Chapter 28 Roderick
By Saturday, Jade seems to have gotten the hang of her classes. I moved her Monday kickboxing to weight training, and while she seems to dislike math and history, she's determined to catch up.
I hadn't wanted her out in the open, but I see now that school was a good idea for her. She’s a people person, much like Zander, and while attention makes our job harder with so many eyes on her, it seems to make her happier.
Very rarely does she appear to be hiding behind a mask anymore.
Now, her smiles are genuine. She laughs, jokes, and even seems to pick up on Zander’s sarcasm, most of the time.
When she's upset or frustrated, she shows it instead of shutting down and hiding. The only real downside is she is also collecting enemies. Not anyone we can’t deal with, but rumors have been flying around about her living with us and even being in relationships with us.
The second one is obviously bullshit, but it doesn’t stop people like Amanda and Mai from looking at her like someone they need to squash.
Not that they could, but the negative attention isn’t helpful, and jealousy is dangerous.
Now that I think about it, I guess she could be in a relationship with Zander; they are awfully close.
I shake the thought away. If that's what they want, they can figure it out. They're adults, and it’s none of my business. Though I doubt they are, I think Zander would have said something by now. He’s so clearly in love with her that sometimes it’s painful to see just how oblivious she is to it.
I grab Jade’s freshly printed schedule and head out of the office to meet her. We have plans to go grocery shopping this morning before I drop her off on campus to study with Hazel and Trent.
Ugh.
I can't even pretend to like that she's hanging out with him.
I'd hoped after he'd left her and the shit at the party, she would want no part of him, but she seems to like him for some unknown reason. I can’t imagine Jade would appreciate me telling her who she can and can’t be friends with, though.
So, for now, I'll keep my mouth shut. He’s not the type of person we need to be concerned with.
He’s not a threat to her, and that's my biggest concern.
Stopping in front of her bedroom door, I knock before calling out to see if she's ready. She doesn’t answer. I listen for a moment but don’t hear any movement inside. Pushing the door open a crack, I take a look around to be sure she isn't asleep.
She must be downstairs already.
I make my way down to the kitchen to start my search for her there.
Jade’s been watching me in the kitchen all week, trying to learn new things to cook, and she isn’t doing half bad.
At first, I wasn’t excited to have her around.
I use cooking to help me relax, which means I enjoy doing it alone, but with each night, it’s gotten easier.
Having someone there with me at this point is almost nice, and we work pretty well together.
It's much easier when she helps than Zander. He just eats everything.
But it could be anyone who helped me. It doesn't have to be Jade.
Fuck.
Getting attached to the mission is rookie shit. I need to get it together.
Walking into the kitchen, I don't find Jade, but Zander sits at the island with a plate full of… brownies?
“Hey, Zan, have you seen Jade?” I ask him just as he shoves a huge bite in his mouth. He looks up at me as he chews. His mouth is so full that his cheeks are puffed out like a damn chipmunk. He shakes his head and holds up a finger, telling me to wait.
I do because he probably knows where Jade is, but also because it’s kind of entertaining watching him try to chew all that up and not choke. He finally gets it all down, taking a swig of milk before looking up at me with a huge smile.
Zander loves food. Everyone knows that, but homemade sweets are top-tier for him.
“She was in here, Iike, twenty minutes ago, cleaning up from making these. " He reaches forward to snag another brownie off a plate and holds it out to me.
I make no move to take it. Instead, I raise a brow in question because they could be brownies, but they don’t look like any brownies I’ve ever seen before.
He must be able to see the judgment on my face because he’s quick to defend them.
“Hey, they don’t have to be pretty. Jade made them from scratch, all by herself, and she was really proud of them,” he tells me with a stern look before shoving another bite in his mouth, this one not quite as big.
“And they’re delicious, bro,” he says around another mouthful with a dopey smile.
Considering his love for sweets and Jade’s usual inability to cook, I find myself curious.
Are they actually any good, or is Zander blinded by the fact that Jade made them?
Unfortunately, they really aren’t pretty at all.
They look like they were cut with child’s safety scissors and then dropped.
Regardless, my curiosity gets the better of me, and I grab one before Zander can eat them all, taking a small bite to test it.
Damn.
They really are good.
“You said she made them from scratch?” I can't help but ask because if that's true, Jade might have a hidden talent for baking.
He nods at me almost frantically. “I fucking told you they were good. Anyway, I think Jade was heading to the library. She was telling me about how she finished the last Harry Potter book and needed something else,” he tells me, getting up and heading to the fridge.
I swear he’s forever hungry; he eats like he has a tapeworm.
“Thanks,” I shout back over my shoulder, heading out to track her down.
“Make sure you tell her you liked the brownies,” he calls after me.
Yeah. Just like I thought, he’s definitely in love with her.
“Yeah, yeah,” I call back with a roll of my eyes.
I head through the living room and down the hall.
The library is at the west end of the house and was originally a few rooms that we turned into one large room when we remodeled.
We re-did most of the house when we bought it.
It had been sitting for almost twenty years and needed a lot of work.
We kept the bones but redid almost every room, leaving only the parts we thought best. Like the spiral staircase that Jade loves, we just fixed it up.
We also rebuilt the back garden area, though it doesn't get much use.
I notice Spencer sitting at one of the tables the moment I walk into the library.
He’s got his head in his laptop, eyes glued to the screen, but whatever he’s doing must not be super intense because he looks up when I enter.
Usually, when he’s in something big, he tunes out.
Or maybe it's because Jade’s here that he's more aware. I can’t imagine he would be okay tuning out with her in the house, let alone if she’s in the same room.
“Have you seen Jade?” I ask.
“Yeah, she came in a few minutes ago. I think she's in the back,” he says, jerking his chin toward the back rows near the floor-to-ceiling windows.
I nod my thanks, and he turns back to his computer as I head through the library in search of her.
Our library’s set up a lot like my mother's, but instead of having the bookcases built into the walls like she did, we opted for the old tall shelves.
For some reason, we all felt it gave a more authentic feel.
We did, however, include her use of huge comfortable chairs and sitting areas, so there are many places where someone could curl up with a book if they wanted to.
I make my way through the shelves back to the area that houses books similar to what I think she’ll be looking for. Turning the corner, I find her standing in front of the shelf, reading the back of a book. She doesn’t move as I approach her, but I’m almost positive she knows I’m here.
“Time to go?” she asks even before I reach her. Like I said, impossible to sneak up on.
“Yes, I was hoping to leave now if that works,” I tell her, and she finally looks up from her book. “I also printed your new schedule with weight training, so you can find it on Monday.” I hold out the paper, and she takes it before smiling at me.
“Thanks.” She looks it over before folding it up and tucking it into her pocket. “Yeah, I’m ready. I was just looking for a new book to read, but I think I found it.” She holds up the new book she grabbed, and I look down to see a book called Vampire Academy in her hand.
I’m kind of glad we paid someone to stock the library now.
When we were rebuilding the house, I wasn’t sure anyone would ever appreciate it.
It wasn't something any of us asked for in particular, so cutting it out of the plan wouldn't have been a big deal.
Spencer may spend a lot of time here now, but almost none of it has to do with the books and everything to do with it being a quiet place.
He would have found somewhere else if not here.
Not to mention, prior to Jade, I don't think I'd ever seen Zander with a book in his hand that wasn't some kind of manual to a car or bike.
Jade's been here for less than a week and has probably used it more than Spencer. It's strange how things work out sometimes.
We head back out, passing Spencer as we go, and to my surprise, he doesn't even look up. It seems they're both doing a good job of pretending the other doesn’t exist.
How long will that last before one of them snaps?
And, more importantly, who will snap first?
The drive to the market isn’t long, but I enjoy it. Unlike the last time when Jade wore her headphones, this time, I offered to connect her phone to the car's Bluetooth so we could listen through the speakers.