“Damn it, do you always have to be where my brother is?” she snapped at me and I flinched.

“Nash is here?” I asked, trying not to panic and rush outside immediately. I knew his family owned the club, but I hadn't assumed...

I should have fucking known.

Emely was swearing something I didn't understand.

I forgot about Nash for a second and looked at the girl I'd never managed to get through to. Not in middle school, and not when I'd been with her brother.

“Why don't you like me?” I dared to ask for the first time. “I've never done anything to you.”

She looked at me for a moment, and I detected the usual tension with which she went about her daily life.

“You changed my brother.”

I stared at her, speechless.

What she said was true. But did she know the whole truth? Had Nash ever told her what kind of point he had found himself in back then?

“And I'll never forgive you for that,” she added. Then she turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

And now, Nash was back in my head.

I had a choice. I could be reasonable and leave the club or...

“Mady!” a voice squeaked loudly and I spun around.

Kelly Hepburn was standing behind me. One of the girls Vivienna spent her time with. She seemed like she had been drinking a lot, because her pink devil horns were sitting at a strange angle, and she almost tripped over a guy, but just managed to hold on to my shoulders. I eyed the pink sparkly dress, which definitely stood out amongst all the dark costumes and if Nash was really around, he would have spotted me by now at the latest.

“Vi!” Kelly yelled loudly back behind her, and the two other girls turned to me. “I found the Sunshine Girl!”

I sighed, because the fact that Kelly was talking to me at all was only due to the alcohol.

I was expecting anything when Vivienna in her white angel of death costume and Amber in her black one approached me...and forced myself to smile.

The two of them hated me as much as everyone else since the Nash thing, but right now they seemed changed.

I knew appearances were deceptive, at least with Amber, because her smile disappeared within seconds and was replaced by the usual suspicious look.

“Mady,” Vivienna chirped in surprise. “You? At a club?”

She seemed to have forgotten all the parties we'd had together at my house when my parents and Ezra had been on a weekend trip.

“Where are your friends?” Amber asked in a suspicious tone before sipping her drink. She looked down at me like something was wrong, and I knew she wanted to turn away.

“Amber, don't be like that... It's Halloween.” Vivienna came to me unexpectedly and pulled me under her arm as if nothing had ever changed between us. “And we should all have fun, right?”

Kelly giggled with excitement and Vivienna smiled at me.

How much had they drunk already?

“We've reserved a VIP area!” Vivienna yelled to me over the loud music. “Feel invited!”

I felt like I was in the wrong movie. Vivienna had spent the last few years judging me for my relationship with Nash, just like Grace. Now she wanted me to celebrate with her?

Before I could say anything, the girls had already dragged me up the wide staircase.

In the corner of my eye, I recognized Amber tipping back her drink, cursing. She was definitely not in the mood for me.

Once upstairs, Vivienna led me to a white leather-upholstered seating area with a table full of drinks in the middle. Vivienna held two bottles out to me.

“Champagne? Wine? Or something harder?”

She reached for a bottle of gin, and I held my breath. She still knew what I liked to drink.

However, I put my hands up. “I shouldn't...”

“Nonsense,” Vivienna snapped at me, and I winced. “Sit down.” She simply pushed me down, and I watched, overwhelmed, as the other girls sat down too. “Here.” Vivienna handed me a cup. “Try this.”

I smelled the mix and knew with my first breath that I wouldn't be driving after that.

“The Copelands are over there,” Vivienna snorted, having just sat down and crossed both legs.

I looked up, startled, and glanced around until I spotted Hunter and the other guys in an even bigger seating area. But Nash was nowhere to be seen.

“Don't worry, your ex-boyfriend isn't here,” Vivienna laughed and Kelly giggled, only to empty another cup of champagne. Amber snatched the cup from her hand, annoyed, and Kelly continued to giggle.

“We used to be good friends, but you dumped us for that scum over there.”

I looked at Vivienna.

Discomfort spread through me.

Did she want to talk to me about the Copelands? Make the same accusations as Grace? I had never dumped her. If it had been up to me, we'd all be friends now. But the girls never wanted to hear anything about that. In their eyes, I was the traitor.

“We want to know if you mean it,” Vivienna continued. “Whether you've really broken up with him.”

I looked at her at a loss for words. Did she seriously want to talk to me about Nash?

Vivienna stood up and refilled my cup, which I hadn't even drunk from yet.

Something told me I had definitely ended up in the wrong place. Vivienna and I would never have the same friendship again. Not if she didn't get away from this Copeland issue.

“I better go now...” I used the cup as an excuse. “I still have to drive.”

Vivienna pulled me back into the back. “My driver can take you.”

“Mia's waiting for me...” I tried again, but this time Amber interrupted me.