Chapter 3
Having not been able to sleep for long the night before, I woke up before the sun and organized my new space.
The bed had a thick, frilly comforter that made me feel trapped under its weight.
Jana’s room looked exactly as I’d remembered it.
It was Paris-themed with framed artwork of the Eiffel Tower, and lots of black and pink accessories.
I pulled a few outfits out of my suitcase to hang in the walk-in closet.
Then, I organized my toiletries in the attached bathroom before jumping in the shower.
After washing and drying my hair, because why the hell not, I made my way downstairs.
The kitchen was well stocked and I decided that since it was still another hour before Jade would get up, I could cook us breakfast. I’d started a pot of coffee, made eggs, pancakes, and bacon by the time Jade walked into the room.
She was wearing a tattered, oversized band tee that came down to her mid-thigh.
Her hair was up in a messy bun, tousled from sleep.
All I could think was that even when I lived with Jana, she looked like she was Sleeping Beauty in the mornings and would never leave her room looking like Jade did.
But Jade was being real, and there was something about her look that made me want to take several glances.
“Morning,” I said chipper and light, basically summoning my inner Jana. “May I fix you a plate?” She grabbed a barstool, pulling it back until she could take a seat.
“Sure, thank you.” Giving her a polite smile and nod, I got to work fixing her meal. Sitting it down in front of her, I grabbed her silverware and the syrup from the fridge.
“Coffee?” I asked in my regular voice. The whole super-cheery one was getting on my own nerves.
“Are you trying to poison me? That was—this is, my sister hired you to take me out?” Unable to help myself, I laughed and just shook my head.
“No, I was just trying to be nice. We have to work together on this project, so we might as well be civil about it.” She had a very intense gaze.
I thought maybe it was just because I caught her off guard last night, but here it was again in full force.
It brought with it the feeling of being examined.
“I’ll take some coffee then. Since you are being so generous, if you wouldn’t mind handing me the creamer too, that would be great.”
“Of course.”
After I’d got her coffee and made a second cup for myself, I took a seat next to her.
“So, I had a lot of time on the drive down here to think. I have a strategy for how we should go about doing this, if you don’t mind.” Fingers crossed she wouldn’t.
Jade took her time chewing her food and then drinking a sip of coffee before responding. “You have a strategy?” She asked, her tone condescending.
“Yes, I just want us to be efficient so we can wrap up quickly. I’m sure you’d like to finish up here as fast as possible too.” More silence, chewing, and sipping met my response until I thought she might just be waiting for me to leave.
“You’re pretty uptight, huh?” I’m not sure what I expected her to say, but it wasn’t that.
“Oh, I’m just trying to help.” What is with her? Maybe because I’m friends with Jana, I’m just another enemy in her eyes.
“I wasn’t trying to be rude. You seem keyed up.
Just trying to understand if I’m bringing that out of you or if you’re just like that.
” If she’s bringing that out of me? What is her problem?
Of course I'm frazzled; this situation is weird as hell.
This conversation needed to end on a positive note though, since this was literally day one of us being here together.
“Look, I’m sorry if I seemed off. Would you like to hear my plan?” I asked, hiding my true feelings.
“Why are you apologizing? Your cooking is great, by the way.” I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but since she was eating it, I took it as truth.
“Thank you! And I apologized because it seemed I made you uncomfortable, which wasn’t my intention.”
“You didn’t,” she replied, finishing her last few bites of food. “Let’s hear your plan.”
We made our way to the garage to grab supplies.
“I brought a lot of boxes with me when I made the trip from Riley the other day. We can set up a few and designate which is which as we work.” Sounded good to me, and I was happy that despite her directness, she didn’t seem all that unpleasant.
Even when we’d spoken in the kitchen, she’d said everything calmly.
We started in her dad’s office since she’d explained it was the most organized spot in the house, and we might as well knock it out.
There were two large filing cabinets I let her look through alone.
I assumed there might be private documents that I didn’t have any business looking at.
The high ceilings in the room matched the rest of the house, and on the other side of the room, there were a few built-in bookshelves, which I assumed contributed to the dusty, vanilla scent.
Making my way over, I started taking the books down and putting them in boxes.
I doubted Jana cared about them, and if Jade did, surely she’d tell me.
I came across an old photo album. Unable to help myself, I opened it, hoping to see pictures of a younger Jana and Jade.
There were professional family photos on the first couple of pages.
Then there were school photos of both Jana and Jade from high school and middle school.
Toward the back there were photos from when they were just kids, some of them embracing or playing together, and some of them with who I assumed were various family members.
It was odd to see, since in my mind they had spent their entire lives hating each other.
It made sense, though, that it wasn’t always like that.
“Jade, do you want these photo albums, or should I save them for your sister?”
She put down the documents she was holding and walked over.
Looking over my shoulder, she examined the open pages I held up for her.
I couldn’t help but notice how good she smelled.
She was still just in her T-shirt that she slept in, so I doubted she had put on perfume or anything.
But it was like a woodsy amber scent. Very warm and friendly, so unlike anything I would have expected.
“Jana isn’t going to want pictures of me and her; she’d probably burn or trash them.
Just put them with the books; I’ll take them.
” She walked away, seeming completely unfazed by how close to me she’d been standing.
So close that I could feel her body heat against my back.
Maybe I was the weirdo for thinking anything of it.
Shaking myself out of my trance, I thought about her words.
She was right; there was nothing in me that thought Jana would want photos of her and Jade.
It just felt like something to ask about.
Jana liked to share accomplishments with her parents, but other than that, she wasn't close to either of them.
So even the family photos would most likely be unimportant to her.
But Jade wanted them, and I wanted to understand why.
My guess was it felt like the right thing to do: to keep them and not toss away any memories their parents had preserved for them.
By the time lunch rolled around, I had packed up all the books and photo albums. There were a few pictures left on the walls that I hadn’t touched yet because I needed something to wrap them in.
Like the albums, I assumed any family photos would go in Jade’s pile.
Other than that, all we needed was to clean out the desk.
I was unsure if that would be considered a team effort or just a Jade thing.
“Hungry?” Jade asked, heading out of the room. I followed her, stopping when she started walking up the stairs.
“Sure. Want me to make us something?” I asked.
“You made breakfast, so I can make lunch. I’m going to shower and get dressed, and then I’ll head back down.”
I took a seat at the bar, waiting for her to return.
While browsing my phone, I checked my messages.
When I got here last night, I’d texted Jana, but she still hadn’t responded.
Her boss kept her busy even on the weekends sometimes, but it was still unlike her not to text back for so long.
I contemplated calling her but decided against it.
She was most likely busy, and God forbid Jade walked in and I had to politely end the conversation to appease her.
When she finally made her way to the kitchen, she’d left her straight hair wet and hanging down her back.
It looked black and made her mossy green eyes pop even more than they already had.
She had on leggings and another T-shirt, this one a navy color that fit tightly to her torso.
Something about her “I don’t give a fuck” mannerisms enticed me, despite my better judgement.
“I’m thinking sandwiches. That okay, princess?” That nickname was really getting on my nerves.
“Fine. Please don’t call me that,” I said, trying not to sound as annoyed as I was.
“It fits you so well, you don’t like it?” she asked, her voice full of false concern. I couldn’t see her expression since her back was turned toward me.
“No, it seems very condescending. What do you mean, ‘it fits me so well?’ You don’t know me well enough to make an assumption like that.” Maybe I should’ve bitten my tongue, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.
“You just seem very high-maintenance. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.” High maintenance?
“What have I done that made me seem high maintenance?” I asked, emphasizing the last two words.
“Well, for starters, you have your strategies and plans, your need to control what time things get started and how soon they wrap up. Then you have your manicured nails and eyelash extensions. There’s also the makeup you’re wearing when you knew you’d be spending the day packing boxes.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s all actually quite adorable. ”
I was both offended and perplexed by her words. Adorable? I’d never been called that in my life. Did she mean it in a petty way, or does she actually find me adorable? Why can I only focus on that when she made several other statements about her thoughts on me?
“You know, I don’t appreciate your trying to size me up. Maybe I’m too much for you, but I have done nothing to deserve your disliking me.”
I shouldn’t have said anything, been the bigger person and all that.
But dammit, she was going to make me explode.
It just felt too much like high school, being picked on for the way I looked, my size, my style choices.
People saying things that sounded nice when they were actually being fake.
I didn't enjoy being the center of attention for that very reason.
Putting down the knife and bread she was holding, she faced me fully with that intense gaze of hers.
“I don’t dislike you, Libby. You seem sweet, and I do not know how you’re friends with my sister.
I’m just trying to figure you out, loosen you up a bit.
Maybe I’m too much for you, though. I’m sorry.
” Well, now I feel like an ass because that seemed genuine, and I keep forgetting that she just lost her dad. She has to be going through a lot.
“I’m sorry, I overreacted. I just don’t handle sarcasm well. The whole adorable thing kind of ticked me off,” I blurted out, trying to make up for my harsh words.
“For what it’s worth, I wasn’t being sarcastic. You are…adorable.”