“No,” Jenny shook her head defiantly, digging her nails into the tender skin of her forearms. “Fuck you, Shane.” She whispered into the wind. Her walk never faltered and she continued on, unaware of the slight traces of blood that her nails on her forearms had caused. Still … She felt nothing.

As Shane rounded the corner, she wasn’t surprised to see that Alice and Tina had taken it upon themselves to wait on her, their crossed arms and hardened expressions matching. ‘Just fucking great,’ Shane thought to herself. Not only had she disappointed and destroyed Jenny, but she was about to hear how much she had disappointed them as well.

“Just spare me, okay?” She said to Tina, who had been the first to open her mouth, wanting to speak, after Shane had stopped in front of them. “Have you seen her?”

“Yeah,” Tina answered. “We saw her. And she was in tears!”

“Don’t start, Tina, please.” Shane pleaded, borderline in sounding desperate. “I know I fucked up. And if I can find her, I’ll try to fix it.”

Alice watched Shane, unblinking and unfeeling. It was at the moment that Shane realized that neither of them was going to give her any kind of break, not that she could argue that she even deserved one.

“Can you fix this?” Alice asked, her arms still crossed.

“I can try.” Shane shrugged. “I have to try.” She paused. “Look, she’s forgiven me for Carmen, right? She’ll forgive me for this too. I know she will.” Shane nodded and forced herself to speak with optimism, more with the hope of convincing herself rather than the others.

The two girls looked at each other.

“I don’t know,” Alice spoke solemnly. “Carmen was slightly different. I mean, she didn’t actually walk up on you and Carmen now, did she?”

Shane sighed, running a hand through her hair. “No.”

“Look, Shane,” Tina began, taking a step toward her distraught friend. “I know your instincts are screaming for you to run after her, to find Jenny. But maybe you should just give her some time.”

Shane immediately began to shake her head, moving her hands to her hips as she started to pace. “No,” She said, not meeting Tina’s gaze. Her jaw tightened and then loosened before she repeated herself, “No.”