Hurricane Love

Fifty

'Yeah, I don't think he has many friends left,' I said.

'Is that sympathy I hear?' Abbie asked.

'No,' I replied. 'But I guess I'll always feel that tiny bit responsible for everything that he did. We broke his heart.'

'Amelia, you had broken up with him, you didn't cheat on him,' she reminded me.

'Yes, but Ryker was still his best friend,' I told her. 'He still loved me and he ended up losing us both.'

'It doesn't excuse the terrible things he did,' she said.

'I don't know,' I mumbled.

'Why are you talking like that?' she asked me. 'You're not going to forgive him, are you?'

'Ryker has done a lot of terrible things too,' I said.

'But not to you,' she replied. 'Yes, he was a prick when you guys first met but even before anything happened, he still cared for you. He admitted that. Even in the old days he would never have done anything to you like what Mason almost did. Look at what he did for you at the party when those guys got you high. He was even going to leave town to protect you!'

'I know,' I said, realising that it was completely ridiculous of me to even compare Ryker and Mason. It was totally different. 'I'm just being stupid.'

'You have nothing to feel guilty about,' Abbie said.

'Okay, change the subject and distract my mind,' I told her.

'Okay,' she laughed. 'Well, I guess I should tell you that, this morning I received an acceptance letter for Weston College.'

'Wait, what?' I responded, arching my brow. 'I've never even heard you mention Weston College!'

'I know,' she chuckled. 'Because I always planned to move down to Durham and do my A-Levels there to help me get into Durham University easier but I realised I'm not ready to move that far just yet and I want some more time with my best friend in my hometown.'

'So, you're not leaving next year?' I asked, my whole body tensing up in excitement.

'No,' she laughed. 'I'll go to Weston, which is obviously just outside of town, so I can live at home. It's a really reputable college and once I do my A-Levels then I'll hopefully do well enough to still make it into Durham.'

'Of course you will!' I squealed, clutching her hand tightly. 'Im just so excited that you're staying in Richmond for another two years, I wasn't ready to lose you!'

'I wasn't ready to leave you!' she replied, as we gripped onto each other's hands still. 'Now I can be here to kick Ryker's arse when he fucks up.'

'Oh, that is music to my ears,' I laughed. 'Who else would I have ran to to rant about him?'

'My thoughts exactly!' she cried. 'The idea of you and Cassie becoming new besties and you going to her for everything made me sad.'

'I hope you didn't just stay for that!' I responded, sternly. 'No one could ever replace you!'

'I know, I know,' she chuckled. 'But no, I stayed because I love my life here and I'm not quite ready to leave it yet.'

'I am so happy,' I said, smiling at her. 'At least I'll still have you here to help me with my assignments for my first two years of the apprenticeship!'

'Oh, that's all I'm good for?' she joked. 'Seriously though, I think you'll do just fine on your own but I'm here to lend a hand always.'

'Love you,' I giggled.