Darleen POV

There is always going to be doubt in the back of my head. Is she lying to me? Am I being fooled again? How long before she screws up again? How long before I say enough is enough? If I break her heart will she go down an even darker path?

What if she can't take it?

These are the fears and doubts that come with dating an emotionally unstable person. Not that I blame her, her life has been a real shit show. Her family is much worse than mine. The fact that she's survived this long is a feat in and of itself.

"Everyone ready?" the chaperone asks.

Today I'm going on a school trip to LA to get a sneak peek of some movie sets and behind-the-scenes stuff. It's part of my school's internship program. A bunch of us interested In film and production are here scouting out the job opportunities and what the internship will entail. 

What exactly is the internship?

If I land the internship I'll be working closely with some Hollywood producers to see what it takes to become a well-renowned director and film producer.

"All good here," I say after doing a final head count and making sure we all have our bags and emergency supplies just in case. Part of my responsibilities as appointed student leader on this trip. 

It's just a weekend trip but you never know.

I left Lexi alone at home, which worries me. Sure it's been two weeks since her last use and yes she went through the worst of her withdrawal but I still have that lingering doubt.

What if this was a mistake?

What if leaving her alone was a bad call?

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road." He taps the bus wall and takes his seat.

The bus rumbles to life and we are off.

It was only at the three-hour mark in the drive that I realized, hey I would be close to Skylar and Jade. Maybe I should go visit them. Heck, maybe I'll even catch Jade when she's at work on set. It's been so long since I've seen them or talked to them. I wonder if they still have the same number.

"So, know anyone famous?" One of the guys in the film club, also competing with me to land this internship asks.

"Sure do," I say.

He frowns.

"You?"

"Do you really?" he asks.

"Yep."

"Who?" someone asks from behind me.

"Jade Tate, we grew up together. Went to the same school and were pretty close friends."

"No way, you know Jade Tate, she's like all anyone talks about these days." A girl across the aisle said.

"Yep, that's Jade for you."

"Prove it," the guy says.

"Alright settle down everyone. Come on, back to your seats."

The is a collective groan before everyone moves back to their seats.

I don't really care about seeing Jade, for some reason I just really want to talk to Skylar. To tell her everything. Tell her she was right. I've never been able to open up to anyone the way I opened up to her. She just has a disarming effect on people I guess.

I pull out my phone and scroll to her number.

My finger hovers over the button, eventually, I build up the courage to text her.

A simple, 'hey.'

An hour passes before I see that she read the text and starts typing.

'Hey'. Is her reply.

I don't know why but I find myself smiling.

'I'm going to be in town, maybe we can meet up'

'maybe' she responds.

'You okay?'

'no.'

'what's wrong?'

'can I ask you something?'

'of course.'

'...'

'?'

'Never mind.'

'Skylar whatever it is you can tell me.'

'see you when you get here.' Was her last text to me.

I frown and stare at the screen for another hour before we finally arrive at the hotel.

"Welcome to the resort," Skylar says, she works at the front desk.

"Hey, was this fate or what?" I walk over to her.

She has a brief look of panic on her face before she smiles at me.

"Relax, I'm over the past. Don't tell me you forgot all about me Wifey." I tease.

There is this warm loving smile that spreads on her face that always had a way of stabbing me right in the heart. I think Skylar might always be the girl that got away for me. Even though we aren't together anymore, a piece of my heart will always belong to her.

"Hey," she says.

"I didn't know you worked here," I say.

"Just something to pass the time and build up my resume. Jade doesn't like me working, but I think I might go mad sitting in that house all day long."

"How is Jade?" I ask.

"She's... Jade." She forces a nervous laugh.

"Holy crap you really do know Jade," the guy says.

I roll my eyes.

"Wait that's Jade's girlfriend!" A girl gasp.

"Oh shit, it is!"

Soon everyone is gossiping.

"Look what you did," Skylar sighs.

"My bad," I laugh.

"Alright everyone, settle down. This is LA we are talking about. Don't be so surprised when you see celebrities walking around doing everyday activities. Remember they are people just like us."

The gossiping quiets down.

"Anyway, here's your room keys. I can escort you to the rooms." Skylar says.

"Wonderful," our chaperone says.

"JJ, take over the desk," Skylar calls to a guy who was checking his social media on the computer.

"K," he waves her off.

Skylar rolls her eyes and grabs a handful of card keys and gives us a small tour, showing us the computer labs, the pool, the spa area, the buffet area, and lastly the bar and workout room before showing us to our rooms.

I purposely go last wanting a moment alone with her.

"Here's your key, I saved the best for last." She winks at me.

"Why thank you," I smirk.

I unlock the room and walk in, Skylar is about to walk away.

"Hey, let's chat real quick," I say.

She hesitates.

"Come on, how long has it been? Years?"

"I should get back to work," she doesn't look at me.

"Wifey," I pout.

She smirks at the nickname.

"Please, for me."

"Fine, only cause it's you." she rolls her eyes and walks into the room.

"So what's up? You okay?" I set my bags on the dresser.

She's silent for a moment.

"Skylar?"

"How are you?" she changes the subject.

"Uh... okay I guess. I'm in a rough patch but you just have to stay strong right?"

"Right..." she looks down.

"Hey, come on, tell me what's wrong." I grab her hands in mine and sit down on the bed, making her sit next to me.

"I don't know..." her voice shakes.

"What do you mean?"

"When you cheated on Aphrodite... no let me rephrase that. Why did you cheat on Aphrodite?"

"Skylar I told you I'm over that. I don't care we fought."

"It's not about that, please just answer the question."

"Why?"

She doesn't meet my eyes and I feel her squeeze my hand. Then it clicks. Holy fuck, she's cheating on Jade. I don't think I would have ever expected that in a million years. My eyes go wide and for a moment I'm stunned speechless.

"Forget it, I should go." She quickly jumps up to leave.

"Hey," I grab her arm stopping her from leaving.

"It's okay, I won't tell her," I say.

She looks at me with such pain and turmoil that I feel my heart ache for her. She just starts crying. I sigh and pull her into my arms.

"I'm a horrible person," she wails into me.

"No, you're not."

"I'm such a hypocrite."

"Shh,"

"I don't know what to do." She sobs.

"Hey, it's okay," I assure her.

"But it's not okay. None of this is okay."

"Tell me about it, from the beginning," I say.

So she does. She tells me about Jade always going off and doing her own thing. About how fame has changed Jade. She tells me about a girl named Vida she met at school, about how they are practically best friends. She tells me about the slow build-up, how she cracked and let it happen. How it's been going on for about two weeks. How she's too scared to tell Jade.

"Aye, aye, aye. You are certainly in it deep." I sigh.

"Tell me what to do." She whimpers.

"I think you already know what to do," I say.

"How did that work out for you? Do you regret leaving Aphrodite?"

Ouch, right to the tinder area.

I avert my gaze.

"Darleen?"

"I don't know," I say honestly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't know at the moment. At the time I was sure I made the right choice but these days I don't know anymore. I guess you can say I'm having my own troubles. I can't really answer that right now."

"So you have regrets then."

I shrug.

"Gee thanks, that makes me feel a whole lot better," she says sarcastically.

"Hey, you'll figure it out." I place my hand on top of hers.

"How did it get like this? What happened to the days when everything was just so easy?" she asks.

"I've been asking myself that a lot lately," I admit.

"Ever wish you could go back and just start all over? Do it right this time?"

"What would you do differently?" I ask.

"I'd stay away from Jade."

"Yeah right, someone as helpless as you would just fall in love with her all over again." I snort in amusement.

"No. not if I fell for someone else first." She says.

I look at her in confusion.

She just smiles sweetly at me before getting up.

"See you later, I have to get back to work. Maybe we can hang out again later." She says.

I feel my cheeks heat up once it clicks to me what she is saying. If she fell in love with me first instead of Jade...

Where would we be right now?

What if Skylar and I had stayed together?

"Skylar wait," I call before she leaves.

She turns to me.

"If I could go back and change one thing, do something different, I'd tell myself to stop being a coward. I'd confess how I felt about you sooner. You were one of the best things that ever happened to me." I admit.

Her own cheeks heat up.

"Thanks, beasty." She says before leaving.

I smile after her.

That girl really is something else. I may have doubted a lot of things, but I never doubted how much of an amazing girl she is. Maybe we weren't meant to be, but for me, she'll always be the one that got away.

Always.