In the attic of Jade's childhood was an old trunk, locked. And even though she couldn't pry it open, nor did she have the key, the muffled sobs coming from inside told her more than she wanted to remember.
☆ Winner of The Fiction Awards 2019 ☆
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A/N: Thank you so much for the 200k reads! I still can't believe it ...
I swear for a second I thought time had stopped. Prickles ran up and down my spine like tiny needles poking my skin. My hands were clammy, my breath shaky. There was a deafening silence looming over us, it was suffocating. I tried to read my brothers' reactions and it was almost comical to see how their expression shifted from confusion to realization and then clear anger.
Jordan was the first to get over his shock.
"You did what?" his voice was strained as if he was trying hard to keep himself composed.
My mother had the decency to drop her gaze, no one could face Jordan's wrath. She licked her chapped lips but no words came out. Her hands were trembling and I wondered if it was an effect of her being drunk or confronted.
Ashton cleared his throat. "She gave our sister - "
"Shut up," Jordan cut him off, clearly on the brink of losing his cool. "I wanna hear it from her."
Our mother bit the inside of her cheek, a nervous habit I picked up from her. "What do you want from me, Jordan? You heard what he said. Go on then, go ahead and tell me how I'm such a bad mother, I know you're dying to lecture me about my shitty parenting skills."
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Tristan whispered through gritted teeth. I was surprised that he hadn't lost his temper yet. "Of all the messed up things you've ever done, this one takes the cake. Congratulations, you outdid yourself this time."
"What were you even thinking?" Jordan growled. "Were you even thinking at all?"
"She called me, crying, asking for my help. What else was I supposed to do?" my mother shouted back.
"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KNOW BETTER!" The vein on the side of Jordan's forehead was pulsing. His fists were clenched and nostrils flaring.
I flinched. I forgot about Lily still holding me from behind until I felt her rub soothing circles onto my arms.
"You were supposed to know better," he repeated with a much lower and almost crushed voice.
"Jade."
I startled at the sound of my name. Tristan was looking at me intently and I felt my stomach drop.
"What were you gonna do with all that drugs?"
My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. "I-I didn't - I wasn't ... don't be mad at her, I just thought, I only wanted to fix things, I just w-wanted to -"
"Fix what, Jade?" Tristan's voice was calm and I knew that the only reason he hadn't let his anger get the best of him yet is because he didn't want to set me off.
