Page 14 of Girl Like Me

“With her medical history they would fight that she is mentally unstable and have her committed again.”

We end the conversation with Lissa there, unable to get much more information out of her. She tells us not to worry, Bristol is safe and once her memory comes back or her father’s case is over then she will be free to do what she wants. It seems from statements others have made, her parents are not the type to actually parent. She warns us that when she gets her memories back she might not want to come back. She may want to keep her socialite status even if that's hard for us to believe. Maybe she is right but until that day we won’t stop fighting for her. We won’t be staying away any longer either, there has to be a way to get her out of there.

“I have an idea.” Maximus says when Lissa retreats to her room. We all turn our attention to him. “If we can find out what JD is a witness for, maybe she can use it to blackmail her father into dropping the case against Rory and protecting his own ass.”

“What if blackmail doesn’t work and he just hurts her?” And Levi has a point, what if it was her father who was involved somehow in her turning up naked and beaten on the beach that night.

“Because the police are on his tail, that tells me they have something on him just not enough for a conviction, so to get your kid locked away is convenient. I’m not convinced he was involved in what happened to her, that would have been a first thought for someone if they had it in them to hurt their own child, we of all people would know that. What if we figure out the what and JD pretends to have her memory back, then she can tell him she will conveniently forget them and her memories in exchange for moving away?”

“That plan in theory sounds good but there are a lot of factors and what if we can’t find out any information.” Levi is always the voice of reason. Maximus turns the laptop screen in our direction. Levi, Rocky and I crowd around to read the newspaper article he found.

We do a google search on Ellis Montgomery and nothing besides high powered cases on his brother Jarva Montgomery pop up.

Montgomery family, underworld, organised crime, rivalry, drug trafficking, contract killing, Loan sharking, illegal gambling.

All words mentioned are in relation to her uncle. We are left stumped with no idea on how we will be able to set any plan into motion with the knowledge we now have. Maximus has a gamer friend he thinks could help us get some information, but it’s illegal and will cost us a pretty penny. Rory picks the perfect time to grace us with his presence.

“Illegal and money, two things I have no issue with.” Normally we would all laugh but his recent kidnapping charges are no joke, even though his lawyer said they don’t have a strong case without any evidence that he actually forced her against her own will.

School goes on break again soon and we plan to find a way to spend it with JD. We have a week to find out as much as we can about her life, her friends and her family. That way we can see if there is anyone we can trust to help. Now we need to go find Mac, if he wants to keep secrets and not get hurt, I think he owes us a little favour and we plan to collect.

Turns out Clarissa was right, my father was ecstatic that I was making plans with her, but his eyes lit up like saucers when I mentioned Chloe. At first, he didn’t know who I was talking about. I texted and asked her what her step fathers name was. Apparently being friends with her could help him make important business connections with her family. I was even allowed to drive, on the condition Carter had to take me out and make sure I hadn't forgotten how to.

Carter took me around the block once and said my driving skills are as bad as they have always been. As long as I use the GPS, I shouldn’t get lost going anywhere. I had a crash course in how to use it since it’s a fancy built-in one on the dash. After dropping him back at the house, I picked up Clarissa and we headed over to Chloe’s. Both their houses are as ridiculously massive as mine. Seems like a waste to have such big houses for a handful of people. More staff are in the house at one time than actual residents.

“I thought you said Chev wasn’t going to be here.” I look at Clarissa and shrug. Chole had said he usually isn’t home, not that he wouldn’t be. Cars line the driveway and music pumps through speakers, but I look around and can’t see where the music is actually coming from. Must be an internal system.

“We won’t be here long anyway; how bad can he be?”

Clarissa laughs as we both jump out of the car. “Chev Abram…hmm let’s see.” She says rubbing her chin. “He got expelled for burning a picture of a dick into the lawns at school, there was the incident with the PE teachers car in the swimming pool that we all know he did but they couldn’t prove, his parents hate him, he drinks and smokes and rumour is that he had a prince albert but no one from around here has ever actually slept with him. Ambrosia says her maid’s daughter was bragging about it. Not to mention he is a complete asshole.”

“Sounds like a big ball of fun.” I joke and she doubles over in laughter. By the time we get to the front door Chloe comes running out in tears.

“Thank god you two are here, Chev and his friends suck.” She lifts her glasses from her face and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.

After readjusting her glasses, she takes my hand and drags me inside the foyer. It’s a massive wide open space, with marble floors and a crystal chandelier that hangs down from the ceiling.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Chev says as he walks down the main stairs. He is dressed in his usual bad boy attire, ripped jeans with a white shirt that moulds to his body and his black leather jacket. “Where is your boyfriend?”

Honestly, I don’t know, I have been avoiding his calls since last night. I half expected him to show up on my doorstep when he realized I was ignoring him, but so far that hasn’t happened. I know that is what the guys would do, they would freak out if I didn’t answer my phone and need to see with their own eyes that I was fine. Apparently, Sebastian and I didn’t have that kind of relationship and I’m okay with that. I had planned to break it off with him anyway, but I don’t know how my family would react to that since my father and his father have practically married us off.

“Probably screwing Lydia.” Clarissa makes a gagging sound and Chloe stays silent, watching our exchange.

“I don’t blame him, you might be the hottest girl at school but you’re a prude. Are you holding out for your knight in shining armour?” Chev asks, pinching his lips together trying not to laugh at his own lame attempt at a joke.

“Hell no, I’m waiting for a superhero actually.” He can’t hold it together this time and full on belly laughs. My heart sinks for a moment thinking about Levi, the conversation we had about him being Superman.

“If you come to your senses and realize villains fuck better you know where I live now.” Chloe chooses that exact moment to take off upstairs, her sobs echoing all the way up. I see the look in Chev’s eyes, he didn’t mean to hurt her but couldn’t stop himself from digging at me. I motion for Clarissa to follow her and she reluctantly follows her up the stairs.

“You’re an idiot.” I snap pushing past him. I turn back and see he is still looking in the direction Chloe took off to. “You don’t deserve someone good like her.”

His gaze snaps to mine, his voice filled with venom. “I know but the kicker is neither do you. Hurt her and I will ruin you.”

“The joke is on you, you seemed to have done that all on your own. Everyone in this stupid place cares more about image than anything else and I for one can’t wait to be gone again. Go do whatever assholes do and leave Chloe alone.”

He doesn’t reply, he just storms off mumbling something about me being a hypocrite. Right now I truly hate Bristol, the world she comes from, the friends she surrounds herself with and the life she has created. I just want to go back to being JD.

I take the stairs two at a time until I reach the top. I wander along the hallway until I hear Clarissa laugh.

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