Chapter 12
“You’re making breakfast?” I asked, noticing her chopping up a bell pepper.
“Just wanted to do something special for my princess this morning.” I blushed at her words and walked over to grab a cup of coffee.
“Thank you, Jade.”
For some reason, I couldn't help but think of my ex and how she'd never made me breakfast. Not that Jade was my girlfriend, but it was just really lovely. It was also completely different from what I expected of her. Jana had obviously painted a picture of Jade that I expected, but even beyond that, she has opened up to me a lot since I’ve been here. Even though she’s blunt, and definitely not a sugar-coater, she isn’t a mean person at all.
Sitting down at the bar-top, coffee in hand, I admire Jade while she works.
The sunlight shining through the kitchen windows creates a glow around her.
The sound of her chopping against the cutting board soothes me.
She’s wearing a pair of jean shorts and a black tank top that clings to her breasts and accentuates her waist. I’m opening my mouth to compliment her when my phone rings.
Picking it up, Jana’s name and photo flash across the screen. Feeling nervous suddenly, I answer.
“Hey Jana,” I say, clearing my throat.
“Lib! Uh, I miss you so much! I was just getting ready to go to brunch and was thinking I needed to come pick you up. I can’t wait for you to be back.” Gripping my mug, I smiled wryly at its contents.
“Aw, I wish I could go with you. Lu’s sounds so good right now, I may or may not be a little hungover.” She giggled at my words, and I just hoped she wouldn’t inquire about what exactly I had done the night before.
“Well, when you get back I owe you brunch, a full day of shopping, and whatever else your heart desires,” Jana said kindly.
“How’s everything going in Hale?” I asked.
“Nothing new, just more work, more contracts, more clients, blah, blah.” I laughed, knowing she was just venting.
I looked up and saw Jade working over the gas stove. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like my conversation bothered her. Not that it should, but I couldn’t shake the awkward feeling.
“Well, I know if anyone can juggle it all, it’s you,” I said truthfully.
“Thanks, Lib! See, another reason I miss you. You always hype me up!”
“You don’t need me for that; your ego got inflated without any of my help.”
“Hey!” she yelled teasingly. “But anyway, how are things going in Clark? Are you making good progress?” I bit my lip because while we had been working, we had definitely spent less time on it than we should have.
“For sure, but we still have a lot of work left to do. Your parents held on to everything.”
Jade was plating our food and raised an eyebrow at me. I looked down to avert my gaze from hers.
“I warned you my mom was a collector. Uh, well, I appreciate you so much for this! I know I keep saying that, but I mean it.”
“I know you do, and you’re welcome. It actually hasn’t been bad at all. I’m happy I could help you.”
“What? I can’t believe that. But, typical Lib, not wanting to hurt my feelings. Well, call me tonight, okay? I guess I’m going to text Bailey and see if she’s free for brunch since my first choice isn’t.”
“Okay, I will, and maybe don’t tell her she isn’t your first choice when you text her.”
“Ha ha, bye Lib!”
“Bye.”
Hanging up, I looked up to see Jade sliding an omelet and fruit in my direction.
“This looks delicious, Jade, thank you!” I swallowed the lump in my throat before picking up my fork.
“Nervous?” she asked, taking the seat beside me.
“No, I just…” I exhaled, unsure why I was lying to her. “To be honest, I feel awkward. On one hand, Jana and you are not friends, and she and I are best friends. I feel loyal to her, but I also care for you, and she wouldn’t understand that. Sorry, it's a lot.”
“Oh, Libby,” Jade said, sliding her hand under my bar stool and pulling until I was right next to her.
She slid an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.
“I hear what you’re not saying. Jana views me as an enemy and as her best friend, you feel like you should too.
But you don’t, and you think that somehow makes you a bad person. ”
I nod, looking away from her too-intense stare.
“It doesn’t. I’m not Jana’s enemy, but since she won’t talk to me, I can’t change her viewpoint on that. But, Libby, I’m not your enemy and I never have been. I’m happy that you and Jana have a close friendship. But the two of us liking each other doesn’t diminish that.”
Everything she said sounded like the truth, made sense, felt right.
Especially when I still hadn't talked to Jana about Jade reaching out to her. Jana would be hurt by this, feel like she was betrayed when she explicitly told me not to trust Jade. Yet here I was, once again fawning over her like Jana and I’s friendship wasn't important.
Taking a big-ass bite of my breakfast, I tried to just temporarily pretend that none of my problems existed.
Jade cleaned the kitchen after breakfast while I switched out the laundry. Then we grabbed some more boxes from the garage and made our way upstairs.
“We can start in my parent’s room. It’s the biggest, and best to just get it over with.
” I could hear the displeasure in her voice and felt silly for not recognizing how hard this would be for her.
Of course, that would be an especially hard room to go through, not that the rest of the house wasn’t hard enough.
“If you want to, we can come back to it,” I stated, even though that wouldn’t be the wisest strategy. I couldn’t care less about that at the moment. Jade didn’t reply, and when we got to the top of the stairs, I grabbed her hand to stop her.
“Jade,” I said calmly, unsure what to say. She turned around to face me, and I could see tears brimming in her beautiful green eyes. “Oh, sweetie,” I said, and pulled her into me. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and held her firmly against my chest.
We'd both dropped the boxes we were holding to embrace one another properly. She was slouching, and I was just able to kiss the top of her head. I felt her let out a sigh as she tried to compose herself. After a moment she pulled away, and I wiped tears from both of her stained cheeks.
“Thank you, Libby. I’m sorry; I just got overwhelmed." I shook my head at her apology; it wasn't needed. "Sometimes being here, it just feels like they’re upstairs in their room or something. But doing this is going to kind of ruin that fantasy, so it’s just hard.”
“It would be hard for anyone, Jade, and we really can skip it for right now. I’m sure there are other rooms we can start on today,” I said with a smirk, trying to lighten her mood as I rubbed the raised skin of her arms.
“I’m good, I promise. Just…needed to get that out, I guess.” I nodded and leaned forward, giving her a kiss on the lips.
Backing up, I gave her a smile, hoping that somehow it would make her feel better. I couldn’t stand to see her like this; it was breaking my heart. Her thumb ran along my bottom lip and then down the side of my jaw.
“You’re so pretty, Libby, I love when you smile like that.” My insides turned to mush.
Picking up our supplies, she grabbed my hand with a tight squeeze, and we walked side by side toward her parents’ room.
Her hand settled on the doorknob with a tremor, and I waited patiently for her to decide whether she truly wanted to step inside.
My hand migrated to her shoulder in support.
Without further hesitation, she opened the door, and I took in the space.
It was dusty, and unlike the rest of the house, you could tell it had been a while since anyone had stepped foot in here.
There was a large king bed in the center of the room with a long wooden bench in front of it.
Bay windows took up the right wall, and a loveseat sat in front of them, looking out into the woods.
I could see dust coating the dresser and bedside tables, but it was still a cozy space.
Looking over at Jade, I squeezed her shoulder as if to silently say, “I’m with you. ”
I took the art down from the walls and put them with the other pieces downstairs.
Then I boxed up the clothes in the dresser and closet, assuming they’d be donated.
I’d confirm that with Jade later, but I didn’t want to ask her while things were still tender.
She’d been clearing out the bedside tables and then removing the bedding.
Now she was cleaning out drawers in the master bathroom.
Joining her, I saw her admiring something in her hands.
“What’s that?” I asked, taking in the rather plain black hairbrush she held.
“I haven’t seen it in years. My mom would use it on my sister and me after our bath. It was when we were still little and didn’t hate each other. It just brought back a lot of memories.”
I stroked her back. “You should keep it then,” I said, realizing how sentimental it must be for her.
“I will. I don’t think Jana would want it, but that works because I definitely do.”
For once, I thought about how wrong it was that I was here in Jana’s place.
This would have been such a wonderful opportunity for both of them to rekindle their relationship and move past the bad times they had.
While I was happy that I had met Jade, it wasn’t my place to be here.
Who was I helping by being here? I wasn't truly helping either sister if I was preventing them from moving past their childhood trauma.
“I wish there was something I could do to make things better between you two,” I said, trying to hide the raw emotion in my voice.
“No, don’t worry about that, princess. Our relationship, or lack thereof, isn’t your responsibility. I don’t want you to feel you need to take that on, okay?” Jade said, looking over at me with a raised eyebrow. I smiled at her without it meeting my eyes.