Xave: once Jax figures the kid out he’ll get bored and move on
Jace: I’m not so sure this time
Xave: just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid
Jace: that’s like asking the inmates to run the asylum
Xave: I’m well aware
Jace: and you still trust me to be the adult?
Xave: crazy, I know
Jace: what’s the definition of insanity again? Something about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
Xave: that’s what they say
Jace: fyi that’s not actually the definition and Einstein never said it
Jace: the more you know
Xave: can you at least try not to be a dumbass for the next few days?
Jace: I can *try*
Xave: you’re going to be a dumbass, aren’t you
A meme loads in the text thread of a little girl shrugging her shoulders with an evil-looking grin on her face.
Jace: maaaayyyybe
Xave: how about you try not to do something stupid that I’m going to have to deal with?
Jace: no promises
I wait to see if he has anything else to say, then exit out of my texts and open Instagram.
Curiously, I click on Layan’s profile and check out her stories.
A photo of her and some guy with their arms wrapped around each other at some club loads, then a half dozen more of them giving each other googly eyes at the same club, and finally one of them snuggled up in bed with the words “together again” flashes across my screen. I know they’re recent photos because she’s wearing the same white dress from the text she sent me last night.
Whatever. If she wants to stand me up to get back together with her ex, then that’s a her issue. At least she only has my alternate number, so I don’t have to worry about her bothering me again. I’ll block her number and socials on it when I get a replacement.
Tossing my phone onto the bed beside me, I scrub one hand through my hair.
It’s strange, but the silence and emptiness of my room feel stifling, and I can’t shake the little niggle of unease in the back ofmy mind that’s keeping me on edge and not allowing me to fully relax.
Leaning back on my hands, I let out a heavy sigh and look around the opulently decorated room that includes both a sleeping and sitting area.
On the sleeping side is the bed with a flatscreen TV on the ceiling over it and another on the wall across from it, a set of dressers, two bedside tables, and a massive two-sided electric fireplace encased in a glass wall that separates the two spaces. On the sitting side are a couch, a loveseat, a desk, several chairs, and another flat screen TV tucked into the corner.
The really interesting part of the room is how the glass wall between the bathroom and the bedroom has a feature that changes the glass from frosted to clear with the push of a button, which gives anyone in the bedroom a perfect line of sight into the shower, and of the tub.
I originally booked the room because I thought I’d be using it for more than just a place to crash, and the only reason I even came to town was for the rave—and the promised activities after. But now that Layan has made her choice and the rave is over, there’s no point sticking around.
It's not like I don’t have options of places I could go until school starts again, but my usual go-to of finding a clothing-optional beach and spending my time sipping fancy cocktails and enjoying the nightlife that comes with hedonistic escapes just isn’t appealing right now.
I could go home, or to one of the family vacation homes, but that will just raise questions, and I’d rather not spend the last bit of my holiday under the scrutiny of my family.
