50. Jace
fifty
Jace
This is not how I expected tonight to go.
Sienna and I sit on the couch, my shirt in her hands as we bow our heads in shame while Cleo and Blake scold us like angry parents. The situation would be comical—had any of this been funny. Instead, it’s kind of heart breaking.
Sienna hasn’t spoken a word since Cleo screamed her name like she’d been attacked. She just sighed, accepted her fate, and sat on the couch. And like the good boyfriend I am—I sat next to her, equally as guilty.
“You two have been sleeping together? For months? I mean come on, Si Si—what happened to telling each other everything?!” Cleo’s voice raises an octave as she peers down at Sienna.
I position my shoulder in front of her, shielding her as she flinches from the impact of Cleo’s words.
“What you won’t do is attack her. Sienna and I wanted to tell you about us—”
“ Us?! There’s an us…Oh my God, Blake—they’re an us now!” Cleo’s pitch raises. Blake winces, mouthing sorry my way as I shrug, already used to it.
Growing up with these girls, I’ve learned their every mannerism, and though Cleo is yelling like a lunatic, I know it’s just her masking her hurt.
She’s hurt that Sienna kept this from her, and Sienna is upset that her cousin is hurt—typical girl stuff.
Grabbing a hold of Sienna’s hand, I squeeze it in an attempt to comfort her.
Wrong choice .
Cleo’s gasps is so loud I think the astronauts in freaking Mars can hear her as she stumbles back.
“This is why you were being so fucking weird! You weren’t coming home you…
you snuck out! I saw it myself and you’ve been gone for days at a time.
Oh my gosh…I thought it was just dance practice and work that had you so busy—did you ever even have a job?
” Cleo’s brows crease, hurt lacing her tone as she looks Sienna square in the eye.
My girlfriend, to her credit, doesn’t back down. Instead, she meets Cleo’s glare, looks at me momentarily, and then rolls her eyes.
“I had a job—until he bought the studio.”
“He bought the studio?! What’re you, Richie Rich?” Cleo looks me over momentarily then puts her attention back on Sienna.
“Yeah…he was being a bit of a psycho then.” Sienna frowns, clearly at unease with this conversation before rolling her shoulders back with a deep sigh.
“I wanted to tell you, Cleo. We planned to do it, and then your tape leaked and I couldn’t do that to you.
You were…broken. I’d never seen you like that, and then to add more stress to you?
I couldn’t do it.” Sienna frowns, her shoulders slumping, almost caving in on themselves as the weight of her words settles in the room.
Cleo’s shoulders fall, her brows softening as she kneels in front of her cousin, taking her hands into her own.
“Oh Sienna…you could never hurt me—we’re sisters.” Cleo tears up, her words shaking as Sienna's head snaps up.
My own tears ducts open as I watch the two girls.
And then there’s Blake…
“Wait—I thought your hair was pink…” he mumbles, clearly not reading the room. I smile at my friend, recalling Sienna’s dramatics.
“She surprised me and dyed it.” I chuckle, the memory of her dancing on the table at the forefront of my mind, unaware of the girls until I hear Cleo’s voice again.
“You changed yourself because of him ?! Have you lost your fucking mind?!” Cleo yells .
“Calm down a second…Let’s take this outside and talk?” Sienna says her eyes wide, darting around the room as Cleo eyes her suspiciously.
The two nod simultaneously and head for the backyard.
Fuck. I hope they don’t fight. I haven’t broken up one of their fights since we were kids.
Blake plops down on couch beside me. “You know she called me Jake?”
Chuckling I turn to face my best friend and laugh in his face. “Who?”
“Your girlfriend. She’s kinda cool, though, I like her for you.” Blake shrugs, turning on the TV, settling into the couch.
“Me too. You and CJ are kinda cute, too,” I admit, getting comfortable as Blake laughs.
“I know.”
We’re sitting in silence, watching the movie when Blake speaks up.
“So wait…Does this mean that we’ll be in-laws, Jace?”