Page 1 of Queen Of Clubs

Chapter 1

Then

Jade

WITH A SMILE THAT STRETCHES from ear to ear, I race down the hallway that's now starting to fill with students.

The bell rang, marking the end of the school day. Everyone rushes toward the parking lot, eager to get away from this place until they’re forced to wake up and come back again tomorrow.

Not me. This place has become a safe haven of sorts for me. A place to get away from where I sleep every night. A place to escape the nightmare of a house where I am practically forced to be a slave to the people who are legally responsible for me.

I weave through the crowd of people, my heart thundering like a bass drum as my lungs scream for air. I don’t stop, not until I’m in front of the music room.

Allowing myself to catch my breath, I fix my shirt, pat down my wild red hair, and take a deep breath.

I’m not sure why butterflies wage war in my belly. It’s not like the people who lay beyond this door are strangers. I see them every day.

Yet, as I open the door and see my three best friends, the only people in this world who matter to me, my whole body thrums with nervous energy.

“Ah, there’s Trouble.” A chuckle that has my knees weakening echoes through the music room. That nickname... it shouldn’t affect me like it does, yet every time he calls me that, something inside me hums with delight.

He gave it to me the first day we met. I was ten, and he was twelve. He just arrived at the house, the newest foster child Karen and Charles—a married beta couple—had taken in.

With my bad experiences with the children they’ve brought into their home in the past, I wanted to avoid him as long as I could. At least, that was the plan, but it failed right away.

When I stepped out of my bedroom window and onto the rooftop, like I always did when I wanted alone time, I found him sitting there, too, right outside the window that led to the room next to mine.

He looked up at me and gave me a smile that quickly became one of my favorite sights and shook his head, inviting me to sit next to him. We didn’t speak, only watched the setting sun. As the cool air started to seep into my bones, I turned to leave, which is when he told me he knew I’d be trouble.

I give him a deadpan look and reply with, “The bell literally rang less than two minutes ago.”

A gorgeous grin forms on his lips. “And yet here I am, waiting on you. How could you be so cruel and make me wait, dear Jade?”

Zane is painfully good looking with his dark chocolate hair and hazel eyes. And that smile has the power to turn any girl he tosses it their way into a puddle at his feet. He’s hot, and he knows it.

“And here I thought Griffin was the drama king.” I laugh, pulling my backpack off my shoulder and tossing it down next to his by the window.

“What about me?” Griffin asks, acting faux-offended. But he clearly heard me, which is obvious with his next comment. “A king? Why, Jade, I’m touched.” He puts a hand over his heart. Everett rolls his eyes, smirking, and slaps Griffin upside the back of his head as he walks past.

“More like the court jester,” Everett snickers as he takes one of the chairs next to Zane.

“Fuck you, dickwad. I’m a mother fucking king!” he boasts, making us all laugh.

“Whatever you say.” I shake my head.

“Don’t be jelly, Jelly Bean. You can be my pretty little princess.” He winks, and I try to ignore the way my pulse quickens.

Griffin and Everett are just as sinfully good looking as Zane is. Everett has black hair and dark brown eyes, while Griffin has light brown hair and light brown eyes.

Zane was the first to come to the foster home, next was Everett, followed by Griffin. All three of them came into my life in the same year and forever changed it. I couldn’t imagine my life without them.

“Alright, enough bullshitting. We only have an hour, so let’s make the best of it, shall we?” Zane says.

Griffin gets up, going over to the electric guitar. As he spends a few seconds tuning it, Everett heads over to the drums while Zane grabs another guitar and stands in front of the mic.

I take one of the chairs and eagerly wait for them to begin.

While our lives aren't the best at home, we have each other and music. Sometimes it feels like that fact is the only thing we can depend on.

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