I tried talking to Brice today in the hallway, but he shut me out. He told me that it wasn't the right time, and he walked away.

Thanksgiving break was over, and he was still being weird. If there was anyone who should have been avoiding someone, it was me. He was the one who was a jerk. What a waste because he could have been spending some alone time with me.

Daddy and Janice went on a cruise to the Bahamas for four days, so I had the house all to myself starting today.

After my Key club meeting, I waited for Jax at the vending machine. At lunch, he told me to wait for him, and I sat next to him at lunch. Brice didn't seem to mind since he barely spoke to me.

"Hey." Jax came into my line of vision, and I smiled. "You okay? That tension between you and Brice..."

I groaned. "I know." He tilted his head and examined my hair. "What?"

"Nice braids," he said. "I meant to point it out earlier at lunch, but the whole Brice thing was too uncomfortable. Did you get them done over break?"

I nodded. "I needed a change. I switched my extensions out for box braids."

"Nice," he said. "I like it. Wait, you wore extensions?"

"Duh," I said. "You think my hair was that long?"

"It looked real."

"It's supposed to," I said. "Only cheap extensions look fake."

Jax frowned. "Not everyone has money for authentic extensions, Estella. It's not a matter of wanting to look tacky. Sometimes, it's a matter of finances."

He had a point. "Thank you for reminding me of that," I said. "And also, thank you for not feeling entitled to touch my hair."

He raised a brow. "Why would I do that?"

"You'd be amazed by how many people have touched my hair so far."

Then again, it was mostly girls who did it.

"Well, that's rude," Jax said. "I sure as hell wouldn't want someone running their fingers through my hair."

"Oh, really?" I moved closer with my gaze locking in on his. "What if you're making out? What then?"

He ran his thumb along his bottom lip. "That's a different story." His voice was lower, and it was kind of sexy. He continued to stare at me. "Estella, can we talk?"

"About?"

I knew what he was referring to, but I wanted to know what he was going to say.

"The kiss," he said. "Well, the almost kiss. What do you think?"

Jax was amazing. He was an attractive guy. He was intelligent, kind, kind of mysterious but he was opening up. I was comfortable around him, but at the same time, he provoked certain feelings out of me. No one made me feel the way Jax did.

Then there was Brice. I had always wanted Brice, and I was finally close to having him. Until recently, of course. But I was closer than I'd ever been. We were just getting to know each other. If something happened between me and Jax, Brice and I would be over.

Then again, since when was there something between me and Jax.

I said this, but staring into his brown eyes brought out those feelings again. "What do you think? You're Mr. No-Touching."

"I don't mind touching the girls I'm interested in."

I exhaled. "Are you interested in me?"

"I don't know what's going on," he said. "I don't know what to think."

"So your answer is, you don't know?"

Wow. That wasn't reassuring.

He sighed. "This is hard for me, Estella."

"Yes, because you're so used to girls like Sabrina Fraser and Ximena," I said. "I'm not those girls, Jax."

"I know," he said. "I'm reminded of that every time I'm around you. That's the hard part."

"Are they better than me?"

"That's not what I'm saying," he said. "This is really difficult." He rubbed his hands down his face. "Everything is new and different."

I spotted Brice walking past us. "You're conflicted," I told Jax. "While you figure that out, I'm gonna go talk to Brice."

"Estella."

I walked past him and jogged towards Brice. That wasn't what I expected. All he had to do was answer a simple question. Was he interested in me? He couldn't give me that, and I was supposed to leave Brice for uncertainty? I didn't think so.

"Brice." I grabbed his arm to capture his attention, and he glanced my way. Then he looked forward. "Brice, what's your problem?"

We walked side by side with his focus ahead. "I don't have a problem." 

"Why are you avoiding me?" I asked. "Why aren't you talking to me?"

"Not everything is about you, Estella." We walked outside.

"Then why are you avoiding me?" We crossed the road and walked up the stairs. "Who else is this about?"

"None of your business," he said, but I continued to follow him to his car. "Why are you following me, anyway?"

We stopped at the BMW, and the car separated us. "You're a jerk," I said. "I may be a sophomore. I may not be as popular as you, but I will not take this disrespect. I'm not Sabrina Fraser. I will not allow a man to treat me like garbage. I have a father who shows me how I'm supposed to be treated, and I will not accept anything less. You need to get your act together Brice or I'm walking away, and I'm not looking back."

He didn't say anything at first, so that was my cue. I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm. "Wait," he said, and I turned around. "Let's go for a drive."

I crossed my arms. "Isn't there anything else you wanna say?"

He pulled me towards him, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry. For being a jerk. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

I held my expression. I wasn't going to give in that easily and start giggling like a schoolgirl just because he was apologizing. I didn't want him to think he could be a jerk as long as he apologized afterwards.

It wasn't okay, and I deserved better than that.

"Don't do it again." I pushed him back. "I'm not that girl who you can treat like trash, and who's gonna keep coming back for more."

"I won't," he said. "Can we just go on that drive? There's something I need to tell you. Something I need to tell someone."

"Okay." I walked over to the passenger side of the vehicle, and we climbed in.

Brice blasted the AC again, but I was feeling courageous, and I asked him to turn it down a bit. He did, and I was a lot more comfortable.

I couldn't keep letting Brice get his way, out of fear of turning him off. We both had to be satisfied, and it was time I started acting like it.

We went to QT, and Brice bought us hotdogs and slushies. We listened to his favorite rap station while munching on the food and downing our slushies. We didn't speak, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

Brice wasn't Jax, but he was okay.

We drove around for a bit until we were done with our hotdogs, and not long after, he parked the BMW near a local convenient store. He killed the engine but left the AC on, and he lowered the radio.

Then he turned in his seat to face me. "There's something I've been keeping a secret from everyone." I turned in my seat to face him, too. "If I tell you, you'll probably think it's stupid, but it really bothers me."

From his facial features alone, I could tell it did. "You can tell me anything."

He pressed his lips together before saying, "My mom has schizoaffective disorder."

My eyes widened, but I returned them to their normal size. "Like schizophrenia?"

"Kind of," he said. "Schizoaffective disorder is a combination of psychosis and mood disorders. So my mom specifically, pretty much has psychosis and bipolar disorder together."

"Wow."

"Her schizophrenic symptoms are more continuous," he said. "Her bipolar symptoms are more episodic."

"Does she take meds?"

"She does," he said. "She takes medication and goes to therapy, but it's really bad. She keeps having more episodes. She keeps having more psychosis. She's not home much because she spends so much time in the psych ward and in partial hospitalization programs. Even though she's not home much, I still don't want my friends coming to my house."

"Why, Brice?"

"I don't know." He released a breath. "That's something about my private life that I don't want to connect with my social life. I only invited you guys over that time because I knew for a fact she wouldn't show up. Every other time, even when she's in the psych ward, I'm afraid she'll show up, and I'm afraid I'll finally have to face it. I know I sound like an awful son for that."

"You're not."

"She's not always the way she is," he said. "Sometimes she looks and acts normal when her treatment plan is just right, but usually, something fucks it up again. She can't work. She can't really function. It sucks, and the worst part is, she's attempted suicide three times now."

"Oh my God."

"Every attempt occurred either during a depressive episode or a mixed episode. It's like my dad and I are just waiting for the day she actually succeeds."

I smacked his arm. "Brice, don't say that."

"What else are we supposed to wait for?" he asked. "Why did my mom have to have such a severe case? Why couldn't she be one of those high-functioning people with schizoaffective disorder? According to my dad, she was a very successful woman, and then this illness came in her late twenties, out of nowhere. It's not fair. I don't even feel like I have a mother."

"Brice." I opened the car door and moved around to the driver's side. He opened his door and got out, and I wrapped my arms around him. "I'm sorry."

He hugged me back. "Oliver always complains about having too many women in his life. At least he has his mom, even his annoying sisters. The only real women in my life are my girlfriends." He pulled back to send me a sad smile. "Apparently, I don't even know how to treat them right."

I pulled him in for another hug. "I'll make you treat me right."

He chuckled. "Don't tell Velasco this. I don't want anyone to know, not even the boys. At least, not yet. I know I shouldn't be embarrassed of my own mother, but it's complicated."

Brice and Jax made things more complicated than they should have been.

"I'm not judging you." I rubbed his back while he played with the ends of my braids.

"I like your new hair."

I smiled. "Thanks."

He chuckled and held me tighter, and we didn't say a word for a couple seconds. I liked Jax. I couldn't deny it anymore, but he was unsure. I'd always liked Brice, and he was sure.

Right now, the choice was obvious.

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* What do you guys think about Jax and Estella's talk? Estella confronting Brice? Bruce's confession? Any predictions for the future?

* You guys are going to like the next chapter. I just know it. 😁