Chapter 2

JADELYNN

I just laughed at his antics instead of blushing at the thought of us truly catching up. Nope, those thoughts had to remain safely within my own mind. Thad was my dream guy. He was sexy as hell, hilarious, intelligent, and had a heart of gold. He could have any girl he wanted, but he never gave into their flirtations. Another reason why many of the females hated my guts. They blamed me because he would rather hang out with me than deal with them. Was that really on me though? It was not my fault that he hated desperation and the smell of skank.

Thad had quite the following given that he was the star Quarterback. However, he could not care less about all that. He preferred to give his attention to those he felt deserved it. The Geek Squad was a great example of that. Nobody understood why he hung out here when he could hang out with the cheer-whores and jocks. That was why they would never be able to understand who Thad actually was. He was genuine and could not be bought.

Our usual table had a mixture of personalities. We had the resident Geek Squad who consisted of eight of the most brilliant minds at this entire school. They were currently developing a top-secret tracing program for EterniTech upstate. They were the original members of this group until more people joined.

Tammy and Victoria were amazing theater kids whose parents were big name actors. They were not more popular because they did not live off the back of their parents’ coattails. They chose to make their own names for themselves and had great promise. They certainly had every ounce of my respect for that.

Thad Easton was the school’s Quarterback, resident heartthrob, and excellent sparring partner. He taught me everything that I knew. He was also on track for pre-law to follow in his father’s footsteps of working at the DA’s office. He was hoping to become DA by the time we turned thirty-five.

Then there was me. Jadelynn Rae Murphy. My father was a Historian and professor at Tashings University here in town. My mother was P.R. guru for a top-tier tech company. They always encouraged my passions and fleeting obsessions. They were the best parents I could have asked for. They taught me to be resilient and strong.

“Look, that’s the new girl I was talking about,” Victoria said, pointing to a girl who was looking for a table to sit at.

I raised my hand to get her attention but stood up quickly instead. Pauline was following behind New Girl, and I could already smell trouble. Pauline always had to assert her ridiculous popularity by making sure that everyone knew not to cross her.

Fun fact: I did not care.

Pauline had her hand raised to pour her soda over New Girl’s head. I hated the bitch because she took every opportunity to embarrass others. Nobody, except for Thad and I, stood up to her. The rest just watched on in morbid excitement.

Hopefully, New Girl was forgiving of people touching her. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to the side just in time to get her out of the splash zone. I pushed New Girl behind me because I did not trust Pauline at all. There was a litany of offenses that she was responsible for, but her corrupt uncle was the Chief of Police. Any report of assault or sneaking drugs into the drinks of girls that she hated or guys that she wanted to fuck all got swept under the rug.

“Saintess Jadelynn to the rescue,” Pauline mocked and sneered at me.

“It would just be Saint. It’s the same regardless of gender, but I will overlook your slip,” I assured her while keeping my voice and face neutral.

Pauline always hated that I was not afraid of her. She could not intimidate me like all the other puppies in this school. Many of them turned a blind eye or encouraged her, but I would not. That was not how my parents raised me. That was not who I was. There would never come a day when I would stand back while others were being hurt, abused, or mocked. I would stand toe-to-toe with the Devil if it was necessary.

Some people become protectors because they were wronged in life. I did not have a sad beginning or a hurt past. What I did have was an innate need to shield others from people who desired to torment and tear them apart.

“You think you’re so much better than everyone else,” she snapped at me.

Did she even hear herself? That had me internally laughing. She angered easily and resorted to intimidation tactics when she did not get her way. I was not one who would ever be intimidated by her. The Trouble Four, as Thad and I dubbed our parents, were the most intimidating people you would ever meet. Pauline was not even a flea in comparison to them.

“I think you are speaking about yourself. Pauline Donner, your dirty secrets may be swept under the rug by your uncle, but they are not erased,” I said, tapping the side of my nose to express one of them.

Her drug issue was not common knowledge. She used it both recreationally as well as to do her bidding. I knew of both. Her victims came to me over the years. I had also been able to covertly intervene a few times, but it was well documented against her. The shade of red that was on her face from my words was very satisfying.

I did not even need to look around to know that everyone was now focused on this display. She started it, but I would definitely finish it. Thad and I were the only ones who stood up against her because she could not touch us. We had to convince our Geek Squad to let us do it because of that fact. They were not comfortable with it because they wanted to protect us just like we protected them, but they reluctantly agreed.

Pauline was 5’10 and put a lot of time into her appearance. The boob job and liposuction made her believe that her looks were superior to all others. Her appearance was just as fake as her personality. Both were pretty vile.

I was 5’6 with a naturally full chest and ass. The muscles in my arms and legs were noticeable, and I liked seeing them because Thad and I worked hard training together for years. Plus, he insisted that they made me look like a badass. He was the only person I ever cared of approving of my looks. My strawberry blonde hair cascaded down to the middle of my back which highlighted my fair skin and made my grey-blue eyes pop. They were certainly my favorite feature.

“You’re nothing but a pathetic loser. The only reason anyone hangs around you is because they feel sorry for you.”

I just barely held in my laughter. She meant Thad. Pauline propositioned Thad many times. She even went as far as to slip something in his drink at a party one time in hopes of getting laid by him. Safe to say that Thad would never touch her even if she was the last pussy on Earth.

“Why not just be blunt with your words? You mean Thad. The one that never fell at your feet no matter how many sad attempts you made,” I said with a slight chuckle.

My words certainly hit her hard. She was an incredibly sore loser and hated to be called out on her shit. She took a step towards me, so I pushed New Girl back towards our table. I heard Victoria talking to her, so I knew that she was free and clear.

“You might want to rethink whatever it is you are thinking of doing. You are not as untouchable as you seem to assume,” I warned her.

Of course, Pauline would never believe that she was touchable. Her uncle ensured that she believed that nobody would dare strike against her. He was the worst enabler of her crimes. The Geek Squad collected quite a bit of nasty evidence on poor Pauline. Evidence that painted not only her guilt but also her uncle’s guilt. The evidence spanned the past two years. We even found connections between her and crimes in her last city as well, but that did nothing for our case now. It was just sickening to know that she was a vile bitch. Once we sent out the evidence, we planned on sending out what we collected to the officers in that city.

“Do your worst. Nobody can touch me. You on the other hand,” she said before she lunged at me.

I stepped to the side to avoid her lunge. She turned on me and threw a punch at my face, but I just closed my hand around her fist and held her still.

Thad and I trained together for the past few years. I was not as great at it as he was, but he insisted that I learned after I got the crap beat out of me when Pauline and four members of her posse jumped me at the same time.

She threw her other fist, but I captured it too. Pauline let out an angry whine and tried to yank her hands away. However, I kept them still because I wanted her to realize that she fucked up and was not untouchable.

“See? Touchable. Leave New Girl alone. Better yet, leave everyone alone,” I said before tossing her hands away from me.

“Or what?” she yelled at me.

Pauline had always lacked emotional control. She allowed them to guide her too much. Being pissed off created a fury that hurt others. Being sidelined like I just did caused her a lot of embarrassment which led to more fury. Jealousy led to teaching others the lessons that she felt they deserved. One time, a girl looked prettier than her, so Pauline roofied the girl and took incredibly embarrassing photos of her while she was knocked out. Luckily, the Geek Squad was able to get them taken down permanently. There was not legally a crime that could be tied to Pauline that time, so we did the next best thing to get justice for the girl. In place of the photos Pauline took, we put up photos that had been taken of Pauline during some of her many sexcapades. 

“Or secrets will not remain secret any longer.” I looked her in the eye to make my point clear.

Damn, I really wished that I had a camera. The glare she was giving me was priceless. She was caught, called out in front of everyone, and threatened with something that would do some serious damage. She was fucked either way. It did not really matter if it was her image or freedom.

An arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I was glad that he chose to step in. This made it so much more exciting because Thad hated Pauline just as much as I did. We both saw her for the hideous monster that she was and eagerly awaited the day that she was fully taken down. That was a day that many longed for.

“Damn Jae. Our private training sessions sure paid off. Solid 10/10. Did you have an answer to my question from earlier?” he asked, flashing me that smile I loved so much.

He was asking for two reasons. He wanted us to truly make a go of it just like I did. It would also set up a knock-out moment for Pauline because she hated me for having his affection and attention. Those were the two things that he gave nobody else but me.

“The answer is yes,” I said.

His smile was breathtaking. I was thankful that he could not hear how my heartbeat pick up. His arm slid from my shoulders to around my waist and pulled me into him. It caused Pauline to huff as we turned our backs on her, showing her that she was not even worth our time.

“Great. I will pick you up on Friday and wear something as gorgeous as you are,” he said while Pauline was still in earshot.

New Girl was sitting next to Victoria. I stole Thad’s delicious hazelnut iced coffee. He tossed me an annoyed glare, but I knew it was fake. I took a sip and handed it back to him with an eye roll.

The tension from earlier today was completely gone. I felt happy sitting next to him. I really did know that we could make a go of this. We trusted each other more than we trusted anyone else. That was what I was missing last year. I got so caught up in being insecure that I forgot that Thad would never do anything to me that would hurt me which included the fact that he would not ask me out if he did not care about me in that way.

Pauline played my emotions once, and it would never happen again. For that I was certain. While this summer sucked for the both of us, since it was the first one apart since I met him, I believed that it made us more committed. If anything, Pauline did us a favor.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked as he handed me the last of his coffee.

The look he gave me needed no words. It translated into ‘Not telling. Have some fucking patience.’

I rolled my eyes at him and punched his shoulder for being a sweet jerk. I had no idea what I would do without him.