I''m pretty sure everyone in the room has stopped breathing
Mom''s face drains of all color, eyes pinned to Jade with an expression I''ve never seen at her before it''s not just shock, it''s not just betrayal. It''s far worse.
Jade doesn''t move wither, though I see his jaw tick, His eyes are locked on hers like he''s trying to telepathically exin the impossible. But there''s nothing to say that can for this.
"Is this some sort of prank?" Mom finally asks. "If it is, you all better stop it. It''s not funny
"It''s not a prank, Mom, Serena says, almost whispering
Jade turns to her. "Would you just shut up! You''ve done enough already."
"Done enough?" Serena''s voice cracks. "What? You expected me to keep lying?"
"I expected you not to make everything about yourself. You took advantage of me when I was drunk! I kept it a secret from your mother so she wouldn''t hate you, and now you''ve decided to blow it all up?" He lo
"I didn''t take advantage of you!" she shouts back. "How many times do have to say it? I thought you knew what you were doing!"
"You thought I''d willingly cheat on your mom?"
I can''t look away from either of them. My head keeps tuming back and forth like I''m watching a tennis match I wish I never came to.
Across the table, Nathan quietly closes the engagement ring box and rises from where he''s kneeling. He looks like he''s aged ten years in thest ten seconds. His mouth is pressed into a tight line, trembling at thud of my mother mming both palms down on the dinner table. The tes jump. The cutlery tters
And then there''s a sound. The sharp, rattling th
"Get out of my house," she says. "You sick fucks."
"Margot," Jade says, standing and moving toward her. "I swear, I didn''t do it on purpose. Your daughter jumped me when I was drunk
"But you knew she had feelings for you, didn''t you?"
"Did you not?" she demands.
Jade lowers his head for a breath."?dd"
"You knew," she breathes, eyes wide
and feral, "and you still let her hang around here whenever she wanted. You let her sleep over. You let her stay close. And then you both had sex and kept it from me?"
"I didn''t want to ruin your rtionship with her-"
"I don''t believe a goddamn wording out of either of your mouths. And I want you all to leave."
She turns and starts up the stairs. Jade takes a step toward her, but she spins and lifts a single hand in a silent,manding gesture
"Don''t piss me off more, Jade."
"Mom, I''m so sorry," Serena chokes out as she stands at the retreating form of our mother. Her face is twisted, confused. "Oh, my god. What have I done?" Nathan hasn''t moved. But I see his shoulders rising and falling. His knuckles whiten as he clenches his fists at his sides.
Then he speaks
"How could you?" he says. His voice is quieter than expected, but every syblends a punch. "How could you do this to me, Bena?"
Serena turn to him, already shaking her head. “Nathan...
"I
loved you," he continues. "There''s nothing I wouldn''t have done for you. I''ve never introduced anyone to my family. To my friends. To my work buddies. Even the guys at my club knew you by name," Serena''s Ep trembles. She takes a step forward.
"You think I care if you had some twisted crush on your stepfather?" Nathan says, louder now. "But you cheated on
me. And you didn''t even have the decency to tell me in private. You announced it like a party trick. Slept with someone else-
then climbed into my bed like nothing happened." He pauses, shaking his head. "No one''s ever hurt me the way you just did." Tears spill down his face.
"I wish you the most painful things, Serena."
Nathan...
"You have two days to get your things out of the house. After that, I''m setting them on fire."
He turns to leave. Serena stumbles forward, grabbing at him. "Nathan! Please, don''t do this."
Right then, a bundle of clothes hits the bottom of the stairs with a dull thud. The bundle breaks open, pieces scattering One of Jade''s shirtsndsby Nathan''s feet.
Everyone turns.
My mother is standing halfway up the staircase, her arm still raised from throwing. Her mouth is drawn in a hard, merciless line. Her eyes are red and cold
"Margot," Jade says, walking toward the stairs, "let''s talk about this. Let mee up and exin-"
"Stay right there. I''ll send all your stuff down here so you can leave."
And then she disappears.
I haven''t moved from my seat. I don''t even know if I can. My hands are on myp, clenched so tightly my nails are biting into my palms. There''s this strange static in my ears, a whining silence that feels like a s Serena''s sobbing now. She has Nathan''s jacket in her fists, pulling him toward her as she cries into his shoulder. He''s not moving. Not pushing her off. But he''s not holding her either. Just waiting. Cold. Distant.
Jade is pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. One hand braces against his temple like he''s trying to press the headache out of his skull.
Then Mom appears again, this time with another stack of clothes that she hurls down just as before.
"Why are you doing this?" Jade asks, breath ragged "Babe, this isn''t even my fault!"
"It became your fault," she says, "when you kept your mouth shut."
"You shouldn''t be stressing yourself out he pleads. "You''ll hurt the babies-"
"The babies will do just fine without you, Jade."
"I''m not letting you do this to us."
She scoffs from thending, "What are you going
to do to stop me? Sleep with my other daughter Go for it. It''s not like they don''t all have questionable morals at this point."
I blink
"What? How did I get into this?
"What did I do say.
"You''re just like your sister. You knew and didn''t say anything" She''s ring at me now. "So join her and get out."
Irise slowly, pushing up my g
"Oh, please."
"I didn''t," insist
sses. "I didn''t know she slept with him."
"You expect me to believe that? And even if it''s true you didn''t know, would you have told me if you did?"
Topen my mouth. The word yes sits on the edge of my tongue, waiting to jump
off. But it doesn''t. Because the second I try to say it, I know it isn''t true.
I wouldn''t have told her.
God. I hate the truth of that. But I wouldn''t have.
Serena was the one who reached out to me after all those years of wondering where my mother and sister were. She was the one who kept calling, kept trying, even when I didn''t pick up. The one who stood outside my college dorm window in the rain the day she showed up unannounced, telling me she missed me, that Mom was changing, that maybe we could be a family again if we just tried.
And against all odds, let her in..
We shared a house together after school. She made meugh again. Made me believe that maybe I was loved after all.
With what we''ve been through together, the memories and all, I don''t think I could''ve broken her trust, not even for this. Not even for Mom
And Mom sees it. I don''t say a word, but the truth is written all over my face.
Her eyes narrow, the betrayal sinking deeper, and then
she shakes Her head slowly.
"Perfect. Just get out, Sloane."
"They''re all at fault, Margot. Don''t listen to any of them," Nathan says. He steps back from Serena, tugging “They''ve been lying to you. Sloane''s still screwing that man. Jade isn''t an artist. He never was. He works for Sloane''s boyfriend, and I''m sure you''ve met him. You deserve better than any of this."
his coat out of her grasp.all
Mom''s face goes pale, much paler than it already was.
I''m pretty sure everyone is the room has stopped breathing.
Mom''s face drains of all color, eyes pinned to Jade with an expression I''ve never seen on her before. It''s not just shock. It''s not just betrayal,t''s far worse
Jade doesn''t move either, though I see his jaw tick. His eyes are locked on hers like he''s trying to telepathically exin the impossible, But there''s nothing to say that can for this
"Is this some sort of prank?" Mom finally asks, “if it is, you all better stop it. It''s not funny."
"It''s not a prank, Mom," Serena says, almost whispering.
Jade turns to her, "Would you just shut up? You''ve done enough already."
"Done enough?" Serena''s voice cracks. "What? You expected me to keep lying!
"I expected you not to make
everything about yourself. You took advantage of me when I was drunk kept it a secret from your mother so she wouldn''t hate you, and now you''ve decided to blow it all up?" He looks like he wants to throw something-at the wall, at himself, maybe even at her. "What the fuck is
wrong with you?"
"I didn''t take advantage of you!" she shouts back "How many times do I have to say it? I thought you knew what you were doing
"You thought I''d willingly cheat on your mom!"
I can''t look away from
either of them. My head keeps turning back and forth like I''m watching a tennis match I wish I never came to
Across the table, Nathan quietly closes the engagement ring box and rises from where he''s kneeling. He looks like he''s aged ten years in the
And then there''s a sound. The sharp, rattling thud of my mother mming both palms down on the dinner table. The
tes jump. The cutlery tters
"Get out of my house," she says. "You sick fucks."
"Margot," Jade says, standing and moving toward her. "I swear, I didn''t do it on purpose. Your daughter jumped me when I was drunk-"
"But you knew she had feelings for you, didn''t you?"
"Did you not?" she demands.
Jade lowers his head for a breath, "I did."
"You knew," she breathes, eyes wide and feral, "and you still let her hang around here whenever she wanted. You let her sleep over. You let her stay And then you both had sex and kept it from me?"
"I didn''t want to ruin your rtionship with her-"
"I don''t believe a goddamn wording out of either of your mouths. And I want you all to leave."
She turns and starts up the stairs. Jade takes a stop toward her, but she spins and its a single hand in a silent,manding gesture.
"Don''t piss me off more, Jade
"Mom, I''m so velose
30 sorry." Serena chokes out as she stares at the retreating form of our mother. Her face is twisted, confused. "Oh, my god. What have I done?"
Nathan hasn''t moved. But I see his shoulders rising and falling. His knuckles whiten as he clenches his fists at his sides.