A Hundred Weddings [PUBLISHED]

Chapter Twenty: Jeanne Bricks

CHAPTER 20: JEANNE BRICKS

If I were drinking, I might've showered him with the coffee from my mouth.

"No." I slowly shake my head "No. That's impossible. Like, really, really impossible"

Is it? I mean, I could still remember my mom's death when I was barely five and I'm pretty sure I can still remember a few things when I was kid and Lance was definitely not in those memories.

Unless I was brainwashed. Maybe Jeanne used hypnotism to place all those memories in my head. Maybe the mom I know is Jeanne Bricks and she only changed her name.

Wait, am I really considering this?

My heart starts pounding in my chest and I probably look like a constipated orangutan while thinking of the possibilities that I might have been brainwashed.

Then Lance cracks and barks out a gaudy laugh. "Damn, if you could only see your face right now." What? "Hey, I was kidding. Just wanted to see your reaction."

I throw my straw at him and it hits him on his left cheek.

"That wasn't funny!" I can't believe I actually considered what he said. "Was all of that eve true? Or did you just make all of that up just to make fun of me?"

He chuckles and shrugs. "Was it believable?"

My hands fly out in frustration. "Oh my gosh! You made me listen to all that stupid crap?"

I feel so dumb right now. I want to choke him to death and feed him to the wolves.

He raises his hand in front of me. "Alright, jokes aside. Everything I said is all true except me considering you as Aiah."

"I don't know what to believe anymore." I narrow my eyes at him.

"I swear in my dog's life that everything I said is true." He says as he puts the straw back to my frappe. "But I am considering someone else though."

"Who?"

He takes the straw from his lap and plays with it. "That chick, Hailey."

I scoff. "You said Aiah was sweet. Hailey has no sweet bone in her body. Trust me."

"But she has a scar on her chest."

Wait, what? "And how would you know that?"

He grins like an innocent boy. "The boys and I met Hailey a few weeks ago through a friend. I fooled around with her in her friend's music studio and I noticed the long scar. I was thinking maybe she got it from her abusive mother years ago. I discovered she's also studying in Weatherford High. Hailey also has the same dark brown hair as my sister's."

Lance is officially a fvckboy in my list.

"What if Hailey is Aiah then? So, you basically fooled around with your sister?"

He awkwardly coughs, his ear brightening red. "Yeah, it's screwed up. But I swear I only formed that theory a week after we first met." It's still disturbing. "Now I'm kind of hoping she's really not Aiah because of what we did, but part of me is also hoping she is."

"But what about the different eye colors? Hailey has both brown ones."

He bobs his head in understanding "Yeah, but it's 2017, eye surgeries can happen."

We continue chatting more about his life and mine. I almost forgot my issue with Jeremy and his supposed ex-girlfriend, Jewel. I'm still planning to confront him about it though.

Then I hear my phone ringing in my bag so I fish it out and see an incoming call from my friend, Ella. She wasn't in class today again because she's having one of those girl problems.

Dysmenorrhea.

I am about to accept when a sudden realization invades my head.

Why am I so slow? Why didn't I think of this earlier?

I grip my phone and stare at the screen where Ella's name is flashing. I can't bring myself to answer it or even move for that matter.

This is ridiculous but what if it's true?

I swipe the phone to accept the call and bring it close to my ear.

She greets with a loud, "I hate being a girl! This hurts like hell! OMG! I need you to watch a movie with me so you can listen to me whine more."

"Ella?" I say, gazing straight at Lance who's curious why I'm suddenly apprehensive.

"What?"

I press the loudspeaker so Lance can hear her too.

"Your eyes have different eye colors, right?" I ask and Lance immediately leans forward to listen more. I can't believe this is actually happening.

"Yeah, why?"

I smile at the guy in front of me "And you refuse to have it changed because you want to feel unique but you also wear contact lens so you won't look weird."

She laughs. "Why the sudden fascination with my eyes?"

Lance gapes at me incredulously and tries to grab the phone from my grasp but I slap his hand away. He seats back and crosses his arms like a child who didn't get what he wants.

"Quick question, your mom's middle name is Jeanne, right?"

"Bitch, I'm dying from losing so much blood coming out of my vagiina and you want to know about my mother's middle name?"

I should've told her she's in loudspeaker and that everyone around could hear her. An old couple from across the table glower at us and I merely give an apologetic smile.

Lance gapes at my phone as if it has some sort of disease.

"Just answer the question," I tell my friend.

She groans, "Ugh. Yeah, her full name is "Micah Jeanne Summers"

I nod although she can't see me. "Does Jeanne Bricks sound familiar to you?"

"Yeah, that's like her pen name." She adds, "She also uses that whenever she wants to secretly donate."

"Did she recently donate to our school?"

Silence.

Lance and I wait for her to answer. I even check my phone again if she's still in the line.

"She did it to fund the physics lab because...um, I'm failing that class and she wants me to pass. I hope you won't judge me. I just really need to graduate."

People said California is big. I beg to disagree.

"I'm with Lance and we're on our way to your house. Is that okay with you?"

She giggles. "Yeah, I'll be wearing a short dress, don't judge, m'kay?"

If only she knew.