A Broken Jewel (Jade Book 1)

by Lucy Rains

  Once my jewelry pieces were finished, I slipped them into their mailing pouches. As I was placing my various types of pliers into my tool box I heard Charles approaching outside my door.

  “Miss Jade?”

  I looked up and smiled, “Charles?”

  Instead of returning my smile, he kept his face blank. “Your mother will be home before dinner.”

  My smile dropped from my face. “What? Why?”

  “She didn’t say. But I thought you would want to know.” His eyes gave me an unspoken apology before continuing down the hall.

  I groaned and shoved my tool box into my closet. I put my jewelry packages into a plastic bag and carefully placed it inside my sports bag. My backpack wasn’t big enough to stash the packages in.

  I changed into running clothes while scarfing down a protein bar. I was limited on my time now and had only a couple hours before my mother would arrive. I needed to squeeze in my 15 mile run and shower before she got home. She would wonder why I hadn’t done it earlier that day. Charles waved as I hurried out the front door and started jogging down the sidewalk.

  *******************

  I was sitting in the library with my textbooks spread around me when my mother walked in. I knew the best way for her to find me was with me buried in homework. However, when she walked in, the look on her face told me I could have been gushing blood from a limb and she wouldn’t have cared in the least.

  Her short blunt bob of black hair framed her face, her make-up impeccable. She was wearing one of her standard navy suits with low heels. Always navy or black paired with white or cream. I had never seen my mother in anything else, with the exception of an occasional lab coat. She crossed her arms while her perfectly manicured finger tips curled around her arms. Her red lips pinched in the middle, her jaw locked tight.

  I set my pencil down, straightened my back and gave her my full attention. “Hi mom, you’re back early.”

  She took a step forward, uncrossed her arms and set her black patent leather purse down on top of my textbook.

  Her voice was low in both pitch and volume when she spoke. “Plans changed. I had to leave early, when I found out some disturbing news.”

  She stared at me, her brown eyes darker than usual.

  I glanced at her purse on my book and then back up to her. It couldn’t be about last night. “What’s up?”

  Her head tilted slightly, and she crossed her arms again. “Tell me about the party last night.”

  I let out a soft breath, a cold prick of fear hitting my chest. Her tight posture made sense now, she was holding back rage. How much did she know and how much did I tell?

  “It didn’t go as planned.” I answered softly, careful not to give anything away.

  She raised a dark eyebrow, “The party? Or me finding out about it?”

  “I didn’t stay,” I said defensively, “I came home early. You can ask Charles.” I nodded my head towards the door.

  “Early?” She scoffed. “Honestly Jade, how long did you stay, before you came home early?”

  I shrugged, I was sure it had been over an hour and a half. “I’m not sure. I talked with Mia and Vicki for a little while and then came home.”

  My mother lifted her chin, her eyes boring into me. “Don’t lie to me, Jade.

  My eyes went wide, my hands in front of me with my palms up, “Nothing happened, mom, I swear. I didn’t want to hurt their feelings by just leaving, so I played foosball with Vicki and then came home.” Partial truth was easier than lying.

  My mother reached into her purse and slowly pulled out her cell phone. She looked at it for a few seconds, touched the screen twice and then showed me the screen.

  “What is this?” She hissed.

  My blood froze in my veins. It was a picture. Alex with his arm around me while we were walking outside. Alex’s face was completely turned away from the camera, but it was obvious that a guy had his arm around my shoulders. In the picture my face was pale, my mouth hanging open, my eyes wide. I looked terrible. Who took this picture? How on earth did my mother get it?

  “Mom, I…” My mind was literally blank for an explanation. I couldn’t tell her everything, it would be suicide.

  “Why is his arm around you?” She demanded.

  “He...he was helping me,” I said. “I was upset, and he was helping me.”

  “Why were you upset? What would have happened to make you upset enough to need a boy’s arm around you?”

  I cleared my throat, looked down at my paper, searching for what to say. “Another guy had been bothering me, and so he,” I gestured towards the phone, “was just leading me away.”

  “Have you been around this guy before? Seeing him behind my back?” Her lips pinched together, the hand holding her phone shook slightly.

  I shook my head quickly, “Of course not, when would I even be able to?”

  She pointed a finger at me, her eyes narrowed, “Did you have sex with him last night?”

  My brows flew up in shock, my hands to my forehead. “No! Mom, gosh, he just talked with me for a minute and then I came home. I swear!”

  She poked at her screen again quickly and then dropped her phone into her purse. “I explicitly said, ‘no boys’. Now you can see why, they are only problems.” She paused a moment, composed herself and stood up straight. Vera Parker didn’t show emotion. She put her steel mask back on and spoke again, this time softer.

  “But the only way I can be completely sure you’re being truthful about last night, is to hear it from a doctor.” Her eyes wouldn’t meet mine as she gathered her purse and took a step back.

  My eyes lost focus for a second, her words in my head, not understanding. “A Doctor?” I muttered. “But…”

  “I’ll make an appointment to see Dr. Fox this week.”

  Her words were sinking in and my mouth hung open in shook. “You’re making me get an exam? To see...if…”

  “To see if you’ve been sexually active.” Her chin tilted up at me, daring me to argue with her. “Unless you just want to admit it now, and save us a trip?”

  I shook my head slowly, “I swear, I didn’t do anything.”

  She sighed, like I was forcing her to do something hard. “Well, I guess we’ll see.” She started to leave the room and stopped, turning back. “And you’re grounded from your car for two weeks. Charles will drive you to and from school. Depending on what the doctor says will determine your punishment from there.” Her heels clacked lightly on the marble tile as she walked down the hall.

  I fell back in my chair and stared at the spot she had been standing in. Indignant heat rose in my cheeks, my energy starting to pulse under my skin. Yes, I should have left last night. I should have turned the car around back home before Mia could see me. But Mia was important to me, she was a good friend, I needed to support her. But at what cost? Had it been worth it?

  My hands clasped tightly together, and I leaned my elbows on my knees. My mother was being completely absurd. Submitting me to a pelvic exam for her own piece of mind? No, I shook my head. This was too much. I was 18 years old now, a legal adult. I wouldn’t do this. Even though I had nothing to hide, I wouldn’t let my mother do this to me. I swallowed and pinched my eyes shut to stop the rush of burning tears.

  Refusing to go to the doctor while living under her roof wouldn’t be an option though. Just now, was probably the most angry I had ever seen her, but it would be nothing compared to a fight that would erupt over refusing to comply to her demands. She would inflict more consequences on me though, permanently taking away my car. Possibly removing me from school. I wasn’t sure what else, because I had never pushed the boundaries.

  My shaking hands wiped at my eyes. What did I do? I raced through options. Ask Charles for help? Run away? Go to my friends? Vicki and Mia came to mind. They knew my mother was an irrational control freak. I hoped that one of them would have compassion enough to fight for me now.

  ********

  “Move in?” Mia shril
led, almost choking on her lemonade.

  Vicki set down her turkey sandwich in her lap and wiped her mouth. “What happened? Was it the party?”

  I swallowed a grape and shook my head, “I don’t want to go into it.”

  “Wow, must be pretty bad to make you resort to this.” Mia put the lid back on her drink, “I

  would have left a long time ago, though.”

  I took a deep breath, trying to hold on to my courage to carry out through this plan. “Well, I’m legally an adult now. She can’t make me stay there.”

  “Wait,” Vicki held up a hand, “You’re 18? Since when?”

  “Look,” I said, not wanting to stray from the topic, “Do you think either of your parents will allow it?”

  Mia and Vicki looked at each other. Mia shrugged and spoke first, “My parents just left the country for 4 weeks, I don’t know if I should ask them over the phone, or wait till a better time?” Her voice trailed a little at the end of her statement, hinting at noncommittal discomfort.

  I looked to Vicki, my eyes pleading. “Vicki?”

  Her eyes were unfocused for a minute, obviously thinking over my request, then looked at me. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll ask and try to persuade them. But I am leaving for Georgetown end of August.” Her eyes were apologetic, “So by then…”

  I nodded quickly, understanding, “I know, its okay. I’ll start looking for a job and apartment as soon as I can get out of the house.”

  “But your car?” Vicki asked.

  I shrugged, trying to hide the sense of gloom I felt at the idea, “Yeah, I know. I’ll learn the bus system or something.”

  “I have a bike you can borrow!” Mia offered cheerfully.

  I smiled, trying to hold back tears. After Saturday evening, I had spent the rest of the weekend holed up in my room, pretending to read textbooks and trying to muster up the courage to go through with my plan of moving out. I made frequent internal checks with myself that I was not overreacting. I thought I could hold out for 2 more years, I had really wanted to. It would have been the easiest course to solidify my future. But the invasion that my mother had promised was more than I could bear.

  A mixture of anxiety and fear settled into my chest. My money I had saved up was not enough to get me very far. I had been sheltered from the outside world and any adult responsibility. I was going to be so lost. Alone, poor, but free. And that freedom kept me pushing forward. Kept me pushing towards a goal I was sure my heart needed more than the comforts of a free home with a tyrant mother.

  I re-evaluated my long term plan. I would look into grants and government funding as soon as I was out of the house. If that didn’t work, I had to come to the realization that I would probably have to drop out of school for a term, because my mother would never pay for college, due to my rebellion. I had no work experience, but surely I could find something to bring in a little bit of cash. And I could continue my sales online once I was out of the house as well.

  I twisted my hands in my lap and looked down at my fingers. “Thanks guys, I appreciate it.”

  Mia rubbed my back gently and shoved a few chips in her mouth. The topic was then changed to reminisce about the rest of her party that I had missed. My eyes stayed down, my attention elsewhere as I hoped for good news the following day from Vicki.

  *******************

  After track practice, I stood on the curb in front of the gymnasium, waiting for Charles to pick me up. I tried not to look at my peers, strolling casually to their cars that they took for granted. Both because I was envious, and also because I was avoiding eye contact that might spark curious stares at me for standing there.

  The one person I was hoping to avoid the absolute most was, of course, walking up behind me. I could hear her voice. Her tone of confident, frivolous, babbling drove nails into my skull.

  “Jade! Oh my gosh, I’m so glad I saw you!”

  I looked at her with a purposeful blank stare, showing my lack of interest in anything she wanted to say to me.

  She pulled out her phone as she spoke, “Those guys you were with on Friday night? Total hotties, right?”

  I raised an eyebrow, not taking the bait.

  “How do you even know them?” She glanced at her friend Kelli, who was as kind and friendly as Tiff was. She gave me look of comical interest.

  “Don’t you have a boyfriend?” I reminded Tiff.

  She waved a dismissive hand at me, and looked back down at her phone. “These guys were sex on two legs, you can’t compete with that.”

  My throat suddenly tightened and my heart pounded. She needed to shut up.

  Tiff turned her phone so that I could see the screen. There on the outside sofa where I had left them, were Pierce and Alex. Tiff was positioned down in the middle of the two of them. She had a leg draped over one of Pierce’s knees. Her mouth was puckered into a duck face, her eyes sensual. The guys looked into the phone, but I couldn’t read their expressions. They seemed...annoyed? Their hands were to themselves, Alex was leaning his torso in the opposite direction of Tiff.

  I stood up straight, not wanting to see anymore, I looked up at Tiff and shrugged. “It looks like they could care a less.”

  “Oh!’ She giggled, sharing a side glance to Kelli, “Looks can be deceiving.”

  My heart pounded harder and my mouth was starting to salivate. My body tensed uncontrollably and I knew that if I didn’t leave now I would do something irrational.

  Thankfully a car horn honked, breaking my trance of rage. I pivoted around and hurried towards the grey sedan waiting for me.

  The girls behind me giggled. “I’ll tell them you said ‘hi’ when I see them tonight!” Tiff hollered at my retreating figure.

  I hurried into the vehicle and slammed the door shut behind me. She’s lying, I told myself, she has to be. I swallowed down the overwhelming amount of spit that I seemed to have, and put my head in my hands. My body was still tense, and I knew Charles was going to wonder what my problem was.

  “Are you unwell Miss Jade?”

  “I’m fine,” I croaked. “Just go.”

  Not the most believable performance but I didn’t know what else to say. What would I say? I was drowning in a jealous rage over a couple guys I just met and knew nothing about? My physical responses were irrational, yet felt completely out of my control. I continued drawing in slow deep breaths as Charles drove us home. Finally I felt clear headed enough to talk.

  “Sorry,” I offered, “Just tired from track, I think.”

  His crystal blue eyes darted from the road to me, in the rear view mirror. “I know you’ve been under alot of stress at home.”

  My stomach sank at the reminder. “You could say that,” I mumbled.

  ********************

  Mother arrived home shortly after we did. She didn’t speak to anyone, just changed out of her work clothes and closed herself in her office. I worked on an essay for my U.S. history class that was due on Friday. My goal was to be completely focused and trying to pass time as painlessly as possible. It was hard to do since I wasn’t allowed free use of internet, my reading material was strictly limited on what was allowed, and we had no cable tv.

  Summer was the worst. I found ways to work around the limitations but I had to be creative. I would go to the library once a week and use the computers there, or look at current magazines and books. I would accompany Charles on his weekly grocery shopping trips. At home, I was allotted a short time of internet usage on a weekly basis. On my long runs, when I was alone, I reviewed Krav Maga moves I had learned watching youtube videos at the library. I had taught myself yoga, and various flexibility techniques to help my muscles continue to strengthen. I took time learning other languages like French and Swedish. On the rare occasion Mia and Vicki were actually home from their exotic vacations or summer camps, I was allowed short visits with them at their homes.

  With my essay finished, I gathered up my dirty clothes from my sports bag and went into the laundry room
to deposit them into a hamper.

  When I went to dropped them into the gray wicker basket, a tiny flash of red caught my attention. Considering my school uniforms were grey, forest green and navy, my track clothing was black grey and navy, and my mother never wore bright clothing, this bright color was completely out of place in my home. I dropped my clothes on the ground, and slowly reached inside of the basket. The corner of the clothing was barely visible, tucked midway down in the basket. I pushed the clothing aside to pull out the item. As I pulled it out, the article of clothing had been wound around itself tightly, so as to appear as small as possible. When I pulled apart the item, realization dawned on me. It was my mother’s lab coat. And it was covered in blood.

  I dropped it quickly and took a step back. My breath was coming out fast. I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to see that. I picked up my clothes quickly and dropped them on top of the pile. Why would my mother’s lab jacket be covered in blood? She worked with clients and patients, but never anything intensely invasive. Most of the time my mother did lab work, infertility research, consultations. She never did surgeries, and any work on patients in the office was minimal. She had once explained to me that her work was mostly focused in the lab.

  I left the laundry room and closed the door behind me.

  “Jade?”

  I jerked and spun around, my hand coming to my chest. My mother was standing in the kitchen, holding a small ceramic mug that I know held her favorite Irish tea. I swallowed and made a mental effort to relax my stance, dropping my arm to my side. “Yes, mother?”

  Her eyes scanned over me for a split second, her right eyebrow raising in disapproval. “What is on your wrist?”

  I glanced down at my wrist, my black hair tie dug into my skin, stray hairs wrapped around it. I cringed and pulled it off quickly, and put my hair into a ponytail.

  “What did I say about bands on your arm?”

  “I’m sorry, I was so focused on my homework.” I clasped my hands in front of me.