Ripped and Stitched

24: Liar, Liar

Julia was surprised to see Brady tonight. The charity gala was typically something his parents went to without him. She was even more surprised to see him with a girl.

Brady was sitting at a table with this girl who looked drop dead gorgeous. She was wearing a gold dress that complimented her curly blonde hair perfectly. Julia looked down at her black dress, she wished she could just go home.

"I thought you would have invited Jackson Reeves," her father said as he offered her a glass of sparkling cider.

Julia looked away. She wasn't sure what to tell her father about Jackson. Their father's were friends after all.

"It didn't work out," she said finally. "I'm going to go find a friend or something," she mumbled to get away from him.

Julia moved closer to Brady and the girl. She was trying to listen in on their conversation but then she realized they weren't speaking. Not out loud anyway. They were signing to each other.

She sighed. He looked happy, or at least, happier than how he usually looked. Whatever they were talking about was making him smile. That was so rare for him these days.

"Jealous?"

Julia whipped around and found Jackson standing behind her.

"Hardly," she replied hastily. "Are you?"

"Of who?" Jackson smirked. "Last I heard, you came here solo, and your ex is out flirting with that blonde."

Julia clenched her jaw. "What do you want, Jackson?"

Jackson smiled. He came closer to her and whispered in her ear. "One dance, I have some very interesting news to share with you."

Julia glared at him. "Why would I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?"

Jackson shrugged. "You don't have to, but it has to do with Alison and Brady."

Julia stared at him. "How would you know anything about them anyway?"

Jackson smirked. "Let's just say that my mother and Alison's mother are Facebook friends and I saw a very interesting photo."

"One dance," she said through her teeth.

Jackson led her to the center of the room and held her around her waist. Julia grudgingly put her arms around his neck.

"What did you find out?" she asked.

Jackson chuckled. "Funny how the roles are reversed now. Now I have something you want."

Julia sent him a fiery look.

"All right, all right," he chuckled.

"So, it started with Max," he explained. "A few nights ago, I asked Alison for some help scoring drugs. Max swung by and looked beyond pissed when he found out we sent Alison to Oliver's to get drugs for us. They got into a major fight around the corner."

"Why would this matter to me?" Julia asked.

Max and Ali squabbles were hardly a rare sight.

"Well here's the part that would matter," he said with a sly smile. "I was curious what Alison and Max could be fighting about. Last I heard they were broken up, but that's where it gets interesting. A friend of mine spotted Alison and a boy at the airport the weekend she was flying out to see her mom. I had a buddy look up the tickets and I got a last name: Carson."

Julia frowned. "So what? Brady went with Ali to see her mom? Maybe she just wanted some support. Ali's mom can be a handful."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that could be true, but then I saw this on her mom's Facebook."