Once Mom regains her bearings, she turns and vanishes, no doubt going to throw the rest of Jade''s things down. Before anyone can move, Jade storms toward Nathan, fists tight.


    "I hope you''re ready to eat unsolid food for the rest of your life, you piece of shit," he growl will knock your teeth out"


    Nathan spreads his arms.


    "Do it. Show your wife who you really are. And Rena, please let go. I don''t want to push you off."


    Serena is clinging to him now after he''d tugged his coat out of her grip before. Her arms are wound tight around his torso like she''s trying to hold the whole world together through sheer force of will. Her face is


    Jade, of course, needs something to hit, and Nathan has let himself be a target after that reveal. Jade reaches them and rips Serena away from Nathan. She stumbles


    back, sobbing. Before Nathan can react, Jade punches him hard.


    Nathan staggers, grabbing his mouth, blood blooming over his knuckles


    "Stop!" Serona screams. "You''re going to hurt him!"


    But Nathan lunges back at Jade, aiming a fist of his own.


    It nevernds


    Jade intercepts him mid-


    motion, tackling Nathan with the kind of skill you know took years to perfect. Nathan''s body ms into the ground with a sickening thud, fis back crashing against the sharp edge of the table leg. The entire table jolts, knocking over a water ss that rolls and falls to the floor, shattaring.


    1-1 mutter


    "Oh, my god,"


    The men are on the floor, locked in a mess of limbs and fury.


    Jade swings first, a heavy punch to Nathan''s jaw that sends his head snapping to the side. Nathan groans, dazed, but recovers quickly and tries to retaliate. But Jade is faster. Ruthless. He ducks, then drives a “Stop!” Serena cries, rushing toward them, her hands fluttering uselessly in the air. "Stop it, Jade"


    Nathan snarls, trying to twist free, but Jade has


    one arm pressed across his throat now, the other drawn back to strike again. His jaw is clenched so tight that the muscles in his neck look ready to snap


    And then-thump, thump, thump-


    the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps descending the staircase.


    turn my head as I hear a metallic click.


    Mom is at the foot of the stairs, barefoot and pale as bone, but steady. There''s no tremble in her arms as she raises the shotgun. It''s aimed directly at Jade.


    "Step away from him," she says, her voice like stone "And all of you, get the fuck out of my house."


    Jade instantly throws his hands


    up, rising and stumbling a step back like the st has already gone off


    "We''re leaving, Margot Please, just put the gun down."


    That''s all I need to hear


    My shoes squeak against the tile as rush toward the door, snatching my purse off the side table don''t look at anyone Hot Jade. Hots Nathan. The only thought ying on loop in my head is: Do not trust the trem The night air ps me in the tree the second step outside,


    I walk to my car and grip the door handle, fingers shaking, adrenaline still spiking in my bloodstream, I''m sliding the key in when I hear the door


    open behind ime. More footsteps. Then the unmistakable click of the lock turning


    I nce over my shoulder and see them-


    Jade heading straight for his car, eyes locked on the ground, jaw to fight it looks


    like it might crack. He doesn''t say a word, boesn''t spare a nce. Just gets in, ms the door, and peels out of the driveway


    Nathan''s already halfway to his car, and Serena''s trailing after him like she doesn''t know how to stop her legs from moving.


    "Nathan," she calls. "Wait."


    "Could you please not make this any harder for me?" he replies, not turning around. "You''ve already broken my heart. What more do you want?"


    Serena stops as Nathan hides into the driver''s seat, shuts the door, and drives off.


    I stand there watching the red of his taillights vanish into the night. Serena''s arms are wrapped around her stomach like she''s trying to keep her insides from spilling out.


    For a moment, we both don''t say anything. Just stare at the empty space where Nathan''s car used to be.


    Then, Serena says, "Can I stay at your house?"


    *Sure."


    I unlock my car, and she climbs in silently. Her fingers fumble with the seatbelt, and her face looks pale and ssy.


    We drive in silence.


    Or rather, I drive in silence while she


    sobs with her face pressed against


    e2


    the passenger side window. The kind of crying that doesn''te in waves but stays. An endless leaking faucet of grief. I don''t say anything. What would even say? That it''ll be okay? That this will blow over? That Mom won''t hate her forever? Even I don''t believe that. So I keep my eyes on the road and grip the wheel until my knuckles sche, pretending I''m not wondering if she''ll still be crying when we get to my house.


    By the time we get there, her crying has dulled into sniffling


    We head upstairs and inside my apartment, and the familiar smell of vani and carpet cleaner greets us like a tired friend. She doesn''t even take off her shoes. Just walks straight into my bedroom and copses face-first on the bed. She then yanks the sheets over her head.


    nishckin


    I hear her crying again before I even finish locking the door.


    I want to say something, aybe sit with her. But instead, I pull out my phone and type...


    ''Something came up. Don''te to my house. My sister''s here."


    Knox replies almost instantly.


    ''I''m guessing it''s the same reason Jade''s here too. What happened?


    "Long story. Tell youter.


    I toss the phone on the nightstand, run a hand through my hair, and head to the bathroom. beshen up in silence. Warm water, gentle soap, no


    noise dry my face, pull my


    over


    my head, and step back out into the


    bedroom.


    Serena''s stopped crying, but she''s still in the same position, lying on her back now, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling


    I climb onto the bed slowly, not wanting to startle her. For a while, I just sit there, not speaking. The room smells faintly of shampoo and salt.


    Then the questiones out before I can stop it.


    "Why''d you say #17"


    She keeps staring ahead.


    "You could''ve gone your whole life without telling anyone that. Why''d you tell Mom and Nathan?"


    A few seconds pass, and I''m about to let it go, convinced she isn''t going to respond, when she whispers, "Because I''m not Jade


    "What?"


    try them."


    “I''m not him,” she says louder now, voice shaking. “I can''t lie to someone and marry