Jessica's POV
It felt so good seeing Chase humbled. It's what I've wanted for the longest time.
"Did Chase come by?" Gray asked as soon as I called him to share my good news.
"He did." I replied. "How do you know?" I asked him.
"He came earlier." He said, and remained silent for a while. "Did you know?" He asked me.
"Know what?" I asked.
I didn't like the tone he was using on me.
"Never mind." He said.
"Is there something you want to say to me?" I inquired, cause he sure as hell sounded like he did.
"I said not to bother." He objected, breathing heavily.
"How's your application coming?" I asked him.
Gray had applied for some modeling gigs.
"Haven't checked my mail in a minute." He muttered.
"I think you should." I suggested to him.
"Thanks, bye." Gray sounded weird as fuck.
I rang Lily up countless times, but it kept redirecting me to her voicemail. I wondered where the hell she could've been.
"Crazy bitch!" I muttered, trying her number for what I decided would be the last time.
She finally picked up, but the background noise didn't sound like what her house would be.
"Where are you, hoe?" I asked, surprised that she would be somewhere other than home.
"What do you want?" She asked. Her tone carried the exact same chill that Gray's did.
For a moment, I wondered if the world had gone on and left me behind.
"What's going on?" I demanded of Lily.
"What do you think?" She remarked.
"That you're acting weird as fuck. You and Gray!" I screamed.
"Please don't put he and I in the same sentence, ever again." She warned.
"What the fuck, bitch?" I shouted. My already thinning patience had worn out. "Who do you think you are?" I screamed at her.
"That's the wrong question. Jessica, the question is 'who do you think I am?', and I'll answer that." She gave a dramatic pause during which I heard a glass fall and shatter. "You must really think I'm dumb. Jessica, just after you dropped me off, you had the guts, the absolute effrontery, you and that fucker that thinks he can get back into my pants. If you think I don't know y'all ride each other to cloud nine, then you're a bigger fool than I think you are. You must think you had me safely tucked in bed." Lily laughed, the most manic laugh I heard in a minute.
"Shut the hell…"I shouted back.
"No, you shut up." She interrupted. "I have nothing left to be careful about, Jessica. Gray texted saying Chase visited you both, I hope he's on his way here." Lily spat and cut the call on me.
I felt like I was in a dream.
I didn't mean for her to figure it out that way.
I'd wanted to cut off from Gray for the longest time.
He knows I'd been attracted to him for the longest time, and not the kind I had for Chase.
Sometime ago, right before we got into school, I confessed to him.
He thought it was a joke, it was just a 'silly feeling I'm sure would pass, we're friends', in his own words.
He'd been with his fair share of girls since then, a sight and torture I'd had to endure for the longest time.
When Chase got together with Lily, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for him.
I was only too glad.
We were so close that both of them had reduced me to someone to quench their urges with, 'a friend, nothing more'.
Girls envied me, regardless, and even made friends with me so they could stand a chance with both of them, and sometimes, they did.
Chase was too rough, too violent, I never thought I stood a chance with him.
But Gray was just the man I wanted. He was cool, calm, had a penchant for music and also something for modeling.
I kept them both close still. Girls didn't fancy me, except there was something they wanted to get, and that's how our trio ended up coming together, with a few others like Monica and co.
Chase fucked Lily up, that's the bulk I knew, he told me when he made her abort the pregnancy, cause he was scared.
I still remember how red his eyes look at the hospital. One week later, his eyes were still sunken and enveloped by dark circles.
I thought all three of us were over Lily, but I wasn't over my hate for her. The two guys I liked wanted her, I remember constantly staring at myself, wondering what made her so much better than me.
I began spending a lot of time with myself, in isolation. That's when I first developed a taste for sex toys, and also modeling, even though I had done some gigs as a child.
My parents had all the connections I needed, and soon I was set up.
All that success didn't make me hate Lily less, and it only made sense to bully her for as long as we were in the same school.
Gray leaned into the soft spot I had for him, and I soon became his revenge fling.
I was lonely and available, he was too broken to put effort into getting someone else after Chase git Lily, so it was a 'convenient circumstance', for us both.
First time the rug shifted under my feet was when they got together, at the mall exactly.
Monica tried hard to not make me see them. At the time, she was the only one I told stuff. She knew just as much as I did. It's the only reason I still talk to her even after I caught her in bed with my dad after our school trip.
I took out my cigarette and puffed angrily. I wasn't mad that Chase knew I was the one, I mean, that was quite glaring, I was mad that Lily was gonna be backing out unscathed, I had even introduced her to my manager who knew a few luxurious hair brands she could partner with.
I can't let this slide, never.
"Just so you know, Lily helped with the pictures from the bar. She was very instrumental. Never break a woman's heart, xoxo." I texted Chase and turned my phone off. I was gonna take a break for one day, and see how it all turned out.
I threw my phone somewhere on the couch and went out for fresh air.
I didn't feel as good as I thought I would. I was in a hot pink bikini, lounging beside the family sized, rooftop pool I spent so long swimming in as a child.
"Why do I feel this way?" I muttered and threw myself into the familiarly warm water.
I used to imagine myself as a world star, a popular celebrity, it's all I had wanted for the longest time, what my parents wanted for me.
I was supposed to leave high school and start my career full time in NY.
All that was under the rug now as no agencies wanted to work with me. Worse still, my manager suggested I let Lily take on a job I had already accepted, "just so the money doesn't go out". He asked.
I remember screaming at him so hard I nearly lost my voice. It was the stupid thing I was dealing with right before Chase brought himself up into my room.
"Fuck em all!!" I screamed and plunged my head into the water
My life was worth nothing anymore.
And it seemed like I made others' worse. I wanted to go.
The water was getting adventurous and had found its way
into my airways.
I was coughing and gasping, but more water kept pouring in through my mouth and nostrils.
My arms began to feel too heavy, so I did all I could, flay and scream for help even though I couldn't hear myself. My head was light and my consciousness was fast eluding me.