Jace

{36}

"Stop calling me!" Jaden hung up angrily.

"That's it!" I stood from the table at breakfast that morning. "I'm sick of waiting for people to change!"

The boys looked at me questioningly. "I was waiting for Madison to change her view to see Toby was bad and she nearly got herself killed, I'm waiting for Jaden to come around and actually talk to me instead if blowing up at me, and I'm waiting for Jacelyn Rock to come back! But it's not happening! She hasn't even texted me! How can she do that?" I fell back into the chair I previously jumped up from, reduced to tears. "We almost had a child together! She can't just leave. It's not fair!" I held my face in my hands and sobbed, the tears pooling in my palms. "Why can't she see that I love her? Did she already know and just not care? How can you not care about someone who'd do anything for you? I can give her everything! I'd give her anything! I could make her happy! Whatever she wanted, I'd make happen. I'd do anything for her!"

I sobbed and rocked myself back and forth, trying to find some way of comfort. Anything to make the pain of loosing her go away. When a hand patted my shoulder I bolted up right. I didn't want other people's pity, I wanted Jace.

"I'm done waiting. Im going to make Jaden talk to me and I'm going to find Jace!"

Josh walked out of his bus at that moment, oblivious to my break down despite my watery eyes. "Josh! Does Jaden live with you?"

"Uh, yeah," he was startled by my random question about his wife and stopped in the middle of the steps. "Why?"

"What's your address? I need to talk to her."

*

I rang the doorbell and stepped back, waiting for an answer.

When Jaden opened the door she was looking at the ground, expecting a package I guess. It wasn't until she saw my face that her soft, simple features furrowed in anger and she slammed the door in my face.

"Jaden!" I called, knocking. "Jaden open the door! I just want to talk!"

"There's nothing to talk about." She opened it for a split second, and then slammed it again.

"This is ridiculous!" I yelled through the wood. Twisting the handle, I found it unlocked and barged into the Devine's home. "Just tell me where Jacelyn is and I'll leave!"

"I don't know where Jacelyn is!" Jaden buzzed around the front room, seemingly annoyed that I was there.

"Jaden." She wouldn't stop moving, throwing clothes into laundry piles. "Jaden." Straightening stacks of magazines. "Jaden." Fluffing pillows. "Jaden for God's sake will you stop!"

That did the trick. She stood with one hip popped out and a frown on her face as she dropped a shirt that was in her hand. "I don't know what else you want from me. I don't know where she is."

"You're her best friend! Please! She's had to have called you or-or sent you something-"

"I haven't gotten anything thanks to you!" She stabbed an accusing finger at me.

"Why is this suddenly my fault?! I'm just trying to get her back!"

"It's always been your fault!" Jaden shouted. "She knows you'd chase her! She knows you'd come to me and she knows that I'm an awful liar! Jace's cut me completely off to protect herself from you!"

The phone rang loud and shrill and Jaden raced to get it, tearing her hate filled eyes from mine. "Hello?" she said gruffly. But then her facial expression changed. She looked scared. "Oh yes, hi."

Jaden's face paled even more. "I-It's Devine now. Jaden Devine. My maiden name was Rodriguez."

She nodded as the person on the other end spoke some more. Her brown eyes shut once they began to water and she but her lip. I inched closer to try and hear what the other line was saying.