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1152 Words
Jade~
"He might want to get a taste of me tonight," I murmured to myself while finishing up with the motorcycle my uncle had just helped me repair. "I should grab a pack of condoms on my way home. He really is worthy of me, you know..."
"What are you muttering about over there? You should head home early today, at least." Uncle Duncan called out to me, his hands planted firmly on his hips.
I sat up and nodded at him. "I need to leave early, like you said..." I giggled and rushed to clean up my workspace before heading out.
Mark would be thrilled that we were finally spending the night together for the first time. I couldn't wait to see him smile when I showed up at his doorstep.
Before leaving, I texted him so he wouldn't be tied up at work when I arrived, but he didn't seem to be online. He was a pharmacist, and I understood that he was often busy—although that had never stopped him from responding to me promptly before.
I tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail. "He'll see the text soon and get back to me," I told myself, waving goodbye to Uncle Duncan as I left the workshop.
I stopped at a convenience store and bought the condoms I'd been thinking about, then picked up my pace to get home faster. I'd always preferred walking home instead of taking a cab, if only to stretch my muscles after squatting at the shop all day.
Along the way, my phone buzzed. It was my boss from the underground fighting ring, so I picked up immediately.
"Sir, I won't be available tonight," I said right away, because I knew something must have come up.
"Is everything okay? I had something for you to handle..."
Pouting, I shook my head. I didn't want to miss this night with Mark. I'd been counting the days, and it was our hundredth day of dating. He had waited this long to even have a first kiss with me, and I didn't want to break my promise to him on the first night we were supposed to be together.
"Could you postpone it? I need the money too, but this is urgent for me." I pleaded with him. I'd always taken gigs from his ring so I could afford medicine for my grandpa, so losing the gig was upsetting as well.
He sighed loudly on the other end and finally agreed. "I'll have someone else handle it, but there's plenty left for you tomorrow."
"Thanks, sir!" I said, and he hung up.
I shoved my short hair back and continued walking faster so I wouldn't be late. When I arrived at the house, I stopped briefly at the entrance to catch my breath before going inside. I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and straightened my shirt.
How much time did I have to get ready? I quickly remembered that I'd texted Mark. I couldn't understand why he'd left my message unread since I'd sent it, especially since he'd been online a few minutes ago.
Is everything okay with him? He never leaves my messages unanswered, no matter how busy he is.
I was about to dial his number again as I took slow steps into the living room, when the sudden slam of a door made me flinch. I slowly lowered my phone and looked around, but the living room was empty.
Pouting, I took slow but steady steps toward my bedroom. I didn't want to deal with my parents' anger this evening. As I reached my door and reached for the doorknob, my father's loud voice froze me in place.
"Are you deaf or what?" Dad yelled, the fury in his voice enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
That was coming from my room. What was going on?
A throat cleared, and then my mother added, "Clara, speak to us, okay."
I pressed my back against the wall, wanting to hear what was happening in my bedroom in my absence. If I showed myself, Clara wouldn't speak freely.
"Dad..." came a masculine voice, causing my brows to furrow. The voice was familiar, but I didn't dare peek. "The truth is, the room was so dark that I didn't recognize Clara and mistook her for Jade. We... we made out, and that's... that's all my fault for not being able to tell the difference between my girlfriend and her sister."
I rolled my eyes. I couldn't be hearing this right.
Wasn't that Mark speaking? Why was he here when I was supposed to go to his place?
This had to be a hallucination. What boyfriend doesn't recognize his own girlfriend and makes out with her sister instead? He must be joking—I couldn't buy that as an excuse.
First, he wasn't supposed to be here. Second, who let him into my room?
I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest.
"Clara, is that true?" I heard my mother ask, and everything went silent again. "Did you intentionally go into Jade's room to get with her boyfriend?"
She always did this, yet pretended to be the sweetest sister ever. Mark would be the third guy she'd stolen from me, and I hated that she didn't even keep them—she just slept with them a few times to shatter my heart, then dumped them like they were nothing.
"Mom, I've always... always loved Mark. But... I'm really..."
"You've always loved your sister's boyfriend? This is Mark, Jade's boyfriend, and we all know that." Mom scolded her, though I knew it wouldn't last long. "So now, what do you two plan to do? Keep dating behind Jade's back?"
My gaze narrowed.
Wasn't that a ridiculous question?
I was tempted to peek at them, but I knew the conversation wasn't over, and I'd disrupt it if they saw me.
My chest ached knowing those two had messed up my bed. It was so disgusting that I didn't even want to picture them groaning and staining my bedsheets.
"What if we pretend this didn't happen? We could just hide it from her since she hasn't gotten home from work yet," Clara said boldly, with no remorse in her voice.
My jaw clenched, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I just didn't want to lose my temper. Please, God, help me.
"Mark, what do you say about this?" my father asked calmly.
I opened my eyes, my heart racing as I waited for Mark's response. It would define everything.
"Uh, I think we should follow Clara's suggestion. Jade has a bad temper, and..."
My boyfriend was a coward. I hated that I hadn't seen it until now.
He wanted to hide his cheating from me? A knot twisted in my gut. I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming.
- Writer
