Page 7 of Queen Of Clubs

I am alone now, and no moon can change that.

Chapter 3

Two years later

Jade

SUMMER CAN NOT COME fast enough. I graduate in one week. One more week and I’m free because I also happen to be turning eighteen the week after.

I wanted to leave this house the moment that diploma got placed into my hands, but Charles made it known that he would make my life hell if I messed with him getting his last check from the government.

Living with them has never been pleasant, but when the guys were here, it was bearable because I’d have them by my side and to distract me from this god-awful life we were forced to live.

Sure, it could have been worse. They could have beaten us, starved us, or other unspeakable things, but that doesn’t lessen the fact that they are horrible people.

It only got worse the moment the guys left. Since then, it’s gone completely downhill.

Shortly after, they found out I was lying about being asked to stay back by my teachers to do extra work, because the music teacher called the house, letting them know I left my sweater behind. Karen called back and everything was outed.

I lost that one little piece of my life that I enjoyed. It was the only thing that helped me deal with being away from the guys. Karen had a field day making me their full-time housemaid.

I’d text the guys, telling them every detail about my life. At first, they would text me any time of the day, no matter what. Then about a month after they moved, they got a meeting with a big-time record label.

They left that building, fresh ink on three contracts. I was so excited for them, pure joy I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

We talked for hours about all the amazing things they were going to do. My joining them after I turned eighteen was still a big focal point of that conversation.

It was like a part of me was settled in some way. It’s one thing talking about making it big and having the power to make all our dreams come true, but having the proof, signed and everything... it was solid, more real.

I should have known that nothing in life is that easy, though.

The guys got thrown into the entertainment industry overnight and their lives became chaotic. Messages between us were happening less and less, calls became almost nonexistent.

But they would always apologize and tell me it was because of their crazy new schedule. I tried not to let it get to me, to be the supportive best friend I’d always been.

But after a few more months, it felt like they were forgetting about me. It hurt because how could they do that to me? I understood their lives were crazy and the label had them working constantly on their music, but we were family, best friends.

And then one day, all communication stopped. I didn’t think anything of it because it was the norm at that point. Then the one-year mark hit and they didn’t even read the last message I sent, and I started to panic.

I tried calling, texting, practically blowing up their phones. Nothing. Actually, it was worse than nothing, because I’d get one ring in and it would go straight to voicemail. And everyone knows what that means. Blocked.

I went to their socials next, trying to message them, praying that one of them would see it. But I should have known better because they didn’t run their social media anymore, their manager, Gianna did.

Not my proudest moment, but I even tried calling the label. Nothing. I knew that it was a far stretch, but I was desperate. I needed to try everything I could.

When reality hit me that they really cut me out of their lives, it destroyed me. I never cried so much in my life. It was to the point I became physically sick.

Zane said he loved me. But it was all lies. Who does something like this to someone they love?

And then I went numb for a little bit. Became detached from the world. Heavily depressed to the point I didn’t care about anything.

I went to school, came home, did my work, and slept. I became a mindless zombie.

For the past year, I lost myself. No longer laughed, hardly smiled. I avoided people, wanting to engage as little as possible. My grades were fine, but I knew my teachers noticed the change, and I saw the pity in their eyes.

That mindset changed last month. It was a Monday and I was out getting groceries, like I do every Monday, when I ran into this little old lady on my way home.

She was sitting on a bench in the park I cut through, trying to pick up the contents of her bag that broke open.

---