Tainted (Oh Captain, My Captain 7)

Chapter Sixteen

Valo

“Jade, we’re back!” I call out, closing the door behind me.

“I’m dying of thirst. Do you want something?” Gus asks, heading to the kitchen.

“Yeah.” I head to my bedroom to drop off my suitcase, but I don’t find Jade. Honeybun jumps off my bed, walks over, and rubs against my leg.

“Ah, Valo,” I hear Gus say. “Jade left you a note.”

A note? I leave my bag by my bedroom door and return to the kitchen. Gus holds up an envelope with my name on it. Why would she put a simple note in an envelope? I take it and open it. My eyes skim the message and I frown.

Valo,

I can’t be here anymore.

Jade

She’s gone.

I drop the note, quickly walk to my room, and yank open the drawers on my dresser. Hers are empty. I go to my closet and see that she left those clothes. Son of a bitch. Why would she leave? Where in the hell would she go?

“She left?”

“Yeah,” I answer Gus without turning around. What would change for her to want to leave?

“Maybe it’s for the best.”

When I turn around to snap at him, he’s already gone. I’m filled with way too many questions and way too much pain. I can’t believe she’d leave while I was gone. Something had to have happened to make her. Things were good. Or at least, I thought they were. I sit on my bed, pull my phone from my pocket, and call her.

It rings twice before going to voicemail. Damn it. Honeybun jumps into the bed and pushes at my hand for me to pet her. Reluctantly, I do. I wonder where she’s staying, if she decided to drop everything here and go back to Greenwood, or if she’s kept parts of her life here and only left me behind. I just talked to her yesterday, things seemed fine. She didn’t seem any different. She visited her mom, said that went well, and that was it.

Her mom.

She hadn’t seen her since she’s been here, now she has and she’s gone. That has to be why. I stand and head out to my truck. Jade can’t be too hard to find. First, I drive to the school. How am I supposed to know if she’s here or not? She wouldn’t have driven because she doesn’t have a vehicle. I don’t have a car to look for. I don’t know enough details about her classes to know where exactly she may be.

I should have logged into her account on my iPad and looked. I park in a space facing one of the main buildings, scanning the people walking around, searching for the one with long, black, curly hair. My heart stops when I spot someone, but she’s too tall to be Jade. A glance at my watch shows that her last class should be over. If Jade’s here, she would be on her way to the bus stop.

Quickly, I get out of my truck and start walking toward it. There’s only about five people waiting, none of them Jade. I turn in circles, looking for her. I hope there’s not more than one bus stop here because if there is, I’m screwed if she doesn’t use this one. Just as I’m about to give up, I see her. She’s briskly walking out of a building and in the opposite direction as me.

I jog until I’m closer to her before speaking. “Jade.”

She freezes before slowly turning around to face me, her purple contacts hiding her eyes. Jade crosses her arms over her chest, but doesn’t say anything.

“What did she say?” I ask.

“What did who say?”

“Your mom. She said something to make you leave, right? What did she say?”

“Nothing,” she snaps, which clearly means she did. “Maybe I just realized I didn’t want to be your bitch anymore.”

“That’s what she told you? That you’re my ‘bitch’? C’mon, Jade. You know better. Don’t let her ruin this.” She has to know her mom is a liar.

“Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. While you were off playing your little ice game, I got tired of being your maid. You’re close to thirty years old; you should learn to clean up your own shit. And don’t worry about school. I’ll pay you back for what you’ve spent so far. I can figure out a way for the rest. That’s if I even stay.” She spins on her heels to walk away.

“Jade,” I grab her arm because she’s not getting away this easily. “This is ridiculous. Just come home and talk to me.”