Jade Chapter 15, a romance fiction |
Warning: Strong Language
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Kayla couldn't find her cousin anywhere. One second Jade was dancing with Byron and looking as if she was having a pretty good time, and then once Kayla turned away for one second, she was gone.
"Hey, where's Jade? She asked Byron who was still standing there on the dance floor with a nervous look on his face.
"Oh, um, she went outside." He answered looking distracted, as if something was troubling him.
"Hey, you ok, man?" Cory asked him, also noticing the worried look on his friend's face. Obviously they had missed the event that took place only a minute ago.
"Yeah, I'm good." Byron answered them even though his expression spoke otherwise. "I'm gonna go grab another drink, want anything?"
"Nah-,"
"Actually, go ahead with him. I'm going to go find my cousin." Kayla told Cory, giving him a small smile.
"Ok. I'll find you later." Cory smiled back before walking away with Byron who still seemed as if he couldn't make sense of something. Kayla wondered if something happened between him and Jade.
Stepping out of the ballroom, she started walking toward what she hoped was the door that led to the outside of the mansion so she could find out if something had indeed happened. But before she could make it to the door, she ended up bumping into someone. She would have apologized absently and calmly continued on her way to find Jade but then she saw who exactly she had bumped into and stopped.
Monica looked surprised to see Kayla but her face quickly hardened a moment later. The two girls had never liked each other. They only tolerated each other because of Jade and Kayla now had no reason to pretend otherwise.
"Hey, slut." She said with a sneer. "So who's boyfriend are you planning on sleeping with next?"
Monica smirked. "Where's yours? Maybe I'll take him to bed."
Kayla let out a small fake laugh. Oh, how bad she wanted to hit this girl. Heck, nothing was stopping her and this just might be what she needed to let out her own frustrations. Although she had a mouth on her, she was rarely violent but tonight she was considering making an exception.
"You have no shame at all, do you?" She said to Monica, hoping to wipe that smirk off her face. "Jade might have not seen you for who you really are, but I always knew that you were a pathetic little bitch. Let me guess, daddy never loved you so you go around stealing other people's boyfriend to make yourself feel better. Am I right?"
If looks could kill, Kayla's ashes would be floating in the air. Monica obviously wanted to hit her but she was restraining herself, her veins were noticeable. Kayla knew exactly what buttons to press. She wanted that bitch to throw the first punch because she knew it would be the perfect push to get her own adrenaline going and for her not to hold anything back. This girl had been one of the reasons her cousin had her breakdown and there was no way Kayla would forget or let it go that easily. She was prepared for a fight.
"I am right, aren't I?" Kayla continued letting out another small laugh. This one was real and evil. "Attention seeking whore with daddy issues, how cliché. I bet you have a stepfather that touches you inappropriately-,"
There it was. With a maniacal shriek, Monica threw herself toward Kayla but before she could throw in a punch, someone wrapped their arms around her and she was pulled her back.
"Monica, stop it."
Kayla recognized Jasmine who had spoken and Ty who was holding her opponent back. Monica didn't listen. She was shaking with rage and trying to detach herself from Ty's grasp.
"I'll fucking kill you!" She screamed at Kayla.
Kayla only continued to smirk. "Calm your claws, hyena. You're just mad because you know I'm right. Jade let you off easy so trust me when I say I won't extend that same courtesy."
"I hate you! The both of you!" Monica continued to scream in rage. "You think you're so much better than everyone else. You think everything is about you-,"
"No!" Kayla raised her voice as well, and it was loud even with the music playing. "It's you who thinks we're better than everyone, honey. You're obviously insecure and can't stand the fact that my cousin has more self-esteem and confidence in herself. You're the bad guy in all of this because it's you who betrayed your friend and slept with him." Kayla pointed to Mark who had stayed silent up until that point, quietly observing from a few feet away.
Their screaming match had attracted an audience and when she pointed to Mark, everyone else turned to look at him as well. He stayed put and didn't look offended or mad. His expression remained blank and unchanged, as if he didn't care. It seemed he wasn't going to intervene at all, until Monica decided to open her mouth again and all hell broke loose.
"I'm so sick of everyone making it seem like Mark and I are the only ones who did something wrong. How about you ask his best friend what exactly he's been doing behind his back, huh?" Monica looked past Kayla where she noticed Cory and Byron standing. She kept her eyes on Byron and by the expression on his face, she knew she had hit the jackpot.
She sneered at him and she probably should have stopped but she was far too gone and couldn't control herself anymore. "Come on Byron, tell us how bad you've always wanted Jade for yourself. How you felt Mark wasn't good enough for her and how you've always fantasize about fucking her-,"
"Monica-," Jasmine tried to intervene but her friend refused to listen.
"Enough with the Monica." She brushed her friend off. "It's true, and he knows it. If you don't believe me then ask him why he had his tongue down her throat just ten minutes ago."
"What?"
Monica was completely aware of the cold look Mark had set on Byron. Everyone was. When Mark stepped up and walked toward Byron, it seemed as of everyone were holding their breath for what would happen next. It seemed as if it happened in slow motion. Byron didn't move from his spot when Mark stopped in front of him.
Kayla noticed something change in Byron's expression, as if he knew exactly what would happen because everything Monica had said was true. He seemed calm, almost prepared and Kayla got the feeling that this confrontation was a long time coming.
"Did you fuck her?" Mark's voice was low and cold but it carried out across the room. Everyone waited for Byron's answer and Kayla wondered in the back of her mind again where the hell her cousin had run off to. If Monica was right and Jade and Byron had indeed kissed on the dance floor, maybe her cousin had freaked out and ran outside, which would definitely be unlike her. Then what-
"And if I did?" Byron said back to Mark. Then all of a sudden Kayla heard someone let out a stream of curse and the next thing, it was chaos. Byron was on the ground and Mark was sending punches into his face left and right and everyone around was screaming hysterically. Ty, Cory and the other guys from their team tried to intervene but it seemed futile. The two best friends continued to roll on the ground, hitting each other over and over again.
Kayla could only stare for a moment until she looked up and glared at Monica, her own anger augmenting. "You stupid little bitch-,"
"Kayla, lay off." Jasmine glared back at her. The only thing that did however was fuel Kayla's rage.
"Oh shut up, Jasmine. You're even more pathetic than she is. I don't get what Jade sees in you and why she's so bent on gaining your friendship back. If you ask me, she's definitely better off without you."
"Well, nobody asked you so just-,"
Kayla had it. The punch she sent across Jasmine's face had her nose bleeding. And then Monica jumped on her and right as she fell on the ground, she wondered again for the millionth time where the heck Jade had gone.
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She was acting as if she had never left. As if she hadn't betrayed Jade and they were just old friends catching up.
"Remember when we snuck into that college party by Lucy's?" She said before letting out her soft innocent sounding laugh. "My god, we got so wasted. Good times, weren't they?"
Jade didn't agree nor disagree. In fact she remained silent while standing there on the front step outside and just stared at Elle with a blank look.
"Tell me you remember that pool party Sasha had. You remember her, right? Can you believe she's pregnant? Yep, second child on the way. She doesn't even know who the father is. I'm telling you Jade, people get to college and suddenly they don't know how to act anymore."
Jade was listening. It was hard not to listen to Elle Reed when she was speaking. She had one of those voices and one of those personalities that demanded your attention. Not only was it demanding but Jade knew it could also be controlling.
"Speaking of college, please tell me you applied to AU?"
Jade didn't speak right away. It took her a moment to realize that Elle had finally given her the chance to speak, so a moment later she finally opened her mouth.
"No I didn't."
Elle looked flummoxed."Why? You have to come to-,"
"Elle," Jade finally interrupted her. This wasn't how Jade pictured it. Elle was talking to her as if they were still friends, as if the last time they had talked Jade hadn't told her never to speak to her again.
She was acting as if it hadn't been years since they last saw each other, as if nothing had changed at all.
But everything had changed and Jade couldn't ignore it. The fact that Elle was there meant that she knew it too. The only reason she had shown up was because words had gotten around to her that Jade was finally ready to talk to her. Jade also knew that Louis had something to do with it.
"We're not friends." Jade finally reminded her. "I don't want to pretend like we're cool with each other, because we're not."
The response Jade received from Elle was not expected. The older girl only laughed as if amused by what she was hearing.
Jade scowled at her. "I'm serious-,"
"And that's why I find it hilarious, little one¸" Elle said as if she was speaking to a little kid, "The fact that you're still holding on to what happened three years ago."
"I didn't ask for you so we can discuss what happened between us," Jade told her, already feeling annoyed.
"But you did." Elle disagreed. "Although there's another matter you'd rather discuss first, isn't that right?"
Jade just stared at her for a while, trying to read her. Elle had a way of being cryptic and saying things that had double meanings. It was all part of her manipulative character and Jade wasn't going to fall for it. Not this time around.
"And what matter do you think that is?" She asked her.
Elle just smirked and answered right away. "Ryan Parker, of course."
Jade wasn't surprised. Louis had indeed talked to her, and it was about Ryan.
"But first, answer one question for me, Jade. " Elle said.
"What's that?"
Elle waited a moment, her eyes unwavering as they stared at Jade. "Who is Ryan to you?"
"He's...a friend." Jade simply answered.
"Nothing more?"
Jade frowned but answered anyway. "No."
"Hmm, ok. Just wanted to make sure." Elle said before her expression softened and she smiled at Jade again. "So, what would you like to know?"
"What did you do to him?" Jade asked, getting straight to it. She just wanted the truth.
"Remember I needed a tutor for Calculus my senior year?"
Jade didn't answer. It was more of a rhetorical question. She was a sophomore when words had been going around that the It girl was on verge of failure and not graduating if she didn't pass all of her classes. They were no longer close at that time so Jade hadn't cared one bit about Elle's academics. Eventually however, Elle had miraculously ended up bringing her grades up and walking across that stage at the end of the year.
"Well, I'm sure you've put two and two and realized that Ryan was the tutor who agreed to help me." She suddenly smiled and held a faraway look in her eyes as if she was reliving a memory. "He was so smart, you know, even though he was two years below me. He had a way of explaining the materials to me that made total sense, and he was just so...passionate about wanting to help me and I always used to tease him about it. I remember he would blush every time I complimented him on how knowledgeable he was and he'd...shy away from me whenever our fingers brushed or I accidently bumped into him during our tutoring sessions. I found it kinda cute that he reacted that way so I'd purposely make sure to touch him just to see his reaction. He blushed every time, and I guess one day...I took it too far."
Jade was attentively listening. The party was still going on inside the house and she could still hear the music. Although it was a little cool out, it wasn't enough to have her shivering so she was ok without her jacket. Elle seemed fine as well, the breeze wasn't bothering her. But her expression had changed into a solemn one.
She sighed, her eyes boring into Jade's. "I kissed him, just to see how he would react. He ran off and he stayed away from me for a couple of the days, which was smart of him, but I needed him to pass that class. He was really helping me. So I sought him out and I lied to him. I told him that I liked him a lot and didn't mean to scare him off, I convinced him that I needed him and he believed me. So he continued to tutor me and, not only would we kiss but eventually..." Elle trailed off but Jade knew exactly what she would say next.
"...you started sleeping with him." She finished. She suddenly felt angry, disgusted and saddened at the same time. For some reason she thought Parker had been a virgin, but it turned out looks could be deceiving. Jade knew exactly how it had all played out from there. Elle didn't need to continue with her tale. There was only one conclusion.
Elle frowned. "Don't look at me like that, Jade. I've already dealt with the guilt on my own. I did care for Ryan but not in that way. I thought we were having fun, but it wasn't just that for Ryan so I ended it."
Of course she did. She was Elle Reed. She got what she wanted and discarded what she didn't and that was Ryan.
"You used him." Jade stated, unable to hide the disgust in her voice. "Then you broke his heart."
Elle started shaking her head, a sad look on her face. "A guy like Ryan and I would have never worked out anyway. I regret what I did but I know I did the right thing by stoping it before it was too late."
Jade frowned, remembering a conversation she had with Ryan one evening on the phone and the way he sounded.
"Love stinks anyway." She had said.
"Yeah, it does." Ryan had agreed.
His voice had gotten softer, sadder and Jade knew that Elle was wrong. It had already been too late.
"So what-,"
"Jade Wilson!"
Jade and Elle whipped their heads around and stared at the host of the party, Dawn Sanders, frantically rushing toward them.
"What is it, Dawn?" Jade frowned at her.
The cheerleader was waving her arm around in rapid motion and pointing back to the door she just came out of. "You have to come, now!" She grabbed Jade by the wrist and started dragging her to the door.
Jade and Elle exchanged confused looks but followed the cheerleader back inside the party where the music had stopped and everyone was talking loudly and excitedly.
"Move!" Dawn commanded to the crowd and they quickly parted, allowing her to pass, with Jade and Elle closely behind her.
Jade could hear bits and pieces of the conversations around her and it all seemed like a puzzle but then puzzle quickly solved itself when she finally saw the scene in the center of the crowd.
Her cousin, Byron, her ex-boyfriend and her two ex-best friends were all nursing multiple bruises on their bodies and there was a large amount of blood on the floor.
Her eyes widened in shock for a moment and then she glared at them all, an anger she never knew she could feel starting to rage inside her. "What the fuck is this!?"
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A/N: O.O How is Jade going to deal with all of this? Well, guess we'll find out on the next chapter. Thanks for reading!