EDEN-JADE THURLOW
The whole weekend, I slept. I had no energy, and absolutely no will to get out of bed.
I hadn't been answering my phone, not once. I had many missed calls and nearly hundreds of texts, from Katie, Luke, and even Ethan. I didn't respond, though, I couldn't face anyone. I felt so humiliated, and I hadn't even done anything wrong.
I heard footsteps making their way closer to my bedroom, as I quickly buried my face into my pillow, pretending to be asleep. However, I couldn't fool my brother, as he instantly opened my blinds, grabbing the pillow from beneath my face and dropping it on top of my body.
" You're late, get up " Alex told me, rushing out of my room almost straight after.
I didn't even get the chance to tell him no, before he had left. I didn't move though, instead I put my pillow back where it was, and pulled the duvet back above my head.
A few minutes later, though, I felt a dip in the bed beside me, and a sigh come from who I guessed was my brothers, lips.
" What's up with you? " He asked me, trying to pull the cover down, so that he could at least see my eyes.
I didn't let him, instead I tugged it further upwards, so he couldn't see the state that I was in. Anyone would know that I was a mess just by looking at me.
However, his strength overpowered me this time, as he suddenly yanked the blanket off of my face, revealing my red eyes and my blotchy skin. His muscles immediately softened as he looked at me, confusion and worry replacing the glimmer of mischievousness in his eyes.
" What's wrong, Jade? " Alex instantly quizzed me, staring down at me in concern.
I just shook my head, turning to face towards my caring brother properly. I at least owed him an answer, I hadn't spoken to him all weekend.
" No, I'm not. I'm not going to school " I groaned, crossing my arms against my chest, as I sat up straight, my back resting against my headboard.
Alex raised an eyebrow at this, laughing gently.
" I'm sorry, but you are " He began, making me sigh, knowing I couldn't get away with it " Now what happened? "
I sat silently, rubbing under my eyes with my hands, letting out a yawn. When I didn't respond and my brother saw the look on my face, his eyes darkened, his body tensing up as a thought crossed his mind.
" Is it a boy? Did someone hurt you, Jade? " His voice sounded stern, as if a sudden rush of anger had shot through his veins.
He was extremely overprotective, but in a way, I loved it. Alex had always been like this, even when we were little. My mother never did it, and my father definitely didn't, so he grew up protecting me no matter the cost.
" Yeah. It's pathetic, I know " I groaned, sitting upright, jumping out of my bed faster than ever.
My brother raised an eyebrow at my sudden movement, staring at me as I threw a hoodie on over my pyjama top. I could tell that he was bubbling with anger on the inside, his eyes dark and his jaw clenched.
" What's his name? I'll pay him a little visit " He was quick to say, something which somebody would usually joke about.
But with Alex, what you see is what you get. If I told him Ethan's damn name, he'd be at his doorstep within the the next half an hour. If not, he'd take it upon himself to do some serious digging.
And as annoyed and hurt as I was, because of Ethan, it would kill me to see him get hurt.
RED
I walked through the hallway, eyes staring my way as I made my way to the cafeteria. I had successfully managed to get my brother to let me go into school at lunch instead, which was where I was heading to right now.
People whispered as they usually did, a few of the boys whistling, to which I ignored. However, when I saw Luke and Katie, and not Ethan, sitting at our usual table, I smiled triumphantly.
I had suddenly had a change of attitude. I wasn't going to let Ethan ruin my day, or at least let him know that he had ruined my whole weekend. I was going to make him beg.
" Where the fuck have you been?? " Luke nearly yelled when I sat down next to him, Katie grinning at my arrival from opposite us.
I shrugged at this, smirking a little as I pulled out my sand which, taking a bite.
" We know what Ethan said to you. Some girl told me today in gym, apparently she overhead the whole thing " Katie sighed, staring at me with sympathetic eyes, as Luke nodded in agreement from beside me.
I stopped eating, when I heard this. Now I felt really embarrassed.
" He's dead to us until he apologises " Katie smirked, making a small laugh leave my lips.
Before I could even speak, my eyes lifted towards the girl heading towards us, carrying a tray with her lunch. Mackenzie's hair was slightly messy, as she rocked a pair of joggers and a hoodie. She usually looked glam, with a full face of makeup and a perfectly planned outfit. But today, she obviously had different intentions. A small and somewhat forced smile formed on her face as she slid into the empty seat next to Katie, her tray gliding across the table also.
" He's dead to me, too. Not that he meant anything to me, anyway " Mackenzie butted in, having heard what Katie had said from a few foot away.
Katie turned to look at the girl in confusion, eyeing her up as if she were from another planet. She scoffed slightly, the two of them staring at one another strangely, eyebrows raised.
" Since when have you cared? " Katie asked, her voice calm, though it was also filled with sarcasm.
Mackenzie laughed at this, staring back at Katie with a smirk planted across her lips.
" Since I realised how big of a bitch I've been "
I was just as confused as Katie, but when my eyes met with Mackenzie, she gave me a reassuring smile. I was pleased that she wasn't feeling awkward or weird about the whole kiss thing. It did leave me wondering though. What if it meant something to her? Did it?
However, when I turned to look at Luke, I realised that he was the most confused of us all. He stared between me, Mackenzie and even Katie, his eyes wide and his lips parted at the fact that his kind of ex girlfriend was sitting across from him.
He didn't say anything, he just mouthed what the fuck is going on subtly to me, when Mackenzie was focusing on her lunch. I chuckled lightly at this, aware that he had no clue about Mackenzie's apology, her helping me out, and that damn kiss. I wasn't going to tell him that part, though. I had a feeling that she didn't want anyone to know, and I respected that.
However, before I could even break the silence, the cafeteria doors opened, my eyes snapping up towards them. My heart dropped when Ethan entered the room, his eyes frantically scanning the cafe, before they landed on us, on me, in particular. It felt like everything was going in slow motion as he quickly made his way towards our table, his face somewhat pale, filled with nervousness.
Good. He should be nervous.
When he was standing at the head of the table, we all stayed silent. Mackenzie bit into her apple, Katie stared off into the distance with her eyebrows raised, Luke pretended to mind his own business, whilst I tried not to laugh at how much I loved these people. They were determined to make this boy crack under the pressure, because he'd really fucked up.
" U-Uh, can we talk, J-Jade? " He stuttered, his voice low and quiet.
It instantly made me think back to when we first met, and just how shy he was around me. He quickly came out of his shell, though, and I was so glad. I missed him, even though it had only been two days of not speaking to the boy. But right now wasn't the time to become miserable, or reminisce about how much I liked him. Now was the time to get payback.
I ignored him, staring at my manicured nails that I had saved up my money for. I inspected them carefully, watching the boy shift from one foot to the other out of the corner of my eye.
" J-Jade, please "
When he said this, my eyes snapped up to his so quickly and so suddenly that he looked away, his orbs landing at his feet as he fiddled with his fingers. He wasn't this big of a pussy on Friday night, that's for sure.
" What about? " Was how I responded, almost giving him the impression that I had no clue what he was talking about.
" Oh! I remember " I added before he could answer my question, untucking my chair slightly, leaning forwards so that my chin was resting in the palm of my hand, teasingly.
" Do you want to talk about how you called me selfish and told me that whatever we had was done? Or, we could talk about the fact that you think I fucked your brother. Because that's just as hilarious, to me "
When I said this, Ethan didn't dare look at me. He knew that if he did, he'd most likely turn to dust. The fire and anger was burning through my eyes and straight into him so aggressively, that I felt as if I were about to punch the table out of frustration.
" Please let me explain everything to you, J-Jade " Ethan said this almost as a whisper, his words being said through gritted teeth, not wanting to bring too much attention to us like he had done at the party.
When my eyes met with his pretty hazel ones, I felt a pang in my heart. This boy was going to be the death of me, and I knew it. Just looking at him so vulnerable made me want to hug and kiss him, even though I wanted to punch his pretty face at the same time.
" Fine. Be at my house, tonight at 7 "