Feelings don't lack people, people lack feelings. It's either they're too selfish and arrogant enough to do so, or scientifically and psychologically explained on why they are so. But it's just feelings? If you can't feel feelings, isn't it better?
Jayce knitted her brows, "What?"
"You think you're the only one having a bad life?" Amber said, "Apparently, mom only held you in for around two weeks, some cases have more weeks and you're acting as if the world did something horrible to you and you deserve the best,"
"I never said my pain was larger than anyone else's, it affects me in my own way," Jayce said, "What is your point in saying this?"
"Don't fool me anymore Jayce," Amber stood up, "You did this to make sure people will pity you and you get attention and everything, and you get your little circle back, right?"
"I don't need people to pity me, it sounds pathetic," she said.
"And it's also pathetic to hide everything from your sister, right?"
"I'm sorry, but I did it for your own good, so you don't have any burden on anything. Because I'm your freaking sister," Jayce stated, in a huge tone.
"I don't want to argue," Amber said, "You are obviously always correct," she looked back to her mirror and continued placing her makeup.
There was no use in arguing Amber. She never felt the need of herself to be wronged.
~~~
"Ashton there will be no use in lying and avoiding this," Dave said, "You need to tell the truth,"
Jayce, he thought, Jayce, Jayce, Jayce. The need to kill her, it was too large, but then he thought again. Guilt, guilt, guilt. One he has never imagined, one he has never been through.
"Your daughter has most of the truth," Ashton replied.
"I can tell you both aren't on good terms," he concluded.
"We were never in good terms,"
"Look," Dave started, "I know it isn't easy, confessing the crimes of someone who raised you," he said, "And I know I shouldn't be talking to you like this but I'll tell you what I think,"
Ashton raised a brow.
"I've felt this, although the conditions weren't really the same, but nearly," Dave started, "Nadia, you see, and maybe you've heard as well, was the love of my life. She is still," he said truthfully, making Ashton furrow, "When I came home and saw the house like a mess, and I saw Jayce covered in bruises that was covered with makeup, I didn't know what to do. In one hand, I wanted to escape from the truth, but in the other hand, my daughter was hurt,"
Pity. Ashton felt. But Jayce didn't want pity, she wanted understanding, and they were different in many ways.
"When I reported her in, Jayce was just like you right now. She fought back, said that her mother was wrong but it didn't have to go this far," he said.
Ashton pursed his lips in return, imagining what she had gone through.
"Jayce loved her mother very much. I could say that Nadia loved Jayce more than Amber," Dave said, "And she looked and acted like her in her teenage years,"
Ashton continued to glance down.
Dave took out his phone and went to his photo gallery, "This," he said, showing a picture of a woman and a toddler, "That's her and Jayce,"
His eyes lightened up. They were so similar. Eyes, freckles, smile. Eyes, freckles, smile. It was all Nadia's. All that he had seen on the first day they met.
"So what happens at the end?" Ashton asked emotionlessly.
"Every act we do has a benefit, one way or another," Dave stated, "I lost the love of my life, but I saved my daughter,"
"And what benefit do I get?"
"You save yourself,"
~~~
Harrison was talking with Sanchez, and he admitted all of Kimberly's crimes. But the fact that he was Ashton's father, or that he possibly could've been, blew his mind out.
He couldn't live with that fact, his reputation was stained on it.
"She's threatened you a lot of times?" Sanchez asked.
Harrison nodded, "With that she would no longer fund the school,"
"How did you both meet?"
"Aside from the bar?" Harrison asked.
Sanchez pursed his lips and nodded.
"I wasn't completely sure but at the time, Syville's school wasn't really great so with the money I had left, I built one: the boarding school.Someone said that a woman wanted to fund the place," he explained, "I met Kimberly then. Her husband being Mikael Walker, who had said that he wanted to help fund the place,"
"Then?"
"We met daily, she sometimes talked about how her pregnancy was. And it was actually my child," he said, "The boarding school grew, but one day Mikael passed away, and that was when Kimberly lost control or showed her true self,"
"Meaning?"
"She used her power over the school to extract information about the subjects and work, but she never really bribed anyone to get her son at first place, except the part where she would ask about the subjects each month so Ashton could study earlier,"
"So she wanted Ashton to have a natural win?"
"With extra help,"
Sanchez nodded, "You still want that DNA test?"
Harrison nodded, "I think I owe Ashton a thing or two,"
"You owe me tons," a voice broke in, Ashton.
Harrison pursed his lips.
"With all the information we have gotten," Dave said, "We will send this information to headquarters for the trial," he announced.
Kimberly flustered, "What? Under what charges?"
"Threat," Dave said, "Child abuse and manipulating paperwork, with bribe,"
She gulped, then glared at Ashton. Her son had chosen. He wanted to save himself.
Ashton huffed.
"I will take Ashton and Harrison to the laboratory for the DNA test they requested," Sanchez offered.
Dave nodded, "Where's Jayce by the way?"
"She went back to the dorm with Jasmine," Ashton replied.
He raised a brow, "With everything going around, didn't they break up?"
Ashton shrugged, "Not my business anyways,"
~~~
Jaxon and Eric had been texting Ashton the entire day. Shocked with everything.
Ashton had only replied to them 'I'm okay.' and a sentence of curses 'The Walkers should die by the way.' and Jayce's plan 'Jayce planned it to help me, why is she always correct btw?'
Eric flinched. He was in the lounge room, drinking coffee, with Jaxon.
"The Walkers?" a voice broke in. Amber.
Jayce had left for the library, and Amber went down to the lounge room to get fresh air.
"Amber," Eric jumped, "Do you understand privacy?"
"Privacy destroys everything," she said, and sat down next to Eric, "Who's the Walkers?"
"Ashton's dad's family," Jaxon replied.
"They hate him?"
"They loved him," Eric said in past tense, "They definitely hate him now,"
"Oh, and Ashton? Does he like them?"
"A love-hate relationship that people like you shouldn't care about," Eric replied.
"Are you literally still angry at me?" Amber asked, furrowing, "I told you Jayce did it,"
"Your sister helped Ashton report his mother," Eric said, "She helped him,"
Deep down, he and Jaxon both knew this was just some peace offering and help from Jayce. Sure, she was wrong, but Amber, she was just a little too gullible above it.
"Oh so now you like that my sister helped Ashton after what happened? She's someone who's selfish,"
"Jayce didn't try to guilt trip you when she told about the abuse, you're trying to guilt trip her on it that everything she did to hide from her past on you. And if you were Jayce's state, would you have spoken the truth about everything?" Eric stated.
~~~
Jasmine had been calling her brother all day, but he hadn't picked up. Her phone was blocked by Jayce and the last thing she could think about was Amber.
She called the girl and she picked up, "Hey Amber,"
"Why are you calling?" she replied.
"Can I ask where my brother is?"
"Your brother?" she said, whispering, "He's right beside me right now, in the dorm building's lounge room,"
Jasmine raised a brow and immediately left to go there, where she had been an hour before.
~~~
Ashton and Harrison ignored each other the entire way to the laboratory.
"Ashton," Harrison started.
"Don't try to make a father-son bond with me," Ashton said.
"Look, I-"
"Do I need to repeat my words?" he raised a brow.
Harrison pursed his lips.
When they arrived at the laboratory, they went to a room and the doctor took the samples they needed for the DNA test. It wasn't a really nervous atmosphere. But Ashton's thoughts were clouded by his bittersweet feelings on whether he should thank or get revenge on Jayce. Just that. Like a simple kiss or kill.
"How long until the results?" Sanchez asked.
"I'll call you maybe tomorrow," the doctor replied.
Sanchez nodded and the three went out of the laboratory.
"Back to the dorms please," Ashton said.
"I'm not a driver," Sanchez replied.
"Please take us back to the boarding school," Harrison politely said.
Sanchez nodded and they went back to the dorms, and Ashton had decided to ignore Jayce, with a decision he was yet to make.
~~~
Amber was still with Eric and Jaxon, but she was in the kitchen, and they were in the lounge room.
"NOW YOU DARE IGNORE MY CALLS?" a voice shouted. Jasmine yelled in the doorway.
Jaxon flustered and raised a brow, "What?"
Jasmine approached Jaxon as Amber watched them both. Eric flinched.
She grabbed his ear and pulled him, "I thought I could be happy once I got here, a peaceful reunion with my brother," she pulled his ear harder, "But instead he used me,"
Jaxon yelped, "Let go!"
"Please don't blame on Jaxon," a voice broke in, "I asked both my friends to use the people around Jayce for it,"
"Ashton-" Eric widened his eyes, jerking his head to Amber, "She's still here," he ate up his words.
"Might as well tell her, Eric," Ashton said, "The last time I took someone's heart too far, I got the price,"
Eric raised a brow.
"Tell who?" Amber asked, "Me?"
"He only acted like he liked you because he wanted to extract info about Jayce, I asked him to," Ashton confessed, "He never liked you truly,"
Amber bit her lip as her cheeks went red and turned away before her eyes watered. She went to the elevator and clicked on it quickly as she went upstairs, back turned on them.
"Ash-"
"She's much more selfish than Jayce is," Ashton said, "You should know that,"
Jasmine let go of Jaxon's ear, "The amount of guilt Jayce has towards everything that happened today is to the point she doesn't care if her sister gets angry at her, which she rarely, and I mean rarely, doesn't,"
"Since everything is cool now, I'll get going," Ashton said, not replying to Jasmine's words which he thoroughly heard.
"Where are you going?"
"The court,"
~~~
Jayce had skipped the entire day of school, and she was going to the library to finish her tasks.
As she sat down with her book in her hand, a few people were staring at her, in pity. Pity made her puke.
Someone then sat across from her. Niel.
"Hey," he said with a timid face. His glasses were at the edge of his nose.
"Hey," Jayce said in a lazy way.
"You remember me?"
"Of course, you're Niel," she said, "Probably the only one who wear glasses in a school full of contact lens users,"
Niel chuckled, "I heard you and Ashton aren't in very good terms,"
Jayce stopped writing on her book, "There were some complications,"
"Are you two good now?"
"Unsure, he's probably still in the police station, and you would know why,"
"You should've accepted my offer," Niel grinned.
Jayce pursed her lips, "Even if I knew that this day would come, I would have never accepted your offer,"
NIel flinched, "Ashton would have always been your first choice?"
"First choice to destroy? Yes," Jayce said, "But I take the blame of everything now, for him and my sister,"
Niel frowned, "You feel you're wrong?"
"Sudden, sharp, sense of me having to say I'm to be blamed. Amber has all her right to get angry on me, and Ashton too,"
"And you're not going to say sorry?"
"I don't need to be pitiful just so they forgive me, that's just attention-thirsty," Jayce said.
Niel raised a brow, "Where are you going after this?"
"The court," she replied.
"The court?" Niel furrowed, "Why?"
"To train for my basket club acceptance, why?"
"Oh, nothing," Niel said, "Can I come?"
"Sure, if you'd like to,"
~~~
Jayce arrived at the court, taking a basketball from the storage. She was about to tie her hair when she noticed there was not really a way to.
"You play basketball?" she asked Niel.
He shook his head, "I pretty much suck,"
Jayce gave a thin smile, "Who's the basketball club captain?"
"For girls, it's Brenda," Niel said, "For boys and the overall club, it's Ashton,"
Jayce raised a brow, "Why is he literally captain of everything?" she muttered, "No worries, I'll be captain of the girls and the overall club this year too,"
She bounced the ball in her hands and ran from one end of the court, dribbling the ball in her hands, and lifting herself up and threw the ball into the hoop. A point.
Niel gave a clap and the ball fell through the net but it fell into someone else's hand. Ashton.
Jayce's eyes widened, "What brings the best person in the world to meeting the worst person in the world?" she asked.
Ashton gave an expressionless face as he spinned the basketball in his hands, "I'm basically an orphan now,"
"What do you want me to do? Adopt you?"
Ashton gave her a look.
She pursed her lips, "Look, I'm sorry of all that's happened,"
"Stop the game," he broke in.
"What?"
"Stop the academic rival game, now," he stated.
"I'm not the one to stop it," Jayce said, "In the end there will only be one winner,"
"Oh, should one of us die then?" Ashton asked.
"Death doesn't scare me," she said, "Now, please, the ball,"
Ashton threw it in the hoop again. He was annoyed that she was always correct. Always.
He knew how sorry she was. He didn't want to accept it that easily.
"I can't explain in words how sorry I am, but I am," Jayce stated, "But it seems you won't really understand. I've suddenly gone out of mood, enjoy playing," she walked past him as he glared sharply, slowly losing his mind.
As Niel saw the two from the bench, his smile turned into a sly smile, like he got what he wanted.