Alison Jade Jorgensen had it all - wealth, beauty, and the adoration of those around her. At eighteen, she was the epitome of privilege, shielded from the harsh realities of life by her affluent family.
But when her beloved grandfather passes away j...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Colson Baker (Machine Gun Kelly) as Jared Andrew Thompson
Jade
As I stomped my way back to the gate, rumbling words and wishing the worst possible things upon the stranger who had crossed my path, I couldn't help but feel like I had strayed from my usual demeanor. But encountering that guy had put me in a sour mood.
"Kid? Kid? Who does he think he is?"
Just as I was about to enter the gate, a familiar voice spoke behind me, causing me to pause for a moment to process who it might be.
"Well, you don't look like you're having a good day."
My heart skipped a beat as I recognized the voice. It was overly familiar, and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I turned around swiftly and practically ran over to where she was standing.
"Lizzy!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around her so tightly I was sure she found it hard to breathe.
"Woah, Woah, Woah... you big piece of bear..." Lizzy chuckled, complaining about my tight embrace. But she knew she couldn't blame me. We hadn't seen each other in months.
After I finally pulled away from her, my mouth ran with questions. "Since when did you come back? How was UNI? Gosh, you're glowing!" We hugged again, squealing in excitement.
'Lizzy', Elizabeth Jorgensen, my cousin from my father's side, born from his younger brother, Uncle Tom. We share the same mix of ethnicity and from my father's side, it was only my father and her father who bore kids, making us practically sisters since we grew up so close. Lizzy was a lot older than me, already in college while I was still in high school.
Lizzy's father had chosen a different path from my own, and my father had never been able to reconcile his brother's decision. Instead of joining our family's organization, Lizzy's dad became a real estate agent, which my father considered beneath him. He discouraged Lizzy's dad from pursuing such a career, but it provided enough for their family, including sending Lizzy to the Philippines to finish her college degree and learn more about our Grams' culture. Lizzy had fallen in love with our heritage, and it was obvious to everyone around her.
I never agreed with how my father looked down on Lizzy's family simply because they chose a different path. He never liked me spending time with Lizzy, fearing she would "influence" me, but I didn't want to be part of the Legacy anyway. I was born into it, not because I chose it. Despite my father's efforts to bring his brother into the organization, he just wanted to prove that he was better at making decisions than Uncle Tom.
But my father had no right to treat them with such disdain and forbid me from hanging out with Lizzy. My mother and I both appreciated Lizzy's company too much to let my father's issues with his younger brother get in the way.
"I shouldn't even be here right now, you know... University sucks, and even in the summer, it's not easy to come home," Lizzy said, shaking her head.
I chuckled at her familiar humor. Lizzy had always been the funny one between the two of us, always cracking jokes to lighten up the mood.
