Chapter 31 Spencer #3
Thinking back, I can’t remember the last time we all sat down to eat dinner. Today’s the first time Rick’s been home to cook since we went to dinner at Randall’s four days ago.
We’d all been working more. Now that we knew what we were looking for, we’d been pouring into it, trying to find a way around this fucking gala and Jade going to that auction.
We all know what will happen if she goes, and no matter whether she’s okay with it or not, it’s not right.
None of us are ready to hand her over to him.
We’d made sure that someone was always here with her, though.
Kratos and Trent have been spending a lot of time here while we run the clubs, the garage, and every other thing.
And while we’ve made sure we haven’t left her alone, I’m starting to think we might have to do more than that.
I make it back up to her room pretty quickly, walking in to find them all arguing. I can’t really make out most of it as they all talk over each other, but I get the gist. We haven’t been paying close enough attention to her, the same thing I realized.
I would love to argue that she's a grown-ass woman and can do it herself. She’s more than capable, but we all know her past. With the amount of trauma she has, we should’ve been ready for something like this or a million other things.
I toss the banana at her without a word, and she catches it, looking down at it like she’s never seen one before looking back at me just as confused.
“It’s a banana,” I say when she looks up at me, and she rolls her eyes.
Yeah, I couldn’t help it.
“Eat it,” I tell her as I make it to the foot of her bed, tossing the bag of trail mix on her lap now that Hazel has once again moved to sit beside her instead of on top of her.
She looks like she’s going to argue before she gives in and nods, peeling the banana and taking a bite.
“Thank you,” she mumbles after she’s finished it, and I can tell that she’s embarrassed, and just this once, I don’t enjoy it. Zander grabs the peel from her, disappearing into the bathroom to toss it when she attempts to get up and do it herself.
Jade huffs but doesn’t argue—that is, until Rick gives her a pointed look, nodding to the trail mix.
“Seriously?” she hisses at him, and when he doesn’t budge, she grabs the bag and rips it open before shoving a handful of the mix into her mouth.
“Happy?” she snaps at him, but it doesn’t have the desired effect, with her mouth full.
“Yes, actually, that’s the first meal you’ve had in how many days?” he asks.
“At least four, maybe five,” I say before I realize he wasn’t talking to me.
Every eye in the room turns to me.
Damn it.
“How did you know that?” she asks me.
“I didn’t know for sure, but I do now.” She narrows her eyes at me, and I smirk.
“Besides, it wasn’t hard to figure out. You didn’t really eat at Randall’s, and with everything that happened, I assume it’s a stress response.
You grew up without the ability to stress eat, so I assume you wouldn’t turn to food the way some people do.
But not eating is a very real problem you could face, and if any of us had stopped to think about it for two seconds, we probably would’ve thought to check on your eating habits earlier. ” I explain with a shrug.
It’s not really a big deal, just a simple observation, but the way everyone is looking at me makes it seem like it’s more than it really is.
Rick clears his throat, turning his attention back to Jade and pulling everyone else's attention. “He’s right. We should’ve noticed, but you also need to be more aware of how you take care of yourself. You won’t be any good to anyone if you're passing out.”
It’s a low blow, using her need to keep the girls safe against her, but I know it’ll work even before I see her eyes widen. She knows he’s right.
And just like that, I can almost guarantee this won’t be an issue ever again. She would do anything for those girls. Eating is probably one of the easiest things on that list.
“You're right. I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize…” She’s cut off as she yawns, and I look her over again, wondering if eating is the only thing she’s been neglecting.
Judging by the bags under her eyes, I’d say it probably isn’t.
“You don’t have to be sorry. This is new to everyone, and we could’ve paid better attention.
No big deal. We just have to do better now that we know,” Trent says, speaking up for the first time, and when she nods, he takes a deep breath as if this had been weighing heavily on him.
I don’t doubt it. With the way he looks at her, I’d say he’s just about as gone for her as Zan at this point.
“Well, I have to head out. I picked up one of the night shifts in the city to see if I hear anything. But I’ll see you on campus in the morning.
Why don’t you eat some more of that and take a nap?
I’m sure Rick’s going to be making dinner tonight after all this.
Someone can come wake you up later,” he says as he grabs his coat, moving to the side of the bed to press a quick peck on the cheek.
Both of their cheeks turn pink, and I'm not sure if it's from the kiss or the audience, but I have to resist the urge to gag at the sight. They are grossly cute, and it’s kind of freaking me out.
Jade rolls her eyes but smiles up at him. “Fine,” she huffs before she grabs another smaller handful of trail mix to snack on. This time she picks through it for her favorite things first, and starts popping them in her mouth one piece at a time.
“Let’s go, Haze, Leo. I’ll drop you guys off on my way in,” he says with a nod to them.
Leo leans over and ruffles Jade's hair, and she gives him a death glare while he heads to the door. She doesn’t attack him.
I’m not sure if she just doesn’t mind him or she’s simply too tired, but I kinda hope it's the latter. I don’t like him and would love it if she just stopped bringing him around on her own.
Lord knows I don’t need another reason to argue with her.
“Can I stay?” Hazel says in a rush, looking from Trent to Jade. Her eyes are big and pleading, the same way they used to get when we were kids, and she wanted something. It worked every damn time.
Trent and Jade exchange a look before Trent turns his questioning gaze to Rick, once again defaulting to him for answers. He could’ve asked any of us. This is mine and Zan’s house just as much as it’s Rick’s, but he didn’t, and I try not to let my mind run with that.
We were friends once, but that ship sailed a long time ago. He’s here for Jade, and while we can all get along for the sake of keeping her safe, I don’t know that we could get back what we had even if we tried.
Rick takes one look at Hazel and caves. Like I said, that look worked every time, and Rick is just as much of a sucker for them now as he was when we were kids.
Trent gives him a nod of thanks, the entire conversation happening without a word. Hazel’s face lights up, a smile damn near splitting her face in half before she’s once again on top of Jade.
“Yay! We can have a girl’s night!” Hazel squeals before she sits back up, watching Jade as if waiting for her to be excited about it as well.
“Um, I’m not exactly sure what that means or why you're so excited,” Jade tells her in a gentle tone as if she’s worried about hurting her feelings.
Hazel squeals and claps her hands, ready to explain, but Rick beats her to it. “It means she can hang out with you in here and watch some TV or a movie,” he says, giving Hazel a pointed look, and while she deflates and looks altogether annoyed, she doesn’t argue.
“Fine, we can do that,” Hazel huffs, turning back to Jade.
“We can have a real girls' night later when you're feeling better!” And just like that, she’s happy again. Man, she has so much energy. It blows my mind that this is the same quiet, shy, brainiac we see on campus all the time. She’s like two different people.
Huh, I wonder if that’s why her and Jade get along so well.
“Okay, well, I'll see you both on campus tomorrow,” Trent says as he moves toward the door. “Make sure you let her get some rest, Haze. You guys have plenty of time for all the other stuff later,” he calls back over his shoulder on his way out.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Hazel says, waving him off as she crawls under the blankets next to Jade and gets comfortable.
“Wait, you don’t even have class tomorrow morning. Why would you be on campus? Shouldn’t you be home and asleep after a night shift?” Jade yells out to Trent just before he disappears around the corner, making him pause.
“I don’t have class tomorrow, but I might’ve messaged your History TA to see if I could sit in with you. So I’ll see you in the morning, Sweetness,” he says with a smile before giving her a two-finger salute and disappearing.
“What? No, Trent!” she calls for him, but he’s already gone. Zander’s quick to move to her side, stopping her from going after him.
“He’s fine, Doll. He’s just worried about you. Even when he had morning classes, he used to work night shifts. It’s not a big deal.” I watch them for a moment, sure she will chase after Trent regardless of what Zander said. Jade’s too stubborn to listen so easily.
Or I thought she was.
“Fine.” She plops back against the headboard with a pout. Zander chuckles at her while Rick shakes his head, and I’m left confused again.
Everyone kind of scatters after that.
I end up back in the surveillance room, but after a few hours, I remember why I left in the first place as I find myself annoyed all over again at her damn disappearing act.
A knock sounds at the door, and I turn to find Hazel standing in the doorway, looking like she would rather be anywhere else.
“Um, Rick asked me to come tell you dinner’s just about ready,” she mumbles, fiddling with the string on her hoodie and looking anywhere but at me.