“I was out late,” I say, kinda freaked that Monika is in my room. It’s not like she’s never been in my room, but the entire day she’s been on my mind and I’ve been feeling stupidly depressed and weak. “You don’t have to cover your eyes anymore.”

She peeks through her fingers. “Okay. Sorry I barged in.” She tilts her head to the side, revealing a tiny crescent-shaped birthmark below her ear. “So I have to talk to someone, and Ashtyn is with Derek, and Bree, well, I love her but she’s kind of an airhead. To be honest, I need a guy’s opinion, and you’re the closest guy friend I have. I would’ve called, but you never answer your phone, and I know how you hate to text—”

“It’s cool.” I look around my room at the clothes and Gatorade bottles scattered on the floor.

“You’re a mess,” she says, surveying my room as she makes a path to the chair by my window.

I take in the sight of her honey-brown skin and chocolate-brown hair, a stark contrast to her light green eyes. Just the sight of her makes my heart race and my groin twitch like a freshman looking at some hot senior girl.

I play it cool, as always, and sit on the edge of my bed. “I thought Trey was takin’ you out.”

“Oh, he took me out all right.” She lets out a long, slow breath. “It ended up being the date from hell.”

I hate that a part of me actually loved hearing that. “Hell? Come on, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Oh, really? First of all,” she says, massaging her wrists as she talks. “We went to Wild Adventures. I hate roller coasters, but Trey wanted to get me over my fear of them, which was a bad idea. Then when I actually got on the damn thing called The Blitz, your boy ditched me.”

What the hell. “No he didn’t.”

“Yes he did.”

Usually Monika is understanding and calm, but there are these moments when she gets so passionate and hyped about something that she gets all animated. This is one of those times. It’s fun to watch her transition, like she’s giving herself permission to take her halo off. “And get this,” she adds. “Who do you think I was strapped into the death trap next to?”

“Hit me with it.”

She crosses her arms, making her boobs stand out even more than usual. Damn, this is torture.

I swear this is a test.

I suck at tests.

“The person you despise most in the world,” she says.

Only one person comes to mind. “Matthew Bonk?”

She nods.

Holy shit. That pendejo is my number-one enemy. “Damn.”

“I know, right?” she says, sitting forward in the chair. “He was smoking weed on the ride. Oh, and get this. He said some crazy shit about going to Fremont’s homecoming with your sister Dani.”

“Yeah right.” My sister doesn’t even know the guy.

“And you know what my boyfriend was doing the entire time I was forced to be strapped in next to Bonk? He was talking on his phone and never even got on the roller coaster.”

Trey is my elmero mero, the guy who’ll always have my back. I’ve got to admit it’s hard juggling my friendship with Trey and Monika, especially because of the feelings I have for her. I get Monika. I know what she likes and what she hates. But as she said, Trey is my boy—my teammate and best friend.

“Who was he talkin’ to?” I ask.

“He said his cousin Darius. Can you believe that? I mean, I wouldn’t be mad if it was an important call, but Darius? The guy who borrows money from Trey without any intention of ever paying him back? Darius doesn’t care that Trey is poor and doesn’t have money to throw away.”

Trey wouldn’t turn down anyone in need, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

It’s hard to have this conversation. It’s not like Monika and I never talk or hang out. We do. But she’s usually not bashing Trey.

“Maybe you should talk about this with Ashtyn or Bree,” I tell her.

“You know Trey the best, Vic. Have you noticed he’s been acting weird? He says it’s stress, but there’s more.”

“Like what?”

She shrugs, as if she’s not sure about anything. “I don’t want to tell you. I need you to talk to him.”

“He’s fine. Just cut him some slack.” I can’t relate to him when it comes to school and grades and stuff.

She frowns, completely defeated. “Can you at least talk to Trey and kinda maybe sorta check on him and see if something’s up?”