Hi, y'all. I can't tell you how happy I am that you liked the last chapter--it was one of my favorites and all of your posts were so amazing! You guys totally rock and really make me want to write the best story I can for you. So keep on posting!
Quick note: I've unofficially entitled the next few chapters. This one is "Sadie Speaks, Part I" and starts to give a glimpse at the method behind her madness. I'd like to think that deep down, Sadie is a good person and really cares about Jude and what happens to her. Her true intentions remain to be seen in the show, but I'm going with this whole perspective for the purpose of this story. Let's just hope it's true once the show comes back!
And now it's time to revisit our crazy group once more, post-Truth or Dare...
After Tommy left, Jamie and Kat dragged Jude to the laundry room to escape the gawking from the group.
"WHAT was that?" Jamie yelled.
"Calm down! You're not helping," Kat snapped back. "Jude, are you okay?"
Jude stood there in a daze staring at her friends. "Uhhh…yeah…"
Kat and Jamie looked at each other with concern. Jamie tried again.
"Jude…talk to us. We know you and you're not okay."
"I…I'm…" she started. "What just happened?" she asked, echoing the question on everyone's minds.
"Well, you and Tommy just about set the whole house on fire," Kat responded, to which Jude walked towards the window, trying to assemble the jumbled memory. She could still feel the warmth of his touch on her skin and the softness of his lips, and inadvertently smiled.
Kat walked over to her and put her hand on Jude's shoulder to bring her back to reality. Jude turned towards Kat to speak as they suddenly heard her mom yell, "Dinner!"
Jude sighed and they reluctantly headed into the kitchen. Upon entering, Jude felt as though she had the plague—everyone stood staring at her without a sound. Just then, Tommy entered and all eyes darted towards him. He ignored everyone and sat down at the far end of the table, with everyone else filling in. Dinner was beyond uncomfortable. Jude ate hastily, avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially Drew who was watching her. Her mom tried to spark conversation, recognizing the tension in the room though not knowing why, but quickly gave up. So they all sat there eating in complete silence.
As dinner concluded, Sadie approached Tommy and whispered something in his ear. He looked irritated but rose from his seat and followed her upstairs. Minutes later, as everyone dispersed around the living room, they heard shouting coming from upstairs. Curiosity getting the better of her, Jude took a candle and crept up the stairs. She stood in the doorway of the bathroom outside Sadie's room, where she and Tommy were arguing.
"Just admit it already!"
"There's nothing to admit, Sadie! You're being delusional!"
"I'm not delusional, Tom, and you know it!"
"This is ridiculous. We broke up months ago, why are you rehashing everything?"
"I need closure. I need to hear why we really broke up! What happened downstairs is proof of everything I've thought all along!"
"Proof? That's what you call your little stunt? I have news for you, Sadie, there's nothing to prove! There is nothing between me and Jude! That kiss meant nothing!"
Jude couldn't take it anymore. She had felt the fire rising in her but Tommy's words put her over the edge. She angrily stepped out of the bathroom and into the opening of Sadie's room.
"Nothing? Wow, it's good to know how you really feel, Tom," she said gripping the candle so her anger emanated through the flames. Sadie and Tommy were stunned at her entrance.
"Jude…how did you…" he started.
"It's kind of hard to ignore you two yelling since everyone else is virtually silent," she responded, putting her candle down and crossing her arms tightly. "Please, continue," she urged, looking into his eyes with fury.
"I…I was just…" he mumbled, not sure what to say next.
"You were what? Let me remind you where you left off. You said, and I quote, 'That kiss meant nothing,'" Jude retorted. "Let me guess…your next statement was going to be about forgetting it ever happened, right? Because you seem to be really good at sweeping things under the rug."
Tommy was speechless. He looked tense as he walked towards the window.
"Jude, I don't know what to say…"
Sadie cut in, "News flash, Tom—you can't say it never happened. There are 7 witnesses who would definitely disagree."
He glared at Sadie and then looked back to Jude. "I wasn't going to say that, but I—I don't know how I feel about that kiss."
"Oh good, well, I'm glad we cleared that up," Jude sneered, sitting next to Sadie on the bed.
Tommy started to get frustrated. "Look—whether or not that kiss meant anything isn't even relevant now. Sadie brought me up here to throw her theories at me as to why we broke up months ago—"
"Theories I think Jude should know," Sadie added quickly.
Tommy sighed. "Her theories, are just that, theories. Be my guest, Sadie and tell her--but Jude, you're hearing this from an angry, bitter ex-girlfriend. Not exactly the most reliable source. I refuse to stick around and listen to it again."
At this, he turned to leave. He stopped on his way out and looked at Jude, who still appeared angry but he could tell she was hurt that he had completely avoided the topic of the kiss. He crouched down next to her and said quietly, "We'll talk later, okay?" She nodded and watched him stand up and leave the room.
Jude turned towards Sadie with a confused expression. "What's going on, Sadie?"
There were a few candles lit around the room but Jude could see Sadie was visibly distraught. She had never seen her like this—so unhinged, so vulnerable.
"Jude, you need to know the truth, once and for all."
Jude adjusted to get comfortable. She knew what was coming required her full attention.
"And they're not just theories, I promise. I'm going to start from the beginning," Sadie said, to which Jude nodded giving her the okay to begin.
"When Tommy and I first started going out, things were great. We were happy together and he seemed to really like me. After a couple of weeks, we were in Europe, and things started to change. He changed. He became this distant, isolated guy, totally unlike the Tommy I knew. I tried to talk to him, get him to come shopping or clubbing with me, but nothing. I thought I had done something to upset him, but every time I asked, he brushed it off and said not to worry. When we got back home, things only got worse. You got home too and I basically never saw him. We were still technically together but he wasn't there with me, physically or emotionally. He blamed it on the hours and stress at the studio, but I kept feeling like there was more." Sadie paused, took a deep breath and continued.
"Then one night, I went to meet him at the studio to go to dinner. When I got there, I looked around and found him in one of the studios with you. Instead of going in, I stood outside the door and watched the two of you together. He was teasing you about something and you were both laughing. He looked so alive…so happy. An emotion I hadn't seen in months. I could just tell, in the way that he looked at you, in the way that you looked at each other, there was this warmth there that I never had with him. And that's when it hit me…," she said, feeling tears surface. "It wasn't me he wanted, it was you. It was you all along, I was just the consolation prize." She paused and looked Jude in the eyes, adding, "He's in love with you, Jude."