Handle With Care

(Jade's POV)

I anxiously awaited next week to come faster, but time was definitely not playing in my favor. It was barely Saturday and I was being forced to stay in with my mom and Clay for the weekend. Luckily I had gotten Melody and KayT's phone numbers so at least I could talk with them. "Jade, I hope you're getting ready in there. We're going to a luncheon with Clay and his work buddy and his wife. I think their daughter us going too, so you can have a chance to make a friend." I rolled my eyes at her last comment, making a fake gagging noise as I ran a brush through my hair. I despised having to go anywhere with these two let alone some stupid lunch with Clay's work friends. I texted back Melody as fast as my fingers would go, my mom continually knocking on the bathroom door. "There's gonna be an art thing going on later today in Downtown. Think your parents will let you go?" I sighed deeply at her message. There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to go unless it had something to do with therapy. Wait a second, that's a perfect fucking idea! I replied that I would ask my mom after lunch with my stepdad.

She simply wished me luck and that we hopefully would be able to hangout later. When I finally appeared from inside, my mother scoffed, raising an eyebrow at me. "You're going dressed like that? You couldn't of at least had the decency to change into something more appropriate? We're going to a nice restaurant, Jade. Not a homeless shelter or a strip club." I bit down on the inside of my cheek hard, fighting back the urge to say something smart in return. I thought I looked great, really. I even did my fucking hair in small braids. I wore a simple black corset underneath a cardigan that my dad had sent me from Mexico, along with a plain pair of black skinny jeans. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what I was wearing. "Oh Mary leave the poor girl alone. If she wants to look like she's a working woman, let her. Maybe Hal's daughter can have some sort of positive influence on her today." In came my stepdad's disgusting voice from behind us, making me cringe in disgust. I hated how my mom became after she met him, she wasn't the same person that I knew and loved.

I scurried off into my room before they noticed, locking the door once it shut behind me. I lifted up my sleeve, seeing the scabs of my old cuts starting to heal and fade away. My eyes began to blur from the tears that threatened to fall as I took out a small razor from my makeup case, proceeding to quickly slide it across my arm a few good times. The feeling of the flesh ripping and the blood starting to run down instantly calmed my nerves. I grabbed a few tissues from the box beside me, wiping away at the now fresh cuts to make it less visible. I had a sense of calm ride over my entire body as I pulled down my sleeve and put away my tool before leaving my room, seeing both my mom and Clay waiting for me downstairs by the front door. "Now that you're done wasting our time, may we please leave now? Clay needs to be there already." My mother stated with her arms folded across her chest. I practically dragged myself down the stairs and passed both of them out the front door and towards Clay's Jeep without saying a word in response.

I peered out the window the entire ride to Beverly Hills, seeing all the different types of people and buildings as we passed along the way. I definitely noticed the huge change in scenery when we pulled up to the restaurant where we were supposed to meet Clay's work friends. Nothing but uppity, snotty, too good for you, type of rich people. It made me sick to my stomach just looking at their faces and seeing all their flashy jewelry and fancy clothes. "Jade, quit your daydreaming and get out of the car. We're late already as it is." My mother nagged at me, pulling me from my thoughts. I got out casually, taking in all my surroundings. I definitely would never want to be living in a place like this, it all looked the fucking same. When we finally entered inside the place, a waiter sat us down at a huge table where Clay's friends were already seated waiting for us. "Clay, Mary! Nice to see you two again. And this must be Jade." An older light skinned woman said as she got up to hug each of us. I stood there awkwardly, seeing everyone dressed up in suits and nice dresses. "Jay, my name is Jay." I stated bluntly before taking my seat beside my mom, who didn't hesitate to elbow me in the side. "Jade, don't be rude." She hissed quietly to me. I again bit down on my cheek to stop myself from firing back at her. "Well, if everyone is ready to order. How about some drinks!" The woman said all too cheerfully, which only resulted in making me feel uncomfortable to the fullest.

About two hours into the whole thing did the younger girl sitting across from me finally make an attempt to speak to me. "So, Jay is it? I'm Sally. Where did you get your outfit from? It's so retro." Her voice was fully laced with a fake happiness just like her parents and that only irritated me even more. "Actually I got it from my father, in Mexico." I replied, seeing my mother's eyes grow wide. She hated whenever we were around anyone of her new friends and I brought up my dad. It's almost as if she was ashamed of him and who she really was. "Oh really? That's so...cool." Her voice trailed off as she quickly shifted her gaze back towards her plate of food. I smiled to myself, feeling accomplished that I was now able to be left alone. I finally took the opportunity to check my phone, seeing I had a message from Melody. She asked if I had told my mom about coming out with her and KayT tonight. I shoved my phone back in my pocket before peeking over at her, seeing that she was completely engulfed in her conversation with who I was assuming is Sally's mother. "Hey, mom. There's this art show today in Downtown for the kids in my therapy class. A girl whose my partner asked if I could go, it starts in an hour. She'll pick me up." I lied my ass of mostly, hoping she would give in and say yes.

"If it's going to benefit the poor thing, let her go Mary. People like her need to have some sort of outlet or else they go around killing people and robbing to have nice things." Completely stunned by the woman's comment, I just held the urge to reach across the table and punch her right in the face in as tight as I could. My mom looked from Clay to back at me before sighing, shaking her head. "I guess it'll be alright. But I want you home before eight. Is that clear?" I glanced up at the clock on the wall, seeing it was already two in the afternoon. Without much protest, I agreed before texting back Melody the address to where I was. She replied she was already on her way, so I hurriedly said my thankful goodbyes to everyone before rushing outside to the front of the building. In no less than twenty minutes did I see a small car pull up to the curb, Melody and KayT's faces appearing in the front seat. I climbed in the back, giving each of them a small hug. "Jesus Jay did they really make you come out to a place like this?" KayT noted, scrunching up her nose. I just shrugged, glad that I was finally getting away from this hellhole. "So where is it we're exactly going?" I asked curiously as we continued on to drive to what started to look like an old city in Mexico I remembered going to when I was about five that was littered with all kinds of small shops and food stands. "It's called Olvera Street. It's really cool, it's definitely something you'll enjoy, promise." Melody said as we eventually pulled into a small parking space. I just smiled, taking her word for it.

Once we got out, I noticed KayT pull out what looked like a joint from her jacket pocket. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked curiously with a mischievous smirk. "By all means, you go first." I eagerly accepted it, lighting it up as fast as I could. It had been at least a good year since I had gotten my hands on anything other than fucking cigarettes. The sweet and earthy aroma of smoke filled my lungs graciously, and I was loving every minute of it. "Girls, nice to see you all again. Jay? I thought that was you." I snapped my head to the side, staring up at a familiar face that was now smirking at me. Oh shit. "Chester...hey..didn't expect to run into you here." I laughed nervously as I quickly stomped out the unfinished joint on the ground underneath me before reaching over to hug him. He just smiled at me sheepishly, a slight tint to his cheeks. Melody and KayT just stared in complete awe, making me laugh even more. "Nor you three, considering the way you described your parents to me." I again just laughed, not really sure how to answer him. "Here, since I've ran into you at perfect timing." He handed me over a CD, his band's CD to be exact. I smiled big, gratefully accepting it. "Oh wow, thank you. I'll definitely listen to it when I get home. Speaking of which, these two are basically in love with you. Can you take a picture with them please?" I used my unique sense of charm and puppy dog eyes on him, and it worked.

If you honestly could look at the faces these two had, it was extremely priceless. "Perfect, thank you. So what are you going to be up to?" I said as I handed Melody back her phone, her face still stuck in shock. "We're gonna be actually taking some band photo shoots around town. You're actually more than welcome to tag along, if you're not too busy?" I glanced over at the two who just shook their heads, clearly too scared. "Maybe some other time, I guess they really wanna show me around here. But I'll see you Thursday?" I asked him with an innocent smile. He now grinned, nodding his head. "Of course you will. Hey and let me know what you think okay? I'll see you around. Bye girls." He said before giving each of us a hug and heading off in the opposite direction, soon catching up to a larger group of guys, I'm assuming to be his band mates. As we walked towards a small candle shop, I could tell that Melody was holding back on saying something. "What?" I finally asked as she kept her eyes glued to her phone. "I just can't believe, that you're actually becoming friends with him." She stuttered slightly. I groaned now, slightly annoyed. "Jesus Christ, I go to therapy with the guy, it's not like I intended this to happen. And you two could be too, just stop acting so damn starstruck whenever he's near!" It was KayT's turn to laugh now as she stopped to browse at a section of 'religious' type books. "It's not exactly an easy thing to do you know. Just listen to his CD, you'll see."

I just rolled my eyes simply at her comment, returning my attention back to the candle I kept looking at. I suddenly felt my phone vibrate in my pocket which made me jump a bit by surprise. Shit, it was my mom. "Going out for drinks with Clay. Be home by midnight. Ava will be waiting for you at the door at exactly 8:00 pm so I'll know if you don't come home. Love you." I looked at the time, it was barely five. Not in the mood to reply, I simply shoved it back into my pocket. "Hey guys, how about we go get something to eat? I'm pretty hungry." I announced, seeing both of the girls just shake their heads. "Oh perfect! I know exactly where we could go!" Melody said before pretty much dragging KayT and I outside of the store and down a few rows of shops. We eventually stopped at a small coffee looking shop when I inhaled the sweet aroma of fresh churros. I hadn't had one since my grandma used to make them for me in Arizona, so the idea of having one brought back a flood of good memories. We sat at a small booth inside, sharing stories about our lives and things we had in common. It turned out we were all pretty much the same type of people with the same interests which made me tremendously happy, like I had finally sound somewhere that I actually belonged.

Now I was just anxious to get home and listen to Chester's CD, because honestly, my mind wouldn't let me think about anything much else but him.