I was confused overwhelmed, perplexed. I didn't understand how I felt at that point but I was sure of one thing, I was used.
I put my clothes back on and headed inside to find Jodie.
When I found Jodie, she was sitting on the porch steps with a girl I didn't know, her head tilted, their hands just barely touching.
She caught my eye, smirked, and mouthed, "Told you I was gay."
I gave her a weak smile and yes for a second I could admit she sensed something was wrong with me. She felt something was off.
That night, as we crawled back into our bunks just before dawn, I whispered,
"You really know how to live recklessly."
"You really know how to kiss," she whispered back with a grin.
We lay in silence for a while
"Is there something you want to tell me, Elle?" Jodie asked,eyeing me carefully.
"Like what?" I tried to sound casual, brushing it off.
"I don't know... anything? You seem a little off." Her tone was gentle but curious.
I hesitated, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.
"Well… I, uh… I had sex," I finally said, barely meeting her eyes.
"Wait...what?!" Jodie shot up, eyes wide with surprise.
"Yeah, Jodie. I did," I said, my voice distant, gaze fixed somewhere far off.
"And…? Elle, you're totally holding back. Spit it out already!"
"Alright, alright, 'Mum,'" I smirked, trying to lighten the tension.
"We had sex. I had sex with Jake. It was…" I trailed off.
"Wait...Jake... Jake?" Her brows knitted in concern.
"Yeah. Do you know him?"
She groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Jake is a bitch,Elle. A full-time bastard. Damn he fucked you? Seriously?"
"Yeah," I nodded quietly.
"Oh God, Elle... this is bad."
"How's that bad ?, it was nice not until he kept going eally deep and left me out naked after nutting in me" I said rolling my eyes.
"He did it inside you Elle?, we have to get a morning pill first thing tomorrow morning, You know that right?" She asked searching my face.
She pulled me back to her attention, I was lost in thoughts.
"I do... but what exactly is so bad about Jake sleeping with me?" I asked, genuinely confused.
Jodie sighed, her tone blunt but not unkind.
"Elle, he's a fuckboy. Like, certified. And right now? He's probably out there bragging to every guy he knows about how he nailed the
famous blonde girl in the foster home."
Her words hit me like a slap.
I shouldn't have let Jake touch me.
What the hell was I thinking?
The weight of it sank into me so fast, I froze...staring into nothing, lost in a spiral of regret and confusion.
"Elle?" Jodie called softly.
"Elle? Hey, stop overthinking this, okay? It's...Elle!"
She shook my arm gently, snapping me back to reality.
I blinked, startled.
I didn't even realize I'd zoned out.
"Oh yeah, what were you saying....?" Trying to catch up with what i missed.
"Did anyone see you two" she asked
"See us having sex? No. No one did, it was just us at the
balcony" I told her.
She sighed.
"That's good then, if anything happens, deny having sex with Jake", she told me laying back down on her bed.
I nodded in agreement
Jodie..." I called softly.
"Yeah?" she turned to face me, already halfway under her blanket.
"I saw someone at the party tonight… someone really, really handsome."
"Okay... and?" she raised a brow, waiting.
"Do you happen to know who he was? He stood out...probably the most beautiful guy there."
Jodie yawned, stretching with a lazy grin.
"I don't think so, Elle. I was too busy checking out the hot girls, not the guys." She winked, already burrowing into her sheets.
"Goodnight, Elle."
"Night, Jodie."
But even after everything that happened tonight…
I couldn't shake his face from my mind. That hauntingly
beautiful stranger.
My Night Angel.
Maybe tonight was the first and last time I'd ever see him.
"I've warned you too Nuggets never to lock this damned door, haven't I?!!!"
I woke up to the old lady banging at our door .
I locked the door and I'm glad I did.
"The old lady's gonna give herself high blood pressure if she keeps screaming over every damn thing," Jodie muttered, lounging casually on the edge of her chair, a book resting in her lap.
Without looking up, she tossed something my way.
"Here, Elle."
I caught the morning pill mid-air and slipped it into the pocket of my pyjamas, not even asking how she got it before I was awake. It was Jodie...some things didn't need questioning.
"I'm gonna get the door," I said, padding over.
When I opened it, the silver-haired woman stared at me without a word, stepped right into our room, scanned the place like she was on a mission, and then looked at Jodie.
"Someone's here to see you."
Jodie, who hadn't spared her a single glance until then, froze mid-page. Her eyes lifted sharply, meeting both mine and the old woman's with a puzzled look.
Without another word, she shut the book and tossed it aside, rising quickly to her feet.
I trailed behind as she rushed out of the room.
And there she was...a woman standing in the hallway.
Something in the way Jodie's steps faltered told me everything.
I think... it was her mother.