Chapter 27 Jade #3
“What?” they both say in unison. I give them a confused look, unsure of what they’re questioning.
“Shit, sorry. I forgot,” Trent says a second later, rubbing a hand down his face.
“Let me see, and I can walk you through whatever you need.” He grabs my phone from my still outstretched hand, resting his elbows on his desk, and taps around on it a bit.
Clearly, he’s used to phones because I’m already lost.
“Wait, what did I miss?” Leo asks after a second. I ignore him because I’m not sure, but I’m also trying to pay attention to the stupid phone.
“Nothing,” Trent grumbles, his voice coming out harder than I’ve heard it all day.
“Seriously, I’m so confused,” Leo says to nobody in particular before he turns his attention to me. Trent is leaning forward in his seat, looking over my phone, and I feel Leo's gaze on me over his head.
“How do you not know how to use a phone?” he asks me, and Trent’s shoulders stiffen. “Like just, not that phone, right? Like you used to have an iPhone, and now you have an Android, and you’re confused?” he rambles, sprouting off scenarios he thinks would be reasonable.
“I said drop it!” Trent shouts, and Leo snaps his mouth shut mid-sentence. He looks from Trent to me and back again before lifting his hands in surrender and returning to his work.
Trent huffs, turning back to my phone before angrily slamming his thumbs into the screen with enough force that I’m almost concerned he’ll break it.
I feel the eyes of everyone in the class on us in response to Trent’s outburst, but I ignore them, instead focusing on Trent.
Leaning over, I put my hand on the screen to block his view, gently pushing my phone down toward the table.
He takes a deep breath and hangs his head but doesn’t say anything immediately.
Huh.
I expected to have to fight a reaction when touching him, but even now, as my hand lies on his, I feel nothing.
No fear, no sense of danger. Instead, it’s almost pleasant, normal even.
Just like with Hazel earlier, it’s almost easy.
I thought it was weird when he touched me earlier, and I didn’t feel anything, but I chalked it up to just being startled. I guess I was wrong.
I look at him where he sits next to me and feel my brow pinch in confusion. Why? Maybe it’s just them. I felt the same way about Hazel, and I thought it might be because she was a girl my age, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the case with Trent.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a scene,” Trent tells me without looking up. I don’t say anything, and we continue to sit there as I wait for him to look at me. Slowly, I feel the stares around us lessen as people lose interest and turn their attention back to whatever they were doing.
Finally, he looks up at me, emotion clear in his eyes, but I don’t understand what it is.
“I don’t think it’s me you should be saying sorry to,” I tell him, cutting my gaze toward Leo, who's now super interested in the math assignment. The smile that’s been on his face since the moment I met him is missing, and while I might not like the guy exactly, I think Trent might have been a little too harsh.
Trent looks at Leo and back to me, shaking his head.
“What? No. He shouldn’t be digging into things that aren't any of his business,” he tells me, and I sigh, understanding dawning on me. He's trying to protect me, worried about someone bringing up my past. It's sweet, but I don’t need to be sheltered.
“Trent.”
Now that I’m sure he won't break it, I pull my hand away from the phone, and he lets it drop to the desk. “I appreciate what you were trying to do, but everyone will know eventually. Most people already do, and it doesn’t matter to me. I’m well aware of who I am, and the people around me should know who that is so they can decide if they want to be around me. It’s not fair to others to hide that.”
He’s shaking his head at me even before I’ve finished talking.
“No, who cares about that? It has nothing to do with who you are, and if they judge you on that, it’s bullshit,” he growls, and I see the anger in his eyes. Thankfully, he’s not yelling, so most people don’t look twice at us this time.
I chuckle at him because it sounds good in theory, but we all know that’s not how this works.
“Trent, it has everything to do with who I am. And it might be a bullshit way to judge, but I’d prefer to let people know and have them distance themselves from me if that’s what they want because if that's how they feel, I don’t want them around anyway.
" I stare at him as I explain, hoping he understands.
He’s quiet for a minute before finally he nods. He still looks angry, but I think he gets what I'm saying.
“We also both know that just because I’m out doesn’t mean anything.
I could end up back there at any moment, and anyone around me is in potential danger just because of who I am,” I tell him just loud enough that only he hears me.
His posture goes still, and his head whips around the room as if searching for a threat.
His face is serious when he finally turns back to me, much more like when I first met him at the station, instead of the laid-back college kid he’s been all morning or at the party.
“Don’t say that kind of shit. We both know the guys won't let that happen.” Anger drips from his words, but I don’t think it's directed at me.
“And neither will I,” he adds almost as an afterthought.
“Sometimes we don’t get the choice of what we want to happen,” I tell him without elaborating further. I know there's a very good chance I’ll be going back, but he doesn’t need to know that. He opens his mouth to respond, but I shake my head before nodding to Leo again.
Trent huffs but mumbles out an agreement.
“Hey Leo, listen, man. I didn’t mean to go off on you like that,” Trent says, turning in his seat to face him. Leo looks up for a second before looking back down at his work.
“Happy now?” Trent asks, turning to face me with a smile as if proud of himself.
“No, not at all, actually, and clearly, neither is Leo.” Trent raises a brow in question at me like he doesn’t understand.
“Leo,” I call out to him, and he looks up for real this time, pulling his attention away from his work.
“Trent was just trying to protect me, and while it’s appreciated, it’s unnecessary.” Leo nods but doesn’t ask for more information like I expected him to.
“I’ve never used a cell phone because up until two weeks ago. I’d spent the majority of my life in sex trafficking rings. I’ve never been to school or out in the real world, and because of that, I’m lacking a lot of things that should be common knowledge,” I tell him with a shrug.
His mouth quite literally falls open. He looks from me to Trent and back again before he seems to process exactly what I just said. “What?” he shrieks. He quickly looks around before leaning onto Trent's desk to better speak with us without drawing everyone’s attention again.
“Tell me you’re fucking joking, please!” he all but begs us.
Of course, neither of us can, and when we both shake our heads at him, he sinks back into his chair.
“I heard my mother talking about one of the rings going down a few nights ago. She mentioned that a lot of girls were pulled out, but I didn’t hear any details. ”
We watch as he runs one hand and then the other through his hair before pulling on it slightly, his face pale.
“Shit,” he whispers before he turns back to look at me.
“I’m sorry, Jade. I wasn’t trying to make fun of you for not knowing about the phone.
I was just confused because everyone our age lives on them.
” He gestures around the room as if to prove his point, and I don't even need to look to know it's true.
Everyone has them, not just here but everywhere.
I wave off his apology; he has nothing to be sorry about. I’m the weird one in this situation.
“It’s fine, really,” I tell them both before giving them a pointed look to make sure they understand.
“Now, how about you guys stop worrying about this shit and help me.” I point to my phone that sits on Trent's desk, all but forgotten.
“Zander keeps sending me these little pictures, and I have no idea what they mean or how to use them.”
They both laugh at me, and I glare at them in return, which only makes them laugh harder.
Assholes.
“They're called emojis, Jade,” Leo says, and I decide maybe he’s not so bad. Being happy as much as he is might not be a terrible thing, even if it’s a foreign concept to me. He obviously has other emotions based on his little outburst a moment ago.
“See, this is what I mean!” I whine, hating how much I feel I don’t know.
“Alright, alright. Calm down. We can help you,” Trent assures me with a smile before grabbing my chair and pulling me closer.
It's a simple enough thing, considering I need to see what he’s showing me, but I feel my cheeks heat regardless.
As if that isn’t enough, I might just melt into a puddle when he leans in, his arm pressed against mine.
It's ridiculous. He isn’t even touching my bare skin, yet I feel like the hoodie might as well not even be there right now.
He doesn’t notice my reaction; his attention is on my phone as he starts explaining emojis, where to find them, and what some of them mean.
I soak up everything he says as I will my blush to go the fuck away before he notices.
I catch Leo’s eyes, and his smile turns into a knowing smirk as he looks between us.
My eyes widen, worried that he’s about to say something, but before I can beg him to be quiet, he mimics zipping his lips and throwing away the key before turning his attention to the phone and offering tips and tricks for me.