Arin, Dade, and Levi casually walked into the Stone girls' room. Harmoni and Jewel looked up from what they were doing. "Jade's been adopted," Levi informed them.
Harmoni and Jewel's eyes grew huge. "What? That can't be! Why? To who?"
"The Evans. Somehow Miss Thomas found out that Jade tried to kill herself. Miss Thomas already can't handle Crystal, so if she found out about Jade she would ditch her. They blamed it on Hunter. Jade was about ready to kick his butt."
"This can't be!" Jewel jumped up from her bed. "I'm going to kill whoever narked her out. Even if I did find out that it was your brother." Jewel ran her hand through her hair and shook her head. "No, no… it wasn't him. I think I know who."
"Who?" Levi questioned.
"Arin, you said that Crystal went out with Hunter once, right?"
"Yeah. You don't think she did it 'cause she still likes Hunter, do you?" he asked as he quickly caught onto what she was saying.
"It's only logical. I mean, think about it. Hunter broke up with Crystal. She still likes him, but then this new girl comes along. Hunter acts like he's interested in her. She tries to get her to smoke, knowing Hunter won't do that anymore. Then, when she finds out that Jade tried to kill herself, she tells Miss Thomas and gets her to say Hunter told her. That way, Jade would be ticked off at Hunter and adopted."
Arin smiled. "You are a pure genius."
"Oh. I know." Jewel started to laugh. "You don't have to tell me twice."
Harmoni looked at Dade and signaled for him to leave. He listened, and Harmoni got up and left too. "What's wrong?" Dade asked.
"I heard Crystal talking. She's Miss Thomas's daughter. That's why Miss Thomas won't get rid of her. They both don't like Jade, and that's why they got rid of her so fast."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, and this family that she's going to. They don't live 20 miles away. They live at least 200 or so. Not to mention that, but Mrs. Evans is Miss Thomas's sister. They aren't going to treat Jade right. You have to talk to Hunter. He has to get her out of here. I would go, but I can't leave Jewel or Zoey. I'll tell them what's going on."
"I thought you weren't going to talk to them."
"I'm not. I have my ways, but that's not the point. You need to talk to Hunter and now, with Jade. I'm sure he knows some way to get out of here."
"He does. I'll go talk to him right now." Dade gave Harmoni a kiss on the cheek and ran downstairs to his room.
Hunter still had has head on Jade's shoulder and his arms around Jade. They were just standing there. Not saying a word, and Jade's crying had finally come to an end.
"I hate to interrupt, but I need to talk to you two," Dade said as he shut the door and locked it.
Jade moved away from Hunter and sat on one of the beds. "What is it?"
"You two have to leave. Miss Thomas and Crystal are related. Crystal is Miss Thomas's daughter, and Mrs. Evans is Miss Thomas's sister. The Evans live like 200 miles away. None of them like Jade. The Evans aren't going to treat Jade right. Hunter, you have to take her somewhere away from here."
"Where did you hear this?" Jade asked.
"Harmoni overheard Crystal talking."
"Harmoni told you?"
Dade knew there was no getting around it, but he didn't want to tell Jade that Harmoni had opened up to him and not her. "Don't ask questions. Just get the hell out of here, and you'd do it now if you knew what was good for you."
"I'm so confused!" Jade replied as she shook her head.
"Miss Thomas goes to bed at midnight. Get your stuff packed and leave."
"I'm going to trust you, Dade, but where should we go?" Hunter asked.
"I don't know, but somehow keep in touch without Miss Thomas knowing where you are at. It’s important to me and Harmoni that you do."
Hunter nodded. "Thanks, Dade. We will."
Hunter grabbed his backpack off the top bunk and threw in some things he knew he would need. After that, they headed up to Jade's room. When they got up there, Jewel, Arin, and Levi knew what was going on. Jewel was worried about Jade leaving, but from what Harmoni had told them, she knew that it was for her own good. She cried as she gave her sister a hug good-bye.
At midnight, Jade and Hunter left. Before they actually tried to go anywhere, they went to the hospital to tell Zoey what was going on. "You can fight this. I'll keep in touch, and as soon as I find a place and help, I'll get back to you guys and get you out of here."
"I'll miss you, Jade."
"I'll miss you too, Zoey," she informed her sister as she gave her a hug good-bye.
Once they got outside, Jade looked around. "Where are we going to go?"
"I don't know."
Just then Hunter noticed Chris's gang hanging around down the street. "I have an idea. Come on." Hunter started walking towards them, as a worried Jade followed. Chris got ready to punch Hunter when he saw him.
"Okay, Chris, I know you want to beat the shit out of me. Well, you already had your fun on the both of us. Now what we really need is your help. Please."
"Hmm. I don't know."
"It's against Crystal and her mom."
"Okay, you got our attention. What's up?" For as long as anyone could remember, Chris has always hated Miss Thomas and Crystal.
"Okay, here goes. Miss Thomas and Crystal don't like Jade and want her gone. They got someone to adopt her. Only the people they adopted her to was Miss Thomas's sister. They weren't going to treat Jade right. We have to get as far away from here as we can. How can you help?"
"I have a car. Do you guys know anywhere you want to go?" Chris asked.
"Yeah, my old house in Vermont," Jade stated.
"That's like 2000 miles away," Chris stated.
"I know, but it's the only way."
"Okay. Follow me."
Chris took Jade and Hunter to his house, where Chris packed a bag, left a note to his parents, and got his keys. They all gathered in his cavalier and headed to Vermont. Hunter and Jade sat in the back seat, and Chris and one of his friends sat in the front. As soon as they were out of town, Hunter and Jade were both asleep in the back.
Chapter 5
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