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JADE'S POINT OF VIEW
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I opened the door, anger burning inside of me, when I was welcomed by something unusual: the smell of trying bacon and toast.
I'd been at my place all night, the one my mother gifted me. It was the only space I could call my own, the only refuge from this mess. But I needed some things here- clothes, papers- so I came back.
I stepped into the kitchen and stopped. Jackson stood by the stove, sleeves rolled up, turning eggs in a pan like it was something he did often- which he didn't. The smell was warm, rich, almost too good to be real.
"Sit. Eat," he said.
He didn't ask questions. He didn't want to know where i'd been. Jackson didn't care about that.
I hesitated, staring at him.
"Sit," he repeated, voice cold, commanding.
Reluctantly, I pulled out a chair at the kitchen table. The smell of breakfast hit me- eggs, bacon, toast. Its been long since I had a full mouth watering meal.
But Jackson only played 'family man' when he wanted something or someone.
Then I heard footsteps.
Light. Lazy. Confident.
Another one. Not Susan or whoever.
She came down the stairs wearing nothing but one of Jackson's oversized shirt, half-buttoned, barely covering her thighs. It seems like a fashion show in this house. Every living thing whenever it wakes up it decides to wear his shirts.
She walked like she owned the place, even though she had probably just figured out where the bathroom is.
"Morning," she said, grinning at me like we were close.
I didn't respond. My jaw tightened.
She walked up behind Jackson, wrapping her arms around his waist like she'd done it a hundred times. He smirked- that disgusting, proud, smirk. And kissed her cheek.
He made her breakfast.
He poured her orange juice.
He laughed at her jokes.
And I say there, stiff in my own home, watching a stranger play family in a seat my mother used to sit in.
"So... Jade, right?" she asked, setting her glass down as she faced me. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Can't say the same," I muttered, eyes on the table
She giggled as if what I said was funny.
"Your dad said that you're quiet."
"Is that what he tells all of you?, I said
She moved her gaze to Jackson and back at me.
"He also said you don't like mornings." She added like what I said fell to deaf ears.
"I don't like guests," I shot back.
Jackson paused, turning towards me slightly. I don't look up.
Her smile faltered but didn't vanish. She leaned in anyways.
"Well, I hope we'll get along eventually. I mean... I'm not going anywhere."
I scoffed. "You seem sure, you say that like it's a promise."
"Jade," Jackson warned.
That did it.
I stood, pushing the chair back with a sharp scrape. "I'm not hungry."
"Sit down Boy!", he ordered.
I didn't. My fists clenched. My throat tightened with something hot and ugly.
"She's not mom," I said quietly, but the words struck like glass. "You can dress her in your shirts. You can feed her your lies. But she'll never be mom. She's just another woman in your bed."
Jackson's face darkened
Before I could react-
CRACK.
His hand met my face in a single, brutal slap. My head snapped to the side. The slap hit my cheek hard. The sting was nothing compared to the weight behind it. My eyes blurred fora second, and everything inside me went still.
Not quiet. Still.
The kind of still that comes before a storm.
Before a scream. Before something breaks for good.
"She was your mother. Show some respect," Jackson growled, his voice low, trembling not with regret- but with anger.
I turned my head slowly, looking at him through the sting and heat in my cheek.
"No," I said. "She was my mother. You threw that away the minute you decided to turn your back on us just for a reputation."
I walked away from the table, from the fake breakfast, from the woman who didn't belong- and from the man who stopped being my father a long time ago.
I didn't look back. The sting on my cheek was a dull burn by the time I slammed the door behind me.
I had enough. Enough of the lies, the stranger's, the twisted 'family' Jackson played at.
I needed somewhere to disappear.
Somewhere that wasn't his world.
School wasn't much better, but it was familiar.
I checked my left cheek using a rear mirror of my car. The cheek was red and burning. The nerve of him. To hit me for saying the truth. I can't go to school looking like this. I stopped by the petrol station to buy some ice to cool down the heat burning on my cheek. Wow, how quickly a person got hit because of a slut.
_
The hallways buzzed with the faint usual noise chatter, lockers slamming, feet shuffling rushing to classes, but none of it reached me. My mind was still spinning from the morning
I stepped into the classroom and dropped my bag next to the only empty seat.
Before I could settle down, I didn't pay attention to anyone in the class when giggles and squels echoed. On please not them. I kept my face straight.
Without looking, I sat down. I felt a pair of eyes on me, glanced sideways trying to keep my face unreadable.
Only then did I notice who was there.
Her
The scarf girl.
For a second, my chest tightened. Yesterday- she caught me smoking. And now she's in the same class as me.
I could almost feel the weight of those eyes behind the scarf.
I turned sharply and asked,low and rough
"... What the hell. Why are you sitting here?"
-
She blinked, caught off guard,but she said something I wasn't concerned about. All I wanted was to say something different from this, to shove all this anger and frustration out of my mouth. Instead, I just murmured,
"As if this day couldn't get any worse."
Because, really- what else was there to say.
I didn't speak to her for the rest of the lesson. Not a glance. Not a word.
But I could feel her there- still, quiet, like a statue next to me. It was strange. Most girls would've filled the silence with fake giggles or breathy questions. She didn't even shift in her seat.
It should've made her easy to ignore.
It didn't.
I thought about how she caught me yesterday- cigarette in hand, smoke free n the air, mask down. And why was she actually using that hallway. That moment sat heavy in the back of my skull, replaying even though I didn't want to.
Her eyes saw too much.
And yet... she still kept everything hidden.
_
At lunch, I spotted her alone, sitting under a tree. Everyone else scattered in clumps. But she? Always out of reach. A ghost in daylight.
Perfect target.
I picked up a ball that was under my shoes.
And Aimed.
Let it fly.
Bam. Nailed her right on the head.
Her head jolted sideways. She flinched and fumbled, looking around like a confused kitten. I bit down a smirk.
Then I walked towards her- slow, casual, like it wasn't me. Hands in my pocket. She looked up, hands on the scarf.
"Oh," I said lazily, pretending. "Didn't see you there."
What shocked me… was that she actually responded.
She stuttered- but still, she spoke.
I listened to every word she said when I asked her questions.
Her voice said more than she did.
She was trembling. Frightened.
I leaned in closer, just to see if my presence had any effect on her- and it did.
Her breath hitched.
She couldn't even find words for some of the questions I asked.
"Nice scarf," I teased, trying to fish something out of her- anything.
_
I slouched in my chair, resting my head on my folded arms.
Eyes half-lidded, I watched the scarf girl from the corner of my vision.
She took too long.
Was she waiting for the broken bell to ring?
I noticed how she packed her books- slow, quiet, careful like she didn't want the pages to breathe too loud.
Now was my time.
Time to get ready for the game.
"Leaving already?" I asked, stretching my arms above my head.
They ached from the way I'd been laying.
She stopped.
Frozen.
"Did the bell ring?" I added, acting confused- like I hadn't been watching her the whole time.
I walked up to her.
Close.
"Why do you act like that? Are you scared of me?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
I just wanted to hear it from her lips.
Then I pushed further.
Teased her.
Asked if she liked me.
I knew she did.
That reaction? That flicker in her eyes?
Clear as day.
But she surprised me- challenged me. Told me she wanted to talk.
That caught me off guard.
So I leaned in again, breathing in her nervousness. Watching how uneven her breath got when I came too close.
The last question I asked made it obvious: she was one of those girls.
The ones who wanted me… but pretended they didn't.
She hid it well.
But I saw it.
I smirked at that.
I straightened up and slung my bag on one shoulder and went to the parking lot. On my way there her mom was standing across the street, glancing at me.
I climbed into my black Mercedes Benz. The engine purred- a gift from Jackson, though I'd never admit it to his face.
Before I could close the door, someone called out.
"Yo! Jade!"
I looked up.
Max.
Almost same age. Same blood- though that wasn't something either of us advertised. Jackson cheated on my mom with his. Now we existed. Two mistakes walking.
But Max and I? We were tight.
Brothers, in more ways than DNA could explain.
He jogged up, hair tousled, smile sharp.
"Yo, heard about the new girl?"
I leaned back against my seat. "What about her?"
"Total mystery", Max said "Scarf on her face, doesn't talk, keeps to herself. Makes her hot, don't you think. You know what I mean?"
I did. Too well. But I didn't show it.
"Max come on its not been a week yet and you've already checked out girls you want for your sexlist." I said.
Max grinned wider ignoring me. "Callum says he saw her up close today. Said she got a nice figure, perfect waist. Thinks she's shy. Innocent.
Innocent.
Right.
That word lit something in me.
I nodded slowly, saying nothing, just letting him talk.
Callum joined us a minute later- all swagger and that usual smug glint in his eyes. Our trio. The silent predators dressed in top grades and clean shoes. We kept it classy. We kept it hidden.
But we had a code.
"Should place a bet," Max said, eyes flashing. "New girl's like... untouched. First one to get her- wins."
"Untouched. You say. Has anyone fucked one before," I asked with a smirk in my face.
"Mhmm," Max said shaking his head, like he knew what was on my mind.
Callum laughed. "Okay. What's the prize?"
"Since she's still a virgin," Max said. "How about ten thousand dollars and boys night. Losers pay."
They both looked at me.
I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, eyes dark.
"She's mine."
Max raised an eyebrow. "Already?"
I smirked. "Already."
Max and Callum laughed as I pulled out of the parking lot.
This was just another game. Another girl to mess with until she folded under the pressure. I'd played it before. And I played it well.
_
Tonight, I didn't go back to Jackson's house. I went to my own. The one no one knew about.
I threw my jacket onto the couch, dropped onto the floor, and let my head fall back against the couch. The slap still rang in my skull- not physically, just the memory of it. His voice. His hands. That woman's stupid perfume in the air.
He thought I would forget everything that happened.
He thought I was out of line for saying the truth.
But he never gave a damn about my mother's memory. Just his pride.
I sat there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, not thinking. Just... burning. Thank goodness Ella was not in the house. Ella is the one that my mom hired to take care of the house. She was not old or young, but she was in her late twenties. She's twenty nine now. Even though my mother died, she's always been here, taking care of the house without getting paid. She's more like an elder sister to me.
_
The next morning, I was ready for school.
That never happened. And I had no reason to be. Except her.
Even Max texted:
"Bro? Are you okay??"
I didn't reply.
I sat at the back of class, sprawled out, one leg stretched, just waiting.
When she walked in with that same small, guarded energy- like she thought being quiet made her invisible.
It didn't.
It only made her easier to watch.
She glanced around the room, then found her usual spot.
Next to mine.
She didn't look at me. Good. I didn't want her to. I didn't want her eyes. Or her personality. Or whatever broken pieces she carried beneath that scarf.
I didn't even think she was beautiful.
But that's what made it better.
I didn't want her because she was something.
I wanted her because she was nothing.
Just a blank face behind cloth. A puzzle nobody has solved.
And I wanted to be the first one to get underneath it. To ruin whatever secrets she was still keeping.
At break, I trailed behind her without saying a word. She moved like someone trying to escape a spotlight that no one ever put on her.
Perfect.
She sat on the back stairs near the gym.
She surely knows the quiet places in this school.
No friends. No phone. Just silence.
I followed.
"Hey," I said, casually, leaning against the rail.
She stiffened.
Didn't answer.
I crouched besides her, not touching, not even too close- just close enough to make her uncomfortable.
"You always eat alone?" I asked.
She hesitated, then gave the smallest nod.
I smiled. "Oh."
Good. Makes this easier. She blinked at me, trying to say something.
She then lowered her gaze.
"Relax," I said. " I don't bite."
I stood and walked off without another word.
I didn't care if she liked me.
All I needed was one opening. One crack in that shell.
Because once I got in, I wouldn't stop until I had what I wanted.
After school, I let her go. I didn't want her to suspect anything. Or seem like am interested in her.
I just stared at her.
I reached the parking lot and got into my car. Max was already waiting, leaning on the hood like he lived there.
He gave me a look. "You okay broh."
I shrugged. "Yeah. Just watching."
Callum showed up a few minutes later, tossing a soccer ball in his hands like a show- off.
"Any progress?" Max asked, smirking.
I didn't answer right away.
Then I said, flat and cold.
"She's not pretty. She's not interesting. She's so boring. But... I'll be the first to sleep with her."
Callum let out a laugh. "Wow. That's cold, man. But how would you know she always has a scarf wrapped around her face. But have you checked out this girls body. She's ho... Wait a minute. Did she reject you?"
Max laughed. "She did reject you."
"No, she didn't," I said sharp and cold.
Max grinned. "So tell me why were you early today, I know you don't just wake up early for no reason. So what's up?"
"Busy," I replied.
"With whom?"
I gave him a look. "The scarf girl."
Max's eyes lit up. "No way. You are already on her."
"She's easy," I said flatly. "Not in the way she acts- but the way she breaks."
I looked at both of them and said coldly.
"Make sure you bring the money. In cash."