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Chapter Twenty-Three- Cade
She's dead. I failed her for good this time. I'll never be able to shake the image of her on that cool sterile table. Unfortunately, she looked better in death than the last time I saw her strung out and shivering in the heat.
She looked at peace, which was more than I could say since I was a child.
My phone beeps around eleven as I'm staring at my ceiling. It's Jaden.
Her: I'm moving out.
I lift a brow.
Me: Oh yeah? Where are you going?
I can imagine the frustrated look on her face.
Her: I don't know yet. My dad wants me out unless I do what he says. I have money saved up, and the job at the garage, I'll find something.
The thought of moving out of this apartment with her tempts me. I bite my lip gently, knowing it's too soon, I hardly know this girl. But I like her. I start to type out a text but stop. Adam would flip his lid if I moved out
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My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Twenty-Four- Jaden
My new apartment smells like water downed cleaning products and old wood. Not my first choice, by far, but something I can call my own. Plus, it's cheap and all I can afford. The boxes in the living room are filled with my belongings, but most of my furniture sits in the U-Haul parked out front. I expected Cade to be home by now to help me. I check my phone again, but there isn't any new texts or missed calls. I curl my palm around my stomach when it growls. Since I have no food, I order Door Dash and eat it on the floor of my living room. Music thumps from the apartment above me, and I try not to dwell on the fact that I have class tomorrow. And how Cade has disappeared. I gnaw on the corner of my fingernail, and send him another text which issues me no response. I don't want to be angry, but I need his help. I only have the truck until tomorrow morning or I'll have to pay for an extra day, which I don't have the money for. I throw my food away in th
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Twenty-Five - Cade
My entire body is sore. Even though there were three of them, my pride is still hiding his head. I crane my neck to the side and groan at the pain that shoots down my back. For three old guys, they handed me my tail. It's not as if I'm surprised. You don't run with a rough crowd without being able to handle yourself. My gaze lifts from the hood where I'm single handedly changing the oil, to Dan and Jaden in the lobby. I don't like the look on Dan's face or that he's side eyeing me. I groan when he waves me to the front. He's leaned against the counter nonchalantly, a slither of his belly hanging from underneath his garage uniform. "How ya feeling?" I rest my elbows on the counter, watching Jaden avoid eye contact and scribble flowers on the side of the receipt book in front of her. I lift a brow, knowing she's avoiding looking at me for whatever reason. "I'm fine." Dan slides his tongue over the front of his teeth. "You sure? Jaden mentioned you hurting and taking extra pain kill
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Twenty-Six-Jaden
My heart is in my chest as we climb the stairs to my brother's apartment building. Cade is behind me, making snide comments under his breath about my jeans, but I'm too nervous to blush at them. We stop, and I turn to look at him. He grins. "Calm down, Jaden. It'll be fine. Your brother is out with some girl and Will always stays in the night before a baseball game. I'll go into my room and start packing. Just do what we practiced." I'm two seconds from throwing up. I feel it crawling up, and I'm not sure I can choke it down much longer. "I don't know how to do this, Cade." He gives me a yeah right look. "Do what? Flirt?" "Uh, yeah," I say. "Look how awkward I am. I didn't have too many gentlemen callers in high school, and I'm just not … sexy. I'm not that girl." Cade chuckles, sliding an inked arm around my waist, he pulls me toward him. "I beg to differ. You're sexy, because you're not trying. Will was trying to get with y
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Twenty-Seven-Cade
Jaden looks lost as she stares off into space. I can't imagine the images, the memories or thoughts that cloud her mind. I've been down before, lost, but never enough to want to kill myself. I move my fingertips against the slither of skin between her t-shirt and jeans. She doesn't seem to notice. Her mouth opens to speak but nothing comes out. I want to tell her she doesn't have to say anything, but I want to know so bad. How bad did Justin and Selena hurt her? What all happened? The scars are still visible on her wrist, the vertical marks tell me she really wanted to end it. They don't look superficial. She rolls over on her side and faces me. Her soft features look cloudy and distant. "You know what happened between Justin and I. How he treated me, and then the pictures circulating. I told you about overhearing Selena in the bathroom?" I nod. She frowns. "It only got worse from there. It took Selena minutes to find out who I was, and the ve
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Thirty-Eight Jaden
Dad doesn't call, but I know they've been busted because it's on the school's newspaper the next morning. Seeing my brother's face, bruised and sunken in makes my chest hurt. This isn't the Adam I know. I close the receipt book as soon as the clock turns five. I'm glad to be finished for the day, and even more excited to go home to an apartment that isn't Adam's. Cade doesn't look at the clock, never does, so I sashay over to the garage and knock my knuckles over the metal door. "Hey handsome, it's time to clock out!" I shout. Johnny sticks his head up from underneath the hood of a Mazda and smiles. "Alright, Sweetheart, I'm coming." Cade walks around and nonchalantly hits him in the back of the head with his sack of dirty rags for the day. "My bad," he says with a smile. He looks worse than the day before since his fight with Will and Adam. I'm thankful the random neighbor broke it up, because I knew I couldn't. But his garage uniform looks g
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Twenty-Nine-Cade
I trace my finger over the small tattoo on Jaden's hand. It looks beautiful against her skin, and even though it's red around the edges and beginning to peel, I love it. She hasn't stopped looking at it since we pulled the bandage off thirty minutes ago. "You like it?" I ask her. "I love it," she says, rolling over to her stomach on the bed. I smile back at her, but it doesn't meet my eyes. I haven't been able to stop thinking about what Lonnie told me. She knows the man that jumped me, and I'm eager to go repay the favor. But I know I'd walk into a lion's den if I did, especially in my current position. I don't have my wingman anymore anyway. Adam is walking a thin line with drugs, and I don't want to get involved in it. My entire life revolved around drugs, and since my mother is gone, I don't want anymore to do with it. "You're thinking about what Lonnie told you?" "Yeah," I say rubbing my good hand down my face. "I want to go fin
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Thirty- Jade
It's Friday and I have to go to school. Our professor hinted at a quiz this week, and since we haven't had one, I'm assuming I'll walk into one today. My mind has been everywhere but on school recently, especially with everything going on in my life. So, I'm not sure how I'll do this semester, but I can always try again. My phone vibrates on my walk from the parking lot to class, and I dig it out. Nancy's name crosses the screen and I feel relief. I haven't spoke to her since the day my dad bombarded me at the apartment. "Hello?" "Baby Girl," she says softly. "How are you?" I make my way toward the building and smile. "I'm good. How are you? What about Dad? I haven't heard from him since that day in the parking lot, and with everything going on with Adam, I figure he's had a stroke." Nancy chuckles. "Oh, he's had about ten strokes. I just can't get a grasp on your brother. Why would he jeopardize everything?" I shrug, knowing s
My Brother's Best Friend Chapter Thirty-One-Cade
I'm beyond pissed when I pull into our apartment's parking lot and Jaden is sitting on the steps. She looks scared, her face ashen and her hands shaking. To think they would rally around my girlfriend and scare her? For what? I hated that they brought her into this at all. I barrel out of the truck and toward her. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine," she whispers, rubbing her elbow with her palm. "I—it just scared me, that's all." I glance around to make sure no one is watching us before walking into our apartment and locking the door. I run my palm over her hair and kiss her forehead. "They just rolled in and swarmed you?" I ask. She nods, her eyes make contact with her shoes. Something is wrong, besides the ambush. "What's the matter? What happened today?" Jaden turns to walk into the bathroom, but I stop her. "Tell me. What is it?" When she finally turns to face me, I see tears running down her cheeks. "Someone sent the pictures around the s
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