The Lust That Hides The Love

Forty-One-My girl

Rainbow's Pov

"Hey, what's up?" I asked Opal as I mindlessly scrolled through Tumblr. She'd called me out of the blue.

"Not much. I just got back to campus."

"Sweet, you wanna come up?" I invited.

"Nah, I have to work in half an hour."

"Oh, you have a job! How productive!" I said loudly, earning a glare from Morgan as she was getting her coat on. She was finally getting her own job instead of whatever she had been doing for money before, which I could probably guess if I really tried.

"Um... everything okay?" Opal asked as Morgan left. I shook my head.

"Yeah, it's cool. So what's up? You went home for Pearl's birthday, right?"

"Yeah." Honestly, I thought Opal went home way too much. I understood why, but there was still a point where driving three hours to Beach City once a month was more wasteful than anything. "Did I tell you what's going on with Pearl?" Fuck, did she?

"I don't think so." Opal sighed.

"Okay, so you know about Jasper, right?" I chuckled.

"Do I know about Jasper..."

"Wait, did something happen?" I closed my laptop.

"Buckle up Opal, because you're in for a long ride."

Once upon a time, Jasper and Rose were best friends. Inseparable. They met when Jasper tried to do dance when we were little, but she gave up in like a week. They did sports together. Rec leagues, soccer, softball, they had a sort of playful rivalry. Of course, going to different schools wasn't ideal, because for whatever reason half of our tiny town went to Elementary school in a different town, but they stayed as close as two girls from different schools could be.

But then when Jasper's mom died or disappeared, or whatever the hell the story was, she changed. She'd always been a little brat. Just a little rude and used to getting her way. And rough. But after her mom? It was like everything inside of her that used to be a good person just disappeared. She got meaner and rougher, and she made things go her way. And the breaking point? She got worse to Pearl. Really bad. And Rose absolutely adored Pearl. So their rivalry became anything but friendly. 

They became enemies. And Jasper just got worse. No one could keep her in check.  Even when Rose was pregnant, Jasper never stopped. She was a monster.

Opal listened intently as I told her my story.

"Are you kidding me? She made fun of a pregnant girl? What the hell?" I shook my head.

"I've never liked Jasper. I'm just afraid that one day she's going to go too far. Especially with Pearl." Opal sighed.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She told me about the things Jasper was saying and doing to Pearl around the time before the accident. Horrible things, so bad that Pearl would fake being sick to stay in the nurse's office during recess. I didn't even want to think about it.

"And after the accident?"

"Pearl was in the hospital for so long, and then she did homeschooling while she was in recovery. Last year was her first year back after the accident. That's why I'm so worried about Pearl. Sugilite and I aren't there to protect her anymore. And I feel horrible because Pearl said some stuff to me yesterday that made me realize. And you said this too; my entire life has become about Pearl. I spend so much time worrying about her and making sure she's okay and protected that I've neglected my life. I missed out on the last three years of my high school life because I was so worried about making sure Pearl was safe and that my grades were good enough to get scholarships so Mom could put more money into Pearl." I nodded.

"I understand." Opal was quiet for a minute.

"She's so pale and thin," She whispered. "And she hardly ever eats. I'm so worried." I frowned.

"Have you tried talking to her friends?"

"Are you kidding? Peridot's in the same position I'm in. Pearl won't open up. Did you know that I didn't even find out about Jasper bullying Pearl again from Pearl?" That shocked me.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Sapphire Corrundum-do you know her? I can't remember-she took the bus here a couple of weeks ago. She said that Jasper's been acting up again and that she was bullying Pearl."

"How did she find out?"

"She found out from Peridot, who found out from the fact that her sister's being bullied too! She had to make a guess and full on confront Pearl about it!" I sighed and shook my head,  pushing my hair out of my face.

"That's insane! Especially with what Jasper did before!"

"Yeah!" Opal said, then gasped.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly panicked.

"I shouldn't have told you all that stuff!"

"It's fine Opal, I don't mind-"

"No, I mean I should not have told you that! There was a whole thing where we weren't allowed to say anything about it or press charges. You have to swear you won't tell anyone!" She begged.

"I swear."

"Is Morgan there?"

"No," I said. "Is Rhodonite there?"

"She's in class."

"On a Sunday?" No response. "Don't you have to go to work?" Opal sighed.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later."

"Alright. Have fun." Opal hung up. "Bye..." I said quietly. I ended the call and tossed my phone back down onto my bed. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, staring at the ceiling.

After a minute, I opened my computer again and continued what I was doing. No sense in getting all bent out of shape about something I wasn't supposed to know.