Jade

Chapter 9

Jade Chapter 9, a romance fiction |

Cousins that were close in age were usually best friends or at least got along famously. In Jade's case, it was the complete opposite. The two hated each other.

"So he finally cheated on you, huh?" Kayla Wilson said to her cousin with a smirk on her face. "She must have been really something."

Jade tried not to glare at her cousin who was sitting across from her in the family room at her Uncle's house. If was after their thanksgiving meal and while the adults were socializing over dessert in the dining room, Kayla wanted to play "catch up", which really just meant a fight with Jade.

Joyce was in the play room with their younger cousins and the sounds of their laughs and cries of bliss while they played could be heard coming from the other room.

"Who was she?" Kayla curiously asked.

Jade really didn't feel like answering or even talking about it but she knew her cousin and Kayla would not let it go until she had the answers she wanted. She had a knack for butting into other people's business, mainly Jade's.

"Monica." Jade answered.

Kayla's eyes widened in shock. "Your so-called  friend, Monica?"

Jade simply nodded, her face neutral.

"I knew I didn't like her for a reason. So how bad did you mess up her face?" Kayla smirked again. She knew her cousin well and Jade had a record of rearranging people's faces. Unfortunately, it was from personal experience that she spoke. Jade had a mean right hook.

"Bad enough."

Kayla didn't doubt it for a second. "That's too bad though, Mark was a hottie."

Jade rolled her eyes. It wasn't a secret that Kayla had crushed on Mark once upon a time when they first started dating. They had fought over it several times and Jade could easily tell when her cousin was looking for a fight.

"I mean, if he cheated on you then he must not have really loved you as much you loved him. You did fight me over him before. He must have really broken your heart."

Jade didn't say anything and for a moment neither did Kayla.

Kayla silently observed her cousin for several minutes and realized that something was different about her. Usually Jade looked for any excuse to get into an argument with her and Kayla knew how to push her buttons to get her fired up but this time it wasn't working. Jade had been too quiet throughout the night and this exchange. She wasn't even giving Kayla a hard time like usual. It was strange.

"You changed." She finally stated.

Jade's eyes rounded on her cousin. Although she wasn't in the mood to fight, she was getting annoyed. "I bet I can still rearrange your face."

Kayla's smirk returned. "Ok maybe not that much, but you're different now. "

Jade looked away. Unfortunately Kayla had always been good at reading her no matter how hard Jade tried to hide her feelings, a fact that she hated.

"Hey." Kayla's tone had changed and Jade cautiously looked up at her again. "I know we don't always get along but at the end of the day we are still family, Jade. If you need someone to talk to, well, you can talk to me." Kayla said quietly. The way Jade was behaving was worrying her. Like herself, Jade put up a tough exterior and Kayla could tell that her shell had a crack on it but she was trying her hardest not to show it. There was something she needed to get off her chest; a lot she needed to let out it seemed. Whatever it was, it was taking its toll and there was only so much she could keep in.