Seven Minutes in Heaven

Sunflower

A few days after Tori came out, Jade was feeling a bit envious. She was happy for Tori but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Tori was confident enough to come out. Jade knew that it would be fine if she came out. Tori hadn't received any backlash. Her friend group was really supportive of her. Jade wanted that support but couldn't get over her fear. It was a silly thing to be nervous over but staying in the closet made Jade feel safe. She had talked to Beck about it and he assured it she wasn't being dumb. She had been hurt before and was trying to avoid that happening again. It was a defense mechanism and there was nothing wrong with it.

Jade started getting ready for school. She was about to head out when she saw her dad waiting for her. Jade mentally groaned. This wouldn't end well. Jade hated that she didn't get along with her dad. She never really talked about it but she was still grieving over losing her dad. He wasn't dead but he wasn't there all the time anyways.  When she was little and before the divorce she was a daddy's girl. She loved and looked up to him. Those days were long over though. He broke Jade's heart too many times. He missed some important things in her life and he expected her to be okay with it. He wanted to be a father when it was convenient to him and that wasn't fair to Jade or even Josh for that matter.

"Hi Jadelyn," He told her. She rolled her eyes. She hated being called by her full name.

"It's Jade," She corrected him while crossing her arms.

"Your mother and I named you Jadelyn," He told her firmly. "I came to tell you some news."

"You're finally going to leave me alone?" Jade asked. It was harsh but she was hurt.

"Jadelyn," He warned. One thing Jade inherited from her dad was his temper. "My wife, your stepmother, is pregnant."

"Oh good for you. Another kid for you to abandon," Jade said sarcastically.

"I didn't abandon you, I try to be there for you but you won't let me in," her dad told her. "I'm sorry the divorce upset you but you can't take it out on me. I try to be a father."

"You try?" Jade questioned angry tears forming in her eyes. "You were never there when I needed you too."

"Jade-" He started but was cut off from talking by his daughter.

"I'm done with this conversation," Jade told him. "Goodbye James." Jade went back into her house. She didn't want to go to school anymore. She knew it wasn't the best to call her dad by his first name but it felt good.

"So he told you?" Josh asked her. "He told me right before you went out. Sorry I couldn't warn you."

"It's not your fault," Jade told him. "How do you feel about it?"

"I'm not happy," Josh admitted. "It gives me the ick that she's only 24."

"Is it weird I feel like he's replacing us?" Jade asked.

"I feel the same way," Josh told her. Jade was glad that she had her brother during this. It made it slightly easier to handle. At least she had someone going through it with her. "Should we tell mom?"

"At some point," Jade said sighing. "I'm not going to school. Do you want to go get breakfast or something?"

"Sure. I don't feel like going either," Josh said.

Jade enjoyed going to breakfast with her brother. She didn't mean to shut her brother out. She was too caught up in her own feelings to even think about her brother's. She felt guilty about it. He didn't bring anything like that up. Maybe he wasn't as upset about Jade not being there as she assumed. Josh was always the more level headed one.

Vega: Hey. You okay? You didn't come to school today

I'm going through something. Can I pick you up after school? I need to vent