Page 25 of Steel & Jenna
2 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, 4 DAYS
Jenna was running late. Wanting to go home to change before her date with Jack, she’d left school immediately after the final bell. She was going to need to get a ride from someone to get to Mrs. Zarin’s house on time. But she just couldn’t decide what to wear!
Frustrated, she did a full turn in the mirror. The off-white sweater was adorable and accentuated her small breasts nicely, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to wear a turtleneck. Wasn’t… A movie meant making out, right? Was wearing a turtleneck an unspoken sign that shedidn’twant to make out tonight? Because she did! At least, until the movie started. Jenna tended to get cold easily, so she thought wearing pants was better than wearing a skirt. But her mom had always told her that girls wear skirts on dates, to school, and to church.
“So who is he?”
Jenna jumped at the voice in her room. She’d been concentrating so hard on her own reflection that she hadn’t noticed Carolyn in the doorway behind her. “Wh-what?” Jenna stammered. “Who’s who?”
In the nearly two months since the permanent move to Port Townsend, Jenna had barely seen her family. They were busy with adult things, like work and getting the house remodeled as a residence instead of a vacation home. She’d been spending her time with Jack and Lilly when she wasn’t in school. Truthfully, she hadn’t minded the distance.
Jenna knew from the moment she’d met Jack and felt that irreversible bond developing between them that her parents would not approve. But Jenna was also a shit liar. She’d been able to get away with keeping her relationship with Jack a secret from them only because they hadn’t been around to ask her how her day was.
Carolyn straightened off of the doorframe, coming into Jenna’s room. Her dark outfit, dyed hair, and makeup were a sharp contrast to the bedroom’s décor. Jenna had chosen lovely cornflower blue for her walls, white furniture, and a flax and beige accent, including her comforter and pillows. Her mom had insisted Jenna change the style of her room now that they were living in the large home. Jenna had agreed, but added the stipulation that her old furniture and décor would go to a family in need.
The personal designer her mom had hired to decorate Jenna’s bedroom had transformed the four hundred square foot room from the original nautical theme to a vibrant sunshine theme without being overbearingly bright. Jenna could not deny the woman was very talented at her job. Jenna’s ensuite bathroom made her think of sunflower fields every time she stepped inside. The large walk-in closet was also filled with the latest fashions, though Jenna rarely went shopping. Her mother’s personal shopper had Jenna’s sizes and also picked up clothing for her when she visited.
Jenna didn’t care for many of the styles the woman purchased, so her closet was filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of unused clothing. It was such a waste in Jenna’s opinion, but her mother would never hear a protest from her lips. The battle was not worth it, because she wouldn’t win.
Unlike Carolyn.
In years past, Carolyn had been the stereotypical preppy girl. Nothing was good enough and she couldn’t spend their father’s money fast enough. Since being forced to move to Port Townsend, Carolyn had changed, not only her tune, but also her style. Anything their mom’s personal shopper had purchased for her had either been destroyed or dyed black, or both. The pentagram tattoo Carolyn had put on her neck was just the tip of the ways she was rebelling against their parents. Numerous piercings had been added to her face, including both eyebrows, her nose, her lip, and the shells of her ears. Black nail polish now covered her fingers and an upside down cross was tattooed to her right palm.
Black lipstick and heavy eyeliner made her skin appear paler thannormal. Carolyn had also started sleeping the days away and would only come out at night. She was threatening to have fang implants put in her teeth if their parents didn’t change their minds about her trust fund. In Jenna’s personal opinion, if their father would take away Carolyn’s current allowance, she wouldn’t have the money to continue to destroy her body because her sister didn’t know a thing about saving and spent her allowance in its entirety each month.
But Jenna had been staying out of it. She did not want to get between her parents and Carolyn. Mostly because she did not want to risk being sent back to Seattle. Jenna much preferred the small town life to big city living—and not just because of a dark-haired boy with gunmetal-gray eyes that had stolen her heart.
“You have a date tonight,” Carolyn said with accusation. She’d barely spoken to Jenna since they moved to Port Townsend. While Jenna wasn’t sure what the old Carolyn would say about Jenna dating a boy not of their financial class and social standing, this new Carolyn might have a very different opinion. It seemed her new mission in life was to doeverythingin her power to piss off their parents.
But that new motto could work for or against Jenna. While she might support Jenna’s relationship with Jack to spite their parents, she could just as easily throw Jenna to the wolves because it would upset their parents more to have both daughters be disobedient.
Jenna wasn’t sure she could risk it. Right now, she was under her parents’ radar. If Carolyn brought Jack to their attention, she would not remain that way.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Whatever she was wearing was good enough. She needed to get going, anyway. Jenna grabbed her purse and headed towards the door, but Carolyn stepped in her path.
Her sister’s dark lined eyes narrowed. “Who is he?”
Jenna swallowed hard. “No one. I’m… I’m meeting some girlfriends.”
A snort was accompanied by a smirk. “You can’t lie for shit, Jen. Who is he?”
Jenna bit her lip, unsure what to say or do. She was alreadyrunning late. Without getting a ride, she was going to miss dinner. Would Jack think she was standing him up?
“Look, I’m know I’m a bitch, but I do care about you. A lot of guys only see dollar signs when they look at us.” The change in her sister’s tone was completely unexpected. Carolyn almost sounded…nice. Like a protective big sister. “So I’m going to ask you again, who is he?”
Was it an act? What if her sister just wanted information so she could run to tell Mom and Dad? But she also needed to end this conversation so she could leave. “His name is Jack.”
Jack was a generic name. There were millions of ‘Jack’s in the world.
Carolyn, though, wasn’t fooled. She snapped her fingers like a command. “Come on, Jenna. I need to know more than that. Who is he, where does he live, does he actually like you or is he just using you…?”
Jenna’s eyes narrowed. “If he’s just using me, how would I know?”
“Trust me,” Carolyn rolled her eyes. “You’re a smart cookie. Even if a bit naive. There’d be something in your gut telling you that it’s too good to be true or that he’s playing you. Something you’re choosing to ignore because he’s the ‘hottest guy in school’,” she mocked.
In her opinion, Jackwasthe hottest guy in school. But she knew a lot of girls would disagree with that because he wasn’t on the hockey team or the swim team. Especially with the rumors around town about his family. People could be so vindictive. It was pathetic and sad.
While girls like Mindy cared about appearance over anything else, Jenna saw who Jack was at his core. The protector.
