The Assistant ➵ h.s

28: You?

Chapter 28: You?

JADE'S POV:

I groaned quietly as I opened my eyes. I felt a cold surface beneath me but I was surrounded by pitch black.

The darkness was overwhelming and I couldn't tell where anything was. I sat up as the memories of previous events replayed in my mind.

I've been kidnapped by Ryan.

Unneeded shivers ran up my spine as I pushed the ground and stood up. I held onto the wall, which was right beside me, and started walking slowly.

I stumbled into what I think was a table. I groaned as I held onto my throbbing knee.

"Whoa, be careful, baby. Now we wouldn't want you to get hurt," I recognized Ryan's raspy voice.

All of a sudden, a blinding light was switched on. I blinked a couple of times, trying to get used to the sudden exposure.

"I think you should sit down," Ryan stated as he walked towards me.

"I-I know how to sit down by m-myself, thank you v-very much," I snarled.

"Oh feisty! You're so hot," Ryan's vulgar remark sped around my brain as he stopped in his tracks.

I sat down on the floor as I examined the room. It was a small and stuffy little room. No windows, just one door. The floor was unmade, the cement all rocky. The walls were painted a white colour, that was peeling very badly. The lighting was extremely dull, supplied by a single bulb in the middle of the room.

Suddenly, a tall and blonde girl stalked into the room, through the small door. Her short-cut hair and icy blue eyes were unmistakably only hers.

"Hey, Jade," she snarled with a snide smile playing on her thin lips.

"Ashley? What are you doing here?" I croaked.

"Baby, don't be stupid now," Ryan butted in, giving me a unbelievable look.

I felt my cheeks warm up in embarrassment as Ashley tossed her head back and laughed.

"I'm helping Ryan, he's my cousin," Ashley stated.

"Wait... Cousin?" I asked, shocked. Why didn't I know this before?

"Yes, cousin. You deaf or something?" she snarled as she pointed to her ears.

I rolled my eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, you see, you are such a naïve girl. I had set you up with Ryan. I knew how he treated you but honestly, I couldn't give a shit about that." she stated.

I felt a pang in my chest at her words as she continued.

"You were so easy to trick, it was actually funny. Why did I do this? You always stole whatever I ever had, you bitch," she laughed bitterly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, ignoring her little nickname.

"You got better grades, you were always the prettier one, boys always talked about you. Sure, they wouldn't ask you out but that was because you were dating him," she gestured towards Ryan as he smirked at me. "You were the better version of me." she stated as she crossed her arms.

"B-but people always bullied me. I thought that you were my friend?" I whispered.

"Yeah, my friends bullied you. Did you seriously believe that I would be friends with you? I was so popular in school, you meant nothing and you still mean nothing." she spoke at an agonizingly slow pace, almost as if she was purring.

"You weren't my friend?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Fuck, no! Did you actually think that I'd be your friend?" she tossed her head back and laughed before abruptly stopping. "Your so stupid,"

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I stared at Ashley dead in the eye. I searched her eyes for any evidence of guilt or pain. I was greeted with nothing but hatred and anger.

NIALL'S POV:

We were all sitting around the mini living room in our giant suite. Since Jade has disappeared, Paul decided that it would be best if we found her first then moved on with the tour.

Speaking of tour, Lou and her family were sent home because number one, it's not safe and number two, who knows how long Jade will be missing.

I really do hope that we will find Jade. The letter was pretty dead-serious and I honestly don't know what to believe. She's such a good friend and I can't believe that this is happening to her!

Paul was talking on the phone loudly as everyone, including myself, are waiting in the living room. Well, everyone except for Harry.

Ever since we've arrived at the hotel, Harry has been locked up in his room. He stays in there the whole day. He doesn't talk to anyone or come out, except for when he wants to eat. Keyword, wants.

Everyone has tried talking to him but he just locks everyone out. He's been completely locked up. He really likes Jade, literally anyone can tell that he cares about her a lot.

We are all extremely worried about him because Harry isn't a quiet person. He's only quiet when something is really bugging him or if he's feeling sad. In this case, it's both.

"Okay, I've got the police on the case," Paul said out loud.

"Does this mean that we'll find her really quickly?" questioned Louis.

"Well, it all depends. We can't really do much because, you know, you're 'One Direction' and you'll have to be careful." Paul made air-quotations.

Liam and Zayn nodded as I zoned out. I'm really missing Jade. She was another one of my best friends and I have a really strong bonding with her. I can only imagine what Harry is going through.

Before I knew it, I had tears streaming down my face. I have always felt that I'm more of a softie compared to the other lads, when it comes to touchy subjects.

"Niall, don't cry, mate." Zayn coaxed as he wrapped me in a side-hug.

"Yeah but who knows how long Jade will be gone for?" I asked quietly as Liam added to the hug.

"She won't be gone for long, everyone is looking for her, Niall." Liam added.

"Yeah, she won't be gone for long." Louis chirped as he hugged me from the back.

I wiped my tears as Paul spoke up. "Yeah, I really pressured the police to help find her. You know, she's famous and all too, so she can easily get mobbed."

I nodded as the boys released me. We all sat in silence as we watched Harry's still bedroom door and Paul yapping on his phone.

I hope we find Jade soon!