Chapter 21

"Connie!" I half yelp, as stands of my hair feel like they're being yanked from my head. "Forgive me, but I don't remember signing up for some medieval torture!"

It's the same night, and Evan's at his friend's house, Lizbeth and Jack are at some fancy Chinese New Year party with all their high-class society friends, and Jase is off to god-knows-where, so it's just me, Connie, and my mother here at the house.

My mother munches on a cookie, inspecting Connie's braiding skills. "It actually looks gorgeous, Sienna. Much better than I've ever been able to do with your hair."

"That's just because you give up too easily, Mom!" I laugh, rolling my eyes.

"No, it's because you practically need a lion tamer to wrangle those curls," she responds dryly.

Fair enough. My long red curls are practically impossible to even run a comb through. Though that's probably mostly because I'm too lazy to try.

"Nonsense," Connie says, yanking my hair back again. "You should see my grandson's hair. He decided to grow it out a few years ago, and-" she shudders- "It's a nightmare, to say the least. Yours just takes some brushing, Sienna."

Ah, Connie, forever the optimist.

We're in the middle of watching Under The Tuscan Sun, a large bowl of buttery popcorn in front of us, when my mother pauses the movie. "Okay, I give up. I was really going to wait for you to tell me yourself- but what is going on with that Windsor boy- what's his name? Noel?"

"Noah," I say instinctively, a hand flying to my mouth when I realize what I've just done. "But there's nothing going on between us, I swear."

My mother gives me a knowing smile. "Oh, please. I saw the two of you talking outside at Lizbeth's garden party. You looked very cozy."

"Okay, fine," I blurt out, blushing and staring very directly at the popcorn and not her or Connie. "Maybe more than nothing but we're not- we're not dating yet. Officially. I don't know... I mean, Noah's amazing. But I'm just not sure if..." I don't know if I can admit what I'm about to say next to anyone. Even to myself, honestly. "Never mind."

Connie gives me a small, knowing smile, like I've hidden nothing from her; not even the secrets I'm so desperately trying to keep from myself. "The heart wants what it wants," she says sagely, twirling a strand of her salt-and-pepper curls. "There's no fighting that."

My phone chimes and I go to pick it up, my heart sinking when I see the notification:

@siennabanana: your friend @mayah_jefferson just posted a photo to Instagram!

I open my phone to see a picture of Mayah, along with some people I don't know, drinking something that definitely does not look like sparkling juice. They're all forming a giant group hug and wearing white off-the-shoulder shirts, and Mayah's is definitely showing more cleavage than I've ever seen her with.

Great. I'm here on a weekend night talking about my boy problems to my mom and Connie, while my best friend is out partying.

Could I be any more of a loser?

I have to admit, though, this is kind of fun. I wish I had more friends my age that I could spend Friday nights with, playing truth or dare and watching old movies instead of...doing my homework. Which is mostly how I get to spend my Fridays. Yay.

It's almost midnight when Lizbeth and (I think) Brad come back home, still a little tipsy from their party. Jase is noticeably absent from their little duo, a fact that Brad seems all too aware of. "Maybe we should call him," Lizbeth says. "Before we jump to any conclusions. We don't actually know if he's doing anything wrong, don't forget that. Why don't we just trust him, at least this once?"

"I'll trust Jason when he proves himself trustworthy," Brad says, the gruff quality in his voice like scratching sandpaper. I can hear it all the way upstairs from the bathroom, where I'm trying to inspect Connie's braiding skills. They're pretty impressive, I have to say, but the importance of my hair pales when I hear their conversation."

"-treating him like a criminal!"

"Lizbeth. He is a criminal."

I step out of the bathroom, trying to hear more easily, when there's a creak on the wood panel I'm standing on. The conversation below me grows silent for a minute, then returns in hushed whispers that are too low for me to make out.

I probably shouldn't be listening, anyway, I decide, returning to the den where Connie and my mother are talking obliviously.

But I can't stop thinking about it. Where is Jase? And what did he do that makes him a criminal?

It's not until hours later that I finally have my answer.

The smack of the slammed door below me jolts me awake, and I look down at my watch: 2:59 a.m. Who on earth is coming into the house at 3 in the morning?

Looking at Connie and my mother, who are both fast asleep on the couch, I get up and tiptoe out of the room, stopping when I reach a part of the wall that juts out next to the stair landing. My heart hammering in my chest, I look over to see Jase practically tiptoeing up the stairs. His movements are sloppy and uncoordinated, but somehow he seems to have regained at least the sobriety to be quiet. He reaches the floor I'm on and, even in the dark, I can see a flicker of light, illuminating his face as he looks around, as though he's afraid someone is going to jump out at him from the shadows. I shrink back and wait a few seconds, then turn back around to see him start on the next set of stairs up to the third floor. He's being so silent I instinctively hold my breath, like that noise alone is enough to wake up the whole house.

Creeeak.

The step creaks below Jase, and I swear I can hear him curse under his breath. He pauses for a second, making sure he doesn't hear a sound from his parents' room upstairs, then continues on, just as silently, until his head is completely out of my view. He's almost reached the top of the staircase, and I think he's going to actually make it, when the upstairs hallway is flooded with light that travels down to meet my eyes. The brightness makes my eyes tear up and I turn away. It's not like I can see anything anymore, anyway.

"What the hell?" Jase says, his voice slurring just a little bit. "What are you doing here?"

"Quiet!" Jase's father hisses, his voice as sharp and piercing as a glass shard, and I swear I can hear Jase gasp. "Are you trying to wake up the whole house? Because if so, you're doing a damned good job at it."

"What are you guys doing here?" Jase asks, and this time it's quiet enough that I can barely hear it. Lizbeth says something, but the words fade in and out in my comprehension. "...worried about you... can't keep doing things like this... you're going to get hurt, Jase."

"-pretending to be worried. You just care about your reputation."

There's some more mumbling that I can't hear as they're all talking over each other. Finally, I think I'm able to discern "-a fucking DUI the last time you went out, Jason."

Holy shit.

Jase has a DUI?

"...got lucky this time. But... can't let you do this again," Lizbeth's voice, as smooth as honey even now.

"You can't control me!" Jase says.

"Shut. Up!"

"Brad, darling-"

"...live under our roof, you will obey our rules. Do you understand? We're doing this for your own good, Jason."

"No you aren't!"

"Lizbeth," I hear Brad say through clenched teeth. "Why don't you go get some sleep? You look exhausted and honestly, I can deal with it myself."

"-be too harsh on him, okay?" Lizbeth says softly. "Goodnight."

And then I don't hear anything anymore. At one point I think I can almost make out a few muffled words, but by the time I've reached the landing, they're back to silence. Finally, I hear Jase say it. "I hate you."

There's a loud crashing noise and I think I hear Jase groan, but I'm probably wrong. "Don't you dare ever say that to me again."

"Just leave me alone."

"What's going on?" Lizbeth asks, I assume from her bedroom.

"Nothing," I hear Jase say, and I hear the creak of floorboards as Brad (I think) walks into the bedroom. The light turns off and for another split second, there's silence. Until I hear the groan of the stairs and Jase emerges, faster than I can hide. "Red?" he asks, and even in the low light, I think I see some tears in his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing is the better question, I think," I say, my voicy icy. "It's past 3 in the morning, Jase."

He smiles humorlessly. "Just wait for tomorrow. I'm sure you'll hear all about it at school."

"I don't want to hear about it at school. I'm asking you."

He looks up at the ceiling, wiping a tear away. "I was out. Sue me."

"How could you be so stupid, Jase?" I ask, my words more cutting than I intended. "You're drunk. You already have a DUI, why would you drive under the influence again?"

"I never said I drove," Jase glares at me, even that small movement seeming clumsy on him. "Cody dropped me off back home about an hour ago. And I do not have a DUI. Probably deserve one, though," he admits, sitting down on the bottom step.

There's something about his bitter but cavalier attitude that's making me nervous. It's just so... unlike him. Though, I guess it's probably the alcohol.

"What do you mean?" I ask, hoping he doesn't realize just how nosy I'm being.

He grimaces. "A few months ago, I got really wasted. Drove Brad's car into a tree on the way home. The only reason I didn't get charged-" he sighed. "Let's just say our family isn't above bribery."

"Oh," I say, trying to stay calm. Normal. This is all normal. It's completely normal for people to pay off police officers to not get charged with a permanent offense, completely normal to drive to a club on a Sunday night and come back at 3 in the morning wasted out of your mind. Completely normal to wrap your car around a tree. Normal, normal, normal, normal.

"I should've gotten punished, or fined, or had my license taken away," he continues, oblivious to the fact that I find none of this normal. "It's what I deserved. But Brad goes way back with one of the police officers and he agreed to keep everything off the record... for $10,000."

"Ten thousand dollars?" I want to scream. The lengths these people are willing to go to protect their image, all while belittling poor people who commit similar offenses and don't have 10 grand to just toss at a police officer. It's sickening.

"I know," Jase looks down at the ground, shaking his head. His waves move with him and I have an overwhelming desire to just reach over and smooth out the waves that have gotten messed up. "Trust me, Red, I know. I'm nothing but rich, elitist scum. Which is why I swore I'd never drive under the influence like that again. But... the worst part about the whole experience is that I didn't even care. I wasn't thinking about what I'd done or the people I could've hurt or what the police would do to me. All I was thinking was how terrible of a person I am, and how pissed Brad would be." His voice is soft, sadder than I've ever heard. Is this what Jase hides under his mask of popularity?

"Jase- you're not a terrible person," I say softly, before I can regret the words. "You're a teenager. You make mistakes. I'm sure your father knows that."

"Not father." Jase's voice is steely. "Stepfather."

"Oh," I say. I'm not really sure what else to do. "You're still not a terrible person."

"Thanks," he says, looking over at me, and the soft light in his eyes makes me feel like he really means it. That one look alone is enough to send a ripple of butterflies in my stomach, almost painfully piercing. "And- would you mind... not telling people about this? I've got a reputation to uphold, you know."

"I won't tell anyone," I promise, standing up. "But Jase- go to bed, jesus christ."

He smirks, and the lopsided dimple comes back. "As you wish, milady."

The hallway is filled with a thick, seemingly impenetrable silence that swallows up my words, invisible smoke filling the air. Jase steps away from me and onto the staircase leading back up, pausing right when his foot touches the second step. "Red-" he says, turning around.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad we're friends."

And somewhere, somehow, in the inky darkness of the night, I find myself saying, "me too."

A/N: Hey guys! Happy Monday! I hope everyone has a good week and appreciates the (slightly) longer chapter! Also I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you guys for 700 reads! I know in the grand scheme of Wattpad books, it's not a lot, but I really do appreciate every read, vote or comment I get :)

Also, I've been trying to come up with a cast for LWTBB and have basically come up with actors for all the characters- except for Jase! So if any of you have ideas or even just some random male celebrities you know, don't hesitate to drop their name in the comments or in my inbox!

Let's spread some Monday positivity (because god, I need it 😂).  Comment something that you're looking forward to this week! I'll go first: I'm really looking forward to having a night off so I can rewatch Miss Americana and grow my deep love for Taylor Swift & her music :)

Love y'all!

-Lemon Zest