Bella:
"How could you?" I asked Hazel, causing the smile on her face to fall.
Did she think I wouldn't notice that she was trying to play me? But what did I expect from someone who was solely in love with Sebastian?
"What are you talking about, Bella?" she questioned, glancing at the triplets whose faces were devoid of smiles. Then she made her way towards us.
"What is the meaning of this, Hazel?" Ryder asked in a vile tone, holding out his phone. She gasped, placing a hand over her mouth, then dipped her hand into her bag, grabbing her diary and flipping through the pages.
"Bella, I swear I didn't do that, and I would never do anything to hurt you, please. Look..." She flipped through her diary to find where she had written it, and her eyes narrowed. "This cannot be right."
"Gimme that!" Finn snatched the book from her, and it matched the blog.
Wait a minute, I thought, trying to think beyond the tears as I got to my feet and took the book from them. I examined it thoroughly and noticed tiny pieces of paper lodged in between, signifying that a page had been torn.
"Sebastian!" I gritted my teeth and placed my hand on my forehead, wondering what would have happened if I had wrongly blamed Hazel.
How could I fall for this scheme again? This was unbelievable.
"She is telling the truth, but Fae and Sebastian are at it again. We have to find him and put an end to this madness." "What do you mean, Sebastian?" she asked, and I shook my head, walking away. I didn't want to be the one to break it to her. Kai grabbed her shoulder.
"I do not know how to put this to you, but your boyfriend is evil," he said, and her eyes widened in shock. "He was Bella's ex-boyfriend, and you are just caught up in a revenge plot."
She scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. She was about to speak when I looked her in the eyes. "Sebastian is evil, and you do not love him." She blinked and repeated my words. "Sebastian is evil, and I do not love him."
After she said this, our phones beeped again. We checked to see another blast from the diaries.
"Rumor has it that our queen has a gory secret lurking from the past, so grab your popcorn, as we will be putting on a show soon."
The triplets glanced at me, and I swallowed hard. They left the room at once without waiting for Hazel and I. Hazel and I raced after them, trying to catch up, but we found ourselves panting behind them. They wheeled their car towards us, allowing us to get in.
"Sebastian is in school, so where are we going?" Hazel questioned.
"He won't get beaten properly on school property." Kai replied, gripping the steering wheel hard.
"And you are going to call him to meet you close to my apartment," Ryder, who was on my left, tilted his head towards me to speak to Hazel, who was on my right.
She nodded and took out her phone, making the call.
**
We pulled up a street before the apartment and waited in the car while Hazel stood in front of a store on the street. When we spotted Sebastian's car pull up, Ryder molded his hands into fists. I reached out for him.
"You have to be patient." He released his fists, and we waited until Sebastian got out. He walked to Hazel, kissing her face briefly. They walked into the store, and we got out of the car.
We walked to an alley close to the store with the triplets leaning against the wall with their arms crossed. I placed a call to Hazel, who walked out of the store with Sebastian. Ryder grabbed his collar at once, pulling him towards him.
"Hey keypad boy!" He pushed him, releasing his grip, which made him lose footing. He staggered backward, crashing into Finn, who grabbed his shoulder.
Before Sebastian could fully turn to face Finn, Finn's fist met his face, giving him a swift but hard jab which relocated his nose, causing him to stagger backward, landing on Kai, who pushed him to the ground. They circled him, causing him to crawl backward on his butt until he grazed his back on a dumpster.
They stood in front of him with hardened expressions while Sebastian turned to Hazel, who chuckled.
"You think I would be caught in your stupid revenge plot? Think again, dumpster boy!" She dumped the soda in her hand on his head, and the triplets chuckled while I stared at him, speechless.
Kai kicked him in the belly, and the others joined, kicking him multiple times while he stayed there, helpless. He deserved a beating, but they were taking it too far, so I had to step in.
"Stop, please, please!" I yelled, and they all came to a halt, glancing at me with furrowed brows.
"Why? You belong to us, and he hurt you, so why should we?" Ryder asked, kicking him low again. I grabbed his hand.
"You are going to kill him! Look at him!" I yelled, straining the veins in my neck, causing Ryder to sigh.
Finn crouched in front of him. "Count yourself lucky because she is generous enough. Otherwise, that promise of being sent back in a body bag would have been fulfilled today."
"And this should serve as a warning to your girlfriend, Fae. We might not beat girls, but our girlfriend can, and we will be there to watch."
Sebastian broke out into abrupt laughter after Kai said this, and Finn grabbed him hard by the collar. "What the hell is funny?"
He shook his head and continued laughing.
"Look how entangled she has the three of you, and you have no clue what you are dealing with here." He paused. "Oh, please stop!" He mimicked my voice, causing me to grit my teeth.
"Bastard!" I muttered.
"Yes, yes, Bella, I am a bastard. Why don't you show them there is a cold-blooded monster beneath you?" he said, and I punched him square in the face, causing him to laugh harder. "If I were you, I would watch my back," he said.
Finn banged his back against the dumpster, getting to his feet, while I turned around and left at once.
**
The ride to Ryder's apartment was silent, and as soon as we were inside, everyone turned towards me, causing me to take a deep breath.
"Bella, you have to tell us what Sebastian has against you, because that is the only way we can help you, please." When Hazel said this, I sought her eyes for the words she said to me at the auditorium. Then I shook my head, walking to the living room to sit on a couch.
"It's kind of getting tiring, Bella, and we keep going back and forth," Ryder said, and I glanced at him.
"How are we supposed to protect you if we don't know what we are protecting you from?" Finn took my gaze off Ryder.
"I do not need..."
"This isn't about what you need or not, it is our duty." Kai cut me off, and I stared at the four of them simultaneously with my heart racing. "Bella, we all have terrible pasts, and you have forgiven us, and whatever it is, I am sure it is not that bad."
When he said this, my entire body began to shake as I envisioned Bonnie's dead body. Tears streamed down my eyes, causing Hazel to sit close to me. She pulled me into a hug, and I rested my head on her shoulder. The warmth it gave me served as a beacon of hope, giving me a bit of rest, and increasing the voice, which was tired of bearing the burden of the secret.
Without warning, I said the words, "I killed my best friend."