In the attic of Jade's childhood was an old trunk, locked. And even though she couldn't pry it open, nor did she have the key, the muffled sobs coming from inside told her more than she wanted to remember.
☆ Winner of The Fiction Awards 2019 ☆
🌼...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oh my god, chapter twenty! I never thought I'd get this far, thank you so much for your support!
"Jade, get up sweetheart, you'll be late for school."
I coughed inside my fist. "I don't feel so good."
Jordan sighed as he perched himself on my bed. He reached out to palm my forehead and I hoped I didn't just bury myself under my covers for thirty minutes straight for nothing. Let's hope my body temperature doesn't fail on me now.
"You're not sick, Jade."
"Yes, I am!" I started to object. I grabbed his hand again and put it on my flushed cheeks. "See? I may be coming down with a fever."
He rolled his eyes. "Who do you think raised you - trust me, I know you better than you know yourself. I also raised Noah and Ash so I know all the little tricks, you can't fool me. Now get outta bed."
"But Jordannn, I'm really sick," I whined, throwing in a couple of coughs for emphasis.
"Jade, I can't miss another day of work again."
"Hey, I don't need a babysitter. I'm thirteen, not three," I reminded him, feeling slightly offended that he thought I still wasn't capable of staying home by myself.
He playfully flicked my nose. "You're thirteen in a few weeks, don't get ahead of yourself." He started to drag me out of bed and I didn't quite protest but I didn't cooperate either. "Jade," he looked down at me, half-hanging off my bed, my hair brushing the carpet.
"Jordan, please don't make me go today. Please."
He sighed and picked me up, only to put me down on my feet. "You're not skipping school," he told me firmly. I wanted to throw myself on my bed again but he was holding onto my hands, keeping me upright. "You can't do this every time you got PE from Penny."
"It's worth the try." I looked down at my toes, wriggling them against a dirty t-shirt I had thrown on the floor.
"Baby, she's not Tristan's girlfriend anymore, she has no business with you. You're just a student to her like everybody else and she has no right to treat you any differently. If she does, you come to me and I'll have a talk with her." Jordan lifted his hand to push some curls out of my face. He tilted his head to the side to catch my eye. "Deal?"
I sucked in my cheeks and nodded reluctantly. "Deal."
"Good." He grabbed my face and kissed my forehead twice. "Now hurry up and get dressed."
I grabbed my clothes for the day and dragged my feet towards the bathroom. Passing the boys' room, I suddenly came to a stop. I was walking on my tiptoes as I quietly pushed the door open, enough to put my head through it. Noah's bed was unmade and empty, he was probably up already. Ashton's bed was occupied though.
