CHAPTER 20
1139 Words
TESSIE'S POV
I woke up the following day with a pounding head, a disoriented face and what felt like layers and layers of nausea. I sat up and held my head in my palms trying to adjust to the lighting.
"Oh, God!" I swallowed a chunk of nausea. What had I gotten myself into?
Right. The party the previous night. That wasn't my first party though. Why was I feeling like a zombie? I got up slowly knowing that any sudden movements could throw me off balance. If I hit the floor, I wasn't sure I could get up again for the next several hours. If that was how alcohol was supposed to make someone feel, I didn't understand how people became alcoholics.
Waking up to this? Dealing with vicious hangovers and the urge to throw up that early in the morning? Not my cup of tea.
The thought of tea made my stomach churn. How had I gotten here? Oh, right. Evan with his confession. That wasn't a dream. And Jace— that especially was a major blow to my ribcage. At that moment, I just wished I hadn't remembered that part of the night when his hands were all over perfect Lexi Bradford in my living room.
"Stupid, perfect, experienced... gorgeous bitchy cheer Captain..." I muttered as I pushed the bathroom door open. "That painfully attractive meani... Lexi Bradford!" I exclaimed as a disgruntled disheveled face stared back at me seated on the bathroom floor.
I gripped the door staring back at her, my eyes wide open from shock. For several seconds, I forgot what I was going to do there. I completely lost my senses and couldn't think of anything until she threw her face in the toilet bowl puking her brains out.
"Wha... what are you doing here?" I asked finally finding my voice.
Lexi sighed weakly then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Real classy. I thought silently waiting for her response. I was fighting back the ideas in my head giving me the perfect explanation as to how she was there. I didn't want to think about it because God help me, I was ready to through her out of the house through the tiny bathroom window.
"I spent the night," she stated with disinterest and got up slowly. She started walking away.
I huffed and shook my head in disbelief.
"You are not going to flush the toilet?"
Lexi stopped at the door that connected the bathroom to Jace's room and pouted.
"Won't you be a dear, Tessie, and do it for me?" I scoffed. "Just look at it as helping out a potential sister-in-law."
I narrowed my gaze at her. I was ready to bite her head off for even thinking that she could use me to clean after her but her last statement blew everything I had formulated in my head.
"What are you talking about?"
"Jace. Who else?" she stated and walked away.
Oh, hell no! My mind screamed as I started after her. Without thinking, I grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled.
"What the f**k is wrong with you psycho!" she screamed trying to free herself.
"You don't just puke in someone's bathroom and leave it for them to clean up after you!" I screamed back.
That wasn't what was on my mind when I attacked her. I couldn't say it out loud because it would make me sound like a real psycho but it was Jace. I was angry at him because, how could he? Of all the people he would have chosen to go after, he just had to rub it in my face how imperfect I was— how imperfect I would always be. Lexi freaking Bradford!
"Let go of me!" she protested trying to ease out of my grasp. I pushed her back into the bathroom and let go of her. I blocked her way. "God!" she exhaled soothing her head.
"You and I?" I said indicating between us. "Are never going to be sisters. Get that into your stupid head and clean up the goddamn puke!"
"What's going on?" Jace's voice interrupted us suddenly.
I turned to find him watching us in turns. I wanted to jump him and give him a fair share of payback for whatever he did with Lexi in his room. The fact that he was looking at me shamelessly with no guilt in his face made me angrier.
"Your last night's trophy expects me to clean up after her!"
"You are just acting high and mighty because you are in your house. It doesn't make you any more important than you always are!" Lexi shot back. "And by the way, stay the hell away from my brother, loser!"
"Your brother?"
"Evan, you blockhead!"
"Wait, what?"
"Evan is your brother?"
Jace and I asked simultaneously. Lexi rolled her eyes at me then faced Jace with a smile playing on her lips. She placed a hand on his chest and started rubbing intimately. My stomach turned. Blood rushed into my face and head as my eyes followed the movement of her hand on his chest. A rage grew within me but it was mostly because Jace didn't push her away.
"Don't worry. He does not get to control my life and I can date anyone I want."
Jace flipped his gaze towards me. There was the guilt I had been looking out for. My mouth had formed a perfect 'oh'. I swallowed down my anger and chuckled wearily. Exactly what had happened the previous night? Was he really that narrow— that unhinged that he could care less what happened to someone's feelings? I shook my head and turned to leave.
"You two deserve each other," I stated and left.
"Tessie?" he called anxiously but I didn't dare turn back.
"Let her be. She doesn't have to approve either." I heard Lexi say. "Now where did you go earlier?"
I banged the door closed not interested in whatever else they were saying. My chest hardened. I felt a prickly pain tear through the muscle around my heart and doubled over. What was that? I knew I was stupid to trust Jace but the fact that he was proving me right was even more painful. I didn't want to think about it but all I could see was him all over Lexi, doing the things he did to me to her. Perhaps even more.
Oh God! Was that it? Because I couldn't go through with s*x with him? Because I wasn't ready or because I wasn't experienced? I felt dumb. Maybe I was a loser like Lexi had said. Maybe it was what Jace saw whenever he looked at me.
I couldn't be there. I didn't want to see any of them again. Especially not Jace.
- Writer
