Jade
When we pulled up to Perrie's seemingly desolate home, Leigh parked the car before cutting the engine. She turns to me, "Now, can you tell me what's going on?" She didn't sound impatient, just worried.
I lick my lips before speaking, "Jesy has a li'le brother, not that much younger than me. He's a lot like Perrie; sensi'ive, smiley, anxious at times, bubbly. Y'know, a very happy lad. Well, last year, he suddenly snapped and killed his parents."
She gasps, "Really?" I nod, "Aye. He left them in the basement then proceeded to burn fings that he owned and loved. When he was asked about that, he said that he knew he'd be away for a very long time. He didn't wanna have anyfin' to miss."
She covers her mouth, eyebrows furrowed in sadness. "How long did they give him?"
"Fifty. He asked for more time at his court case. He really sat in the stand and begged to be locked up all his life."
She brings her hands down then, "You can tell he was destroyed. Did he ever say why he snapped?" I shake my head, "He said he didn't know. It was like a 'switch' turned on and made him see red."
She falls quiet, a million questions in her eyes.
"Did he have any illnesses like you do?" I shake my head again. "No, he was propa well-rounded," I say.
"Can I ask one more question? I'm sorry," she cringes cutely. I chuckle a bit, "Sure, habibi."
I see the light pink start to spread on her cheeks, making her even more adorable. "Do you ever wanna go see him?" I sigh, shrugging after a while. "Honestly, I don't wanna see him like that."
"That's understandable," she hums then unbuckles her seatbelt. I follow suit, opening my door around the same time she does. Once we were both out, she locked the doors and we linked arms.
"Does this also have something to do with what you said?" She asks and I turn to her, "What did I say?"
"You told her that 'it ran in the family' when it came to killing," she answers, knocking on the front door when we got to it.
"It's true. The children in our family are susceptible to snappin'. Jesy has some issues, so I know why she's possibly afraid if she's distraught about that."
She looks my way with a puzzled expression, "She does?" I nod, stuffing my hands in my hoodie's pocket with our arms still linked.
"Aye. She has depression and a bit of an anger problem."
"Wait, really??" I nod, "But she doesn't like talkin' about it." My blood then begins to boil. "That vile piece of fuck did that to her. Jesy wasn't depressed at first. Jesy was goofy and all around happy," I huff out of my nose before my lips form a devious smile.
"She is no longer with us," I say. She giggles, "Oh, yeah. You did say you cut her brakes." I chuckle a little, "Yeah, well, if you fuck with my family, I'll kill you. You and Perrie are included."
She leans in and pecks my lips, "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said about Perrie." I roll my eyes, "She still needs work, but she isn't half bad."
"You can mentor her. So far, she just cleans up our aftermath," I make a small noise.
She knocks again, but harder. "Pez! Get off of Jesy's face and open the door!" I start laughing at that, "Habibi, don't interrupt them. If they're busy, we can just wait until they're done."
She raises a sassy brow at me, "She interrupted us." I lick my lips at the little stance she's doing. "And we recruited her, so we're even." She scoffs, "You don't understand how we work. It's constant back and forth. Payback is what we live by."
"So... you're not even?" I tilt my head to the side and scratch my head like I'm truly, dumbly lost. She shakes her head, "Eye for eye, baby." I pause for a second, "Okay, how you said that, my nipples got hard."
She rolls her eyes again, "You really are insatiable." I shrug, "Like you said, I'm becoming you."
Just then, the door swings open, revealing a disheveled Perrie who looked to have been fresh out of sleep. "Shite, I forgot yous were comin' today," she says, covering her mouth to yawn.
"Afternoon, Perrie," I greet her with a smile. She smiles back, "Afternoon, Jade." She opens the door wider to let us in.
———
The three of us were sitting in her spacious living room. Damn, her and Leigh have some wealthy parents.
Perrie glances at me, "She looked up Joey's case. Turns out he really did brutally murder their parents. She's a mess." Leigh nods, "Anyone would be."
"Where is she?" It was my turn to ask. "Upstairs in my room. She knows you lot are here. She just wants to be alone."
My eyes widen.
I stand up abruptly from my spot, "Where's your room?" I demand. Perrie shakes her head, "She really wants to be alone." I squint at her, "I know me cousin. She doesn't need to be alone right now."
"But-,"
"Edwards, she found out her baby brother murdered their parents. He went out of his way to kill their dad that didn't want anyfin' to do with 'em. I know me cousin. Trust me when I say that she doesn't need to be alone," I say, flaring my nostrils.
"Now... can you please show me where your room is?" Perrie reluctantly stands up. "Jade, please listen to me," she says haltingly, starting to look a little scared now.
I cross my arms over my chest, waiting for her explanation. "Go 'head, 'm listenin'."
"Jesy specifically told me that she didn't want you up there. She said she wants to wrap her head 'round it before she could talk to anyone about it," she tells me, avoiding my eyes as she spoke.
I think I actually do scare her.
I drop my arms before tucking hair behind my ears. I then sigh, "If she really wants me to leave her alone, I will." I sat back down next to Leigh, somewhat defeated that I couldn't go comfort my only family.
Leigh noticed this and rubbed my back, planting a soft kiss on my cheek. "It's okay, baby. She'll come around," she says. I stare at the white tiles floor, counting how many squares I could see.
"Baby?" She called out after I was quiet for a while. I remain silent, starting over since she interrupted me. "Want anything to drink?" Perrie's voice rings out hesitantly. Leigh answers in the affirmative, asking for water.
Perrie stands up and exits the room, leaving us. "Jadey, are you okay?" I bite my top lip Leigh doesn't press anymore, just cuddles up to me and lays her head on my shoulder.
When I finished counting, seeing 29 big squares in front of me, I turned my head to her. "It kinda upsets me that I can't comfort Jesy. But I know that if she really doesn't wanna be bothered, just... let her be." I shrug, looking back down at the twenty-nine boxes.
She hums, "Like Pez said, she needs time to work her mind through it. It's scary learning that someone so sweet could do something like that." I raise a brow and turn to her slowly.
"Comin' from the lass that imi'ated an infamous American murder. Now, I know how Perrie feels about you," I chuckle lightly. She pouts cutely, "I did it for you, Jadey. He hurt you. I thought you forgave me."
I kiss her forehead, "I do, habibi. It's just... Joey. If you knew him like Jes and I do, you'd understand how messed up it is. When I said he was a boy Perrie, I'm not exaggera'in'. He'd nurse a wounded bird to health. And he has."
"Wow, he sounds like a really, really good kid."
"He is. I know he still is inside. He just... snapped," I say with a nod. "Are you gonna be okay, though?" She asks softly. I nod, "Aye. I dunno about Jes. That is her baby brother, after all."
"Do you think she'd wanna see him?" I ponder for a moment, "Maybe."
Perrie comes back with two glasses of ice water and sets them down on the coffee table in front of us. Leigh thanked her, picking her glass up.
"Cheers pet," I say, glancing up at the blonde, but made no move for the drink. She smiles a bit, "No problem."
———
Omnipresent
Jesy was stressed out.
She wasn't able to sleep the previous night due to her racing mind. The images of her baby brother's haunted eyes burned into her memory. All she could think about was what made him snap like that.
Was it home life? School? Friends?
Or was he actually dealing with something he didn't tell anyone about? Even though he's an all around good kid, you never really saw him without a smile.
Again, no exaggeration.
His smile lit up any room he walked in. One of the scariest things that entered her thoughts was if he was still smiling while he killed them. Given the look in his eyes, she doubted it.
She found herself comparing him and Jade a lot.
Joey's the exact opposite of her. The only thing they have in common are their last names.
Jade brutally killed her brother when she was really young. The pictures they put on the news showed the startling emptiness in her eyes. She's never felt bad for doing it.
Jade spent a chunk of her life in a mental institution where she chewed through a kid's wrist, pulled a girl's eye out, and killed a boy that just wanted to play with her.
Even before her brother's death, she's been like that. The fights she got in always ended with the other person bleeding from somewhere; like Tom, Ariana, and Zayn for example.
She's bitten off a piece of another kid's face for taking her book away from her. Though, that story's unclear.
Her development is all over the place now.
In short, Joey's an angel and Jade's practically Satan in a hoodie.
Jesy always thought of herself as a good person. Her and Joey share that in common. She loves and cares about the people in her life. Hell, she even got love for Leigh simply because she makes her only family happy.
The oldest will admit that she's never seen her cousin genuinely smile. She's so used to that evil smirk and bright eyes that held nothing in them that when she first saw how Leigh really makes her feel, it surprised her.
Pleasantly, of course.
But the fact that the same girl that makes her happy is also just as deranged as she is, deeply worried Jesy. If anything, she was secretly afraid of them both. She wouldn't tell her anxious girlfriend about it, since she knows how deep her fear of Jade is.
The last thing she wants to do is give her a panic attack.
I can't believe this is really my life. I've been threatened with death, I saw a dead body and even helped bury it, I was talked into getting Perrie's name branded on me... and now, both of my parents are dead and Joey's locked away for the next fifty years.
What the fuck am I gonna do?
———
*Double update...