TW: Brief mention of suicide and bullying.
Please enjoy this very long chapter.
Stay safe 😊
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I woke up to someone messing with the doorknob.
I sat up quickly, immediately thinking of Scott and Martha.
After a few seconds of the person fiddling with the doorknob, I heard a knock.
Then I remembered I had the door locked.
I quickly got up and unlocked the door, opening it to see Ace standing there with a key.
"You really shouldn't lock the door." He commented before pulling me into an unexpected hug.
"Sorry." I mumbled, still trying to wake myself up.
"The twins are going to take you to school; you have 30 minutes." He said, ruffling my hair before walking away.
So, I shut and locked the door again and went to take a quick shower.
Once I was ready for the day, I went downstairs, seeing everyone sitting in at the kitchen counter again.
And just like yesterday, everyone stopped talking once I entered the room.
Once and a while at school this would happen, but when it happened here, it was even more weird.
I smiled a little and sat next to Charlie, playing with the hair tie on my wrist.
"Good morning." Hunter smiled.
"Good morning." I said quietly with a small smile.
"Dad is having some people over tomorrow, right?" Daxton asked.
"Yes," Ace said, "It's kind of like a work party, I guess."
None of them seemed excited about it in the slightest, but I wasn't either.
I've never been good around people, especially when I don't know them.
"How many people are going to be here?" Noah asked.
"Around 30, I think." Ace said.
Hunter, Charlie, Daxton, and Noah all let out a collective groan.
"Why do they always have to have them here?" Charlie asked, "Why can't they do it at the courthouse or something?"
"I have no idea." Ace said, also not sounding excited about it.
I still didn't really know what they were talking about, so I just sat there quietly and listened to the conversation.
"Is David going to be there?" Hunter asked with a hint of disgust in his voice.
"Yep." Ace confirmed in the same tone as Hunter.
This made another collective groan come from Charlie, Hunter, Daxton, and Noah.
Whoever this David guy was, they seemed to really dislike him.
"Adeline, at the party, whatever you do, stay away from David." Daxton warned me.
How am I supposed to avoid someone when I don't even know what they look like?
"She doesn't know who David is, you moron." Noah said, lightly hitting the back of his twin's head.
"Oh, yeah, she's never been to one of these." Charlie said, looking at Hunter and Ace.
I was starting to worry even more.
Whatever was going on tomorrow, no one seemed happy about.
"What is it?" I asked quietly.
"It's just a bunch of people from dad's work that come here every month to discuss court stuff and drink." Hunter said, still not sounding happy about it.
I nodded slowly, still not understanding what was so bad about it besides having to socialize.
"It's a really boring thing that is, for lack of a better word, useless." Charlie informed me.
Now I understood.
"And all the people are stuck up, selfish rich people who think they're better than everyone else." Noah rolled his eyes.
Now I understood even more.
"It starts at 6 and ends at, like, 2 in the morning." Daxton added.
Now I completely understood.
I nodded again, not excited for tomorrow in any way.
After we all ate breakfast, it was time to leave.
Before we got in the car, Hunter came up to me.
"Dad wanted me to give you this." He said, handing me my phone.
"Thank you." I said with a small smile.
"Of course," He smiled back, "If you need anything, the twins will be able to help, but you can text any of us if you need anything."
I thanked him again, not knowing if I even had their numbers in my phone.
"Have a good day." Hunter said, giving me a gentle hug.
"You too." I said before getting in the back of the Daxton's car.
"Why do I never get to drive?" Noah asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Because I'm older." Daxton said with a smirk.
"That doesn't make you a better driver." Noah said from the passenger seat.
"5 minutes, remember?" Daxton said.
"Whatever." Noah grumbled.
The rest of the car ride was silent, until we pulled up to the school.
"You've been going to this school for a while, right?" Noah asked as Daxton parked the car in front of the building.
"Yeah." I said quietly.
"Cool," Daxton said, "If you need anything, just text one of us, ok?"
I nodded, before climbing out of the car with them.
The second Daxton and Noah stepped out, everyone that was in the courtyard looked our way.
I was not excited for today.
Daxton kept his hand on my right shoulder as the three of us walked to the front of the building together.
I got several glares from multiple people, but like normal, I ignored them and kept walking.
Once we got in the school, Noah and Daxton turned to me with smiles.
"Are you going to be ok?" Noah asked.
I nodded with a smile, making them look to each other.
"Are you sure?" Daxton asked.
"Yep." I said, trying to act how I normally do when I'm at school.
"Ok, if you need us, just text." Noah said, giving my shoulder a small squeeze.
"Thank you."
They gave me one more smile before turning around to find their lockers.
The first part of the day was normal, until after my third class.
I went to my locker, to put the books away that I didn't need but I was stopped by the biggest brat in the school, Elizabeth.
"Listen, Adeline," She spat, "I saw you with the Thompson brothers this morning; you better stay away from them, because they're mine. Are we clear?"
"Yeah, no." I said with a smile.
"What did you just say?" She asked in her extremely annoying high-pitched voice.
"Let me rephrase this so your goldfish sized brain can comprehend it," I said slowly, "They are my brothers."
"Liar!" She yelled, shoving me back a little.
A few people were gathering around, watching what was going on.
"Do you need me to simplify it more for you?" I asked in a tone that you would use if you were speaking to a young child.
"If they're your brothers, then why have I never seen you with them before?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Maybe because I just found out a few days ago?" I said.
"You're such a brat," She said, "You seek attention in any way you can; you even went as far as killing your own friend just to get sympathy."
That infuriated me.
"Do not bring Jack into this." I growled.
"Why shouldn't I?" Elizabeth asked, "Everyone in this school knows the truth; you're a murderer. Have you ever wondered why you don't have any friends? It's because you always need to be the center of attention and you feel that you are better than everyone. The only reason Jack wanted to be our friend was because he was the only on dumb enough to try and be nice to you."
I balled my hands into fists, and took a deep breath, trying to resist the urge to punch her.
"First of all, Jack is the smartest person I have ever met," I spat, trying to control my anger, "And second, you didn't know him, and you don't know what happened to him, so if I were you, I would keep my mouth shut."
And with that I walked away and went to science class.
After science class was over, it was time for lunch.
Usually, I sit in the library and study during lunch time, but on my way there, I got a text from Noah.
Hey, Adeline! Meet us in the cafeteria; we want you to meet our friends!
I sent a quick text back, before turning around and going to the cafeteria.
When I got there, just like at the house, all conversation stopped, and everyone looked at me.
Why does everyone always do this when I walk into a room?
So, I stood up straight, faked confidence, and went to the left.
I remember reading in a book that when you enter a room and you go to the left, it will show you have more class, and are more respected, or something like that.
"Adeline," Daxton said from the middle of the cafeteria, "Come here."
I went to where they were with a smile, seeing three more guys sitting across from Daxton and Noah.
I sat next to Noah, trying to ignore the anxiety in my chest.
"Adeline, these are our friends Chance, Bryan, and Jay." Daxton said with a smile, "Guys, this is our sister, Adeline."
The three of them almost looked scared, but they still smiled, trying to act normal.
"It's nice to meet all of you." I said with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you too." The one introduced as Chance said, almost sounding hesitant.
Yes, fear me, mortals.
"So, how did you meet my brothers?" I asked casually.
The three of them exchanged a look, still seeming scared.
"Uh, we all met in 5th grade." Bryan said slowly.
I nodded slowly, still smiling kindly which seemed to scare them more.
I wasn't even trying to scare them; I was just trying to cover my anxiety.
"Where's your lunch?" Noah asked, looking at me.
"I'm not hungry." I almost mumbled.
"You need to eat something." Daxton said.
I really wasn't hungry, but I knew they weren't going to stop until I ate something.
Cafeteria food sucks.
The sandwiches don't even look like sandwiches, and the pizza is harder than a rock.
They did have fruit, but it was either had mold on it or was infested with bugs.
For such an expensive school, you would think they had enough money for better food.
So, I settled for a bag of chips, which obviously didn't make Daxton or Noah happy, but even they knew the food here was inedible.
"I have a question," Jay said, looking at me, "First, how do you get such good grades?"
How did he know about my grades?
"Studying." I said with a small smile.
"Ha, I told you." Chance bragged to his friend.
Jay rolled his eyes before continuing.
"And where are your friends?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious, "This is the first time in, like, months that I've actually seen you in the cafeteria; why don't you sit with your friends?"
I did not want to answer that.
"I don't really have friends." I said, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal.
"What about that one kid you used to hang out with a lot?" Daxton asked, "Wait, was he your boyfriend?"
"He was just a very close friend." I said, snapping the hair tie against my wrist, keeping my hands under the table.
"But that's a good point, Daxton," Bryan said, "I haven't seen that kid here in over a month; it's like he disappeared."
"Yeah, it's kind of weird," Chance agreed, "Do you know what happened to him?"
Everyone was looking at me.
Just keep smiling.
"He doesn't go here anymore." I said.
It wasn't a total lie; technically he didn't go here anymore.
"Are you still friends with him?" Noah asked, sipping his apple juice.
"Uh, kind of." I hesitated a little.
Of course I still considered Jack my friend, I was just trying to decide if I should tell them that or not.
"What's his name, where does he live, and where are his parents?" Daxton asked immediately, holding his water bottle so tight, water splashed out of it and onto his pants.
It almost made me laugh, but I tried to control myself.
"Do we need to go to his house and straighten him out?" Noah asked, also sounding upset.
Who knew they could be so protective?
"We never dated, I swear," I said honestly, "We just haven't spoken for a while."
"What's his name?" Daxton asked.
"Jack."
"Where does he live?" Noah asked.
They were using very blunt tones, which immediately remined me of Mr. Thompson.
Jack and I were never even into each other, in any way.
We literally introduced ourselves as brother and sister.
"I don't know." I lied.
I knew where his parents lived, and where he used to live.
"Where are his parents?" Daxton asked.
"With him, probably." I said with a smile, trying to ignore the anxiety and sadness I was feeling.
"Why did he leave the school?" Noah asked.
"You guys ask way too many questions." I laughed a little, continuing to mess with the hair tie on my wrist.
Both of them huffed and crossed their arms, looking at me intently.
"Fine, but we want to meet him on Wednesday." Daxton declared.
"What?" I asked quickly.
"We want to meet him and make sure he's a good friend." Noah said, taking another sip of apple juice.
How was I going to get out of this?
Before I could respond, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
I couldn't have been more grateful.
"It was nice meeting you guys." I smiled to Noah and Daxton's friends, before walking away quickly.
Just as I made it out of the cafeteria doors, a hand grabbed my wrist.
I quickly pulled away and spun around, seeing Noah and Daxton.
"Why don't you want us to meet Jack?" Noah asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
The bell rang again, giving the last warning before class started.
"I'm sorry, I really have to go, but we'll talk about this later." I said politely with a smile.
Thankfully they let me go without asking any more questions.