Happy Wednesday, everyone! This chapter's going up a bit early because tomorrow's Thanksgiving and I definitely wouldn't have time to update it then. This chapter and the next one take place roughly around the same time (next chapter progresses time a tiny bit), so I'd just like you guys to keep that in mind. Anyway, hope you enjoy! ~Shaymie

Darcy's POV

"You seem a bit stressed, darling." Mari massaged my shoulders as I sat next to her on her bed. I shrugged. I had been taking a bunch of hours at work lately. I had thought that being a model would be easy. I got to wear cute clothes and be in magazines, and I got paid a bunch of money for it. It was my dream job. But it was more exhausting than I thought. I ended every day stiff and sore. And on top of that, I never got to spend time with Lori anymore. I could feel her slipping away more and more. I hoped that Alexander was watching over her like he said he would.

"I'm fine, Mari. I'm just… I can't help but worry about my sister." I grabbed my phone from a pillow and checked the time. It was past three in the morning. She was either asleep or banging her boyfriend. I hadn't talked to her in days. The rare times when I was home in time for dinner, she just ate upstairs with Alexander. She spent every waking moment with him, it seemed. I couldn't be mad at him, though. He loved her, I could tell. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Is your sister as cute as you?" Mari murmured, kissing my neck. She put her head on my shoulder and smiled. Her hair tickled me as she looked up at me. "Do you think she'd be interested in having a bit of fun?"

"Of course not! She's been fucked with enough."

"I'd love to see her again, though," Mari breathed, her hand creeping up my robe. My blood went cold. What the hell did she mean by that? "You last longer than she does, but she's louder. You and your sister are two of the sexiest girls I've been with."

"Mari, you… You can't be serious," I gasped out, pushing her away. She stared at me with a shit-eating grin, her eyes bright. She watched silently as I gathered my things and got dressed, throwing the stupid robe she had given to me back to her. How could I have done this? I should have trusted my instincts from the start. Her fucking name should have been a red flag. I should have known something was up when she had started asking about Lori more lately.

"James found her first, of course. They dated for a bit, and then he started cheating on her with me. But even when we were together, he wouldn't stop talking about her. He was threatening to leave me and go back with her. Not that it mattered much. She found us at his house one day. She was furious, of course, but… she couldn't stop staring at me. She kept muttering to herself that she didn't like girls, even while I fucked her-" I slapped Mari-no, Maria. I hated that lustful look in her eyes. I hated how happy she sounded to be talking about what she had done to Lori. She had to have known that what she'd done to her was wrong. Lori didn't want her. She hated her. She was terrified of her.

I stormed from the apartment, carrying my things underneath my arm. I used my free hand to scroll through the contacts on my phone. I needed somewhere to go for the night. I couldn't face Lori. She'd hate me. I hated me. She trusted me, and I betrayed her. How could I be so stupid? There was only one person I could go to that I knew wouldn't kill me.

That was over twelve hours ago. I had called Lori earlier. I didn't tell her everything, but I did tell her that I had broken up with Maria. I came up with some bullshit excuse. I couldn't tell her why I had broken up with her. It would kill her. I didn't think I'd be able to get the words out. She'd hate me, I knew it. I had been dating the bitch that abused her. I had been sleeping with her. I… I had fallen in love with her.

"Are you okay, Darcy?" I looked up at John and narrowed my eyes. Did I look fine? I hadn't gotten any sleep last night. When I had called him, I was surprised he actually answered. He didn't ask why I needed a place to stay for the night. He had just offered to pick me up. I wanted to refuse his offer, but I had been so tired I could barely walk in a straight line. I spent the entire car ride telling him everything. He didn't judge me. He didn't yell at me. He just… listened.

"How was Lori at school? Is she doing alright?"

"She's fine." John raised an eyebrow at my attempt to change the subject. "She said she's going to buy comfort food for you. Dar, you have to face her eventually."

"I'll tell her about Maria when you tell her about your crush."

"That's completely unrelated to this! Besides, I already told her… At my birthday party, remember? Mattie said I got really drunk and just blurted it out." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I didn't remember, considering the fact that I had been just as drunk as him. "Lori already knows. And she already rejected me. I'm over her now, anyway. She's happy with Alex."

"Bullshit, Laurens. You still love her." He was a terrible liar. I could see in his eyes that he still loved Lorin. I couldn't blame him. She was his best friend, the first person she had opened up to when she moved here. She was cute and smart and nice. Maybe even too nice. Too trusting. It was hard to protect her when she'd throw herself into things without a second thought.

John looked away from me and left. I sighed and went into the bathroom to take my makeup off, since I was still wearing it from last night. I glared at my reflection as I scrubbed my face. Was Maria only with me because I looked like my sister? Was she trying to use me to get to her? I didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Lori had been home on Halloween, when Maria and I were messing around in the living room. I should have broken up with her then, when she had admitted that she was only with me for the sex. I thought I could change her mind, make her love me

I punched the mirror in anger, ignoring the way the glass shattered and got stuck in my skin. I couldn't care less about that. I barely even felt it. I hated Maria. She played me like an idiot. If I had stayed with her any longer, she probably would have made me sleep with James, and that would have opened up another can of worms. From what I had heard of him, he was a possessive asshole who was obsessed with Lori. I was going to kill the both of them if I ever saw them.

"Stupid fucking asshole," I grumbled, picking glass out of my hand. John came running in, his eyes frantic. He sighed when he noticed the broken mirror. Maybe I shouldn't have done that… I'd give him the money to replace it. I had more than enough from my job. The only problem would be explaining it to his dad, who didn't even know I was here. I was lucky he wasn't here.

"What the hell, Darcy?" John asked, grabbing a first aid kit from underneath the sink. I let him grab my hand (the good one) and drag me into his room. I sat next to him and let him fix up my hand, wincing when he put disinfectant on it. He smiled apologetically and wrapped the bandage around my knuckles. I flexed my hand and sighed.

"You're good at that. Do you practice wrapping bandages or something?"

"Your sister's a klutz." He closed the first aid kit and set it aside. "Now, why the hell did you punch my bathroom mirror? I don't mind letting you stay here, but I don't condone random mirror violence."

"I got mad."

He hummed in response and pulled his leg up underneath him. That was more than enough of an answer. Everyone knew how terrible I was at controlling my temper. When Lori and I went to the same elementary school, she had to keep breaking up my fights. I couldn't help it, though. Everyone made fun of her just because she couldn't talk in front of them. I wasn't just going to let them do that.

I played with the edges of my hair as John started scribbling on the edges of his sneakers with a Sharpie. I reached for my phone, but remembered that it had died earlier, and I left the charger at Maria's apartment. I had used the last of the battery calling Lori. I knew she would probably be worried about me. I hadn't been home in at least a day, and the last time I had talked to her, I was crying.

My stomach rumbled, breaking the silence we had fallen into. I heard John laugh as he put the finishing touches on a swirl and capped the marker. I looked over at his shoe. He had drawn a bunch of intricate swirls all over the rubber part of his sneaker. Even when he was messing around, his art was beautiful. He got up from the bed and gestured for me to follow him, which I did. He knocked on Mattie's door as we passed it and opened it a crack. She was asleep, her headphones still in her ear and a book open in front of her. He closed the door silently and walked to the kitchen.

"I'm going to make hamburgers. Is that cool with you?"

"I'm fine with whatever. I'm the guest, after all." I jumped onto the counter and picked at my nails. They had been painted in autumn shades for a photoshoot, and I didn't want to take the polish off. It was too beautiful, and I had only a few more days to have them like this before everything switched to Christmas. I looked over at John, who was currently taking ingredients from the fridge.

"Why do people fall in love with people who aren't good for them?" I asked, tapping my nails on the counter. He looked up, his arms full of food, and frowned. "I mean, Mama fell in love with Lori's dad even though he was… awful. Just thinking of the shit he did to them pisses me off. I'm glad he's in jail. Then Lori fell in love with James, and he… Well, I don't know what he did to her. She hadn't even told me she was dating someone. She didn't tell me much of anything after… after the incident."

"I don't know what she saw in that asshole." John scoffed and put the ingredients on the kitchen island. "He's a pompous, rich asshole who thinks women are nothing more than sex objects. He's had like a million girlfriends, and all of them left town after they broke up with him. Most of them, at least."

"When did she start dating him?"

"A little bit after she got out of the hospital. She met him at one of Jefferson's parties. I don't know what exactly happened since I wasn't there. I didn't even know she had went to it until she called me while she was drunk and asked me to pick her up. She was a complete mess when I got there. I mean, her clothes were messed up and everything. So I have an idea of what happened. I just don't know if it was… consensual. She sounded terrified when she told me that she had met someone. And then she started dating him the day after."

John worked on the food as he talked, preparing the pan on the stove and forming the meat into patties. I frowned. From what Lafayette had told me, Lori had been a depressed mess when she had finally got out of the hospital. She hadn't felt like doing much of anything. Why, then, would she go to a party? More importantly, why wouldn't he have told me any of this? Had she asked him not to? The only reason I had gone back home after Lori got released from the hospital was because Lafayette had promised to keep me updated.

I glared at the countertop. I've been a terrible sister. Probably the shittiest one around. Lori's probably been suffering for so long, and I haven't done anything to help her. I just leave her to deal with it or expect someone else to help her. It's no wonder she doesn't come to me for advice anymore. She doesn't even talk to me anymore, and when she does I can tell she's just forcing a smile onto her face. There's a handful of people who've been more helpful than I have. They've been more of a family to her than I've been lately.

"I'm going to take a nap." I jumped down from the counter and went back to the guest room I was staying in. I cried for a good ten minutes before falling into a dreamless sleep.