Pregame(10)

After a few minutes of silence between us as we both sipped our drinks  Jade finally spoke up. I finished typing out my response to Skyler who  was checking up on me as usual and braced myself. I knew that whatever  Jade was about to tell me was significant. She wasn't the type of person  to make a big deal out of something small.





"Emmy and I are from the same town. We've known each other since I was  five, and she was six. Our mothers were in a book club together and so  whenever the club would meet, Emmy would come with her mom and she'd  play with my sister, Jenna, and me. Jenna was a year older than me and  so they were in the same grade. As we all got older Jenna and Emmy  became more distant. Emmy became friends with the mean girls in our town  who had always picked on the two of them until they decided Emmy could  join their group."





Jade took a deep breath and I saw the sadness in her eyes and it broke  my heart. I reached across the table and took hold of her hand, giving  it a gentle squeeze.





"You don't have continue, Jade. I can see it's hard for you to talk about."





"No," Jade shook her head and I could see her forcing back the unshed  tears in her eyes. "I want to tell you. I want you to understand."





I nodded and gave her a minute to collect herself before she continued. When she spoke again, her voice was shaky.





"I was only a freshman at the time and I was unaware of what my sister  was going through. They teased her, bullied her, and pushed her around.  She never said a word, not even to me. She was beautiful and all of the  boys would ask her out and I knew that the girls were jealous of her. I  just didn't know how far that jealousy would take them. I found out  later that the girls forced Emmy to tell them all of Jenna's secrets or  they threatened her that they'd kick her out of their group. So, Emmy  told them everything, and they told everyone else. Eventually, Emmy  became worse than all three of the other girls combined. She would trip  Jenna in the hallways and call her names. My sister was so strong. She  had never let them know that they were hurting her, but at the same  time, that strength made her a more desirable target.





The day I found out what Emmy and her friends had been doing to my  sister I skipped the rest of my classes that day and ran home. I was so  furious and scared for my sister that the six miles between my house and  the high school didn't even faze me. I got home and found my mother  baking Jenna and my favorite confetti cupcakes with pink frosting. I  told her everything. I told her about the rumors and the secrets and how  they tortured Jenna and were sometimes even physical with her. My  mother got on the phone with the principal of the school a few minutes  later and started demanding that school officials step in or she'd call  the authorities. This all happened before anti-bullying laws were passed  and so there was nothing that the school could do except suspend each  girl for a few days. I didn't hear about anymore bullying when the girls  returned to school and the next few weeks Jenna had begun smiling more  and acting like her old self again."





Jade's voice was stronger now and instead of tears, her eyes were filled  with hatred so strong that I'd only ever seen it before in my own eyes,  when I thought of Jesse.





"One day, not long after, Jenna hadn't been feeling well and so my  parents let her stay home from school. They both had to work but left  soup and crackers and ginger ale … anything that she would need to feel  better. I remember getting off of the bus at the corner of my street and  making my way to my house, all the while I was excited, hoping that  Jenna was feeling better so we could bake those damn confetti cupcakes.                       
       
           



       





When I got to the end of my driveway there were three police cars and  two ambulance trucks. I remember worrying that Jenna was sicker than we  realized and maybe had something more serious than the flu. But then I  saw her being wheeled from the house on a stretcher. There was blood  everywhere."





Jade's voice started to crack and I could tell she was suppressing a  sob. I squeezed her hand again to let her know that I was here for her  and she took another deep breath.





"There was so much blood. My mom was sobbing and my dad, who never  cries, had tears running down his face as he made phone calls. They took  Jenna to the hospital and I found out later that she had slit her  wrists."





"Jade … " I whispered, my vision blurry with unshed tears for my friend  and what she'd gone through. "I am so, so sorry for your loss. I can't  imagine what you've gone through."





She shook her head and wiped away at the tears that had escaped. "She isn't dead, Brookelyn."





"But you talked about her like … " I said, confused.





"My sister died that day but she still breathes. She sits in a mental  institution and doesn't say a word to anyone twenty-four/seven. My  sister is gone. She slit her wrists, but Emmy might as well have given  her the knife."





I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything at all. Instead, I  brought my chair next to Jade's and held her as she cried for her  sister. I understood what it was like to lose someone yet have them be  still be there. Jade had lost her sister, just like I had lost myself.





~~~~





We decided that we should skip today's psychology lecture and go get  pedicures instead. I had already done the next two assignments for the  class so I wasn't nervous about missing one day, and I knew that after  everything we had talked about, Jade was in need of some pampering.





Elle had finished her last class of the day around the time that we were  making plans and so I invited her to tag along, and as I had figured,  Jade and Elle got along great. By the time we had parted ways, Jade had  agreed to meet up with us the following night at Dusty's. While Jade was  oblivious, I knew that Elle had ulterior motives, despite her earlier  declaration about Wes. Elle knew that Jade would bring Luke along and  that meant that there was a decent chance that Wes would be there as  well.





"Did we not talk about this already today?" I asked as we drove back to our apartment.





"I take it back! I was talking to Colin and it turns out that he and Wes  are actually really good friends. They're both in Zeta Pi!" I chuckled  at her excitement as she continued. "Plus, Colin said he's actually a  really good guy. Yeah, a little rough around the edges but that's kind  of sexy. Why not go for it?"





"End of conversation, Elle." She whined, as I got out of the car and  headed towards our door. I wasn't surprised that Savanna was nowhere in  sight. She hadn't been around much this past week and between studying  and her sexual escapades with her new boy toy we rarely spoke except for  a few text messages here and there.





"I'm gonna hop in the shower and then do some more work. Did you want to order in tonight?"





Elle popped her head into my room. "Yes! Can we get Chinese? Please say yes."





I grabbed a clean towel from my laundry basket, laughing at Elle's  enthusiasm. She was like a toddler begging her mother for a popsicle.





"Yes, Ellezabeth, we can order Chinese tonight but only if you finish  your homework and don't forget to brush your teeth before bed."





She stuck her tongue out at me. "You think you're so funny. We'll see who acts like a baby when I steal your fortune cookie."





She turned from me and skipped back to the living room where she was  watching an old episode of One Tree Hill, so I yelled at her retreating  frame, "you wouldn't dare! Those things predict our futures, you know!"





I heard her snicker as I walked into the bathroom and turned the shower  on hot, and finally let my tears fall down my face, crying for Jade, for  the sister she lost, and for the girl that I used to be.





SEVEN


Dusty's was just as busy as usual, college students lining the walls and  crowding the dance floor. Jade had texted me to let me know that she  was running a little late so I grabbed Elle's hand and searched for an  empty table, leading her with me over to the one that I found. Colin had  come with a few of his fraternity brothers and so when he saw us he  disbanded from his group and made his way over to the table, wrapping  his arms around Elle.                       
       
           



       





"The bar is packed tonight, you can barely get the bartender's attention. I'll go grab what you girls want."





"I'm sticking with water tonight," Elle made a face, "I have a ton of work to do tomorrow! I can't be dealing with a hangover."