Eden

Chapter 1: Jade

When people see tattoos, they assume I'm 18. They aren't gonna be like Oh god, a kid with tattoos! Call the cops! 

Kai shifts awkwardly in his place, not once removing his eyes from the floor. I don't blame him. He knows better than to speak up to them.

Jenna's condescending voice rises, "You know you're lucky we took you on this cruise right? After that little stunt you pulled? Do you know how embarrassing it is having four cops cars pull up at our house?"

"You're lucky we took you little shits in at all," Chris snaps, tightening his hold on my arm. "You've both been nothing but trouble. There's nothing keeping us from sending you back to the group home."

My stomach twists. This time I join Kai in quietly staring at my feet.

"Fine." I sigh. "I'll change."

They've done their charity work by adopting two pathetic little half white half Chinese kids. Taking us in was just another shitty attempt at keeping up their prestigious reputation. Behind closed doors, we're not their problem anymore.

"Good." Chris finally lets go of his death grip on my arm. "Be back at the room in ten minutes."

I nod obediently as they march towards the elevators that go down to our cabins. My shoulders finally relax as the elevator doors shut behind them.

"Well this is a thrilling start to vacation." I try to laugh it off but the anger refuses to subside.

"You alright?" Kai looks up, and his dark amber eyes almost seem apologetic. He has nothing to apologize for. He knows I can hold my own.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." I force a smile. "You know I can handle it."

He smiles back. "Well you know the offer's still up. If you wanna go to the teen club with me after you change. It'll be nice to take your mind off things."

I sigh. "I'm all set. I'm pretty tired. We can go get ice cream together later or something."

"Fine, but you better take me up on the ice cream." Kai winks at me before walking away.

I can't help but feel a little regret deciding not to go. It's a chance to escape reality. It's all I've wanted for this entire past year right? I shake it off and step into the elevator. I'm not the same little girl I used to be. I can try and pretend I'm someone else while I'm here, but reality will only hit me ten times harder the moment I step off this ship in four weeks.

As I enter my cabin, I quickly walk in past Jenna and Chris's bedroom and to my room next door before crashing into my bed. My phone blinks on for me to check the top left corner of the screen. Zero bars. We're in the middle of the ocean—what did I expect. I click the Eden Cruise Line App and check out scheduled activities. I scroll past the art auction, golf lessons, and all the other monotonous activities that only entertain old rich white people.

I reach the bottom of the list.

Fucking great. No wonder this ship has a teen club. I roll over in my bed and stare blankly at the ceiling. I try to think about how to continue with the plot of my short novel but I'm not surprised when nothing comes to mind. How am I going to publish my book if I don't even have a book to publish?

Suddenly, I watch my zero bars of service go up one, and then two. A sliver of hope sneaks past my walls as I scramble to search up my best friend Eric in my contacts and hit dial. A familiar voice picks up. "What's up?"

Relief washes over me. "I'm experiencing hard-core writer's block right now. Any inspirational advice?" I say with a hint of sarcasm.

He clears his throat. "First let me remind you that your new loaded foster parents brought you on a cruise. How are you going to find inspiration if you're hiding in your room hmm?"

Dammit. He has a good point. Despite my efforts to avoid being lectured about making friends on this vacation again, Eric begins to recite the same monologue I heard from Kai earlier.

"...and I feel like meeting new people and having fun might help you cope with what happened to your dad," his voice softens.

Dad.

My chest begins to ache.

"Hello, you there?" he asks.

I mutter quietly, "Yeah."

I can tell that Eric realizes what he said might've been a little too much for me to handle as he quickly tries to change the conversation. I don't get upset at Eric for bringing him up because one—I'm tired of letting my emotions control my actions, and two, I know he was only trying to help.

"I miss you. We should be smoking a blunt and poorly playing Just Dance right now." He chuckles.

"Trust me, I miss you more. I swear my new school is just like the movie Mean Girls but with all rich people. I don't belong there and everyone knows it." I close my eyes and let out a tired sigh.

He laughs. "You finally made it to the Eastside. You really wanna come back to the Westside and slum it out with the rest of us?"

"Maybe that wouldn't be so bad, even if it means slumming it out with the meth-heads who think China is in Africa." I laugh along.

Living on the Westside definitely wasn't heaven, but trying to survive the foster care system is pretty damn close to hell.

He lets out a loud cackle, but before he can get another word in, the corner of my screen once again says No Service as the call abruptly disconnects.

I'm all alone, again.

I find myself mindlessly stare at the ceiling like before. My thoughts begin to turn back to Dad. I turn on my phone again looking for anything to steer away the melancholy memories of him crawling into my mind. I'll do anything to get him out of my mind.

I need a cigarette.

Bad.

Uncontrollably bad.

The casino's probably full of smokers right now. It's the only designated smoking area on board and I haven't had nicotine in days. After careful contemplation, I spring from my bed and throw on a change of clothes. I walk right out the door in a more conservative t-shirt and neither Chris or Jenna bat an eye. I'm on a mission and god knows I won't be back until I find a smoker who will trust me. I take comfort from the urge coursing through my veins. If I don't feel, I don't hurt.

A/N: What do you think about Jade's character and her situation? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. Don't forget to vote if you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks so much for all the support!