𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚡

My eyes scan my appearance in the mirror, glancing over the beautiful navy dress hugging my body. My light brown hair is actually curled for once, and heels are placed on my feet.

I haven't looked this dressed up for something exciting since Hunter's lacrosse charity event his senior year of high school.

Feeling a pit in my stomach, I slowly turn around and stare at my opened closet door. My heels click along my floor as I move across the room.

I dig through the racks, ultimately finding the light pink dress I wore that night. I rub my lips together and take the soft material off of the hanger.

It still smells like the perfume I covered myself in. My eyes squeeze shut as the memories flood my brain.

"Wow, this place is very elegant." My mother beams from ear to ear as we step through the doors of the catering hall.

"Well, they wouldn't have it at a shitty venue." My father chuckles while shaking his head.

"Yeah, after all, it is for charity." Hunter says with a laugh.

I turn to look back at him, he looks handsome in his suit and tie. My mother forced him to dress his best, stating that a polo and khakis wouldn't cut it.

"Is this one of those events where they bid off the players for a date?" I tease, glancing up at him.

"No, but that would be pretty cool. You can finally buy Chase." He smirks.

"Hunt!" I hit his arm, causing him to laugh.

"Don't try to convince me you don't have a crush on him, because I know that you do."

I haven't mentioned my crush for his friend yet. I didn't want Hunter making it a big deal when it wasn't anything serious.

"Just lower your voice, your friends will be here tonight." I whisper.

"Honey, stop teasing your sister." My mother notices my nervous expression.

"But teasing her is hilarious." He sends me a tortured smile.

"Don't bring anything up, please." I warn him.

"Did you wear that pink dress hoping to impress him?" He eyes me up and down.

"Shut up!" I whisper shout.

The four of us enter the room and are immediately met with a sea of people. There's a DJ playing music and raffles set up on wooden tables.

"There he is! The man of the hour!" Dave shouts from across the room.

He is also on the lacrosse team with Hunter. Kyle and Chase rush over to us with grins on their faces. They say hello to my parents, greeting them with warm smiles.

"Hey, Hope. Nice dress." Dave politely says. Hunter has been friends with these guys since second grade. The four of them are super close, I assume they'll be like that forever.

"Thank you." I send him a grin.

"Yeah, doesn't she look great?" Hunter nudges me, mostly looking at Chase.

"Yeah, she does." The blonde hair boy quickly glances at me before scanning over the crowd.

The one little compliment sends an excited chill down my spine. Wow, Chase Alexander noticed me in my dress.

"Come on, let's try to convince the bartender to sneak vodka into our shirley temple's." Kyle smirks while patting Hunter's chest.

"You coming, Hope?" My brother looks back at me.

"No, I'm going to sit with mom and dad." I glance at my parents sitting down at a table.

"Are you sure? You should hang out with us." A frown takes over his face.

"All of the seniors will think you're weird hanging out with a freshman."

"But you're my sister, it doesn't matter."

"Hunt, you coming?" Kyle calls out from across the room.

"Hope?" My brother presses.

"Uh, go a head." I say and walk to the table with my parents.

Hunter sighs and goes over to his friends. I watch them have fun from the sidelines, just like always.

"I haven't seen that dress in awhile." My mother's voice appears in the doorway.

I slightly jump from her presence. "You startled me."

"Sorry." She says while taking the pink dress out of my hand. "You looked beautiful that night."

"It was just a charity event." I shrug my shoulders.

"Hunter loved this on you. We all did." She lowly whispers. Hearing her say his name feels foreign.

"I haven't worn it since." I mutter.

"That was a good night. Hunter and his friends were the life of that dance floor. I miss those boys."

My body cringes at the thought of Kyle, Chase, and Dave. Now that my suspicion of them being involved with Hunter's death is true, I will never be able to view them the same.

"So, hot date with Grayson tonight?" She looks at the navy dress that is hugging my body.

"Yes, and thanks for not grounding me about what happened the other day." I bite my lower lip.

"You act as if I haven't stayed out all night with a boy. I was young and in love once, too. Where is he taking you?"

"We're going to a fancy restaurant downtown." I tell her.

"You seem extremely happy, sweetheart. I thought the accident would set you back, but it broke you out of your shell." She says while sending me a soft grin.

"It's all Grayson. He brings out a more lively side to me." I admit, getting excited just thinking of him.

"What are you going to do when he leaves for New Jersey in a few weeks?" Of course she would bring that up.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go with him." I blurt out.

"Go with him?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Maybe I'll apply to colleges there." I simply shrug.

"In Jersey?"

"Yes." I clear my throat. "I thought you would be jumping with joy at this information. You wanted me to go out and experience life, and now I finally am."

"I think it's a good idea, but it's too late to apply anywhere now. Maybe you can go next semester."

"We'll see." I mumble.

The doorbell rings, and I couldn't be more thrilled. My mother looks back at me, unsure what to say next.

"Grayson's here." I state the obvious. Grabbing my purse, I sling it over my shoulder and walk past my mother, heading for the steps.

"Please be careful, Hope." She calls after me. "If you need anything, give me a call. I'll be working in the garden."

I freeze for a moment, thinking back to that pink dress. "Mom?" I turn my head to look at her.

"Yes?" She furrows her eyebrows.

"Kyle is the reason Hunter is dead. Whether you want to believe that or not." I say just above a whisper, before opening the door and quickly stepping outside.

"Woah, is everything okay?" Grayson takes a step back once I'm abruptly presented to him.

"Yeah, fine." I say while wrapping my arms around him, embracing him in a hug.

"What's wrong, H?" He whispers while pulling his body away from me.

"I told my mother that Kyle is the reason Hunter is dead." I say, walking down my driveway to the rental car.

"Wait, what?" Grayson's eyes widen.

"Can we make a pit stop before the restaurant? I need to get closure once and for all." I say while getting into the passenger side.

"Of course. Where to?" He gets into the driver's seat and places his hands on the steering wheel.

"482 Rainer Avenue." I give him the address and he wastes no time heading toward the location.

"Hope, what's going on? Are you okay?" Grayson's voice is worried.

"I think it's time to get justice for Hunter. It's what he wanted and I was reminded of his friends before. I feel like it's time."

"We're going to Kyle's house, aren't we?" He raises an eyebrow up.

"Yes. I'm sorry if this is setting back our date-"

"It's fine, don't worry about the date. Your list of adventures will still be there no matter what."

"Thank you, Grayson." I smile, looking back at him. He's wearing a white button down shirt with jeans. Of course he looks handsome.

"Like what you see?" He asks, catching me staring at him.

"I like looking at my boyfriend." I can't help but giggle.

"You dragged me into the car so fast I couldn't even compliment you. You look beautiful, as always." A blush sweeps through his cheeks.

"Thank you." I lean across the console to kiss his cheek.

When we finally arrive at our destination, my heart begins to pound heavily inside my hollow chest. Turning the engine off, Grayson moves his head to look at me.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I don't trust this asshole." He nervously gulps.

I turn back to the house, remembering all the times I came with my mother to pick Hunter up before he had a license.

"I'm sure." I say, opening the door. A low gust of wind blows through my hair as I begin to walk up the driveway. Grayson is by my side, making me feel better.

I build up the courage to ring the doorbell, and suddenly my vision blurs. I'm nervous and not sure what to expect exactly.

When the oak wood door swings open, and Kyle's face is in front of me, I feel frozen. His shocked expression is one that you can't mask.

"Hope? What are you doing here?" His pupils dilate as he looks between Grayson and I.

"I came here to talk to you." I speak up, looking into his eyes.

"Me? Why?"

"Babe, who's at the door?" A female voice calls from the distance. My stomach turns when Aubrey appears next to her boyfriend. "Oh my god, Hope. You're okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just came here to speak to Kyle." I clear my throat.

"Woah, Myers is at the door?" Chase's familiar voice gets closer, and before I can even blink, both him and Dave are completing the gang.

"Hope, how have you been? We heard about the accident." Dave eyes me up and down.

"I'm fine, we both are." I gesture towards Grayson, who keeps a stone expression on his face.

"I'm glad to hear that. You made a miraculous recovery." Aubrey slowly nods, still acting stunned to see me.

"Yeah, last we heard you weren't going to make it." Chase mutters.

"Well, what can I do for you?" Kyle says, opening the door a little. Do I want to go inside? Maybe I should say my peace and leave before it gets worse.

"Well, I-"

"We felt terrible about the accident, it was awful to hear." Dave interrupts me.

"Which one?" I blurt out.

"Which one what?" Chase crosses his arms over his chest.

"Which accident are you talking about? The car accident, or the boat accident?"

All four of their expressions drop, they're stammering to find words. Kyle keeps a poker face as he raises an eyebrow up.

"What are you talking about, Myers?" He harshly questions.

"I know Hunter's accident wasn't really an accident. He didn't slip off the boat. The police reports and news broadcasts are all wrong." I exhale a sharp breath.

"What are you saying?" Chase nervously asks, glaring at Kyle.

Tears prick my eyes as I look deeply into Kyle's cold ones. His straight face is irking me. "I know that you pushed him, Kyle." My hoarse voice lowly reveals the truth out loud.

"Oh my gosh." Aubrey lowly gasps, tears filling her hazel eyes.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Kyle finally manages to speak.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. If you never put your hands on my brother, your friend, he would have still been alive. You can try to run from it all you want, but the truth always comes out." I say between my sobs.

"Do you know what you're accusing me of?" He lies straight to my face.

"It's not an accusation. It's a fact. I know what you did and I refuse to let you get away with it. It's going to be a year in a few days. My family deserves justice for your shitty actions."

"How do you-"

"It doesn't matter how, what matters is that I know what you did. You let a girl get in the way of your friendship with my brother, and your jealousy turned to hatred mixed with alcohol. You didn't mean to push him, you didn't think he was standing close enough to the edge. You didn't think the loud sound of his skull cracking was serious. But you did what you did, and your blood is on his hands." My shaky voice manages to get out.

"Shut the fuck up." He snaps at me.

Grayson immediately takes a step in front of me, blocking Kyle from getting any closer. "Take another step toward her, and you'll regret it."

My eyes move to Aubrey, Chase and Dave. All three of them are speechless. Aubrey has tears staining her rosy cheeks.

"You guys covered it up because he forced you to keep quiet. You're just as much to blame." I gulp.

"Hope, I'm so sorry." The blacked haired girl finally breaks down.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll speak the truth." I say before walking away from the door. I need to get away from them.

"Wait." I hear Dave call out, but I'm already in the passenger seat of the rental car.

Grayson gives them one last glare before hopping behind the wheel and driving off. "Are you okay?" He softly speaks.

"I'm fine." I say, feeling tears stream down my cheeks.

"It's okay not to be." He reminds me.

I turn my head to look at him, feeling my heart bursting with love. "I really appreciate you being here with me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He gives me his award winning smile, and suddenly my heart is soft and mushy. All thanks to Grayson Dolan.