“You dumb bitch. You think I’d let you get away that easy?” Marcus growls.
He pulls me towards the stairs as I bite back a whimper. But I keep fighting. I kick at him again. I twist and turn; I’d do anything to get free.
“No. No! Help me! Help me!” I scream as try to pull away again. His hand tightens on my hair even further and the tears fall from my eyes. The hope that anyone might hear me is as bleak as my future. But I can’t stop trying.
“Help me!” I scream through sobs as I finally yank out of his grasp. I leave him standing there with a hand full of hair and make a beeline for the door. This time I don’t pause, but it doesn’t matter. He’s faster than me and is on me before I can run out of the door. The fact that I stare out into a backyard hits me hard. If it was the front there might have been the possibility of someone seeing me and coming to my rescue. But that hope is lost.
“Shut up,” he hisses. He grabs me again, pulling me back to the stairs. I grab onto the frame of the stair entrance and kick at him. The first few kicks never make contact but the last one hits him in the gut. He catches my foot as he falls against the wall and pulls me down with him. I grab for him, a stair, the wall—anything—as I lose my balance. My hands are unable to grasp hold of anything before gravity takes ahold of me and I fall. My body lands hard on the first step, knocking the air out of me. I continue to fall, meeting each step one by one, each one hurting worse that the one before it. My leg slams down and I feel a pull that slithers its way up to my hip and through my body, followed by an intense pain. It blinds me as I continue to my descent down the stairs. I roll one final time but the moment I hear the smack reverberate through my skull my eyes close.
The darkness consumes me, and relief fills me. The darkness has become a safe place.
My bedroom door slams, and I jerk my head up to see a fuming Jade in the doorway. Her breathing is ragged, her cheeks are red, and if I had to guess, she’s ready to burn down whoever is responsible for making her upset. I jump to my feet and cross the room to where she is standing, ready to hurt the person who has pissed off my sister.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
Jade’s heavy breathing and silence worries me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my twin so angry before. She’s always the happier one of the two of us, but not today. Whoever wronged her must have been shitty.
“What did that shithead Adam do? Where is he?” My anger grows. I move past her. “He’ll wish he never—”
“Adam? You think this is about Adam?” Jade huffs out incredulously. “Am I twins with an idiot? This is about you, you moron.”
“There’s a rumor going around that you attacked Jordan at the Depot?” she says. She studies my face, her eyes looking deep into mine. “Is it true?
“Yeah, and? That’s normal behavior for me. Why is that surprising to you?” I say.
“It’s surprising because the rumor is it was over Fallon.” Jade waves her hands in the air.
She takes a step towards me and gets in my face. “How could you not tell me you found a lead? How could you keep news about my best friend from me?” Her voice begins to waver, and I can see the tears welling in her eyes.
“I didn’t have time. I had to get to him. He was hiding information about Fallon—”
“You didn’t have time. You didn’t have time to call down the hall to include me? You aren’t thinking about anyone else. Just poor, sad Jesse. The girl he loves is missing and no one else feels the pain.” Her tears finally begin spill over as she hisses, “We were all family. Are all family.”
She growls in frustration before continuing. “Not just you and her, but all of us. You can’t keep me out of this! I’m sure Cason was right behind you the entire time. I miss her too, you know. I want her back too. She’s my best friend, Jess.” She furiously wipes the tears from her face as she continues to glare at me.
The women in this family have a way of pulling my stomach into my throat and humbling me so that I feel no better than a huge pile of dog shit. Jade is no different. Sometimes I think she’s more capable of it than anyone else because she’s my twin. Because she understands me in a way that most don’t. Except for Fallon. I look into my twin’s eyes and can see just how full of hurt they are. She’s hurting, and not just because she misses her best friend, but because I made her feel less important. I’m that shitty person. It seems like a constant thing for me—not being able to take care of the women in my life.
“Shit, Jade. I’m sorry. I know you miss her.” I pull her in and hug her tight. “I promise
