accomplice | ethan dolan

seven

jade

"ethan" his name slips out of my mouth when i find him in my kitchen, "zack and noah aren't here"

ethan and grayson both have keys to my house, but usually they're not here without zack or noah.

"i know"

"oh" i mutter while pouring myself a glass of water, "what are you doing here?"

"i wanted to make sure you're okay" he admits, "you've been avoiding me since the night we-"

"i'm still with noah" i interrupt him.

as soon as the words leave my mouth, the expression on his face changes, but I can't read how he's feeling.

"the bruises are still on your wrists" he states bluntly and I pull my sleeves down to cover them.

"just leave it ethan, please" i sigh.

"i'm just looking out for you"

"well don't. you'll be doing us both a favour if you just leave this alone"

"what are you afraid of?" he asks, standing up and moving closer to me.

"nothing" i mumble, suddenly feeling intimidated.

"i won't let him hurt you"

"he's changed"

"bullshit" he scoffs.

"i love him"

"that's not an excuse to let him do this to you" he says taking my wrist gently and pulling up the sleeve to remind me of the bruises.

"and how would you know?" i snap out of frustration, "you've never loved anyone but yourself!"

"okay fine" he shrugs, "i'll ask someone who does know what love feels like. maybe your brother?"

"don't you dare" i warn him.

"you're being naive jade. noah doesn't love you, he controls you"

"noah and i are fine"

"that's why you had sex with me?" he smirks.

"is that what this is all about?" i scoff, "does your little black heart have feelings for me?"

"you really wish that was the case, don't you?"

"what's that supposed to mean?" i suddenly hate myself because i can't stop blushing.

"you're the one avoiding me. you're running from your feelings"

i honestly don't know if i can argue with that, because there just might be some truth to it.

"noah told me to keep my distance from you" i admit.

"you like being told what to do?"

"he's my boyfriend and i love him. if he doesn't like me around you, then it's only fair that i stay away from you"

"shit" he looks at me concerned before erupting in laughter, "you are brainwashed"

"fuck off" i roll my eyes at him before i leave the kitchen and go back upstairs to my room.

"fine. i will!" he yells upstairs after me, "and you can stay in your naive world, where you believe your toxic relationship is fucking great!"

ethan

"i love him"

i can't stop replaying her words in my head.

how could she love him?

how could he bring himself to hit her?

why do i care?

i don't want to care. i'm not used to this, and i don't like it.

i don't care about a lot in this world. i care about grayson, but he can take care of himself.

caring about jade is different, because i worry about her too.

i could kill noah for how he treats her but i know she'd hate me for it, and maybe it's selfish for me to keep quiet, but i won't have her hate me.

i arrive home without even noticing, i should've been paying more attention while driving but i couldn't get out of my mind.

i never can once i start thinking about her.

"ethan? you home?" grayson yells from the backyard when he hears the door close.

"i'm home" i mutter falling back on a beanbag, joining him in our backyard.

"are you okay?" he asks suddenly concerned.

"yeah-" i'm about to lie to him, but i know i need to get this off my chest, and he's the only person i can trust. "no"

"what's wrong?" his face lights up and he looks excited, but i don't blame him.

this is the first time i've opened up to him, about anything, since we were kids.

"jade" i feel strange admitting i care about her.

"jade?" grayson asks confused and i nod, "what about jade?"

"i care about her bro, and she's being so fucking stupid"

"watch your mouth, me and jade are good friends" he reminds me.

"i know. so are we, i think"

"did something happen?"

"we kissed and, we- you know" i shrug.

"she has a boyfriend" he reminds me.

"that's the thing, he-" i stop myself before letting her secret slip.

"he what?"

"he doesn't treat her right"

"honestly, this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen" he sighs, "but if shit happened between the both of you, i think it's obvious there's feelings there"

"what do i do?" i ask him, genuinely confused.

i'm always the clear headed one with a plan, but now, i'm lost. i don't know where to go from here.

"you tell her how you feel"

"easier said than done" i mumble under my breath.

"why's that?"

"because she loves noah"

"than why did she cheat?" grayson asks the same question i've been asking myself, "listen to me e, you need to tell her how you feel. maybe she'll feel the same way, or maybe she won't, but you'll feel better"

"i don't know gray"

"do you trust me?"

"yeah, but-"

"you've dealt with situations a lot scarier than this. you'll be fine"

"are you sure?" i ask him hesitantly.

"yes. am i ever wrong?" he says with a smug look on his face.

"fine" i grab my keys and leave without another word before i change my mind.