Ocean Springs, Mississippi - A friend of Nolan Wells is revealing more about what happened with the late teen's phone leading up to his untimely death over the July 4 weekend.

Days after Wells' family revealed the results of their independent autopsy, a friend of the teen who died after a Fourth of July boat outing to Horn Island is speaking out.

In an interview with conservative commentator Brandon Tatum that dropped via YouTube on Saturday, Tracestin Shepherd claimed through various stories to have a close friendship with Wells: "I never wanted to take away how close somebody else was with Nolan, but Nolan was my best friend. That was a guy I knew I could call at any point in time," Shepherd explained.

Shepherd claimed to have been with Wells all day on July 4 before leaving on a boat with his uncle after getting into an altercation with another group. Others have claimed that Wells opted to stay behind when those in his group left, which his parents have refuted as uncharacteristic of their 18-year-old son.

"But Wells's friend is still plagued by guilt for leaving early, wondering if staying could have saved his life.

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“I beat myself up every night I lay down. I beat myself up anytime it crosses my mind. Because in my head, if I wasn’t drinking, if I didn’t get into that altercation, maybe I would be able to do something. Maybe I would have known or saw something,” Shepherd said in the interview.

Wells mysteriously disappeared after a Fourth of July party on Horn Island off the Mississippi Coast. He was found dead on July 6.

The independent autopsy called for by his parents and the family's attorney, Ben Crump, found "red discoloration" on the soft tissue of the back of Wells' head, which Crump called "significant."

Still, the cause of death could not be determined, as Wells' body was significantly decomposed by the time the private autopsy was performed on July 10, and parts of his body were removed during the initial official autopsy.

But there's one thing Shepherd doesn't regret: telling Wells that he loved him: “The last thing I told Nolan was, ‘All right, buddy. I love you. See you later.'"

"I’m glad I said it. I had been under the influence a little bit, and that’s probably why I did say it at the time, just, you know, getting all lovey-dovey. But I’m at peace," Shepherd said.