Page 9 of Falling for A Lie
How fucking dare he play this card, the 'Oh your parents are no longer alive, so what they want no longer matters.' My hand snaps up and swings towards his pale cheek before my mind registers the slap until it stings my hand.
"Fuck you, Jace!" I spin on my heels and stalk back to the bonfire to grab my keys, desperate to escape him and the others after this conversation. Anger boils inside me, straining to break free as the orange and red flames dance ahead, their smoke swirling into the night sky on the cool breeze.
Alec catches sight of me before Ben, his eyes take in my current state of smeared mascara and red-tinted cheeks.
"You okay? where's JC?" The deepness of his voice shakes my cool and calm facade, his hand on my chin pulling my face up to look into his eyes, the brown glowing a slightly red hue from the fire behind me
"Don't know, don't care right now. I'm heading home." I sidestep him, his hand falling freely from my chin as he looks hurt by my harsh tone. But at this point, I couldn't care less about anyone else's feelings. Not when the one I thought wouldn't hurt me said such cruel things just five minutes ago - over something beyond my control and a simple question.
"Go find him, if you're so worried." I holler back over my shoulder as I bend to pick up my keys and phone. I slide my skull beanie over my dark black curls, covering my ears from the cold breeze, and look up just in time to see the guys looking at me with hurt expressions and timid eyes. Jace finally stepping from the wooden path I'm currently making my way back too.
"Why are you leaving Sor?" His voice clears over the crickets and crackling of the fire. “You cannot just leave because we had a slight disagreement, that's childish." His left side of his cheek shows a slight red tinting, and his eyes are almost lethal, daring me to take another step, to embarrass him in front of our friends.
“I've got to get home to Lena and Carla. They will be looking for me to bring them dinner. They've still got school tomorrow, you know they can’t miss it." My eyes flick to where Alec and Ben stand, not even hiding the look of amusement now that Jace stands before us. Standing tall with his hands balled at his side, my small handprint started to show on his pale skin.
"Sor, they're Seventeen, it's not like the twins can't fend for themselves when it comes to making something to eat.” He chuckles with no real effort behind it.
"They're still my responsibility, so like I said, I'll be going now. I'll call you later when you're in a better mood, and we can try this conversation again." I say as I step toward Ben, who pulls me tightly into a hug. Ben is more my friend than Jace's. He gives me a soft smile, whispering low enough for only my ears to hear, "Call me when you make it home, Sour Patch." I nod softly, pecking his cheek before sidestepping toward Alec, who stands closer to the fire. A slight wave in his direction has him dipping his head slightly in acknowledgment, saying a soft goodbye as I walk away.
As I get close to Jace, he reaches his hand out to pull me to him, but I don't give him a chance to get his hands on me. Avoiding him altogether, I continue past him back onto the dirt path, not giving his hurt expression another thought.
My anger remains and I can't take responsibility for the words that are itching to roll off my tongue.
I swipe my code to unlock my phone, the screen illuminating my porcelain skin as I thumb through my contacts to Lena's name. Pressing the call button, I hold the cold phone to my ear, waiting through the constant ringing until it's finally answered after twelve rings. A sleepy voice croaks a soft greeting, followed by a long, drawn-out yawn. "Hey, Len, I'm on my way home. Have you eaten yet?"
My feet crunch on the fallen leaves as I continue forward waiting for her reply, the only light from the full moon above me guiding my steps forward
"Carla did, Jason brought her a chicken salad earlier but I wasn't exactly hungry. This upcoming test kinda has my nerves everywhere."She says softly. As another yawn escapes her tired voice as she adds,“Why? I thought you weren't coming home tonight?"
Huffing an exaggerated breath from her question, and not wanting to get into why my plans suddenly changed from me staying with Jace at his apartment. "Yeah, honestly just wasn't feeling well. So I decided to come home, I can stop and grab you something. You've got to eat and we can go over the test to make sure you're ready for it .. if you want?" My voice is gentle as I finally reach my car.
I reach for the key fob and press the unlock button. I slide behind the wheel, pulling the door shut with a thud. I fumble with my keys, quickly finding the right one and shoving it intothe ignition. My phone automatically connects to the stereo, and Lena's voice fills the car.
"Oh, well, yeah... as long as you're sure, since you're not feeling well. Just grab me a chicken sandwich from Little Chick, with extra pickles and mayonnaise.”I smile, flip down my visor, and readjust my makeup beneath my bright blue eyes, wiping away the black smudges from my mascara.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan Len. I'll be home in 20." With that, the call ends, and the song "Little Girl Gone" by Chinchilla starts to play, hitting my mood perfectly.
I yank off my beanie, toss it onto the passenger seat, and set my phone in the center console. Buckling my seatbelt, I shift into reverse and expertly navigate around Alec's worn Dodge Charger and Jace's Ford F-150. Tires screeching, I accelerate down the winding driveway from Ben's family's property.
As I drive through Hazelton Valley on this Thursday night, the main road stretches out, eerily empty. This small town of 3,030 is where pedigree often trumps hard work. Everyone adheres to an early bedtime, ready to rise and reign over their tiny domains.
“Talk to Myself” by Nessa Barrett turns on and I blare it through my speakers as I speed along the freeway, singing as my finger taps along the steering wheel to the beat. The moon floods the dark interior of my blood-red Camaro making it seem a bit ominous under such light.
My mind wanders over the events that turned sideways quickly tonight. I cannot believe Jace and his inappropriate behavior tonight like it was his future imploding on him. Not like this is the one good thing I was looking forward to other than our wedding next year. After tonight I honestly doubt I even want to marry him anymore. He knows the pain of losing my parents still haunts me, we had just started to mend what they'd broken.
It's been three years since the plane they were on crashed before even getting far off the coast of Jacksonville. I know the paperwork transferring the funds and the properties they owned to me should seem important but it's something I could never find myself caring for even when they were alive. It always took away the attention they should've been paying to my sisters and I, and instead taught us how to live with whatever nanny our parents hired as they chased money and small-town fame.
Even then the nannies only lasted until I turned seventeen, and they declared I was old enough to take the responsibility of caring for my sisters and myself. Me, a seventeen-year-old! In charge of caring for two young girls who were just showing interest more in boys and not their school work.
After graduation, I took on a new role: full-time caregiver. I oversee 362 properties, growing our reach from Hazelton Valley to Tennessee, with southern Georgia and the coast on the horizon. Prioritizing their education and escape from thistown, I've delayed college. Jace followed suit. Attending college together was vital to him, not just as my fiancé, but as part of our plan crafted when I was seventeen and sought freedom from responsibility.
But plans can change, and things happen that are out of our control. My luck of not getting into the same college as my fiancé and our friends seems to be one of those things.
Now, I pray I get into one of the other two colleges, securing a future beyond playing mom and managing the family business I never wanted.
I approach my exit, flip on my turn signal, and prepare to leave the highway for Little Chick. But a car behind me revs its engine and speeds past. The back windshield catches my eye with the graphic image of the Four Horsemen burning at the stake. The license plate, "FkDe4TH," sends a shiver down my spine. They pull into the club down the street from Little Chick, and curiosity gets the better of me. I abandon my plans and follow them.
I pull into the only empty parking spot left in the packed parking lot, the music blaring through the brick building along with drunken laughter. I grab my keys hook them on my belt loop and slide my phone into my back pocket.