A time to remember

Jade Wilson

         It's been 30 minutes since we all left Damon's friend Tino after he gave us directions to a safe house. I have to admit, Tino was very attractive; but I didn't wanna seem like a whore; I didn't wanna seem like a Brooke. That girl is crazy, I swear. Like who drinks vodka and smokes weed when their pregnant? Who even forgets that their pregnant? Jesus. That girl. I swear.
         Me and Damon kind of have a thing going on right now. I know that him and Brooke used to have something, I'm not dumb. But the thing is, I'm not trying to get to close to Damon like that because I don't need someone to worry about other than myself. I've always been an independent girl so being in a group of four, and needing to respect everyone, is very different and hard for me. As much as I want to beat Brooke's face in, I know that I can't because then Miguel will be on my ass then Damon will be on Miguel's then I'll be on Damon's, and it's just to much trouble to go through.
         I've been thinking a lot about leaving everyone, like when their all sleeping I'll just sneak out and walk away from everyone and go back to living on my own. I still haven't decided yet because they all seem to like me very much and I don't want to hurt everyone by my absence. I'm also thinking, that since Miguel and Brooke are going to be a family soon, that me and Damon should leave and let them do their own thing. Because it's already a struggle for us now with just the four of us. But then if you add a newborn baby, that's even more difficult because a baby needs special things and a lot of attention. And because most likely the baby will be a special child due to Brooke drinking her ass off the other night, the baby will need extra care from both brook and Miguel. I can already tell that Miguel is ready to be a father, even though he's only seventeen. He's got so much responsibility and is making sure Brooke doesn't run to much, and he's keeping an extra eye on her due to the whole drinking/smoking thing. He's ready. But Brooke, she's not. I can already tell. If the baby does make it when it's born, and she's not responsible enough, I'm going to take it and raise it as my own. I don't care if I'm only sixteen. I don't trust her to be on her own, so I certainly don't trust her with a special needs newborn child. Brooke can die in a hole for all I care.
- "Jade, you okay? You look mad."
- "Yeah Damon. I'm fine, lets just keep going."
Damon puts an arm around my shoulder for a split second before I take his arm off of me and putting it back next to his side. He gives me a confused look and I frown at him.
- "What? I don't like people touching me."
- "That's not what you said last night." He chuckled then. I shoot him a look that said 'shut up before I kill you.' He looked forward then and we continued our walk to the safe house, staying off the main roads in case anyone sees us.

* * *

We all eventually arrive at the safe house and everyone still hasn't said a word to anyone. Damon opens the door to the safe house and we all follow behind him as he walks inside. There's six small beds inside, with a small bathroom and kitchen. It was surprisingly clean to be in a dirty alley like this. Damon shuts and locks the door behind all of us,  and sets his bag down on one of the beds and takes his shirt off, setting it down on his new bed as well. I could tell Brooke was trying her hardest not to stare, because I see her catching glances of his body now and then. Unlike me, I was staring hard. I also notice there's s big mark on his left shoulder that looked almost like a scar, but still scabby. I decide to ask him what it's from.
- "Hey, what happened to your shoulder?"
- "Oh that? I got shot. It's fine now I guess. It still hurts pretty bad, but it'll be okay." He says with a smile. I smile back, looking at his muscular body.
- "I'm gonna go jump in the shower real quick. I'll be out in a minute." He said to everyone. Damon leaves the room and enters the small bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Miguel takes his shirt off then, stretching before laying on his new bed. He was pretty built up to, but I don't stare for long, due to Brooke claiming him. Miguel is one of those pretty boys you'd expect to be the popular guy at school who gets good grades on everything, whose nice to everyone regardless if their mean to him, and gets all the ladies. He's just a pretty boy. Now Damon is the opposite. He's the one you'd expect to be the 'bad boy.' The most popular guy in school, plays with girls' emotions, gets bad grades, a total rebel, just a simple 'bad boy.' Which is also why I'm terrified of falling for him. I'm scared he'll play me like a toy, get what he wants, then ditch me for his next toy. I wonder what his relationship with Brooke was. Did he play her dirty before she met Miguel? I thought silently to myself.
        I walk over to a bed that was on top of Damon's. Oh yeah, there bunk beds by the way. Brooke was sleeping on the bed on top of Miguel's, and I was going to sleep on the top one of Damon's before he walks out of the shower with a black towel wrapped lowly around his waist, and drying his dark auburn hair with a small white towel.
- "There's good water pressure in there. Hot water to. Anyone up next?"
- "Sure, I'll go." Brooke replied, getting off of the top of Miguel's bed, and walking silently to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.
- "We're going to stay here for a while guys." Damon said.
- "Good. I like it here a lot. It'll be good to stay here and hide from the cops." Miguel had said back to him. While I'm on the top part of Damon's bed, I put my long curly hair into a bun, and removed the top part of my purple shirt, leaving myself in a white tank top and black jeans. I take the jeans off as well, leaving myself in only a tank top and a pink thong. I guess Damon forgot I was still in the room, because he stripped himself of the towel, standing there naked in the middle of the room, grabbing clothes out of his bag, which takes him a little while. Wow, I thought. Is it bad I want him now?
- "You staring?" He said, looking up at me. I look away quickly pretending to put my clothes under my pillow.
- "No." I said, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. Damon laughs a little, then tosses a book to me. The notebook, was the title of the book.
- "I figured since you don't have a phone, you'd want to read." He smiles at me and I smile back. I always loved to read. The owner of the bakery I used to hang out at would always give me books to read before he ran out. I open the book Damon gave me, and start reading the first page.
        Suddenly Brooke comes out in nothing but a black bra and matching underwear. Damon was staring hardcore when she walked past him, her wet long brown hair reaching just under her butt now. Miguel sits up right in his bed as she climbs to the top bunk. I fake cough and look at Damon, who instantly looked at me, then back at his bag blushing. I had to admit, Brooke had a nice body for a girl whose only fifteen. A slight hourglass body with a butt that was a bit bigger than average. Her breasts were a bit small, but I suppose Miguel didn't mind. I guess it's my turn to take a shower, so I walk to the bathroom shutting the door behind me. The bathroom may have been small, but it was clean and pretty. The walls were a yellowish-cream color, and the floor had dark brown wood. I open the shower curtain and turn the shower on, waiting for the water to get hot. I strip myself of my shirt, bra, and thong, and I then stare at myself in the small mirror handing on the wall. My long brown curly hair was a mess right now. Usually when it's clean and in its natural curls, it's just above the middle of my back. But when I straighten it, it's below my butt, and looks black. The shower water was hot then, so I get in, letting the hot water roll off of my body. The way my body is shaped, is kinda weird. I've always been told that it's beautiful and that every girl wishes they had it, but I just don't understand. I was skinny from the waist up, and a bit thick at the bottom. My thighs were a bit bigger than the rest of my body, and so was my butt. My breasts were a normal size for someone my age; sixteen. I'm turning seventeen in two days though, so I guess I could call myself seventeen. I'm going to keep it a secret from the others so they don't freak and struggle to get me something.
       I'm done with my shower by now so I get out and dry off, wrapping my hair in a towel for a few minutes then putting my dark pink bra and thong on. I remove the towel off of my hair and stare at my body on the mirror. Thin up top, and thick at the bottom. Not to thick, but definitely thicker than the top of my body. I smile at myself In the mirror and pick up my shirt, hanging it over my shoulder and walking out of the bathroom.
       I walk out, and Damon glances at me, looks away, and looks back at me again, his eyes slowly scanning up and down my light skinned body. Even Miguel looks at me for a minute, and he's never had any type of interest in me. His mouth drops open, and I notice Brooke's eyes on me, as if she's planning to set my body on fire. Damn, it ain't my fault if your man wants some of me. Damn, get a tan and grow some meat then maybe he'd want your bitchy ass. I thought to myself. I climb to my top bunk, and I knew my ass was sticking out as I did so, and I could feel the eyes of the two boys on me as I did so.
- "Damn! Take a picture it'll last longer." I said. Damon quickly takes his phone out and snaps a picture of my body and smiles. I giggle quietly to myself and wrap my blanket around me, reading the book Damon gave to me.
    Suddenly a knock comes from the door, and it goes dead silent. The only sound that's heard is the breathing of four people in the room.
- "Aye it's Tino!"
A breath I didn't know I was holding escapes my mouth before Damon goes over to the door and opens it, letting Tino and his dog come in. His other two friends followed behind him, along with two girls. One of the girls was Latina, with straight black hair coming down just below her collar bones, with a body similar to mine, but smaller thighs, and a butt the same as mine. The other girl was black with short hair, shaved a little bit on the sides, leaving longer, but still short, curly hair on top. Her body was like Brooke's, except she had slightly bigger thighs. They were both dressed in short dresses, the Latina girl in a red one, and the black girl dressed in a dark pink one.
- "Aye Damon, I was just seeing if you guys made it down here safely." Tino's eyes scan the room before finally landing on me.
- "Damn girl! You lookin hella fine!" He yelled to me. I smiled and flipped my hair over my shoulder.
- "Thanks." I replied with a smile. Damon walks over to Tino and gives him a quick hug, along with the other two guys. Damon kisses both of the girls' hands, and winks at both of them. Miguel stayed in his bed, and Brooke sat up quietly. One of Tino's friends whistled to Brooke and winked at her. She blushed and looked down. Miguel looked over to the guy who cat-called Brooke and squints his eyes at him. Miguel gets up then, his shirt still off on the bed. There's no doubt Miguel was the tallest one in the room, but he was definitely nicer and sweeter than the rest of the men here.
- "Anyway, I brought some booze and chicks. Thought we'd have a small get together; you know, like we used to." Tino said smiling. Damon nods his head, then pulls out his phone and starts blasting some music. Tino and his buddies set there stuff in the corner of the room, Tino taking out the drinks out of his bag and setting them on the small table that was in a corner of a room. Brooke gets down from her bunk and starts dancing with Miguel. I get off from my bunk to, climbing down slowly, feeling the eyes of the three new men on me. I turn around and head over to the drinks, taking the tequila and pouring some of it into a cup, and gulping it down.
- "Damn your thirsty. Aye Damon, you mind if I dance with your girl? You can dance with mine if you want."
- "Sure man, do what you want." Damon said, walking over to the Latina girl. Everyone is talking and drinking and having fun and Tino suddenly comes behind me and puts his hands on my waist, pushing his junk against mine.
- "You gonna dance for me?" He said, feeling my ass and legs. Why not, Jade? Have some fun, get drunk, forget about everything. I say to myself.
- "Yeah," I replied.
His hands are still on my waist, and I start dancing on him. The song 'Red Nose' comes blasting on from Damon's phone, and I do the dance with Tino.
- "Ayye!" I yell laughing, with Tino dancing behind me. Damon is over on his bunk with the Latina girl on top of him, kissing him like she owns him.
One of Tino's friends was trying to get with Brooke, but she wasn't having it,
- "Please get away from me, I have a boyfriend."
- "So? So does that girl Tino's dancing with, and her boyfriend doesn't care, come on baby, have some drinks. It'll be fun."
Miguel is drinking away his problems and dancing to the song with the black girl that came with Tino and his friends.
- "Whoo!" He yelled.

       The song ends, and everyone is wasted drunk including me, except Brooke, who is still talking with that one guy who wanted to dance to the song with her.
- "Wanna go to the bathroom baby?" Tino whispered into my ear.
- "Uh__"
- "Come on babe, don't worry about anything. Let's go." He said to me, pulling me gently into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind us. He pushes me slowly up against the wall and starts kissing me vigorously. He was much taller than me. I was up to about below his shoulders, so he had to bend down a little to reach my lips. His mouth tastes incredibly like alcohol, but so does mine so it's okay. We're both Terribly drunk, and I forget all about my feeling for Damon while Tino is working his way into my pants.

      About five minutes into everything, the door knob rattles but due to the door being locked, no one enters. There's a pause and think backs away, opening the door slightly asking whose there. I recognize Damon's voice on the other side of the door, but I can't make out what he's saying. I see Tino nod his head, and then he looks into my eyes.
- "Sorry we have to cut this short, but me and my friends need to leave." Before I can say anything else, Tino exits the bathroom and is gathering his stuff quickly, telling the people he brought with him to leave. Tino manages to grab all of his stuff and hugs Damon quickly before leaving and shutting the door behind him. Damon runs over to the door and locks it.
- "What's going on? Why did they all leave?" I ask. I get no reply from either of them. Miguel looks me in the eyes and pauses before answering me.
- "The police found out who murdered Damien."
I look over to Brooke, who was silently crying on her part of the bed. My hands start to shake, along with every other part of my body.
- "Who was it?"
- "Jade, one of us know who it was; because it was one of us who shot him. It wasn't me, which means it must've been either you, or Miguel. Now one of you come clean."
- "Damon it wasn't me who shot him!" Miguel yelled.
- "It wasn't me either! I don't know why you think it's us! Damn it Damon! Damien could've shot himself to make it look like a murder! We all were crowded around him trying to bet his ass so we could escape, so maybe he shot himself to make it look like a murder." I said. There's a long silence then, and Brooke finally looks up.
- "That actually makes sense. He's always been an ass, so that makes sense that he would do that to frame you guys." I give a faint smile to her, and climb up to my part of the bed.
- "Let's just go to bed. We can worry about this tomorrow." Damon said with no emotion.
I can't believe this. The police are after us, and we're all turning against each other trying to figure out who shot him. I decide to do what Damon says and get some sleep and just worry about everything tomorrow. I snuggle up in my blanket and begin to drift off, waiting for the day to come.