Dare || m.c.

➵ 1.8 - jade

Warning: a very long chapter compared to others proceed with caution do not hate me (vote/comment pls :) thx a lot)

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Life was shitty. It was a sick, twisted joke that had lost its punch line a long time ago. It seemed like it was just mocking Jade now, having a laugh at her expense. God was also out there, somewhere, probably laughing at what a poor existence her life had become. Shock after shock, surprise after fucking surprise. Within two weeks of her mom dying, her life was again turned upside down. Within those two weeks, she had new parents. Foster parents. Since she wasn't yet eighteen, she needed a legal guardian. Since she hadn't told anyone about the note and Meredith, she couldn't be shipped off to some family member. So Jack and Sandra became her foster parents. All within the span of two fucking weeks. She was now Ashton's foster sister.

That particular idea wasn't what upset her. It was the fact that she had to think of someone other than her mom and dad as her parents. That couldn't happen. You couldn't just one day be told to treat someone as you would your parents. This wasn't some dumbass book or movie. This was her life. And she was getting annoyed with it. She would be out of that house the day she turned eighteen. But she wasn't eighteen yet and she had just seen Meredith, who lived an hour away. One fucking hour.

Everything about her life was a lie.

That was why she couldn't trust Michael. She couldn't trust anyone. Even her own parents let her down, and that too after they were dead. All her life, she was told that her parents were from New York, that they lived in Waterbury, Connecticut after they ran away from home. That the reason they moved to West Hartford after her dad died was because Waterbury was too painful. She didn't know that her parents were born in West Hartford. They never lived in New York. It was all a lie. Why? Why couldn't they just have told her the truth? Jade didn't know.

And then people like Michael wondered why she was so afraid of trusting someone. Meredith's words were still echoing in her mind, tangling all her thoughts together and giving her a headache. In just a few minutes and with just a few sentences, Meredith had crushed what was left of Jade's world.

*•*•*

Jade called Meredith on Saturday, the same day when she talked to Ashton about it. She was so nervous and afraid that she was actually shaking. It took her multiple tries to dial the number and when she finally did it, she was terrified. She didn't know Meredith. She didn't know what to expect or what to say. She didn't even know whether or not her call would be answered. But after four rings, someone picked up. Jade's breathing hitched.

"Hello?" The voice was chirpy, like nothing in the world could get her mood down. It also sounded eerily similar to her mom's.

"Hi," Jade gulped and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and focused on keeping her breathing steady. "I'm Jade." Her heart was beating too fast and it was a little painful.

The person on the other end went silent. No response at all. Jade couldn't even hear them breathing. She waited six agonizing seconds before she heard, "Elizabeth's Jade?"

Jade literally stopped breathing. How the hell did she know her? "Is this Meredith?" she asked, ignoring the woman's question.

"Yes, this is her." Gone was the carefree tone, replaced by a strange kind of hysteria, like she was choking back a sob. Why was she crying? They didn't even know each other. Jade didn't know what to say now, so she shut up and gave the woman a second to collect herself.

"How's my sister?" Another choked sob. It annoyed Jade. Why did everyone have to cry all the time? And if this woman was already crying, Jade could only imagine what would happen after she delivered the death blow. No pun intended.