about a certain mulato across the street. She had no idea what she was getting herself with William Matlack.
He was the equivalent of the dirt beneath my Jordans.
I guess I couldn't really blame her for not wanting to listen to me about him. I acted like a class A douchebag to her the last few days and it's not like she had any other friends here.
Honestly, I don't even know why they let him back into the school after what he did. You'd think it would've gotten more notice than it did, too.
Soleil was a beautiful girl; there was no doubt about that. I just hoped that I could save her before she got hurt. She challenges me in ways that Jazmin never could, but I knew how messy it would be if something were to happen between Soleil and I.
When did my life become a TV drama?
Jazmin's P.O.V.
I watched Soleil's face as I told her the whole story about Will and I actually felt bad. Call me a bitch, but I didn't want her here. Maybe the truth about her only friend would scare her back to California where she belonged.
"Soleil?"
"I don't believe you." She had sat up by now and had her head down and fists clenched at her sides.
"I'm telling the truth! You can ask anyone around here. I just don't want to see you hurt. You're still my cousin!"
"As if that meant anything to you before! Now that something is going right in my life, now that I finally have someone that I can talk to, you want to come and fuck it up! I refuse to believe that Will would do something like that."
"Stop being so stupid, Soleil! Your new 'friend' is a serial rapist! You can't be okay with that!"
"Of course I'm not okay with that! That's why I don't believe you. How do I know this isn't you making up some bullshit story so that I'll lose the only friend I have? I can't be friends with who you want apparently, and the one that I do make you want to get rid of him too? The world doesn't revolve around you, and it never will! Now, get out please."
I growled and stamped my angrily before leaving, slamming the door behind me.
I guess she'll learn the hard way.
Soleil's P.O.V.
"Well, there's that, but that isn't what I was talking about," Jazmin said, hesitantly.
I raised an eyebrow at her and motioned with my hand for her to go on. I wanted to see what else she could possibly come up to bad mouth Will.
"Well, go on. Say what you need to say."
"Look, William Matlack is a charmer. He's got that whole county boy charm going for him that us girls aren't used to here and he uses that to get that into girl's heads. He's even tried it on me, but I only have eyes for one person. Anyway, he charms girls and asks them out on dates, only to rape them at the end. One time, he slipped up and got caught by Manny Sanchez, one of the football players, and Manny beat his ass. He reported him and it was this big news story for a few days. I don't think that he's genuinely trying to be your friend. He hasn't bothered anyone until you showed up, and I'm worried."
Halfway through this story, I started shaking my head. I got angrier and angrier as it further went along. There was no way that this could be true.
"I don't believe you," I stated simply. By this time, I'd sat up.
"I'm telling the truth! You can ask anyone around here. I just don't want to see you hurt. You're still my cousin!" She yelled, throwing her arms in the air.
"As if that meant anything to you before! Now that something is going right in my life, now that I finally have someone that I can talk to, you want to come and fuck it up! I refuse to believe that Will would do something like that."
"Stop being so stupid, Soleil! Your new 'friend' is a serial rapist! You can't be okay with that!"
I didn't feel stupid, I felt insulted.
"Of course I'm not okay with that! That's why I don't believe you. How do I know this isn't making up some bullshit story so that I'll lose the only friend I have? I can't be friends with who you want apparently, and the one that I do make you want to get rid of him too? The world doesn't revolve around you, and it never will! Now, get out please." I pointed to the door and looked away from her. I couldn't stand to see her face at the moment.
She made a growling sound and stamped her foot before leaving, slamming the door behind her.
I lied back down on the bed and let the tears that were building up fall freely. Nothing is going how I wanted. This drama is exactly what I wanted to avoid. Now, I've gone and become friends with a potential rapist and still don't have a good relationship with my cousin.
I wiped my eyes and pulled my phone out of my pocket, scrolling down to Will's name. I typed up the message and took a deep breath before sending it.
We need to talk.