accomplice | ethan dolan

twenty seven

"can we stop at my house?" i ask ethan as we're driving home.

"sure, but why?" he asks, turning on to my street.

"i just want to pick up a few things" i shrug.

it's been 3 months since the changrettas killed zack, and also 3 months since i've been home.

my house isn't a home without zack in it, which is why we're selling it but so far no one is interested, considering what happened in it.

"do you want to wait in the car?" ethan asks as we pull up outside.

"no, i'll be okay" i assure him before getting out of the car.

i find my keys at the bottom of my bag and unlock the door. i avoid the kitchen at all costs and go straight upstairs to my room.

ethan follows me and helps me pack the last of my clothes. just as we're ready to leave, something in the room beside us is knocked over.

"were we followed?" i whisper suddenly feeling my heartbeat throughout my body.

"stay here" he tells me before pulling his gun out and going to see who made the noise.

i take my gun out of my handbag and follow behind him. i lost a brother to the changrettas, i won't lose ethan too.

"what the fuck?" i snap once i come into zacks bedroom and find noah.

"jade, put the gun down" ethan tells me.

"what the fuck are you doing here!" i yell at noah, still aiming my gun at him.

"jade" noah sighs.

"where have you been?"

"things haven't been good for me" he admits.

"my brother was killed noah! all because you started a war with the changrettas!" i scream, aiming my gun at his head.

"jade i said put the gun down" ethan yells.

"you didn't even come to his funeral" i scoff, cocking the gun.

"i had shit going on" he mutters.

"zack treated you like a brother" i remind him, "and you couldn't come to his funeral" i trail off, "because you had shit going on?"

ethan surprises me when he pulls the gun out of my hands.

"what are you doing?" i snap trying to grab it off him but he pulls away.

"he needs our help" he says looking at noah.

"he's a junkie. he made all of those stupid decisions when he was high and it's his fault zack is dead" i remind him.

"it's the changrettas fault" he sighs.

"why should we help you?" i turn to noah.

"i'm trying to be clean, i lost my house and all my money. i don't want to do drugs anymore" he looks at me with regret in his eyes, "when i heard the changrettas killed zack i almost overdosed. i was hospitalised and that's why i wasn't at the funeral" he explains.

"you lost your house?" i ask and he nods, "so you've been living here?"

"yeah, i came looking for you and when i found the house empty i decided to stay. i'm sorry for all the shit i put you through jade, i want to be better"

"just give me a minute" i mumble before walking out of the room.

"jade wait" ethan comes running after me.

"you're asking a lot" i tell him before he starts talking about noah.

"he's your abusive ex jade, he's literally the last person i want to help"

"so why should we help him?"

"i have you, lucy and grayson, he has nobody. he wants to be a better person, and i don't think we should be the ones to stop him"

"so let him go to rehab" i shrug.

"with strangers?"

"i was kidnapped and raped, shot while i was pregnant and my brother was murdered all because of his stupid decisions. i loved noah, but this is what he does" i try to warn him, "nothing good will come from this"

"i just feel like zack would have wanted me to" he mutters.

"don't try and guilt trip me into this"

"i'm not. i was really close with zack too, and i know that he was the only person noah had left. the only reason i want to help him is because it's what your brother would've wanted us to do"

"fine" i mumble.

"fine what?"

"we'll help him"

"noah!" ethan yells, "let's go"

"where?" noah asks coming out of zacks room.

"you're staying with us"

"seriously?" i glare at ethan.

"you said we would help him"

"i meant pay for a hotel room and a few trips to rehab" i roll my eyes, "but whatever"

"you won't regret this jade, i promise" noah says following me downstairs.

"i definitely will" i mutter to myself.