Novels by Jewel

Jade screamed angrily, tearing out and crumpling up a sheet of paper from her sketchbook. She threw it across the room and it landed on the floor close to the door, increasing the litter of crumpled paper and broken pencils in the room. She took a new pencil from behind her ears, her fingers shaky as she began to draw lines and curves, in readiness for another sketch. Closing her eyes, she tried to picture a face, Tiger's face - that was what they called him but she knew his name began with the letter H. However she was only met with an empty space and a heaviness in her heart that was trying to drag her down. She tried to remind herself of him - his lifeless gray eyes, his hair and beards that smelled like shampoo, the scent of his unfamiliar cologne, his cold lips, his strong muscular arms, his large callused hands, and his burly chest that had the tattoo of a tiger.She still couldn't remember his face. Just like the first day after she woke up. Her therapist had said it was due

Doink! The sound of a notification made its way out of Shawn's bag and he quickly dug into it, bringing his phone out of his bag. He unlocked his phone, eagerly looking through it. The text had come from his network provider and he hissed loudly, obviously disappointed. “Yes, Mr Beckett,” the voice of his teacher rang, startling him from his phone, and she started walking toward him, “we know calculus is boring but I thought that you would at least stay off your phone.” “I'm sorry, Miss V,” he said, holding onto his phone like it was some diamond he had just found, “it's just that Jade is supposed to be in this class but she's not here.” “You're here and right now, that's what matters. So if you don't put that phone away for the rest of my class, I'll hand it over to Principal Dolan to add to his collection for the year.” Shawn sighed softly and switched off his phone, putting it into his bag. “I'm sorry, Miss V.” “Don't apologize to me. If you were paying attention, you'd h

★ Two Weeks Later ★Jade jolted awake, her heart racing, and her sheets drenched in sweat. The remnants of her nightmare lingered, the image of a tattooed tiger on a man's chest etched in her mind. Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.Panic set in. She struggled to break free, her fists flailing wildly. “Let me go! No! Ah!” she screamed, her voice hoarse from sleep.But the grip only tightened. She kicked and squirmed, her mind still trapped in the darkness.Then, a gentle whisper pierced the haze: “Shh, Babygirl, it's okay. You're safe.”The voice was familiar and soothing as it slowly penetrated her fear. She paused, her chest heaving, and looked up into the face of the man holding her. He was her dad.Tears of relief mingled with lingering fear as she collapsed into his embrace. His arms cradled her, warm and protective, dispelling her doubts.“It was just a dream, Babygirl,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “You're safe now.”She shut her eyes, grateful tha

★One Year Ago★Jade sat on the floor, sobbing loudly and scratching her arms, trying to get rid of the feel of her harasser's skin against hers. She kept replaying the last few hours in her mind. She could still feel his body against hers and it made her feel worthless and dirty. And like a thousand bugs were crawling through her skin, eating her up. Her skin was hurting from all the scratching. And even though she couldn't see it, as she had been locked up in a very dark room, she knew it was bleeding. She could feel the warm liquid under her fingernails. But she didn't care. In fact, she wanted to peel off her skin completely. Maybe that would make her feel better.Or would it? She thought to herself, her body shaking as she cried even harder. These people. They had killed her mother. In the most inhumane way possible. They made her suffer before she died. And she slept through it all. If she had been awake, maybe she could have stopped them.Stop them? She mocked inside her head.

Jade hummed happily as she removed the chicken from the oven. She carefully carried it and placed it on the counter. She carried a tray containing Mac and cheese and put it in the oven. After closing it and setting the timer, she went back to chopping the cabbage she had been working on before the oven had beeped. She heard silent footsteps behind her and her nerves tensed up. The only person in the house who walked that quietly was Sally. She never forgave Sally for ruining her parents' marriage and she had planned on making life as miserable as she could for her. However, she had promised to be nicer to her and while she didn't know how to go about it, she knew it involved not chasing her out of the kitchen. “Uhm... Hi.” Sally said awkwardly, making Jade cringe. What on earth did Jacob see in a woman that struggles to even have a conversation? “What are you making?” Sally asked in an attempt to get Jade to talk. It was always like this, she would try to engage her in a conversat

7:45 a.m. Shawn sighed with relief as he checked his phone. He was right on time. He knocked on the door of the principal's office feeling somewhat lucky. His father was currently behind bars so his mother was safe. He had found a job and could now support himself and his mother.His suspension had been rescinded and so he was back on track to emerging as the valedictorian. And best of all, his estranged best friend was again warming up to him. Also, even though he had only woken up about thirty minutes ago, he had somehow managed to be on time for his appointment with Principal Dolan. The universe seemed to be working in his favor.He was about to knock again when he heard footsteps and a chuckle from behind him. He turned around and saw Principal Dolan and Jacob Adler - Jade's father - walking toward the office. Immediately, he bowed his head a little, offering a word of appreciation to Jacob but all he did was smile at him.Principal Dolan cleared his throat, stretching out his han