----Edited Version----
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“Answer me, Jess,” Uncle Jesse demanded, his voice stern. “Why were you with Zach?”
“I-I just…,” my words trailed off. What should I say—what could I say? If I tell him that I know, things are going to fall apart. But if I don’t, everything is just going to backfire on me.
“Did you not hear anything I said the other day? He’s not safe, Jess!” he roared, while grabbing onto both my shoulders and squeezing them tightly.
I tried to pull away, but his grip was too tight and forceful. Why was he so angry? What gave him the right to be so angry? If anything, I should be the one blowing up right now. But still, seeing my uncle this angry was unnerving. “L-let go of me,” I quivered.
“Jess, you really need to start respecting your Uncle more,” a familiar voice snapped.
Immediately, I diverted my gaze to Vanessa who had approached us from behind. I narrowed my eyes. “What are you doing here—”
“That doesn’t matter,” Uncle Jesse said, cutting me off with his angry tone. “Jess, you have to start following my rules.”
“He’s right, Jess. Zach isn’t safe, and I’m sure you know that,” Vanessa added.
I cringed at her disgusting and superficial motherly tone. My jaw tightened as I examined her face, an evil smirk etched across it. How could this woman barge into my life like this? And on top of it she has the nerve stand here—right in front of me—and act like nothing happened? She stepped behind Uncle Jesse.
“Oh, and I wonder how you knew that,” I sneered. I glared at her, watching as her smirk faltered slightly.
“JESS!” Uncle Jesse yelled, “You can’t talk to Vanessa like that! She’s my girlfriend. You need to respect her whether you like her not. Apologize!” He tightened his grip on my shoulders.
My mouth dropped as I stood there and stared at him in shock. Are you kidding me?
“JESS, APOLOGIZE…right now!”
Blood rushed through my body, heating me up intensely. Why on earth would I apologize to her? I bored my eyes at her, clenching my teeth again as her eyes fluttered mockingly, that annoying smirk back at full beam. “No,” I asserted.
Uncle Jesse flinched in astonishment. Taking the chance, I ripped away from his grip and headed towards the staircase.
“Jessica Hayes, you are not leaving until you apologize,” Uncle Jesse shouted behind me, grabbing my shoulder again.
I zipped around, furious. “I am not apologizing to her.”
“Yes, you are. Jess, your parents left me in charge so that means you have to abide by my rules!” Uncle Jesse yelled, practically in my face.
I took in a deep breath and clenched my fists by my side. “I’m not going to let a drug dealer tell me what I can and can’t do.”
Uncle Jesse’s expression dropped, his face losing color until finally it turned pale. My heart began to drop down to my stomach—seeing Uncle Jesse like this was petrifying. Even though I knew that Zach wasn’t lying, a little part of me wished that Uncle Jesse could prove him wrong—find the loophole. But obviously, from the look on his face, it was evident that this was the truth. Uncle Jesse is a drug dealer. Keeping back tears, I turned around and sped up the stairs, slamming my door hard, behind me.
***
“Why do you take so long?” Chadd asked as I cracked open his car door.
I hopped in and shut the door. “I don’t take that long. You’re just impatient.”
“Yeah, sure,” Chadd said, sheepishly rolling his eyes. “Where do you want to eat?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. You pick.” Anything to get me out of the house.
“Let’s see,” Chadd scrolled through his Iphone. “What about Mike’s Tacos?” he shrugged.
“Ah, I love that place,” I piped.
Chadd grinned while turning on the ignition. “Well, then, Mike’s Tacos it is!” He pulled his car out of my driveway and started up the road. “Do you remember the last time we went to Mike’s Tacos?” Chadd asked, turning around to quickly glance at me.
“Uhh,” I paused, trying to jog my memory. “Oh gosh, how could I forget? Landon, Nicole, and I took you and Taylor there for your first anniversary!”
Chadd chuckled, “It’s been so long.”
“I know…,” I sighed, “So much has happened since then.”
“Yup, and that’s why I know I’m officially done with girls.”
“You’re finally turning gay?” I sarcastically questioned.
“No you, dumbo,” Chadd smacked my head. “I’m done with girls—for now.”
“Wait,” I stopped to process his words. “What happened to Caroline?”
I watched as he pulled the car into the parking lot, parking it perfectly between two other cars. He sighed and yanked the hand brake up before looking at me. “She’s moving.”
“What? To where?” My eyes widened in surprise.
“To Arizona,” Chadd mumbled. “She said her dad got a nice job there.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “But it’s her senior year…”
He shook his head. “I know, but since Arizona State is her dream college, she says it doesn’t matter.”
“I’m so sorry, Chadd,” I frowned.
He shrugged, his lips curving to one side. “We would have never worked anyways. She’s a nice girl, but not my type.”
“You don’t have a type, Chadd,” I joked in an attempt to lighten up the mood.
“I’ve always had a type!” Chadd defended. “I liked girls who are loud, vibrant, and outgoing.”
“Sure.” I passed him a skeptical look.
“Shut up, you old fart,” he mocked, smacking my shoulder. Laughing a little, he pushed his door open and prompted me to do the same. “Come on, get your lazy butt out of the car.”
We both shut our doors simultaneously and headed towards the door of Mike’s Tacos.
“Where’d you get that?” Chadd asked, startling me as I opened the door.
“Get what?” I questioned, the skin on my forehead wrinkling as I entered the restaurant.
“That sweatshirt,” he said pointing at me. “You’ve never been to NYU.”
Crap. I looked down at the sweatshirt I was wearing, while mentally slapping myself. Good going Jess—you put on some jeans but you forget to take off Zach’s sweatshirt? “I saw it lying around the house,” I covered up.
“Yeah, sure,” Chadd raised his eyebrows. “That reminds me, you need to tell me what went on yesterday… but let’s order first.”
I nodded in response as he walked over to the counter. After ordering two chicken tacos and two lemonades, Chadd and I walked over to the nearest table.
“Explain yourself, I’m dying to hear this,” Chadd said as soon as we took our seats.
“About yesterday?” I asked stupidly.
“Yes about yesterday, what happened?”
I took in a deep breath and looked down before spilling my guts to him, entirely. I mentioned ever small detail, from meeting Tyler to what had happened just thirty minute ago at home. Knowing that someone was trying to understand my situation made me feel like a whole load had been taken off my shoulder.
“Wait let me get this straight,” a worried expression crossed over his face, “The Mayor sells dru—”
I put my finger to my lips. “SHHHH!”
“Oh right, sorry,” he whispered. “Okay so, the Mayor sells… tacos,” he narrowed his eyes in comprehension, “Vanessa, who also sells tacos, is your Uncle’s—who also sells tacos—girlfriend. Yet, she’s all up on Zach, whose brother is on tacos. And Will is some creepy dude who is after you and Taylor?”
I erupted into laughter.
“Oh and Nicole is on tacos, too,” he added, shaking his head in disbelief.
Once again, my laughter filled the restaurant. I stopped myself quickly, however, as many heads turned to look at me. I exhaled, “Everyone loves tacos.”
He laughed. “This is insane.”
“Uh, I know,” I replied, taking the last bite of my taco.
“Does Ivy know any of this?” He asked, taking a sip of his drink.
“I have no idea. I looked for her once I got home this morning, but she wasn’t there. Neither was half her closet.”
Chadd smirked a little. “She would do that…wait, when you got home?” His eyes opened wide as he raised his eyebrows, “Were you with Zach all night?”
“No—Okay fine. Yes I was with Zach,” I admitted, feeling guilty.
“That explains the sweatshirt. See, I knew you were lying,” he winked.
“You’re so smart,” I said, sarcasm dripping from each word.
“Shut up, Jess, you know I am.”
A buzz escaped the pocket of my jeans, so I automatically pulled it out and answered it, not bothering to check who it was.
“Hello?”
“Jess?” Zach’s voice echoed.
Surprised, I pulled my phone away from ear and glanced at the caller id: Zachhh.
“Zach… hey,” I said, pulling my phone back to my ear. My eyes were quick to watch Chadd, his eyebrows rising as he grinned.
Chadd raised his eyebrows, giving me a prompting look.
“Where are you?” Zach asked with his apprehensive voice.
“At Mike’s Tacos.” I furrowed my eyes, starting to get worried.
“Are you with anyone?”
“Yeah, with Chadd.”
There was a short pause before he responded. “Okay, well, then, stay with him. Don’t go anywhere else.”
“Wh—” I stopped as Chadd snapped his fingers to grab my attention. I looked up at his worried face.
“Check your texts,” Chadd mouthed, holding up his cell phone.
I peeled my phone away from my ear and scanned through my texts, stopping at the latest text from Taylor: Help me! He's here at my house!
“Will,” I whispered, looking back up at Chadd.
“That goddamn bastard,” Chadd said furiously typing away on his phone.
“What?!” Zach’s voice resonated through the phone.
I pulled the phone back to my ear. “Taylor just texted us saying that someone’s at her house. I have the strongest feeling that it’s Will.”
I could hear Zach cussing under his breath. I bit my lip; it was definitely Will.
“Chadd, we need to go help her,” my voice trembled.
“Let’s go,” he complied, throwing some cash on the table and rushing towards the door.
“Jess, don’t go over there!” Zach stated sternly through the phone as I got up off me seat.
“Zach! What if she’s in a lot of trouble?”
“You being there is not going to make this situation any better, Jess!”
“But who’s going to go help her then? We can’t just leave her there with Will—”
“I’ll go, Jess. Give me her address,” Zach interjected with his bold voice.
A honk came from outside the restaurant. I sighed, bringing a hand up to hold my head in distress. I had to act fast.
“No, it’s fine. You shouldn’t have to get caught up in this. Chadd and I are leaving right now.” I rushed to the door.
Zach groaned, “No, Jess! Let me handl—”
“Zach, I need to help my friend!” I cried, making my way into Chadd’s car. And before he could say anything else, I ended the call; I didn’t need him to change my mind.
***
Due to Chadd’s extremely fast and anxious driving, we were in front of Taylor’s huge house within five minutes. Chadd and I quickly tumbled out the car and practically sprint towards her house.
“Ringing the doorbell may not be the best idea,” I mumbled quietly as we approached the front door, “He’s going to know we’re here.”
“I still have the key,” Chadd uttered, pulling out his wallet. After finding a silver key, he thrust it into the key hole, slowly opening the door.
We walked in quietly, searching through her kitchen and room until finally we reached the door to her father’s study.
“I don’t think anyone is in here,” I whispered to Chadd.
“But where else could they be?” Chadd whispered back, turning around to face me.
Suddenly there was shuffling from inside, making both of us jump. Without any hesitation, Chadd grabbed the handle and burst the door open.
“Jess! Chadd!” Taylor screamed, running up to us. Her face was dull, her makeup had smeared, and her eyes sagged as if she had been crying for days.
“Tay, oh my gosh, are you okay?” I asked soothingly as soon as she wrapped her arms around me.
“I-I don’t k-know,” she stammered through brief sniffles.
“Where’s Will?” Chadd questioned, laying his hand on her shoulder as she pulled away from me.
Taylor shook her head. “I saw him come in,” she paused, taking a breath, “So I ran in here. I don’t know what happened after that.”
Chadd and I glanced at each other.
“Did you hear them leave?” Chadd asked, looking around the room.
Taylor shrugged her shoulders weakly. I looked towards Chadd, my stomach clenching at with the apprehension that Will could be anywhere in this house.
“That means they could still be here,” I told Chadd under my breath.
Taylor began to sob again, pushing herself into a corner of the room. Chadd and I stared at her in complete confusion; something was really wrong. She grabbed her head as if she was in pain and pushed it between her knees.
“Oh Tay,” I murmured, walking up to her slowly.
“You two, don’t panic. Let me think,” Chadd declared anxiety present in his voice.He paced the room nervously for a few moments, tapping his head, while I comforted Taylor.
“Jess, what exactly did Vanessa say yesterday? About Taylor? What did she want from her?” he jumped, startling me.
“Uh,” I paused to recollect my thoughts. Suddenly, my eyes lit up. “MONEY! She wanted her money,” I exclaimed, bringing myself up to my feet.
Chadd approached Taylor quickly, grasping her shoulders. “Where does your dad keep his stash of the profit from the construction business?”
Taylor’s eyes shot up. “Upstairs, in the master bedroom.”
As soon as those words poured out of her mouth, Chadd charged for the door.
“Chadd,” I yelled after him, “Where are you going?!”
“It’s locked! There is no way he can get into it, Chadd,” Taylor added, worriedly.
“I’m going to go up there and check,” he yelled back before slamming the door behind him.
I took in a deep, tense breath and look towards Taylor.
***
“What on earth do you think you’re doi—,” Chadd echoed through the door.
There was a thud and my heart skipped a beat. Taylor and I exchanged brief glances before rushing to the door. Hustling through the hallways quickly, we reached the front entrance in a flash. A sigh of relief escaped our lips as we saw Chadd speeding to the front door, running behind a guy wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
“Who is he?” I asked, turning to Taylor.
“He’s the one who walked in the door with Will,” she replied.
Brushing the stray hair away from my face, I began running behind the two; Taylor following slowly behind me. I ran fast, trying to keep up with their pace. As we plunged through the bushes and trees in the lot next to Taylor’s house, I caught a few glimpses of the guy that Chadd had been following. He was a lot younger than Will—maybe around his early twenties—and had been carrying a thick, black bag.
“You guys are so pathetic,” a deep voice chuckled from my side. I jerked, stopping in my footsteps as I turned my head towards the noise. Instantly, my jaw dropped as I came face to face with Will. I started to back up, pushing Taylor backwards along with me.
“Not so brave anymore?” Will rousingly asked, pouting his lower lip in a sarcastic way.
I stiffened my posture and let out a grunt, trying to make myself more intimidating. “What do you want?”
Will stepped closer towards us. “Someone’s feisty,” he snarled.
“I-If y-you want money… take it,” Taylor weakly remarked from behind me.
He rolled his eyes. “You little weak ass,” he replied arrogantly, “I already have the money.”
“Then leave us alone,” I groaned.
“Not so easy, sunshine. I need to make sure that you won’t do anything stupid.” He passed me an intense glare.
“I won’t,” I countered, almost too quickly.
“Psh, yeah right,” he whistled, raising his eyebrows haughtily. “Did you think I’d buy that bullshit? I know you and the Mayor’s son are trying to cook up something.”
“How does that even affect you? He’s trying to stop his father and that’s none of your business!”
Will erupted into laughter, while I stood there staring back at him and puzzled and angry.
“Wow, you don’t know anything do you?” he questioned, still laughing.
“What are you talking about?”I snapped.
“Ah, Vanessa was right. You’re just a pointless obstruction,” Will snorted. He began to approach us again, this time a smirk growing across his face.
I had to do something—fast. “Why, you don’t think I know what’s happening? What you and Vanessa are scheming with the drugs?” I inquired. My lips pressed together, and I profusely thanked my mind for thinking so fast while my body was frozen with terror..
Suddenly Will’s expression dropped. “You know about the plan?” His eyebrows came together questioningly.
“Yup,” I skillfully lied. “And I know you’re trying to use Taylor—or should I say her money—for part of it.”
Will jerked towards me, grabbing my arm roughly and squeezing it hard.
“You better not do anything to screw this up,” he roared, his cold breath blowing against my face.
“Leave me and my friends alone, then,” I demanded fiercely. I attempted to yank my arm away from his grip, but he was way too strong—even stronger than Zach.
His grip tightened, making me yelp in pain. “There are no goddamn compromises. You listen to me and that’s final. Jesse, Taylor, Zach, Tyler” he paused, examining my face, “They are all already involved. You aren’t going to be able to do anything about it.”
I stared at him in disbelief. So he’s saying I have to stand her and watch this dismal world of drugs destroy everyone I care about? No. There is no way I’m letting this happen!
“I’m giving you one last chance to save yourself,” he scoffed, letting go of my arm. He stepped back slowly, waiting for my response.
I looked at him, shocked. Why was this plan so important? And why is he giving me another chance? If I knew about this stupid plan, wouldn’t it be in his best interest to not let me go? Regardless, I can’t let him ruin the lives of people I love. “No,” I said boldly. “I’m not going to let you do anything to Jesse, Taylor, Zach, Tyler or anyone else for that matter.”
“Jess, what are you doing?” Taylor whispered from behind me.
Will looked up and let out a little chuckle. “I didn’t think you’d agree. But eh,” he said, stepping back and giving me a once-over, “You’ll be some good entertainment.” He smirked brazenly, giving me a glimpse of his yellow teeth.
I shuddered in disgust, fear jolting through me. “You’re not going to win.”
“But you see, I already am,” he cockily grinned. He inched towards us again, an evil expression crossing over his face.
Taylor shrieked and fearful shivers shot through my body. I shut my eyes, in fear, until suddenly, I heard a loud crack. I peeled my eyes open and relief hovered over me. In front of me was Zach, thrusting Will’s head into a tree. Chadd jogged towards, frowning concernedly.
“Chadd, take them home,” Zach ordered with a firm voice.
Chadd walked toward us, grabbing both me and Taylor by the arm. “Let’s go.”
I pulled back, making him release his grip. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be there in a sec.” I couldn’t leave Zach her like this!
Chadd gave me a doubtful eye.
“I’ll be there, I promise,” I pleaded.
He sighed, giving me a regretful nod. Taking that notion, I turned back around to Zach, who was still facing Will, his face growing into deep shades of red.
“Jess, you need to go,” Zach huffed through clenched teeth. He let out a few deep, painful grunts. It was obvious that he was struggling.
I panicked as I saw Will’s hand move. “No, you’re going to get yourself hurt!”
“Jess, I can deal with it. Leave!” Zach’s breath got heavier.
Horror flashed in front of my eyes as I saw Will pull away from the tree and reach for Zach’s neck. I wandered my eyes, searching for the mystery guy Chadd had been chasing before, but he was nowhere to be found. “Will has someone else with him, Zach!” Worried I turned my face to Will. “Will, please just let him go!” I begged.
Groaning in pain, Will pulled out his other arm, preparing to swing it into Zach’s face. Zach quickly caught it, pinning Will to the tree once again. Immediately, he jerked his head around, staring me dead in the eye. “For once, Jess, worry about yourself!” He yelled, fuming.
“But—”
“I can take care of this, Jess. Please, go!”
“What if—”
“Jess!” Zach howled again, his voice deepening with each word. “If you care—even the least bit—you’re going to leave… right now!”
My heart sank while I reluctantly stepped away and turned my body around. I dug my teeth deep into my lower lip as I heard the noise of a bone snapping. Forcing myself to stay facing forward, I began to jog, following in the same direction that Chadd and Taylor had left.
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