Falling Apart

Chapter 3

                Jace gave me one of his infamous smirks, once again. “Reina, I think it’s about time you meet my new calculus tutor.”

                Reina’s eyes went wide as she let out a gasp. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked me, clamping a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. “Oh my God, I actually feel bad for you! Jace has to be the most uncooperative piece of shit, ever!”

                Jace was obviously not expecting his sister to turn against him, letting out a groan. I, on the other hand, chuckled, not worrying about the fact that Jace was sending me murderous glares. He was probably going come an hour late for our tutoring session on Monday just to get back at me for blandly laughing directly to his face. “Funny, Reina.” Jace spat at his sister, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Anyways, I came up here to tell you that Ryan’s coming with us to get lunch after this.”

                Reina immediately seemed alarmed, her eyes snapping up to her brother’s. “What?” she shrieked. “He can’t come!”

                Jace didn’t seem to have a care in the world, shrugging. “Why the fuck not?”

                “I told Lana to meet us outside the pizza place across the street from here. Do you even know how fucking annoying Lana gets when she’s around your stupid friend?” Reina’s eyes darkened dangerously. Reina began to mimic her friend, Lana’s, actions. “Oh, Ryan’s hair is so silky! I swear his abs are about to rip out of his shirt! Oh, I wish I could pour chocolate syrup all over that God given body!  Like bitch, I really don’t give a fuck!”

                Jace rolled his eyes. “What’s your point?” he asked, tapping away on the phone that he seemed to always be glued to. “I don’t care.”

                “And the award for the shittiest brother goes to,” I cut in between the two sibling’s argument, letting out a drum roll, “Jace Wasson!”

                Reina snorted, glaring at her brother. “You see?” she pointed at me. “Even Everly thinks I’m right. You should listen to your tutor more often.”

                “Yeah? Well Everly also uses colored highlighters to mark her notes.” Jace shot me a look. “Her opinion is invalidated.”

                I reached my hand out, smacking Jace across the shoulder, hard. “Hey, I worked hard on those notes.” I retorted, suddenly realizing something. Slowly, a smile spread across my lips as Jace gave me a look of confusion. “But Jace, it’s nice to know that you’re actually going over my notes.” 

                “Of course!” Jace heaved sarcastically. “Out of everything she decides to defend, it’s her dumb, color coordinated notes.”

                “For the second and last time, my notes aren’t dumb, you twat!” I hissed.

                Reina let out a sharp breath of air, silencing the bickering between Jace and I. She smacked her glossy lips together, a devious smirk slowly forming across her pouty fuchsia coated lips. “You two fight like an old, married couple.” Reina snickered, tossing her sleek, black hair over her shoulder. “I’m pretty sure couple’s counseling is available on the second floor.”

                I almost instantly felt my cheeks ignite on fire. I avoided looking Jace in the eyes as I narrowed my eyes over at Reina, sending her a look. Reina simply giggled at my reaction, shrugging her shoulders simply as a response. Reina was suddenly distracted by the vibration from her phone against her palms. Her eyes scanned over the text message she received before her eyes darted back up to her brother’s. “Lana just texted me,” Reina muttered, tapping away on her phone, “she’s coming to lunch for sure, so you better do something about Ryan. I’m not about to have Lana drooling all over him and making me lose my appetite today.”

                “This is stupid. Can’t you just tell Lana to stop having sexual fantasies over Ryan?” Jace asked, clearly annoyed by his sister’s friend. “She’s thirteen, Ryan’s four years older than her. Nothing is ever going to happen between them, so might as well crash and burn Lana’s dreams now.”

                The door to Dr. Roberts’ office suddenly opened, Julianne stepping out and closing the door behind her. When she looked up, a wave of surprise flashed across her face to see Jace with us in the waiting room. Julianne gave him a small smile before her eyes locked with mine. I could tell that she was giving me suggestive looks, and in return, I placed my hands around my neck, pretending to gag. “Are you having a seizure?” Jace asked bluntly. “What the hell are you doing?”

                “It’s none of your concern.” I snapped, almost immediately. I got up from my seat next to Reina, giving her a small wave. Once I turned to Jace, I let out an exaggerated sigh, raising an eyebrow at him. “Try not to be late on Monday after school, yeah?”

                At first, Jace had no words.

                Once I began to walk away with Julianne towards the exit, Jace quickly called out, “No promises!”

*

                Julianne’s breathing was heavy and ragged. Her fists had drawn up a ball, tightened against her bed sheets. Tears were leaking from her eyes, soaking into the sweater I had quickly thrown on to run over to her house. Julianne’s bedroom was dimly lit by the moonlight peaking through her sheer curtains, just giving me a glimpse of the pain in her bright eyes. Her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably as she let out silent wails. I held her tightly, her cold hands trembling against my skin.

                “It’s okay, Jules.” I hushed soothingly. “You can go back to sleep. They’re gone now.”

                Julianne’s breathing slowly became slower and slower, and her heart rate decreased dramatically within a matter of minutes. It didn’t take long for her to fall back asleep, peacefully this time. Since I’ve been visiting Julianne’s house every night when she started to get nightmares from the incident, I’ve learned that Julianne quickly falls back asleep if you played with her hair.

                Just as a lock of Julianne’s blonde hair slipped through the tips of my fingers, her bedroom door slowly creaked open. Standing by the doorway was her mother, dressed in a silk robe and cozy slippers. Julianne’s mother looked as if she had been awake for a while now. “Everly,” she greeted quietly, trying her best not to wake up her daughter, “she had another nightmare?”

                I glanced down at Julianne, whose head had slipped down on my lap. Her eyes were closed, and the look of worry was no longer on her face. I smiled at Julianne’s mother softly, “Yeah.”

                Julianne’s mother nodded slowly. “I heard her waking up an hour ago.” She whispered. “I, myself, would try to get her to go back to sleep, but we all know that it’s useless. Julianne can only go back to sleep if you’re here.”

                I smiled, holding back a yawn. “Julianne’s my best friend.”

                Julianne’s mother smiled, nodding. “From my point of view, the two of you are more like sisters.” She paused, taking a moment to touch her daughter’s forehead. Julianne’s mother gently stroked her cheek before bending down to peck her lightly. Before she left through the doorway, she turned back to me. “Everly, thank you.”