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“I honestly don’t get why you’re getting all worked up, Ruby. Stella and I are both single, we’re friends, so what if we want to have a little fun, right Silver?” Stella’s earlier blush is now a deep crimson blanket covering her entire face and neck.
But before she can respond, Kai lets out a loud, scornful laugh.
“You have something to say Saint?” Drake asks, sitting up and facing his best friend who glares angrily in his direction. Seeing these two go head-to-head like this is unsettling. They’ve always been the best of friends, their bond unbreakable, but the way they're acting right this moment, taunting each other like this, it’s worrying.
“Not a damn thing Drake, not a damn thing,” Kai answers, no longer bothering to look their way.
“Anyways,” Jaxon interjects, “Jade mind telling us where you plan on shoving all that food you just ordered?”
“Yeah what gives bitch? I know you eat a lot but you ordered enough to feed this entire table,” Ruby adds.
I laugh pointing at the guys at the table, “Have you seen these guys, no way that would be enough to fill their stomachs. Besides you now I always go overboard when I order hungry,” I say hoping my nonchalant attitude keeps them off my tail.
“Yeah I guess, this wouldn’t have anything to do with the whole reason you're staying at the guy's apartment, would it? You know, it starts with Sebastian and ends in Silver.” I glare at Ruby who looks obviously pleased with her comment. Fucking bitch.
“Yeah about that Jade,” Kai chimes in, “I mean we’re cool with you staying and all and have been rather good at not asking about what we saw go down the other day, but you mind filling us in on what the hell is up with you and the stuck up, broody as fuck Horseman.”
“No,” I state matter-of -fact, just as Kelly comes back with our meals.
???
“Jade we didn’t mean to piss you off okay, we’re just worried about you,” Kai shouts out at me, as they follow me into the apartment. I’ve given them the silent treatment since their interrogation at the diner, which frankly left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. The rest of the afternoon was bleak, everyone ate making small talk but never once bringing up Sebastian, that is until we were leaving. Then Kai thought it would be funny to comment on the fact that Casey told him Kinsley said her and Sebastian would be taking things to the next level after graduation, whatever the fuck that means. Not to be overdramatic or anything, but I may or may not have stormed out of the diner after that.
Once inside the apartment, I head over to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, then lean back against the counter chugging the water down in one big gulp. The car ride here made me terribly nauseous and the last thing I want is to throw up in the middle of the afternoon, in front of the three of them. Drake, Kai, and Stella all watch me with careful eyes, like they’re afraid of saying the wrong thing or something to set me off. I've been pretty chill lately but I’ve been known to have a few erratic outbursts in the past.
Drake steps in closer to me reaching out to grab my arm but chooses to pull back at the last minute. Instead he runs his hand through his hair taking a step back, “He’s right Wolfe, we don’t mean to be getting in your business, we have no right to.”
“Yeah you bet your ass you don’t,” I blurt out, interrupting Drake’s speech.
“Well either way we’re worried about you okay, you’re just not yourself Wolfe, you haven’t been for a while. We saw it happen to Scarlett when we first arrived at this place. She started acting out of character, keeping shit from us, hanging aroundthem, and look where it all got her. She was nearly fucking killed Jade,” Drake utters, a helpless sadness still heard in the tone of his voice.
I look up at Drake with wide eyes, stunned that he knows the extent of what occurred that night at Servite Manor. I know Ace told them about why Wesley Servite and Franco Marchesi were after her, but that was before that night everything went down. Though now I wonder if this means they know everything, even about Roman.
Reading my mind, Drake moves to lean against the counter, “Yeah we know, we remember. After that day we went with you to the safe house Ace was staying at, we did some digging of our own. Kai’s quite resourceful given his connections with The Cobras down in Pleasant Hills. We found out who Macallan, well Marchesi, was working with. We followed his accomplice and wound up…”
“Here,” I whisper, finishing Drake's sentence. They followed Roman, and he brought them here to his apartment. They knew. My heart falls to my feet, thoughts ofeveryoneknowing about Roman poisoning my mind making me once again feel the bitter kiss of betrayal.
“Don’t Jade,” Kai mumbles, as if also reading my mind. It’s like he can see the wheels of doubt turning in my head, connecting all the dots, and putting all the pieces together. They knew about Roman, but did they know who he was?
“We didn’t know it at first, didn’t make the connection, even though if I’m being honest it should have been clear as day. I mean you look identical,” Kai jokes, but no one is laughing. Stella stands beside me, and just like I am she's obviously piecing everything together. “We convinced him to help us locate Scar, little did we know Ace had already gone to her.”
“But then the accident happened,” Drake continues, my gaze now falling on him. “When Scar went to follow him, when she disappeared with Alek, we contacted Roman, told him she was in danger. It was then that he reached out to Scar’s dad and well, you know the rest.”
That’s when all hell broke loose. According to Stella, Ace was kidnapped by his uncle, who turns out was actually his father. Then Scarlett showed up and they were nearly killed by Wesley, only Marchesi, who was pretending to be Macallan our English Professor, showed up first and told Wesley that Lilith was the one who killed Marchesi’s sister Gianna, the love of Wesley’s life, causing him to shoot Lilith for betraying him. Then Marchesi shot Wesley and threatened to kill Ace and Scar only Scar’s biological father, Maxwell Smoak, showed up and killed Marchesi, but not before he was also shot by him. At this point the manor was on fire, Ace and Scar had to run out, unable to save Maxwell, and he died along with the other three in the fire that took down Servite Manor. It all sounds like some sick horror film, only it’s the sad truth. My sisters sad truth.
“That’s why he was there that night,” I ask, well more of say out loud to myself. “When I went back to the safe house, I found Roman there, standing beside the Horsemen, Scar in bed all bruised and,” I suddenly feel the urge to puke, bile rising in my throat, coating my esophagus with a burning acid threatening to corrode it and turn it to ash. I drop down to my knees thinking about everything Scar went through and how I wasn’t there for her. How I still am not there for her.
“Jade,” Kai shouts, dropping down to kneel in front of me, but his voice sounds muffled by something as my mind turns hazy and everything sounds like I’m underwater. “Jade please say something,” he pleads, but I can’t. I’m in shock, afraid that if I move or speak I will puke all over the place.
Suddenly there is a loud knock on the door making Kai immediately jump to his feet as Drake rushes over to the door to see what the commotion is all about. Drake opens the door and is thrown out of the way as Bass appears in the doorway, hair disheveled and a dark purple bruise under his right eye. That does it.
I instantly feel the bile rise further up my throat and I'm unable to hold it in any longer. Quickly jumping to my feet, I sprint back into Drake’s bedroom and straight to the bathroom, Stella moving quickly behind me trying to catch up. I barely make it to the toilet in time and begin to puke relentlessly, my body convulsing as sobs erupt from within me. The putrid stench only makes me hurl faster as I feel the inside of my nose burning, hot molten lava trailing up my esophagus and coating my tongue with its bitterness.
Behind me the bathroom door locks, only I’m unsure of who it is that has come in, but then I feel her hand on my back, rubbing small circles with one hand while the other reaches to pull my hair back. She doesn’t say a word, just continues to rub my back as my entire lunch, the burger, the fries, the onion rings, the nachos, and the chocolate banana milkshake, end up in the toilet bowl before me.
When I’m finally completely empty inside, I fall back on my ass, cradling my face in my hands as I lean forward, folding my knees up to my chest.God I’m a fucking mess, how did I let things get this far.
“You had no control over any of it Jade,” Stella answers back, and I realize I’ve said my thoughts out loud.Fuck.
