"Oh, shit?" Rue rose her eyebrows as Alma walked her way, grinning like she'd been on top of the world. "Did you relapse?"

"No." Alma exhaled, falling into the chair. "Ethan is like Jesus."

Rue frowned her eyebrows, but didn't question it. Cassies louder clapping distracted the two anyways, looking on stage as she walked from the side, cutting Hallie and Marta's conversation off. "Lexi, you really out did yourself."

"Oh, shit." Alma blinked in shock.

Cassie laughed. "I mean, where did she find these knock-offs. I had no idea that my sister had this in her. Good luck, right. Isn't she brave? She's up here, unpacking all of her trauma. I had no idea how hard your life was, Lexi. Can we give a round of applause for how hard Lexi's life is?"

A few people from the crowd cheered and whistled. Cassie smiled. "I know they hack the beads off women in Afghanistan or whatever."

"That's racist!" a boy from the crowd called.

"Get off the stage!" Alma cupped her hands together to yell in her best man voice, turning around to look around when everyone turned back. "Oh my god, who said that, Rue?"

"God, it is nothing compared to living in my shadow." Cassie continued on.

"Yo, is this like apart of the play?" a boy asked from the crowd.

"Just drop a stage light on her." Alma mumbled with a stupid look. Rue hid a snort.

"I don't know." Cassie spoke, looking around toward the back. "Lexi, is this part of the play? Lexi? This is your show. Come out. You're the star of the play. You're the star of the night. She's always wanted to be the star."

Lexi tried to protest as Cassie drug her from behind the mirrors, the spot light on her again. "This is your big moment. Shine!"

"Please stop." Lexi begged her over and over in a whisper.

"I should stop? Me? I'm not the one putting on a play to humiliate and embarrass you!" Cassie shouted at her as Lexi began to protest. "Oh really? Then what is this?"

"Hi, everyone." Sur walked into the stage, Alma hid her face with her hand. "I'm Sue, i'm the girls moms in real life. Played by Ethan. Where is he? Ethan!"

Alma grinned as Ethan walked from behind one of the mirror with his rob, giving a shy wave as he accepted Sues hug with a kiss on the cheek. "He's gonna win an award!"

"Go Ethan!" Alma cheered as he walked back behind stage.

"I deserve this right?" Cassie laughed at Sue.

"Oh my god, please mom." Lexi begged her with a pleading look.

"Mom stop!" Cassie shrugged her off when Sue tried to pull her away.

"You stop it!" Sue scolded her.

"Lexi, i'm gonna fucking kill you!" Cassie threatened as the crowd gapped, Lexi hurrying away. "I deserve this, right? Because i've actually lived a life? I'm the one who takes risk? I'm the one that falls in love? I'm the one that gets hurt, not you, Lexi! You have never even fucking lived! That's why you're able to stand up here and judge all of us. You're just a fucking bystander."

"Right now-" Sue tried to remove Cassie again.

"Mom, stop!" she shoved her away as everyone started to boo Cassie. "Okay, if that makes me a villain, then so fucking be it. I can play the fucking villain. Lexi, is this the part of the play where I steal Jake from Marta?"

"No, Cassies, that not apart of the play." Lexi informed her.

"It is now." Maddy sasses from the crowd.

"Who said that?" Sue looked out.

"Look, I wanna say, I get it. I understand what you're going through, I lived it." Hallie walked forward to try and talk to Cassie.

"Wait, Hallie steals Martas boyfriend?" a voice asked from the crowd.

"I don't know how many times I have to say this. They were not fucking together." Cassie spoke bitterly toward the crowd.

"Yeah, not only that, but she was fucking him the entire time Marta was talking about getting back together with him!" Maddy called from the crowd again to inform everyone.

"Why?" the girl asked again.

"Because Hallies a two faces cunt!" Maddy said bitterly.

"I'm not the cunt, you're the cunt!" Cassie shouted from the stage.

"You're the fucking cunt, bitch!" Maddy yelled back as the crowd laughed and cheer, Sue trying to scold her language.

"Jesus fuck." Alma mumbled, squeezing the bridge of her nose.

Sue tried to yank Cassie off the stage again, getting shoved at once more as the blonde went on. "I'm not going home. The plays not over! Mom, this isn't fair! How can she do this?"

"3.25 for a grapefruit? What is this? Venezuela?" Luna walked onto the stage as the light hit her. The crowd laughed.

Lexi started to head off stage as Cassie yelled for her. "Lexi. Lexi, i'm gonna fucking kill you!"

"Enough. Enough." Sue tried again.

Carnival music started to play as Hallie was shown on a carousal. "Oh my god, yes! Oh, that's it! Oh, my god, I just love fucking everything!"

Cassie screamed loudly, attacking Hallie. "I'm gonna fucking kill you, get the fuck off of the horse!"

Ethan poked his head out from the side, giving Alma a panicked look as she tried to ask what she could do. Maddy rose from her chair, running toward the stage as Cassie began to fight Hallie. Kat and BB ran after her, Ethan hurried back behind stage.

"Get her, Maddy!" Alma yelled from the crowd. "Don't let the bitch ruin the play!"

Maddy attacked Cassie, smacking her across the face as the crowd cheered. Rue sat up. "Oh, fuck."

Alma hid a laugh as Maddy chased Cassie around the mirrors, Kat and BB chasing Maddy. Alma couldn't help but laugh, falling back in her chair and clapping her hands as the girls ran off the stage.

Sue laughed. "It's all make believe! It's all scripted! Can you believe this? My babies a genius. Close the curtain! Close the fucking curtain, now!"

"I'm having the absolute time of my life." Alma said honestly, pulling her phone out. "Ethan texted and said that...oh, hang on, not that next. Okay, he said that everyone is crowding up and trying to figure out what to do next."

Rue cleared her throat, looking around the confused crowd as she cupped her hands together. "Lexi! Lexi! Lexi!"

The crowd began to cheer with her, all chanting Lexi's name for her and clapping their hands together. It didn't take long for the brunette to walk into the stage, everyone cheering for her.

"Um, as you may have noticed, we're experiencing some technical difficulties." Lexi explained as she moved her hands around by her side. "Um, but seriously, I think we're gonna need a few minutes. Um, I just wanted to thank you all for being here. I didn't know any of that was gonna happen. Ugh, a little bit ago, I was talking to a friend about this play. And I asked him 'What if I upset people?' and he said to me 'Sometimes people need to get their feelings hurt.' Um, even though he couldn't be here with us tonight, this one's for you."

Everyone cheered again as Lexi took a small bow, walking off the stage.

Jade was on stage again, Rue took Almas hand. "My-my first thought was... 'This feels like a movie' I know a lot of people feel that way when traumatic things happen to them. At least, I-I hear that a lot. It didn't feel real, it felt like a movie. Uh, and this is it, this is the part where the character never recovers. The part where life takes them down, this is the- this is the scene that scares her forever."

It faded to Sue comforted Grace in her bed after revealing Jade had an over dose. Alma frowned, because knowing it was about Rue, apart of her felt like that could have been her, Like Ethan or Rue could have been Lexi.

Jade was back, holding her paper. "I watched you die.. and all I could think about was how it didn't feel real, The lights, the heavy boots of theEMT's and their respectful, quiet voices. 'Let's lift him on three' It was so quiet. I was numb. I didn't care. I wasn't feeling life in the way life was meant to felt, because I wasn't there, I wasn't present. I was just watching it. But that's not true. I do care. And what if- what if the reason it felt like a movie was because I wanted to believe that loosing you is apart of a larger story? One that maybe I can- one that maybe I can still shape. I remember a couple of day before you passed away, you told me that if I ever wanted to be with you, all I would have to do is close my eyes. And we'd be together. You said that.. memories exist outside of time, and have no beginning or end. You said as long as I life, you'll be with me forever. I miss you, Dad. I miss you until I close my eyes. That's it. Thank you."

Alma squeezed Rues hand, seeing her tears fall slightly as she squeezed Almas hand in return.

"I honestly can't believe we are actually about to do this." Ethan spoke, holding Almas hand as she drove to the address Tyler had given her. "Can't we go to jail?"

"No." Alma shook her head. "I don't- I don't think so."

Ethan laughed as he looked over at her, Alma returning it with a grin as she parked the car. "Maybe I should stay here. This guy could be an asshole."

Based on Ethan's makeup and tight pants, he was probably right. Alma nodded, unbuckling her seat belt. "Okay, i'll be back. Don't take off without me."

"I won't." be said with a grin, leaning over to kiss her quickly. "Okay, just for good luck."

Alma grinned, getting out of the car. She felt good, amazing even. Something about him, there was always something about Ethan that made her better. He made her a better person, he made her want to be better for not just herself, but for them as a pair. He'd been making a post about the play in the car as they spoke, and something about sharing something so secretive and something that she used to cope, it just made her feel good. Because Ethan was apart of her, he was her favorite part of her entire life.

No one came to the door when she knocked, Alma peaked through the windows. Ethan looked from the car as Alma looked around. "Oh my god, what is she doing?"

Alma snuck behind the house. "No, no, no. Get ba- she can't hear me."

Unbuckling his seat belt, he got out of the car.

Alma looked through the back windows, seeing the dog Tyler told her apart by the coffee table. It was clear he had a collar around his neck, his leash connected to the coffee table. His dad was no where in sight, the dog laying there alone without any access to the bathroom or food or water. "You mother fucker."

Alma twisted the door knob of the back door, it opened. No alarm system, just an unlocked door in a quiet house. When Ethan got to the back, all he saw with an open door. No Alma. "Why does she stress me out so much?"

Creeping into the house, he was carful not to make noise. Looking around the wall, he could see Alma unhooking the collar. "Alma."

She looked back with wide eyes. "Shhh."

"This will definitely put us in jail." Ethan whispered, helping her with the leash. "Aw, hey little man."

"He's so cute, right?" Alma smiled, staying alert as she lifted the dog up. "Okay, come on Fido."

Ethan grabbed Almas hand, leading her the way he came through. Alma paused. "Wait."

"What is it?" Ethan turned, watching as Alma leaned in close to a photo near a shelf. "Alma, we gotta go. Someone might be here."

"Oh, shit." Almas eyes widened, staring at the photo. "Ethan."

He shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" a all too familiar voice rung, making Alma stop. As she looked back, she found Maddy and a older looking guy in the pool, eyes set on her, "I know for a fact no one invited you."

"That's the guy." Alma confirmed, pointing to the blonde in the photo. "Holy fuck. Holy fuck."

"What guy?" Ethan looked confused. "Alma, we gotta get out of here."

"Tyler." Alma shook her head. "He was with Maddy in the pool. He told me that he was in jail for something he didn't do because some psycho high school guy framed him."

"Maddy isn't a high school guy." Ethan gave an odd look as he shut the door back, leading her back behind the house.

"No, but who is a psycho high school guy that would definitely frame someone because he fucked his girlfriend?" Alma shook her head. "Nate."

Ethan gapped. "Holy shit. Nate Jacobs."

"This is insane. He's Tyler, my Prison Pussy is the freaking guy from the pool. My mind is-" Alma began.

Ethan pulled Alma to hide behind the house when ambulances and cop cars speed past the house. He breathed out. "Shit, I thought they were after us."

"I wonder where they're going." Alma spoke, the two jogging back to the car. "Tonight has been the most insane night i've ever had."

"Yeah, me too." Ethan got into the car with a faint laugh. "Also the best night."

"Yeah." Alma smiled. "Because of us."

"Yeah." Ethan agreed, grinned as he looked at her. "Because of us."

Alma leaned over Fido to kiss Ethan again, he held her face for a second before pulling back. "Okay, take a picture of Fido so we can mail it to his dad."

•

kylie speaks

i can't believe it's over. i hate
my life ugh, i'm gonna not
only miss darlewis, BUT ALSO
ALMA BRO SHE MEANS SO
MUCH TO ME! the support
i've gotten on this book is so
surreal, i'm so greatful.
i remember when i first
published the book it didn't
do very good and then so many
of you showed up and made the
darlewis family so massive and
comforting. i've had so much
fun making season two and
getting to talk about serious
topics through a characters
everyone could find a little
bit if themselves in. i know you
guys were wanting some
reaction from alma about
ashtray but i didn't want to
ruin the happy and detective
vibe she had going on, and i wanted our last encounter to
end on a happy note until
season three...so it'll come in
season three. For now, i hope
you all know alma is always
here to open all of you with
open arms and comfort whenever you need to come
reread. i love you all and i'll
see you back for season three!