"How about I drop them off at school?"
"No."
"At least let me pick them up."
"No."
"I can take them out for dinner tonight."
"No."
I looked between my mother and Jordan as they went back and forth. They were going at it since six in the morning which wasn't a surprise - what did surprise me is that she was actually up so early. I could see that my Mom was trying but Jordan crushed every effort she put into making things better. Not wanting to be rude, I faced her and said, "You can do my hair if you want. Remember that thing you used to do?"
She beamed at me and I thought the smile kinda made her seem younger, not much but a little.
She grabbed my shoulders and turned me around, her hands buried in my hair. "I know exactly what you mean - half up, half down, with the braids on the side?"
"Yep, that one."
I sat down and let her work her magic while I ate my cereal with Noah.
Ashton walked down, dressed. He still looked tired but at least he was up. I realized I forgot to ask about his work last night and decided to do it now.
"You excited for work?"
He briefly stopped shoving some toast down his throat to look at me and laughed. "Excited? Who's ever excited to work?"
I shrugged. "You're making money, that must be something to be excited about. You know, since you're always nagging about needing cash."
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
"Whoa hey, don't get too enthusiastic," Noah said with a sarcastic tone.
"On your mark, get set, go fuck yourself," Ashton smiled.
"Hey, no fucking swearing in the house!" Mom said.
Three pairs of eyes, including mine, turned to look at her. Huh?
Ashton scoffed. "Don't fucking tell me what to do. If I wanna swear, I'll swear. This isn't your house."
"I don't care what you say Ashton, you're still my kid and you're still gonna respect me." She sounded stern and I winced a little when she pulled a bit too hard on my hair.
Ashton rolled his eyes. "I'm an adult, ma. Not a kid."
"So? I'm still your mother."
"Some mother you are," he muttered into his coffee, downing it all in one go. How did he not get burned?
Someone honked the car outside and Ashton groaned as he got to his feet. He put his jean jacket on and stuck an unlit cigarette in his mouth. "Later, losers." He roughly messed Noah's hair up and hugged my head from behind, almost choking me.
"Just like his father," Mom shook her head. "No filter between his brain and mouth, never cares about anyone but himself, and always running away from his responsibilities."
Noah and I shared a look and I knew we were thinking the same thing - only he was the one who decided to say it out loud.
"Sounds more like you, mom."
I felt her fingers freeze on my hair and wondered what was going through her head. I couldn't see her face but I guessed she was biting her bottom lip in thought, I did that too when something was on my mind or bothered me.
"Huh. Maybe we are more alike than we thought," she eventually said, going back to my hair.
Jordan came back in, ready to leave. He clapped his hands like a drill sergeant and motioned for us to hurry it up. "Noah, you have practice after school, right? Do you think you can catch a ride?"
"Yeah, Jason's dad is gonna drive us home."
"Okay, good." Jordan then addressed me. "Lauren's mom still gonna take you girls to the mall?"
I nodded. "Yup! She's gonna drop me off later, too."
"Don't forget to thank her and tell her I appreciate wanting to take you."
I nodded again.
Mom suddenly gasped. "Hey, I got an idea. Why don't I take the girls - "
"No."
She scowled at Jordan. "Are you being serious right now? If I didn't know any better I'd think you didn't trust me."
"That's because I don't." He ushered me out of the kitchen to put my shoes on and jacket.
"We can still pick another day to do something together, mom," I told her.
"You're so sweet, Jade," she smiled and twirled a curl around her finger before smoothing it down behind my ear. "I should've called you Dulce."
I wrinkled my nose. "Uh I think Jade's just fine."
"Let's go you two." Jordan grabbed Noah and I and pushed us out of the door.
"Bye!" Mom waved at us. "Have a good day my babies. You too Jordan!"
He shot her a tight lipped smile. "Just don't break down the house please. And don't invite anyone over. Go check out that local grocery store, they're still hiring."
"Yeah, yeah. Leave that to me. Bye!"
I waved back at her as I got in the car, returning her smile. I don't know, maybe this time she will change for good.
"I have a bad feeling about this," I heard Jordan mumble under his breath.
FADED
"Your hair looks really nice today," Lauren complimented as she tugged at my braid.
"My mom did it."
Her chocolate eyes widened for a second. "Oh, she's back? For real this time or is she gonna leave again?"
I put my books on my desk with a huff. "No idea."
She grabbed her own stuff for our first class and asked, "Do you want her to stay?"
"I don't know really. If she's gonna stay for good, then I do want her to change first. Last night she embarrassed me in front of my brothers, I was so mortified that I wanted to die."
Lauren was about to say something when something caught her eye. I followed her gaze and felt dread wash over me when Angela walked over to us.
"Good morning, girls."
We both mumbled a good morning back.
"Jade."
"Angela?"
"I just wanted to apologize again for yesterday. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I was pissed at the fact that your brother wouldn't give me his number and I took it out on you. I really hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."
What. The. Hell.
"Uh, okay?" I wasn't really sure what else I was supposed to say.
"Okay, as in okay I'm gonna accept your apology?"
I exchanged a quick look with Lauren. "Sure. I mean if you promise not to do it again."
"Of course I won't!" she grinned and suddenly grabbed me in a hug.
I looked over Angela's shoulder at Lauren and mouthed what's happening? She just shrugged, oblivious too.
Angela turned to the girl that was sitting behind me and kicked her bag away. "Move."
Oh, for a second I thought Angela had changed. Silly me.
I couldn't help it though and turned around to face her. "What's up with you, acting all ... strange."
"I just realized I've been treating you girls poorly and that's not fair."
Lauren nodded slowly. "And you figured that out all on your own?"
Angela leaned her chair back to rest her feet on her desk. "No, my therapist helped."
I glanced at Lauren and I could practically hear her thoughts.
Oh-kay?
Angela smiled and it kinda made me uncomfortable.
"What are you so happy about?" I wanted to know.
"Haven't you heard?" She put her feet back on the ground and leaned over her desk to close the distance between us. Lauren and I both inched back a bit. "Noah and that Shannon girl broke up. I knew those two would never work. She's too fake and he's just too perfect. I wonder if he likes brunettes ..."
"Oh okay." I shot her the best smile I could muster without trying to give away the fact that I was on the verge of throwing up. "Good luck, Angela. Good luck." I turned back around in my seat to face the blackboard.
I caught Lauren's shoulders shake as she laughed silently, her hand firmly pressed against her mouth. I kicked her leg with my foot which only made her suppress her laugh harder. I found myself snicker too and hid my face with my hand before Angela could catch us.
FADED
I was just on my way to second period when I suddenly heard my name being called over the P.A. system.
"Jade Jacobs will you please report to the principal's office."
"What's going on?" Lauren wondered out loud.
"I don't know." I shouldered my bag and closed my locker. "Can you take notes for me?"
Lauren nodded. "Yeah sure. It's probably nothing."
"I hope so. See ya."
I started walking towards Mr. Frederick's office, my stomach tied in knots. I knocked on the door and heard heavy footsteps coming towards me. A bald man who was probably taller than Jordan answered.
"Ah miss Jacobs, come in."
"Is everything alright?" My lips trembled.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news. You should probably take a seat first."
I felt my knees buckle but I couldn't move. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry, my hands sweating. "W-what happened?"
"There's no easy way to say this but I just got a call from your mother. There's been a terrible accident - "
"Oh god," I dropped myself on the chair, bracing myself.
"Your grandfather has passed away. I'm really sorry."
"W-what?" Did I just hear that right? "My grandfather?"
He patted my shoulder in sympathy. "I understand, you must be in shock."
"In shock? Mr. Frederick, I don't have a - "
The door suddenly slammed open, revealing a breathless Carla Bennett. Her face with way too much make up found me and she let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, there you are!"
Mr. Fredericks stood up and offered her a hand to shake. "You must be Jade's mother, I suppose you were the one who called. I would like to offer my condolences. Losing your father must be heartbreaking."
She sniffed, her eyes watering. "Yes, it's - it's really hard. I still can't believe it you know. I keep pinching myself, thinking that this is some terrible dream. He didn't deserve to die that way. He's a good man - I mean was a good man." Tears started rolling down her cheeks, her mascara running. She half-smiled when Mr. Fredericks offered her a tissue.
Somebody give this woman an Oscar because wow. Just wow.
"Is it okay if I take Jade with me? She was always my daddy's favorite. I know she must be taking this really hard." She grabbed me and practically pressed my head against her bosom. "Shh, it's okay baby, it's all gonna be okay."
Seriously, what is going on here?!
I tried to push her away but she just held on tighter, rocking me from side to side.
"I understand ma'am. Do you want me to call for Noah too? I'm sure he would want to - "
"Oh, no. There's no need for that," mom interrupted. "You see, Noah is a very sensitive boy. If I tell him the bad news now, he'll be so broken about it. I want to spare him the pain. Just for a little bit longer if that's alright."
Mr. Fredericks nodded. "Of course, it's your call. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
You can start by helping me figure out what in the world is happening right now!
"Thank you sir, that's very kind of you." My mom finally released me and pulled me by the hand. She didn't say anything until we were out of school and I managed to get out of her grip.
"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded. "What was Mr. Fredericks talking about? I don't even have a grandfather! You said your dad died when you were just a baby. And even if you lied about that and he was still alive, and suddenly died today - what's it to me? I don't even know the man!"
"I'm helping you ditch school," she smiled, taking back my hand again and dragging me to the bus stop.
"Whoa, whoa - stop, wait hold on. Mom!"
She finally stopped and looked at me annoyed. Oh she was annoyed? Well I was frikkin' irritated!
"You can't just make me skip school, Jordan's gonna kill me."
She put her hands on her hips. "I didn't have any other choice. It was the only way I could spend some time with my only daughter. You've heard your brother, he doesn't even trust me to pick you up from school." She walked closer and cupped my cheeks. "Cheer up, sweetie. We're gonna have so much fun today. Don't you rather spend time with me instead of listening to boring teachers talk about stuff you will never need in real life."
"Uh, right now listening to those boring teachers sounds more appealing." I pulled her hands away. "Mom, tell me you're smart enough to know that this is wrong on so many levels. The principal is gonna find out one way or another. And the boys are gonna find out too, and then I'll probably be grounded for the rest of my life."
She poked my nose. "Then we'll make sure no one ever finds out."
"Mom, I promised we could hang out some other time. How about tomorrow after school? Or this weekend, I got nothing special planned on Sunday."
She sighed again. "Listen to me Jade - truth is, your brother will never let me have some alone time with you because of some mistakes I made in the past. But I really wanna change things, I believe that I am capable of doing something right. But if they never let me prove it, I'll never get to show how hard I try. I just wanna spend some time with my daughter, is that so wrong?"
I swallowed down the lump in my throat and my hands balled into fists. Looking into her eyes, I could see nothing but sincerity. She was right, she was trying - in her own way, but she was trying. I let out a long breath watching as it fogged into cold air.
"Fine," I eventually gave in.
She made an excited sound and hugged me tight again. I nearly suffocated from her strong perfume.
"Ooh, the bus is here, let's go."
Jordan was right, I had a bad feeling about this too.
FADED
We ended up having brunch first at a nice place. I wasn't much of an eater but I had to admit I did enjoy the quality time. My mom told me some stories about the time she was away. I didn't believe any of it but I just nodded to appease her. She also flirted with the waiter which was really awkward and embarrassing. I think I saw too much of my mother's breasts.
It was almost noon when we went to the mall. I wondered if Lauren knew why the principal called me to his office. She was bound to find out one way or another. What about Noah? He was going to notice I wasn't there for lunch.
"I'm so dead," I groaned.
Mom said she needed to stock up on some nail polish. Hers were all dried up because a friend of hers forgot to close the lids of the bottles tightly. What kinda friend does that?
"How about this color?" she picked up a blue bottle. "Russian Navy. Mhm, that reminds me of a Russian guy I once dated. One piece of advice Jade, never go for Russians, they're too demanding. Pick yourself a nice exotic type, they're always willing to give you the time of your life."
"Good to know." I don't think I was supposed to know this.
"Hey this color would really suit you. Mint Candy Apple." She put the green bottle next to my face. "Brings out the green in your eyes."
I just nodded even though I didn't really like the color. I just wanted to get this over with so we could go back. My stomach flipped from the nerves, always feeling as if we would get caught any second.
We paid for the items and my mother pulled me into another store. "It's the last one," she promised.
I found myself a couch and just sat there while she tried on different outfits.
"What about this?" she pranced around in a skirt that was way too revealing and a blouse that didn't leave much to the imagination.
"Really pretty," I said in a monotone voice. I had lost count of how many outfits she tried on by now. Also I was tired, and I wasn't even doing anything.
"You know what you need," she suddenly said, "A training bra."
Oh god. Here we go again.
"Mom, have you seen my chest? I'm as flat as a surfboard. I think boys have more to grab than I do."
She laughed. "Oh honey, if you look after your mommy, you'll be blessed in no time. I'm sure you inherited my genes, you definitely didn't get your good looks from your daddy."
I frowned. "But yesterday you told Noah and I that we looked exactly like our father."
"Did I?" she seemed distracted as she walked me over to the lingerie section. "Honestly, it's been such a long time ago, I can't even remember his face."
"You can't remember the face of the man you fell in love with and had two kids with?"
"Oh, Jade, you'll understand me one day," she chuckled. "Hey, this is a nice set of underwear."
"Mom, it's see through."
"Yeah, you're right, maybe it's a bit too revealing." She held the piece up against her body, examining herself in the mirror. "It's perfect."
I rolled my eyes.
Turns out, it wasn't the last store. My mother ended up taking me to another one. I was lazily strolling down the aisles, when my eyes fell upon an album of a boyband I knew Sophie was obsessed with. I took the CD cover and turned it around to read the different songs. This could be a perfect birthday present. I thought of how I should definitely buy this when I come back with Lauren.
"Find anything?" My mom suddenly appeared next to me. "Oh I didn't know this was your type of music."
"It isn't. Just something I think of buying for a friend of mine."
"You sure you got enough money?"
"Of course I do, Jordan and Tristan gave me enough."
She reached into her purse and took out some dollar bills before counting it. "There's only twelve bucks here."
My eyes widened. "Wait, is that my money?" I patted my pockets and then checked my wallet to see the money was gone. I glared at her. "You took my money?"
"I thought you knew?" she said, looking innocent.
"Mom! When did you even take it?"
"I thought you knew," she said again.
I was fuming. "Of course I didn't know! I can't believe you just stole my money. How am I supposed to buy a gift for Sophie now?"
"Don't worry, we'll find something," she tried to reassure me.
"The only thing I can buy with twelve bucks is a stupid card. Thanks a lot, Mom."
"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sure Lauren's mom will pay for you. I can pay her back later, I promise."
"So not the point! First you get me to skip school, then you drag me around to stores I don't even wanna go to, and now I find out you took the money that was meant for Sophie's present."
She bit her lip, red lipstick sticking to her teeth. "You know, there's a way we can solve this."
I crossed my arms over my chest. "How?"
"We can just take it. No one will see."
"Are you frikkin' kidding me? You wanna steal it?" I can't believe her sometimes.
"It's no big deal, it's just a stupid CD. They're not gonna catch you for something that only costs 20 dollars."
I shook my head at her in disbelief. "You're actually considering this? Mom, stealing is a crime. I don't care if it only costs twenty dollars, even if it's one dollar, it's still stealing."
She rolled her eyes. "Stop exaggerating so much. Besides, no one's gonna see."
"Look up!" I put my hands up, waving at the ceiling with all the security camera's.
"Honey, trust me, they're not gonna catch you."
I scoffed. "So you want me to do this? What kinda mother forces her own daughter to steal something?"
"I'm not forcing you to do anything, Jade. I'm just saying that if I take it, I'll definitely end up behind bars. But if you do it, they'll just let you walk away. And you know why? Because you're just a kid, and kids always get away with stuff like this."
"We're not stealing anything. I'm not stealing anything." I took the CD from her hand and put it back. "We had our fun, now take me back to school." I wrapped my hands around the straps of my backpack and turned away from her.
I started for the exit of the store when the alarm suddenly went off.
Someone cleared his throat and I spun around to face a short, round man with way too much facial hair.
"Open your bag please."
"Excuse me?" I was confused. My eyes scanned my surroundings, searching for my mother but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Open your bag please."
"Why?"
His eyes narrowed, his lips pressed tightly together as he forced through gritted teeth, "Open. Your. Bag."
Scared of the way his face darkened and his voice deepened, I put my backpack on the floor and opened it. My stomach dropped when I caught sight of the square item. The CD.
"You do know stealing is a felony, right. Did they never teach you that at school?"
Shit.
A/N: I want to thank each one of you for reading, voting and commenting :) You're the best!
Ps: if you have any suggestions or ideas, please let us know, we're all ears ;)