Chapter 30

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Jace's POV.

I sit in Peyton's living room with the guys. Everyone's drinking, except for me.

Peyton hands me a can of beer. I squint my eyes. "No, I'm good," I say. Peyton belts out a laugh. "You're a joke, Norman."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm serious? I don't feel like doing that," I say.

Sean and Corey look at me. Peyton sits back down. "Wow. Are you scared of shit after that whole Montgomery and Griffo situation?"

"I know you wouldn't be. But I'm different. I actually feel guilty for it, and I'm lucky as hell im not dead right now."

Peyton laughs. "You're so pathetic. You've lost all your guts-"

"It takes guts to do what I've done! All I'm saying is, I really don't want to mess up anymore. I want to fix my life. I've found something new that's really important to me, and I'm supposedly good at."

Peyton smirks. Sean and Corey watch us talk. "What about your relationships?" Peyton asks. "Us? Your BEST friends?"

"Peyton, you're a fucking dick to everyone! I don't need you. I have Anna. She's all I need."

Peyton jumps up. "You don't need me? I fucking protect you."

"You do? Fuck off, man. When have you ever?" I shout. Sean jumps back. I stand up.

"This is my life. I can choose who I want in it, and what I do in it. If I wanna make changes, getting you the fuck out of my life is number one," I spit. I turn and walk to the door. I grab it and pull it open. I walk out and let it slam.

***

I sit on my bed, scrolling through Instagram. There's a knock at my door.

"What?" I yell.

The door opens, Sean walks in. I glance up. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

He walks up to me. "Peyton's pissed at you," He says.

I shrug my shoulders. "Peyton's irrelevant to me."

He smiles. He crosses his arms. "I'm just wondering, are you mad at me and Corey?"

I look at him. "You stay out of shit. I like that. I'm not mad at you guys. You guys are good people. Good friends," I say. Sean nods. I look back at my phone. Sean walks over and sits on my bed.

"I'm sorry he's such a dick," He says.

I smirk. "Don't apologize for him, Sean."

"Well, I'm sorry you had to go through all that shit."

"It's over, man. Im moving on. I'm not fucking up anymore. Staying the fuck away from the gang is the best thing right now," I say.

"Are you still gonna hang with Corey and I?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Fuck, yeah? You guys are good people. I'm just tired of Peyton and his shit, okay?"

Sean nods. "I wasn't planning on staying. I gotta go," he says.

I nod. "We can hang out tomorrow. Anna's got a meeting after school," I say. Sean looks at me and nods. I watch him walk out of the room, and close the door. I put my phone down. I look up.

Flashbacks of the night at the warehouse run through my mind. The entire scene where Jack and Montgomery shot at the same time, just replays. It's like it's haunting me. It's like it's a sign.

Maybe I should've been the one guilty.

It wasn't accidental.

Nothing we do is.

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