Loving You (The Jade Series #3) (29 page)

Harper quickly gets up, taking her tray with her. “Let’s go. I need to show you something.”

I follow her to her room. “I’ve got class in a half hour. What is it?”

She goes to a stack of magazines on her desk, sorts through them, then hands me four of them.

“I thought you would’ve already seen those, or at least heard about them, but you didn’t say anything at lunch. They all came out last week. I got them to take over to Sean’s so I’d having something to read while he was cooking. But when I bought them I didn’t even notice what was on the covers. And then later I saw the photos and well…you’ll see.”

The first magazine has a photo of Ava along with some other girls. The cover blurb reads,
Inside! Sneak Peek at the Prep School Girls’ Reunion Special.
I look at the next magazine which has a small photo of Ava at the very bottom. This time it’s a close-up of her face and the words next to it read,
Are the romance rumors true? Find out inside!
The third magazine has just the Prep School Girls’ Reunion logo in the corner with the words,
Get the latest on Ava and Garret! p. 26.
The last magazine has a photo of Ava and Garret together. It looks like a high school prom photo and the headline reads,
“Will they get back together?”

“These all came out last week?” I ask.

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry about it. By next week everyone will have forgotten all about it. And it’s not like any of that stuff is true.”

“I know it’s not true, but it’s still out there. And people believe it.”

“On second thought, you don’t need to read those.” She tries to take the magazines from me but I won’t let her. I have to see what lies they’re spreading. “Jade, just forget it. I only showed you so you’d know what’s going on in case you heard people talking about it.”

I flip through the magazine that had the prom photo on it. Inside is a page-long story about Ava and Garret. There’s a pull-quote from Ava in the middle of the page:
Garret was my first love. I never should’ve let him go.

“First love? Garret never told me they dated. Why would he keep that a secret?”

“Jade, I’m sure it’s a lie. And if it’s not, then so what? They dated in high school. Big deal.”

“It
is
a big deal because he should’ve told me. It would explain why Ava acts so possessive over him. Listen to what she said about him. ‘Garret and I started dating when we were 15. From the first time we kissed, I knew that I loved him. Garret loved me, too, but he wouldn’t admit it so we broke up. We dated again senior year during the filming of Prep School Girls and then he ended it, even though I knew he still loved me. But get ready Garret fans, because the Kensington boy may finally be realizing that our love is meant to be.’”
 

I toss the magazine on the floor. “What the hell? And she seriously thinks people will believe this?”

“I know it sounds bad, but she’s just saying that to get people to watch the show. It’s probably in her contract. Everyone knows those reality shows aren’t real. And Garret won’t even be on the reunion episodes.”

“Which means that Ava can say whatever she wants about him and he won’t be there to defend himself! And the producers will make it look like she’s telling the truth. Garret said that last year the show edited videos of him to make it look like he was dating Ava. But he wasn’t. He said he barely talked to her in high school.” I hold up the magazine with the prom photo. “But he obviously went to prom with her. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that. Why would he go to prom with someone he claims he didn’t even talk to? And why didn’t Ava say anything? All this time she could’ve been rubbing it in my face.”

“So there’s proof she’s lying. She wouldn’t say that stuff in front of Garret because she knows he’d say it’s not true.” Harper hesitates, eyeing the stack of magazines. “Either that or she purposely wanted you to find out now, right before the show starts. Maybe she’s hoping to get a reaction from you. Those shows love to create drama.”

I pick up the other three magazines and flip through them. Two of them feature the other girls on the show with just a paragraph about Ava. But the last one is all about Ava and Garret, along with quotes from fans about what a cute couple they make and how Garret is super hot. There’s even a sidebar with stats about Garret, half of which aren’t even true.

 
“His major is business, not pre-law,” I say, reading through the list of lies. “And he’s not a surfer. He’s taken a few lessons. That’s it. And listen to this. It says that Garret wants to be a senator someday. He hates politics.” I toss the magazine on the floor. “It’s like the producers are trying to make Garret into a character for the show without his involvement.”

“That’s how these shows work. They’re not at all reality. They just pretend to be. And they make up stuff to get ratings.”

I get up to leave, taking the magazines with me. “Can I borrow these? I have to show them to Garret.”

“You can have them, but Jade, don’t get mad at him about this. This is all Ava’s doing and the producers of the show.”

“I won’t get mad at him. I’m just going to ask him if any of this is true.”

“You already sound mad. And if you get mad at Garret, you’ll only be doing what Ava wants you to do. She’s trying to break you two up. You can’t let her do that.”

“I’ll see you later. I have to get to class.”
 

I take the magazines back to my room, then grab my backpack and head to physics.
 

“How was your weekend?” Carson is already in class, early as usual, and in way too good a mood.
 

I drop my backpack, causing a thump as my textbook hits the floor. “It was fine.”

“Doesn’t sound fine. You sound pissed. Did something happen with Garret? You guys didn’t break up, did you? Because that would really suck on Valentine’s Day weekend.”

I look at him, noticing how he almost seems happy when he says it. “No, the weekend was great. Really great. I’m just in a bad mood about something else.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. Just forget it.” I reach down to get my book out, wishing I hadn’t come to class so early. “So how was your weekend? Did you take Kerry out?”

“Yeah, we went out for dinner Sunday night. What did you and Garret do?”

I don’t want to tell him, but I know he’ll keep asking until I do. “We went out of town to a hotel that overlooks the ocean.”

“Did he give you those earrings?”

I feel my ears, noticing the diamond studs. “Yeah, he did give me these.”

“Must be nice to have that kind of money. I could only afford dinner. But Kerry didn’t seem to care. It’s not like she expected a gift or anything.”

“What are you trying to say? That I expected a gift? Because that’s not like me at all. I tell Garret all the time not to buy me stuff. He just surprised me with these.”

“I wasn’t trying to imply anything. It was more of a comment about Kerry. I like that she’s not all materialistic. I like that about you, too. But since you’re not that way, I’m surprised that you’re okay with Garret giving you those earrings. That’s a really expensive gift.”

Here we go again. Carson’s gone weeks without putting down Garret and now here he is, trying to make me feel like Garret’s a bad boyfriend for buying me diamond earrings. Like he’s trying to buy my love.

“Let’s not talk about this. I told you to stop saying bad things about Garret and you keep doing it anyway.”

“I’m not talking bad about Garret. I’m just wondering where he gets all his money. He doesn’t have a job, so does he have a trust fund? Or does his dad give him money?”

“I don’t know. And I really don’t care.”

“I’m just saying, if I were him, I’d want to earn the money to buy my girlfriend a gift. Not use my dad’s money.”

“Okay, seriously? Did you not just hear yourself? That was a total dig at Garret. Why do you care so much about where he gets his money or what he spends it on? It’s none of your business.”

Class is starting, which is perfect timing because I was just about ready to scream at Carson. I’m finally moving past the whole money issue with Garret and now Carson’s shoving it front and center in my mind again. He’s hitting all my buttons today and I think he knows that which infuriates me even more.
 

After class, he follows me out. “We need to meet about our paper for lab. We have to turn in the outline this week and the paper is due next week.”

“Yeah. I know. I read the syllabus.” I walk fast and don’t look at him.

“So? When should we meet? Tonight? We could meet after dinner.”

“I don’t think so. We should meet during the day.”

“Come on, Jade. It’s homework. It’s not a date. I have a girlfriend. And it’s the only time I can meet before the outline is due.”

“Fine. We’ll meet tonight at 7 at the library.”

“We can’t talk at the library. Why don’t we just grab dinner somewhere and we’ll talk over dinner?”

“Sounds like a date to me.”

“Garret won’t let you eat with anyone but him? I can’t believe you put up with that. You don’t seem like that type of girl.”

Now he’s really pushing my buttons. And even though I know that’s what he’s doing, I still go along with it. “And what type of girl is that, Carson?”

“The girl who lets her boyfriend tell her what to do.”

“So you wouldn’t have a problem if Kerry went to dinner with some other guy?”

“No, not at all.”

We’re now at my dorm and I stop abruptly when I reach the door. “Tonight at 7. I’ll reserve one of the study rooms in the library so we can talk. I’ll text you with the room number.” I don’t wait for him to respond. I just go inside and down to my room. As I fumble with my key, Garret appears.
 

“Need some help?” He kisses my cheek, then takes the key from me and opens the door.
 

“What are you doing down here?”

He laughs. “What kind of a greeting is that? Can’t I stop down and see my girlfriend?”

“Yes. I just wasn’t expecting to see you.” I throw my backpack on the floor along with my jacket. “I thought you had class.”

“Not for another hour.” He reaches for my hand, but I move it away, pretending to adjust some papers on my desk.

“What was that for?”

“What? I’m just cleaning up a little. My desk is a mess.”

He reaches around my waist this time, pulling me into him. “What’s wrong with you? Are you mad at me or something?”

“No.” I try to squirm away.

“Jade, what the hell? We just had a great weekend. Why are you mad at me? I didn’t do anything.”

I break free from him and pick up the magazines sitting on the floor. “This is why.” I hand them to him.

“You’re mad at me about some magazines?” He takes them over to my bed and sits down. “I had nothing to do with this. I told you these things are all lies.”

“Then how do you explain the prom photo? Did you take Ava to prom? You made it sound like you two weren’t even friends in high school.”

He holds up the magazine. “This was a group photo. Ava was standing next to me and they cropped it so it would look like we were together. I didn’t take her to prom.”

I feel like an idiot, but then I remember Ava’s comment about dating him. “So you two never dated? Even when you were 15? That was all just a lie?”

He sets the magazines down. “We
did
date when we were 15. But only for a month, if that.”

“And you didn’t think you should tell me this?”

“I didn’t think about it until you brought it up. I was drinking a lot back then. I barely even remember dating her.”

“You didn’t . . . you know, do anything with her, did you? I mean, you were only 15 so—”

His eyes shift down to the floor.

“Garret, please tell me you didn’t sleep with her.”
 

He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t need to.
 

“You slept with Ava?”
 

Anger is growing inside me so fast I feel like I’m losing all control over it. I need to get it out of me. I need to run. It’s cold out, but I have to get rid of this anger. I go to my drawer and pull out a sports bra and my running pants.

Garret meets me at the dresser. “Jade, just let me explain.”

“What’s there to explain? You slept with the girl I hate more than anyone else at this school.” I turn my back to him and rip my shirt off. I quickly switch bras, then yank my jeans off and try to maneuver my legs into the tiny opening of my running pants.
 

“Would you just stop for a second?” He spins me around and puts his hands on my shoulders. “It was a long time ago. I wasn’t even the same person back then.”

My tight running pants are nearly impossible to get on from a standing position and it’s even harder when Garret’s holding me down like this. My pants aren’t even up to my knees when he scoops me up and places me on the bed, sitting me up against the headboard.