Love on the Brain

“It’s good to see that the bruise is almost gone,” her mother said, as she had been worried sick ever since her daughter turned up with a violet bruise on her face.

“You have to be more careful, mi vida. You could’ve gotten badly injured,” her father agreed, bringing his large palm on top of his daughter’s small hand.

“I will,” she promised, as Jade was just thankful that the awful bruise had almost vanished, even though her face was still aching.

The three of them had been gathered around the dinner table for one last meal of the day. Her father had made his famous chilli con carne and her mother had loaded her daughter’s plate with the biggest salad Jade had seen.

“This was such a delicious meal, honey,” Esther said, pecking her father’s cheek, as she got up and collected their plates.

“I’ll take the dishes tonight, sweetheart,” her father got up from his seat and paddled towards the sink, refusing his already tired wife to do more housework today. “Why don’t you and Jade find something exciting to watch meanwhile I clean up?” he offered.

“This is one the many reasons why I love you,” Esther smiled, bringing her arms around her father’s neck and pecking his lips gently.

“And I love you too, mi amor,” Javier answered, a sincere smile twisting his lips.

Jade soon got up from the table, thanking her father for the meal as she handed him the plate before she joined her mother in the living room.

“I think I’ll just go upstairs and change into my PJs,” Jade told her mother.

“That sounds like an excellent idea, honey,” Esther smiled, as her light eyes looked up at the giant chandelier that hung over their glass coffee-table.

Jade emerged into her room, her hands instantly going to her drawer as she picked up a black tank top with lace and a matching shorts in baby pink with the same black lace pattern. The brunette stripped out of her clothes, feeling relieved as she unclasped her bra and tossed it unto her bed. She then pulled out a pair of black fluffy socks and tied her hair into a loose messy bun.

The sound of the door bell soon caught her attention, as the sound echoed through the entire house. Jade wondered who on earth would care to visit them this late, as she was soon drawn to her mother’s voice.

“Jade! It’s that friend of yours! Brian,” Esther called from the hallway, making Jade’s chest nearly explode as her entire figure froze.

This just couldn’t happen.

She instantly closed her door, her hand gripping the handle, meanwhile she could hear the sound of footsteps that started to draw dangerously close her bedroom. Jade felt as though her entire heart was in her throat, as she rested her hand against her chest, listening to the panic that surrounded her heartbeats.

“Dear, you have a guest downstairs. It’s rude to keep him waiting,” her mother said, a faint knock against her door.

This was all too much. Way too much.

“You know what? I don’t feel really well. Must be the bruise that’s just aching a little,” Jade whimpered from the other side, just as her mother opened the door and glanced over at her daughter.

“Your bruise is gone, dear,” Esther pointed out.

“Doesn’t really feel like that,” Jade muffled, her hand already covering where the bruise had once decorated her skin.

“Jade, darling,” her mother sighed, knowing her daughter to well to buy this explanation. “What’s going on here?”

Jade swallowed. Her mother knew her too well to accept her lies, and especially when she was looking at her daughter and saw how nervous she really felt. Jade could feel her jaw tightening, as the lump in her throat grew bigger, making her uncomfortable.

“Brian and I had a fight. We’re not really friends anymore,” she said, looking down on the floor.

“Oh, honey. Maybe he wants to apologize?” her mother suggested, walking over to her daughter and lacing her arms around her shoulders, resting her chin on top of the crown of her head.

“I don’t think so,” Jade muffled.

“What did you guys fight about?”

“He told me he liked me,” her daughter said. “And I don’t like him back, so he got angry,”

“Us Perez women really are something,” Esther giggled, rocking her daughter from one side to the other.

“Can you tell him that I’m already asleep? I don’t wanna see him now,” Jade muffled, pouting her bottom lip at her mother and looking at her in a way that made it impossible to turn down the offer.

“Already on it,” Esther sighed, as she walked towards the door and closed it behind her.

Jade felt her heart return to its normal rhythm as the sound of the front door being shut caught her attention. The brunette soon sunk on top of her bed, her eyes staring at the ceiling, before she grabbed the stuffed bunny that had been placed on her drawer. Fluffy had been her first stuffed animal and had gone through just as many houses as Jade. She pulled the bunny into her chest, digging her fingers into the fluffy and light brown fur, as she longed for better days.

Jade knew that she couldn’t keep avoiding Brian forever, but she also knew that if she as much as looked up at him, Maddie would make sure she paid for it. The brunette had never been involved in drama before, and she was certainly not keen on getting involved in anything now with her last year coming up.

She soon pushed herself off of the bed, her fingers still holding unto Fluffy as she walked over to her bathroom and went to clean her face with a moisturizer. Jade took her time to whip off the makeup, the cold water easing her face that had been red by stress minutes ago. She massaged the cream into her skin, taking all the time she wanted, before she freed her hair from her bun and went to brush her teeth as well.

When she was done, the brunette tugged Fluffy under her arm and went to paddle back to her bedroom, ready to knock out and forget everything that had happened over the last days.
That however, didn’t exactly happen.

As Jade returned to her room, she saw how the window had been opened, and more importantly, she saw Brian standing in the middle of her room, a hand resting in his dark hair and his eyes searching for her gaze.

“Brian,” she said, her breath stuck in her throat while she spoke. “You can’t be here,”

“I don’t wanna not know you,” he admitted, stepping closer to her, as his gaze kept resting at her face.
The brunette started backing off instantly, feeling more exposed than ever as she was standing in her pyjamas with her stuffed animal against her chest.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I don’t wanna get involved in any more drama,” Jade sighed.

“Jade, please just hear me out,” Brian insisted. “I’m so terribly sorry that I didn’t stop her right away. I was so shocked to see my girlfriend act out on you like that. This doesn’t justify what happened, but I mean it when I say that I’d do anything to prevent that from happening to you,”

“Brian,” she sighed once again, not quite sure how to tell him off.

“I like spending time with you, and considering you haven’t ripped my head off yet, I assume you enjoy spending time with me as well. You’re a rad girl, Jade, and I’m not gonna let someone dictate who I can see and who I can’t see,” he went on.

“Even if that person is your girlfriend?” Jade muffled, digging her fingers into Fluffy’s soft fur, hoping that her stuffed friend could make this whole situation a little less uncomfortable.

Brian paused for a minute, inhaling a long breath as he just kept looking at her. Even in the poor light he noticed her glowing dark eyes. Her face had been completely stripped off all makeup, and she was left in a mini shorts that allowed him to see her smooth toned legs and a lace tank top.

“Maddie and I are no longer together,” he confessed. “I broke up with her,”

Jade could feel something move in the pit of her stomach. Her jaw tightened again, and she pressed Fluffy even closer to her chest, almost scared that she was about to rip apart the stuffed animal.

“W-What?” she stuttered, not able to believe what he had just said.

“Look, I can’t be together with someone who fucking punches my friends and who calls my friend a fucking slut,” Brian let out. “I’m not up for all that crap. That’s not what I want right now,”

Jade looked at him, still shocked that he had just decided to climb up to her bedroom in order to deliver her this information. The brunette felt the lump in her throat, just as she cleared her throat, trying to push through a voice.

“Then what do you want?” she blurted, her eyes connecting with his gaze for what felt like forever.

Brian stepped closer. He could feel his heart pound wilder by each step he took, and he could feel himself grow reckless as the smell of her radiated towards him. He was soon close enough to cup her cheek, as he allowed his thumb to brush over the apple of her cheeks, meanwhile his other hand fell unto her hip, almost like her hip was made to be held by his hand like this.

“You,” he mumbled, before he bent down and connected their lips.