Page 54 of Beautiful Deceptions & Sweet Miseries

Chase shrugs. "Jax sent them to me. He was on board with the plan."

"What did I do?" Jax asks, walking through the front door.

"Illegal blackmail… allegedly," I answer.

Jax pauses, looking at Chase. "Ah, yes. I forgot about that. They sent the money?"

"They sent it," Chase grins.

I look between them in disbelief. "Won't we get in trouble? What if they tell?"

"People like that won't tell. They will pay a price for their image," Jax says coolly, looking over Chase's shoulder as he opens up his cell.

Jax's eyebrows shoot up before he nods in approval. "Good. Plenty of money to get some new clothes. And some left over for your comfort."

Chase looks at me. "I'm going to get changed, then we are leaving. Don't argue with me, Hurricane."

I watch him disappear into his bedroom, leaving Jax and I alone in the living room. I turn to him slowly, staring at him.

Jax tilts his head. "Don't give me that look. They put you through Hell. You should take it with a grain of salt."

"It feels wrong," I admit.

He shrugs, walking over and putting a plastic bag on the couch. "At the end of the day, there's so much grey in what is right and wrong. Like that old saying: if someone steals a loaf of bread to feed their starving family, is it a bad thing?"

"Stealing is still stealing."

"Is it though? Is it not possible that there's a consequence for an action," Jax argues, sitting down.

He has a point, I guess. But still… it doesn't sit well. I'm not sure if it's because I've gotten money, or if it's because Aaron and Maxine are more concerned with their image and reputation than they ever were about my feelings.

Jax reaches into the plastic bag, grabbing my attention back. "I got you something."

"Me?" I ask, watching him fiddle with whatever is in the bag.

He nods, pulling out a scrapbook. "I got you a new scrapbook. So, you can start making new memories."

I gape at the black and gold cover, the pristine white pages sticking out in contrast. He holds it out and I reach for it, my fingers grazing the top of it before I pull it into my lap.

It's covered in gold swirls, with a clear plastic cover on the front to add a photo. I run my fingers over it before gazing up at him.

"You got this for me?"

"Yes," he says again, this time more annoyed. "Is it that hard to believe we want to do nice things for you? You're our friend. Besides, I saw how devastated you were when you lost the other one. Oh," he pauses, reaching into the bag. He fishes out a USB stick and chucks it at me.

"I have a scanner in my room. You can scan things in and save it to the USB before putting it in the book. That way, you also have a digital copy. Just in case."

I blink back tears as I twirl the USB stick in my hand. "Thank you," I whisper, completely taken aback.

"You deserve to be happy, Addie. And you should let people do nice things for you from time to time."

Before I can answer, Chase emerges from his room in a pair of shorts and a cotton shirt.

"I'm ready! Let's go shopping!"

Themallisonlya short drive away from campus. I laugh a little at Chase's old red Mazda. The interior is decorated in red seat covers and has a tiny pair of fluffy black handcuffs hanging from the rear view mirror and a fluffy little blue plush bunny sitting on the dashboard. I come to learn his name is Rex.

As we cruise away from campus, Chase plugs his cell into his aux cord. I slap his hand, taking the cell from him.

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