The blonde had gone back to her room, feeling worse than ever. She walked in and saw her friend sleeping, she looked exhausted. The day had been draining for both of them.
She went to the bathroom, stripped off her clothes, took a short shower, and brushed her teeth. When she came out, she slipped into something comfortable and lay down, thinking that the decision she had made was, in the end, the right one.
[...]
Wednesday
Jade woke up early. She buried herself in work, cleaning room after room without stopping, not even to eat. And when her shift was over, she returned to her room to change. She had one thing left to do...
She was going to pick up her things from home.
She left the hotel, repeating to herself that the sacrifice she was about to make would be worth it once her father was out of the hospital. She waited at the bus stop, and once it arrived, she climbed aboard.
The whole ride, she wondered how she would get into the house. She didn't have the keys, and if she rang the bell, they might not even open the door... She smiled bitterly-just stepping onto that property was already a risk.
Before she realized it, she had reached her stop. She got off and slowly made her way toward the house. Once there, she stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and rang the bell.
Relief flooded her when her sister's smile greeted her.
"Jade!" Alicia cried, throwing herself into her sister's arms.
Jade pushed aside the anger she still felt toward her little sister over what happened to their father. She loved her deeply and wouldn't allow someone like Allison to destroy their bond.
"Hey, kiddo. How are you?" she asked, breaking the hug.
"I'm fine. Mom took me to see Dad this morning. Allison is still on bed resting," she informed her.
"I see... How are things around here?" she asked.
"Well... weird. Elías is all bruised up and I don't know why, Mom's in a terrible mood, and Allison... she keeps cursing your name," she giggled.
"I can imagine. Let's go inside, I left some things behind."
The sisters entered the house and closed the door. Noise was coming from the dining room, so Jade assumed they were having dinner.
"Go on, finish your meal. I'll go to my room to grab a few things."
Alicia nodded, and Jade quickly went up the stairs. She wanted to spend as little time in the house as possible.
She entered her room and grabbed her bag, her keys, and her phone. She looked at the bed and felt dizzy, the document from the bank wasn't there. What was she going to do now? If that paper ended up in the wrong hands, she'd be screwed...
She began searching everywhere, under the bed, beneath the sheets, even in places she knew it couldn't be.
"This can't be happening, I left it right here..." she murmured, still searching. She looked under the bed again. Everything was a mess.
"Looking for this?" Jade froze at the sound of her stepfather's voice.
He was leaning against the doorframe.
She stood up, her eyes fixed on the document in the bastard's hands.
"That's not yours. Give it to me," she said, stepping closer to reach for it, but Elías pulled it away.
He was bruised all over his face, and looked awful.
"It'll cost you" he smiled, stepping into the room. She took a few steps back. "If you want this, you'll have to pay me." He eyed her up and down with lust. "If you can sleep with that rich guy, then you can do it with me too."
His words made her sick. She loathed him. His very presence disgusted her... But his words also echoed Dominick's voice in her mind. «I want a night with you too. If they can, why can't I?» The memory burned.
"You're a pig. I'd rather die than sleep with you," she spat, full of rage. "You make my skin crawl. Don't you get that?" She laughed inside at the look on Elías's face, he clearly didn't like what she'd said. "What did you think? That I'd throw myself at you like that idiot Janeth?" She laughed out loud. "You're more arrogant than I thought."
Elías lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat.
"You're nothing but a whore. You're only with that man for his money. You sell yourself like any other tramp."
"That's not true!" she struggled.
"Elías? Where are you?" they heard Janeth calling. Elías instantly let go of her.
"How can you think I'd do something like that to your mother? I love her, and you're her daughter!" he shouted, now putting on a performance that made Jade frown in disbelief.
"Are you insane?," Jade asked coldly.
"Janeth loves you very much and you don't show her the affection she deserves," he continued, smiling in a way that did not please Jade. "It would be fatal for her to know that her eldest daughter offered sex to her man in exchange for money...."
The blonde's eyes went wide at that, and she understood everything when her mother walked in with an expression of horror and disbelief....
"Oh my God!" Elías exclaimed, feigning sorrow. "Oh, Janeth, did you hear all that?"
"Yes..." her eyes welled with tears.
"Jade, how could you?"
"Janeth, it's not what you think. This man..."
"This man loves me, and that's why he rejected your offer!" she shouted, raising her voice. "You should be ashamed! I didn't raise you like this—"
"You raised me?" the blonde cut in, letting out a bitter laugh that caught her mother off guard. "Please don't make me laugh, I'm not in the mood." She looked at her with a sour expression. "You're hilarious, Janeth."
"I'm your mother. Don't talk to me like that," she ordered.
"I'll leave you two alone. You need to talk," said Elías as he stepped out of the room. But before he left, he smiled at Jade, as if he'd just won.
"My mother?" Jade narrowed her eyes.
"The same mother who brought another man into her daughters' home? The same mother who cheated on her husband? The same mother who chose a dick over believing her own daughter?" she accused, losing control. She held back the urge to cry, she wouldn't do it in front of her. She wouldn't give her that satisfaction. "You're such a hypocrite if you think I'm going to forgive everything you've done like it never happened!"
Janeth's eyes filled with tears...
"Respect your mother!" the woman shouted, out of control, slapping her daughter across the face.
The room fell silent. Jade's face was turned to the side. Her jaw clenched.
"Never touch me again" the blonde hissed, glaring at her mother with hatred for the first time in her life.
"I didn't mean to..."
"Really?" Jade let out a laugh completely devoid of joy. "How many things have you done without meaning to, huh?" She watched her mother cry, but it didn't matter anymore, she'd stopped caring a long time ago. Because that day, she only wanted one thing: to finally let it all out, to scream in her face everything she'd held in for years.
"Do you want me to jump into your arms like some loving daughter? Is that it? Do you want me to call you Mom?"
"Jade, please..."
"Please what, Janeth?" she roared, feeling rage surge like wildfire through her veins. "You want me to shut up? Is that it? Well, I won't! You're going to hear every damn thing I have to say! This is the last time I tolerate anything from you!"
"All these years I've had to swallow everything I've been carrying inside!" she struck her chest with an open palm, unable to stop the tears from falling, but she wiped them away harshly.
"Because of your damn selfishness! Because you've always chosen chasing after a man over protecting your daughters! You're a terrible mother, Janeth. Oh wait..." she laughed bitterly, shaking her head. "To Allison, you were the best, always there, always trying to raise her the 'right way'..." she scoffed. "But she still turned out a tramp. What a shame, huh?"
"Stop it, Jade, please," her mother begged, drowning in tears.
"Why should I listen to you?" Jade raised her brows. "Did you ever think about the pain you caused my father with your betrayal? And as if that wasn't enough, you brought your lover into our home, this home, for God's sake! Why should I even think you don't deserve to suffer?"
"I stopped loving Lucas... and... I met Elías. I never meant—"
"There were so many other ways!" Jade shouted, cutting her off.
"But no, you had to cheat on him, pin a child on him that wasn't even his, and bring your lover into this house. Lovely."
"You don't know anything. You have no right to judge me, not after what you did..."
"And what did I do?" she asked, lifting her chin. "What is it now that I supposedly did?"
"I know that the man who took you out of here is your lover!" Janeth yelled. "You're selling yourself for money. Elías tried to warn you that he wasn't a good man, and that's why he hit him."
"That's what he told you?" she laughed darkly. "You're even more naïve than I thought. That bastard you call a husband tried to assault me! He was going to rape me!" she howled, her fists clenched. She was tense, violently, dangerously angry.
"If it weren't for that man, your disgusting mutt of a husband would've gotten exactly what he wanted."
"You're lying!" the woman denied. "Elías is a good man and he loves me. He only wants what's best for you. You misunderstood the situation, that's all..."
"Misunderstood?" Jade roared. "That Elías is a good man? Are you even listening to yourself?! That man has you completely blind! You don't want to see the truth!"
"You're the one who's wrong!" Janeth tried to convince her. "Elías is a good father, you should see how he is with Alicia. He takes care of her. If you were nicer to him, maybe-"
"If that man lays a finger on my sister, I'll kill him. Do you hear me? I'll kill him with my own hands!"
"He would never hurt her, for God's sake, he's like her father."
"The only father Alicia and I have is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life because of your daughter the slut," she spat, blinded by rage.
"Your useless father..."
Jade raised her hand to strike her, but stopped, stunned by what she was about to do.
"Were you... going to hit me?" Janeth whispered, incredulous.
"So this is what we've come to..." Jade murmured, distant. She gave a sad smile. "To this situation..." she shook her head, a tear falling down her cheek. "This can't go on. This isn't healthy... Good night, Janeth."
Jade grabbed her things and walked out of the room, hearing her mother's voice shouting after her to stop. She hurried down the stairs, but just as she reached the door, her mother's hand grabbed her arm.
"Jade..." She turned. "Let's talk. We can fix this," Janeth pleaded. "Please, daughter..." she added when she saw Jade shake her head.
"I hope the piece of meat Elías has between his legs gives you all the happiness you need..." she muttered, pulling away. "You're so blind for that man you'll never see the truth, and I just hope it's not too late when you finally do. There's no fixing this, can't you see that? Of course you can', your entire world revolves around that man."
She took a breath.
"I was about to hit you. A child should never raise a hand to their parents, but you're nothing to me anymore. The little affection I had for you died when you told me I was confused."
A tear escaped her eyes.
"For God's sake, I told you he tried to rape me, and you said I was confused. How do you expect me to talk to you and find a solution? There's nothing left... Take care of yourself, Janeth."
She walked out and shut the door behind her. Hugging herself tightly, she felt the cold seep into her bones. Her vision blurred with tears as she walked toward the bus stop. A faint smile formed on her lips, another weight had been lifted from her chest. She had finally told the woman she once called mother everything she had kept buried for years.
She arrived and waited for a bus.
She climbed aboard and closed her eyes, letting the tears wash her soul... the same tears that eased her shattered heart, even if only for a moment.
She arrived at her workplace.
She stood outside the hotel, staring at it, knowing that in one of those rooms was the man who had bought her... the very same man she now despised with every fiber of her being.