Maximiliano took her to the infirmary, where they cleaned the wound on her forehead, applied ointment to reduce the swelling on her cheek, and wrapped her side, which was bruised and swollen. They gave her painkillers and told her to get some rest. And all that went through the blonde's mind was,
"I wonder how Allison is doing?" She smiled. She must be having a terrible time... Sure, Jade knew what she did was wrong—she could've seriously injured her or even killed her—but she wasn't about to be a hypocrite and pretend she regretted it.
Allison deserved every single blow she got. And they were nothing compared to all the tears her father had shed over the years…
"God only knows what you're thinking about to be smiling like that," Maxi interrupted her thoughts.
"I was just thinking about Allison. I don't regret anything," she said, closing her eyes.
"Oh, Jade…" her friend chuckled, shaking his head. When she opened her eyes again, she saw his brow furrowed.
"Where's Cruella?" he asked, referring to Nerea. After what happened with her injury—which was healing nicely—he had started calling her that.
"I don't know. And stop calling her that, if she hears you…"
"Don't even say it," he looked toward the door. "You might summon her and she'll come to cut off my foot."
"You're so dramatic!" she exclaimed, wincing in pain.
"Come on, I had a more comfortable room prepared for you. In your condition, you can't stay in the staff area."
Jade was about to argue, but Maximiliano raised a hand to stop her.
"I'm not accepting a no. It's either yes, or yes. Got it? Oh, and Cruella can stay with you. I already spoke with HR—you won't be working until Wednesday."
"But—"
"No buts. Your salary won't be docked either, so you don't have to worry," he smiled.
Jade's eyes filled with tears, and Maxi's frown returned.
"Are you in pain? What is it?" Maximiliano stood up and moved closer to her.
"Thank you for caring about me," she said between soft sobs. Her friend smiled and helped her up.
"Come on, time to head to the room. Let's call Nerea so she can help with whatever you need."
They stepped into the hallway and headed toward the elevator.
"Armand asked about you," the brown-haired man said after a few seconds of silence.
"Where is he?" she asked quickly.
"You two have gotten quite close," he commented, narrowing his eyes.
Jade frowned.
"Is there a problem with that?" she asked, meeting his gaze.
Maximiliano sighed deeply as he studied her face.
"Jade, I don't mind you two becoming friends, but…" he brushed a strand of hair from her face, "Dominick will be back soon. And I know it sounds dumb, considering there's nothing between you two…"
Jade frowned harder, unsure where this was going, but she didn't interrupt.
"He likes you," Maxi blurted out, catching her off guard. She looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "And I'm not just talking about attraction. Yes, he wants to sleep with you—but he also likes you, and he refuses to admit it."
"That's impossible," she replied, shaking her head. "He just wants to prove he can have me. That's all—it's just about winning."
Jade clenched her jaw.
"Woman, Dominick's a caveman. He's my friend, but I'm not going to lie just to make him look better—because I won't…" They stepped out of the elevator and walked slowly down the hallway. "Anyway, I think I got a little off-topic," he added with a chuckle.
"A little, yeah. But I still don't get your point."
Maxi stopped at a door, took out the key, and opened it. She lay back on a couch, and he went to pour himself a glass of whiskey.
"Dominick thinks he has some kind of hold over you. He's sick with jealousy. And now that Christian's not around, I'm sure his new target will be Armand—because of how close you two suddenly are."
"He shouldn't be jealous. Ugh, he's such a brute!" Jade went to rub her forehead but winced. "Damn it," she whimpered.
"Be careful. And it's best you stay away from home for a few days—until things settle down."
"That's the plan. Or at least, I'll try," she let out a small laugh.
"Back to the point—Armand may seem calm and collected, but he's a wolf in bee's clothing. And I'd say his temper is worse than Dom's. I just don't want them to fight—it'd put me in a really awkward position."
"I know," Jade sighed. Maxi was right, and she didn't want to cause any problems for anyone. And the worst part was… Robinson and she had just started seeing each other. That was going to stir up trouble too.
"I'll do everything I can to make sure Armand doesn't get into it with Dominick. When he gets back, I'll try to talk to him and make things clear. Maybe he'll understand that I'm not his property."
"Good luck with that," her friend said with a wry smile.
"We're adults. He needs to understand that in this life, you can't have everything," Jade said, crossing her arms.
"Try explaining that to someone who's used to always getting his way…" Maxi sighed. "I'll leave you to rest. I'll send Nerea over in a bit to keep you company."
[...]
Night fell, and she was asleep. The pain pill she had taken worked quickly and had knocked her out for hours. By the time she woke up, it was ten at night. Her body felt heavy, and her throat was dry.
The only light in the room came from the small lamp beside the bed. The door to the balcony was open. The blonde sat up slowly, wanting to stretch her muscles, but abandoned the idea as soon as she felt the ache on her face. The effects of the pill were clearly wearing off.
She yawned and went to look for some water. She noticed someone had brought a few changes of clothes. She frowned and cursed under her breath when she realized she didn't have her phone. She wanted to call the hospital, talk to Nerea… "Where is she?" she wondered. She hadn't seen her since the day before.
She ordered something to eat, though she didn't really have the energy for anything. When the food arrived, she ate in silence. Once finished, she drank a glass of water, took another pill, and went back to sleep…
~•~
Sunday, February 19th
She slowly opened her eyes and saw her friend beside her. Nerea had dark circles under her eyes and looked exhausted.
Jade sat up in bed and saw her phone on the nightstand. She grabbed it and noticed several missed calls—from her mom, from an unknown number, and from Alicia.
She didn't want to speak to any of them. Not even Alicia. She was still furious with her for being so stupid. She knew she was just a kid, but she'd gone too far with her nonsense.
She got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and, very carefully, took a shower. A few minutes later, she came out wrapped in a towel. Nerea was now awake and talking on the phone.
"Yeah, don't take too long. I'm hungry."
She rolled her eyes at whatever she heard on the other end and added,
"Keep dreaming. Bye."
"Who was that?" Jade asked, grabbing some comfortable clothes.
"Alex. He's still trying to go out with me, but right now I'm interested in someone else." She grinned. Her friend narrowed her eyes.
"Take it slow with that David guy. Remember, you don't know much about him," the blonde warned, stepping into the closet.
"I know what I'm doing, don't worry. Now hurry up and get dressed, and explain who left you like that. And if you tell me the other girl didn't end up worse, I swear I'll kill you. Crybaby Maximiliano just told me you were here, that you needed company and had been in a fight. That's it—he left without giving me any details!" the brunette raised her arms in frustration.
"I went to talk to Allison," she said, stepping out in her underwear, "well… talk is a strong word for what happened. I lost control a little and sent her to the hospital."
She grabbed some loose pants, and with Nerea's help, put them on.
"Good!" Nerea shrieked. "She deserved it. Don't worry about anything—whatever happens, I've got your back. And please, if you're ever going to beat her up again," she grabbed Jade's cheeks, "warn me."
Jade swatted her hands away.
"You're hurting me, idiot," she complained. Her friend laughed.
"Sorry."
Jade rolled her eyes.
"I need to get more pills. They gave me four, and I already ran out. I dropped two." She smiled.
"If anything, just drink some alcohol. That kills pain."
"Nerea, I can't mix pills with alcohol. Are you crazy?"
"Jeez, I was just saying." She smiled. Then her face turned serious, and she sat beside her friend. "How's Lucas? Robinson told me everything, and if it weren't for the fact that you already got beaten up, I'd slap you myself. Anemia? Are you serious?" Nerea stared at her reproachfully. "You're neglecting your health, and I'm not going to let that happen."
"It's nothing serious. I can handle it," she assured her.
"Nothing serious?" Nerea laughed out loud. "You don't mess around with your health. From now on, I'll be watching you. Don't even think about escaping me. I already ordered breakfast and checked your stuff to plan out your personal menu."
"Personal menu?" Jade chuckled.
"Exactly."
There was a knock at the door.
"Look, the food's here…"
[...]
Nerea had forced Maximiliano to order what she needed: lots of natural juices and red meat to help her regain some essential vitamins. Her friend had to run some errands, and Jade had changed clothes to go out with Armand, who had invited her to lunch.
"I guess the other girl ended up worse," Armand said, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing. Jade had noticed over the past few days that he held back a lot, and his odd facial expressions were his "attempts at smiling."
They finished walking into the restaurant and sat at the same table as last time.
"Much worse," Jade admitted, unable to hide the pride in her voice. "I sent her to the hospital, and I don't regret it—she deserved it."
"I'm not one to judge," he replied, "but if she deserved it, then good job."
She smiled, and Juliana approached them.
"I'm glad to see you both back," the woman said with a wide grin. "I hope you'll keep visiting us more often. And don't worry about Diana—she'll just have to deal with it."
"I'm used to it," Armand said. "And I'll keep coming as much as I can. I'll be staying in New York for a while."
"I'm happy to hear that!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "Oh! But how rude of me—how are you, young lady?"
"Very well, Mrs. Juliana. And how are you?" the young woman smiled. She'd taken a real liking to the woman, who was always cheerful and radiated good energy.
"I'm doing great, but just call me Juliana, or I'll start feeling older than I really am," she scolded playfully, making the blonde laugh and even earning a small smile from Armand. "Forgive my bluntness, but… did you get into a fight with someone? You look worn out." The woman looked at her with a furrowed brow, and Jade just smiled.
"Problems with my sister," Jade shrugged. "You know how it is…"
"Oh, if that's the case, be careful. Sisters shouldn't fight."
The three of them dove into a lively conversation, and once again, the blonde became the target of Diana's killer stares. She was always hostile—but saying Jade cared would've been a lie.
~•~
Hours later, Armand brought a very cheerful Jade back to the hotel. She had run out of painkillers, and her ribs had started to ache again. Then she remembered her friend's words and grabbed all the mini bottles of liquor from the room.
By ten at night, tipsy and knocking a few things over, she stumbled out of the room with a single goal in mind: to get more alcohol.
She somehow made it to the kitchen without falling. Putting on a serious face and making a monumental effort not to slur her words, she managed to get what she wanted. Then she headed back upstairs, walked down the hallway, and entered the room.
"Shit," she yelped as she bumped into something.
A wall was blocking her way—or so she thought. She crouched down, placing the two bottles on the floor, and clung to what felt like… legs?
She frowned.
Her hands started trailing upward along those unknown legs. When she reached the center, she squeezed a few times to figure out what exactly she was touching.
"You'd better move your hand from there," Dominick hissed, placing a flat palm on the blonde's head, "because even though it feels great when you grab my dick like that"—he exhaled sharply—"I'm pretty sure you won't finish what you just started, if you leave me this worked up."
Jade jumped to her feet, the alcohol rushing straight to her head, making her stumble as she nearly fell…
But he was faster.
"I got you…" he whispered, leaning dangerously close to her lips. She exhaled slowly…