Chapter Eighteen
Juniper
I wake up groggy, my head pounding like someone’s playing drums inside it.
I should know better by now—drinking always does this to me.
But then, last night comes crashing back.
Zade and me. Oh, my God. I stretch my arm out, expecting to feel the warmth of Zade’s body next to me, but instead, my fingers meet nothing but cold, empty sheets.
Confusion grips me as I sit up, scanning the room frantically.
Zade’s belongings, his suitcase, his jacket—they’re all gone.
A knot of panic tightens in my chest. Where could he have gone? Why would he just leave like this?
I stumble out of bed, the chill of the morning air prickling my skin.
I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and what I see isn’t pretty—hair tangled in a messy knot, heavy bags under my eyes.
I look like a wreck, like someone who had a really bad night.
Splashing cold water on my face, I try to shake off the fog in my head.
The icy splash jolts me awake, but my reflection in the mirror still looks haunted, my eyes wide with worry, my lips pressed into a thin, tense line .
As I smooth down my hair and pull on my shoes, a wave of anxiety crashes over me. Something feels wrong. It’s a gut feeling, but it’s damn strong.
I rush down to the reception desk, my thoughts spinning wildly. The receptionist looks up from her computer with a polite, almost too kind smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners as she meets my gaze.
“Good morning, Ms. Harding. Can I help you with something?”
“Where’s Zade?” I ask, struggling to keep the rising panic out of my voice. “Mr. Patterson. He was here last night.”
Her smile falters just a little, and she looks at me with something like pity. “Mr. Patterson left this morning. He mentioned he had an urgent flight back to New York.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut.
Zade left? Without saying a word to me? I thank the receptionist in a daze and stumble out of the hotel, my mind spinning with confusion and a growing sense of dread.
Why would he leave like that? Did he just use me?
The thought sends a sickening wave of fear through me as I hurry home, desperate to make sense of it all.
I grab my bicycle from where it’s propped against the hotel’s wall, the familiar weight of it grounding me as I pedal furiously through the quiet streets of Cody.
The cool morning air whips against my face, but it does nothing to calm the storm raging inside me.
Each turn of the pedals feels heavier, as if the toll of Zade’s betrayal is dragging me down.
What if Zade w as lying to me the whole time?
What if everything he said, everything we shared, was just part of some twisted game?
The town is starting to wake up, but the usual morning bustle feels distant, almost unreal, like I’m watching it all through a fog. Everything looks the same, but it all feels different now, tainted by the possibility that Zade’s betrayal is real.
As I turn onto my street, I notice a crowd gathered in front of my house. My heart sinks like a stone in my chest as I push through the crowd, feeling their hostile stares boring into me. Their faces are twisted with fury, and their voices rise in a chaotic swell of accusations and insults.
“What’s going on?” I ask, my voice unsteady as I try to make sense of the scene in front of me.
Mayor Brian steps forward, a smug smirk curling his lips. His eyes gleam with a satisfaction that makes my skin crawl. “Congratulations, Juniper. You’ve successfully tricked the entire town.”
I blink, trying to understand, but all I feel is a rising sense of fear. “What are you talking about?”
He amps it up, throwing words out at the crowd like they're on trial. “Zade Patterson never backed away from his resort plan. He played us all, using Juniper as his little pawn to keep us quiet while he secured the land. The land we love, where our children play, where our wildlife sanctuary stands—it’s all sold for his resort now.”
Gasps and angry murmurs ripple through the crowd. It feels like the ground is slipping out from under me as the truth of his words crashes down. The smel l of dirt and grass fills my nose, a grounding reminder that this nightmare is very real.
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head in denial. “That’s not true. He told me—“
“He lied,” Brian interrupts, all fake pity and bullshit sympathy. “And you bought it. You convinced us to trust him, and now we’re screwed.”
The crowd erupts, their anger a physical force, their words cutting into me like knives.
“How could you, Juniper?” “We trusted you!” “You’re just as bad as he is!”
Tears blur my vision as I try to explain, but my voice is drowned out by their fury. “I didn’t know! I thought he was telling the truth!”
Brian inches toward me, talking low, and the sour smell of his breath almost knocks me back.
“You’re so gullible, Juniper. Always have been.
It’s no wonder he chose you for his little scheme.
We all know you warmed his bed. How much did he pay you to fool us and lie with him?
I still can’t believe he ever slept with someone like you. ”
At that moment, my parents push through the crowd, their faces twisted with anger and disappointment. My dad’s eyes are cold, and his jaw is clenched so tightly that it looks like it might crack.
“You’ve disgraced us,” my dad spits out. “How could you do this to your own town?”
My mom, usually so gentle, now looks like a stranger, her face a mask of rage. “We thought you had changed and that yo u’d grown stronger. But you’re still the same naive, foolish girl. Characterless and weak.”
I look around, desperate to find a single friendly face, but all I see is anger, disgust, and betrayal.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I sob, my body shaking with the force of my tears. “I thought I was helping.”
But no one’s listening. The town has turned against me, and there’s nothing I can say to make them see the truth. The weight of their hatred feels like it’s crushing me, leaving me alone, isolated, and completely devastated.
“Get out of our town, Juniper!” someone yells, and that’s all it takes to push the crowd over the edge.
They start throwing things at my house—rocks, trash, anything they can get their hands on. The noise is deafening, and the anger is so thick that it feels like it’s choking me. I stand there, frozen in shock, as the crowd’s rage intensifies, their shouts and insults blending into a terrifying roar.
Jacob rushes forward, trying to shield me from the worst of it. “Stop it! Zade manipulated her, just like he did with all of us! This isn’t her fault!” He then turns to Brian. “And you’re one to talk! Huh! You were the one who brought Patterson into town. You were the one who started this!”
Brian hesitates for a moment but then sneers.
“I was with Patterson at first, but when I saw how the town was reacting, I wanted to back away. Patterson threatened me, said he’d ruin everything if I didn’t play along.
But your sister—she ’s the one who really manipulated everyone. She’s a whore and always has been.”
I know he’s lying, and hearing his words something inside me snaps, and I jump at him, ready to claw his eyes out. But Jacob grabs my hand, pulling me toward the house. “We need to get inside, now.”
But inside, the chaos gets worse. My parents have lost all control—they start throwing my things out the door—clothes, books, and personal items—all tossed onto the lawn in a humiliating display.
“You’re no daughter of mine,” my dad yells. “Get your things and get out! You’ve brought nothing but shame to this family!”
“You’re a disgrace,” my mom screams, her face contorted with rage and tears streaming down her cheeks. “How could you do this to us? To the town? After everything we’ve done for you, this is how you repay us?”
I stand in the middle of the living room, watching in horror as they destroy what little I have left.
Every item they throw out feels like another piece of my heart being ripped away.
The sight of my life being torn apart is more than I can bear, and I feel myself breaking under the impact of their hatred.
Jacob stands by me, his face pale with shock and anger. “Stop it! This isn’t helping! You’re just making things worse!”
But they don’t listen. The noise, the anger, the betrayal—it’s all too much. I feel like I’m drowning in it, unable to catch my breath as the walls close in around me.
Suddenly, Dominique bursts through the door, her voice cutting through the chaos like a knife. “Enough! This isn’t solving anything! You’re tearing her apart!”
She steps in front of me, her back straight and her eyes blazing with determination. “She didn’t know, okay? She thought she was helping us. She was manipulated just like the rest of us!”
My dad sneers, his lips curling into a cruel smile. “And who are you to tell us how to deal with our daughter? This is a family matter, and you have no business interfering.”
Before Dominique can answer, Jacob speaks up. “She’s her friend!” He then glares at mom and dad. “I’m not going to let you destroy her like last time!”
The tension in the room reaches a boiling point. My dad’s fists are clenched so tightly that his knuckles turn white. He takes another step forward, but before he can say anything, Jacob suddenly sways on his feet, his face going deathly pale.
“Jacob!” I scream, catching him as he collapses into my arms.
Everything becomes a blur. I hear Dominique shouting for help. The crowd’s noise fades as all my focus narrows down to my brother’s unconscious form in my arms. His skin is clammy, his breathing is shallow, and my heart races with fear.
“Jacob, please,” I sob, holding him tightly, desperate to keep him with me. “Please be okay, please don ’t leave me.”
The world around me disappears as the paramedics arrive. They take Jacob from my arms, laying him gently on a stretcher, their faces grim.
“Is he going to be okay?” I ask, my voice breaking as I clutch at one of the paramedics’ arms.
“We gotta get him to the hospital now,” one of them answers quickly, sounding rushed, not meeting my eyes.
I watch in a daze as they load Jacob into the ambulance, my heart shattering with each passing second. The crowd, once so loud and angry, has fallen silent. Their faces are now filled with guilt and unease. But it’s too late. The damage is done.
As Dominique climbs in the ambulance with Jacob, she tries to comfort me. “We’ll make it to the other side, Juniper. I promise. Jacob’s strong, and we’ll do everything we can to help him.”
But her words feel empty, like they’re coming from far away. I’ve lost everything—my town, my family’s trust, and now maybe even my brother. All because of Zade’s lies and my own stupid, gullible heart.