Three is a crowd

Chapter 25

Nigel arrived ten minutes later after Jade called.

Jade was relieved to see his car parking right beside her but then she noticed Eli sitting in the passenger seat and her heart sank. In that instant she regretted her decision to call Nigel. It had been a terrible idea even more terrible with Eli by his side.

The reason why Jade had resorted to calling Nigel was because of Nevaeh's betrayal. Jade wasn't ready to be bombarded by endless questions from any of her friends concerning the issue. She just needed to collect her thoughts before she did anything else.

Eli's presence in the car however made Jade reconsider dealing with her friends. Jade argued that maybe Celia wouldn't ask but deep down she knew she was selling herself dreams. Jade's heart twitched with jealousy as she got into the car and looked at Eli.

She was wearing a white cashmere sweater and her hair was tied up in a messy bun. As usual Eli looked drop dead gorgeous and Jade's insecurities flared. She almost sank into her seat. Eli didn't wait for Jade to make herself comfortable before she opened her mouth to speak.

"So you broke Nigel's heart for a guy who leaves you in the middle of nowhere?"

Eli's words pierced Jade's heart but Jade refused to let it show. She stared outside and wrapped her fingers tightly around the long hoodie sleeves.

"Are you okay?" Nigel asked.

Jade's world stopped when she heard his voice. He still wanted to know whether she was okay after everything that had happened. Jade's heart thudded against her chest and her palms felt clammy and sweaty all of a sudden. Jade opened her mouth to answer but no words came out.

Talking to him on the phone had been way easier. He wasn't in such close proximity and she couldn't smell his cologne that filled the car and turned her brain into mush. Jade relished in the scent of him breathing it like oxygen that she had been missing for weeks.

"Jade?" Nigel spoke again and Jade's stomach break out with butterflies.

"I'm okay," Jade whispered.

"Date gone wrong?" Nigel questioned with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow.

He had turned to glance at her despite the fact that he was driving at night. Jade was flattered even though she knew he was putting their safety at risk.

"Something like that," Jade replied gaining her voice back.

Nigel laughed and Jade's heart ached.

"That terrible huh?" Nigel continued with a small laugh.

It worried Jade that Nigel was acting like everything was fine between them. He was supposed to be angry at her, thrashing and calling her every cuss word known to man. Instead he was asking her about her date jovially like everything was okay.

"It was a dangerous 9.99 out of 10 I presume?" Eli joked.

Nigel and Eli then started laughing and Jade's heart twitched. She hated the way she felt whenever Nigel and Eli were together but then she didn't have any claim on him. It wasn't her place to be jealous of Eli; that was a privilege reserved for Amanda.

"Will you ever let me live that incident down?" Jade questioned with a small smile.

"Absolutely not," Eli drawled out with her heavy accent seeping through. "So are you going to tell us what happened on your date or we're going to have to force out the details from you."

Jade cracked a smile at Eli's almost threat.

"There isn't much to tell," Jade said with a shrug and Eli scoffed.

"Let me guess, the guy was a jerk?" Nigel questioned glancing at Jade.

"Worse," Jade said with a laugh. "He told me that Nevaeh said I was a narcissist."

Nigel shot her a look through his rear view mirror and Jade could see his furrowed eyebrows, a sign of clear concern.

"Why would Nevaeh say that?" Nigel asked.

Jade shrugged. She didn't know the answer to that. Eli however seemed to have an opinion on the matter.

"I don't blame Nevaeh for saying that," Eli announced.

Jade didn't miss the warning glare Nigel shot in her direction but Eli continued talking.

"You are an egoistic and selfish human being Jade. You hurt my best friend really bad and to show that you didn't even care, you went on to bang a freshman a few days later. Tell me Jade, did you even care about Nigel at all or it was all about you?" Eli said.

The car was silent then except for the radio that was playing softly in the background. Jade couldn't open her mouth to respond. Eli had spoken her mind and stated true facts. Jade didn't hold Eli being Eli against her.

Eli was right. Jade knew she was selfish and egoistic and most times her relationship with Nigel was about her. She hated that that was who she was but it was too late to turn back now. What Eli was wrong about was thinking Jade didn't love Nigel, she did.

"Now you're tongue tied? You're the worst of them Jade. You completely downplay your relationship with Nigel breaking his heart in the process and yet you have the audacity to dial his number and call him after your little date with some prude has gone wrong. You have serious issues Jade. You think you're high above us all and you can use anyone you want and discard them as soon as you're done. I don't care about you or your business but when your business starts interfering with mine, you and I will have serious problems."

Jade's stomach was tied with nervous knots as Eli spoke her mind. Jade realized that before, she had described Eli as a sly vixen. Now she wasn't a vixen, she was an angry mother bear marking and protecting her territory. Jade finally realized why she had always been scared of Eli. In just one conversation, Eli had reduced her to nothing with words.

The silence returned to the car except now Eli's heavy breathing filled the car. Her phone buzzed and she whispered something to Nigel before leaving the car. Jade noticed she was back at campus; the car had since stopped but she hadn't noticed. Eli stepped out of the car leaving Jade alone with Nigel.

The tension was palpable and Nigel was the first to break the silence.

"I think you should go."