“I always thought Cole took after you more, but now that you mention it, he’s actually more like the young Mr. Whitley.”


    “Oh, absolutely. But at least he got his looks from me–thank goodness he didn’t end up awkward–looking.”


    Jade’s confidence made Alessiaugh out loud. If nothing else, Cole’s


    self–assuredness was definitely inherited from Jade.


    Jade went on, sharing bits and pieces about her younger days, <i>her </i>fingers absentmindedly twirling a strand of Alessia’s hair.


    “Are you… not going to yell at me?” Alessia finally blurted out the <i>question </i>she’d been holding in.


    She’d wanted to get the Tates‘ attention, but the fear of disappointing Parrish and Jade was what kept her froming home–or even going to school. She didn’t understand herself, either. She just felt lost.


    It was as if there were two little voices inside her, always at war. One said, “If you just be a good kid again, they’ll love you.” The other spat back, “No matter how hard you try, your parents will never really care, so why not rebel against


    them?”


    Jade considered her with a wry smile. “Hmm… Should I scold you for dyeing your hair such a gorgeous color? Or for skipping school for a whole week? When I was your age, I was far more rebellious. I drove poor Mr. Dawson so mad he yanked out


    half his mustache.”


    The memory made Jade chuckle softly, a touch of nostalgia in her voice.


    Alessiaughed, too, but soon drifted into silence.


    In the darkness, Jade’s sigh was the only sound.


    “Lessie, I’ve always thought of us as family. Blood doesn’t matter to me, and I never thought it mattered to you, either.”


    Alessia stayed quiet, just listening to Jade’s gentle rambling.


    The faint scent ofvender drifted in the night air, and after a week of restless sleep, Alessia felt herself growing drowsy. Even Jade’s worried yet soothing words seemed toe from somewhere far away.


    “You want your parents to care more about you. I get that. Every kid wants to feel


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    loved by their mom and dad. But you can’t ignore the people who already love you, can you?”


    “Look at you. If you didn’t want to go to school, you could’ve told Ms. June. She would’ve taken you on a little getaway to clear your head–no big deal. But you shouldn’t have skipped ss and cut us off so we couldn’t reach you. Do you have any idea how worried we were?”


    Jade’s voice grew more animated, but Alessia only closed her eyes, a faint smile tugging at her lips.


    “That day when I called you dozens of times and you didn’t <i>pick </i>up, I swear, I just wanted to bring you home and give you a piece of my mind. But <i>the </i>moment you texted me to say you were safe, all I could think was–our Lessie must have been hurt somehow. When you got back, I wanted nothing more than to take <i>you </i>out for a huge meal. Lessie, what do we have to do to make you see how wonderful you are, how much we truly, truly love you?”


    “I’m sorry, Ms. June. I’m so sorry…”


    Alessia’s voice was barely a whisper, but it made Jade’s heart ache.


    She gently rubbed Alessia’s back. “You’ve done nothing wrong, Lessie. You are such a good kid, and you deserve all the love in the world. I know I can’t fill that emptiness inside you, but please don’t try to prove your worth by hurting yourself, okay?”


    “Okay.” Alessia clung to Jade’s sleeve, a single tear sliding silently down her cheek.


    “No matter what <i>you </i><i>do</i>, Ms. June will always support you. But I hope you’re doing it because it’s what you truly want…” Jade’s voice grew softer and softer, and in the end, Alessia found herself more awake than ever.


    When Jade finally drifted off to sleep, Alessia quietly slipped out the bedroom door–only to bump right into Parrish on the stairs.


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