Sweet Lies | Nathan Young [Misfits]

- 13 -

Jade splashed some water on her face to try and clear her mind. She raised her face to look at her reflection in the mirror and the illusion hiding her appearance flickered.

All day long she had hidden under a carefully crafted illusion to conceal her red, puffy eyes, her bloated face and her ruined makeup.

Suddenly her illusion shifted without her approval, and she was gazing at her old self.

Her hair was long, the chesnut locks pin straight. A pair of sad brown eyes gazed back at her. Her makeup was natural looking and neatly done by a makeup artist. Her body was clad in a navy blue overcomplicated dress that she remembered wearing for an interview six months ago.

The questions the journalist asked were shallow, and her answers were carefully prepared by her mother and even shallower.

The illusion flickered back to normal, and she was back to shoulder length pink hair, messy dark eye makeup and black ripped shorts.

She pursed her lips when she realised that she was unable to know which one was her true self.

Jupiter was brown haired, had a personality and an identity crafted by her own mother.

Jade had pink hair, and her identity was only created to look as far off from the other.

She glared at her reflection, angry at herself for not even being able to find her true self. Her hands pushed against the sink to straighten up and she left the bathroom, disheartened.

She made her way back to her booth, took a seat down and grabbed her mug to take a sip of her warm tea.

Some movement caught her eye, and she gazed outside through the window to find Nathan looking at her with a mix of surprise and relief. His hair was disheveled and he looked like a kicked puppy.

As soon as his eyes laid on her he hurried inside the cafe she always liked to go to.

Julie, the waitress, smiled when she saw him enter. "Good afteernoon, she's right over there." She pointed at Jade, and Nathan nodded, and with a quick "thanks." He turned around and joined Jade.

He took a seat across from her and she internally groaned, not wanting to deal with him right now.

She was about to snap at him and tell him to leave her alone when she was interrupted by his quiet voice.

"Ruth died." He blurted, a forlorn look in his eyes as he gazed at her.

Her eyes snapped towards him in shock.

He gulped. "I went to her house to apologize for avoiding her, and I saw her body in her chair. She died all alone."

She sighed and grabbed one of his hand in hers and squeezed.

"It wasn't your fault." Jade said softly. "Don't feel guilty."

He pursed his lips, unconvinced. "I've just realised that I keep hurting every woman that cross my path. I suck."

A corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement, and she pushed her cup of tea towards him. He grabbed it and took a sip of the earl grey tea, and he felt the warm liquid soothe down his throat.

"It's not too late to be forgiven." Jade explained. "One very important woman in your life is still very much alive, and you can still mend your relationship with her."

He nodded, he couldn't just let his relationship with his mother collapse anymore. He did not want to feel regret with her like he was feeling with Ruth.

"I'm going to my mum's house." He said before rising from his seat, and Jade hummed in approval as she sat back and grabbed her mug back.

Her eyes met his again, and he was looking at her in expectation with an eyebrow quirked up.