𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗘𝗦, 𝙅𝙊𝙃𝙉 𝘽 ¹.

𝙭𝙞𝙫. 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙪 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠

( 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙊𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉. )
▬▬▬∘◦ ☆ ◦∘▬▬▬

STUMBLING INTO THE ROSEWOOD HOUSEHOLD, Jaylene immediately rolled her eyes at the handful of people scattered around the living room. Most of them were helping her stepmother get ready for Midsummers and others were just making a complete mess out of the house that had been tidy before their arrival. She had never quite understood why the party was such a huge deal to the people on figure eight. It was a night in which they allowed their arrogance to be shown to the public eye. They might as well wave around the tons of hundred dollar bills their pockets hold.

When she was younger, she enjoyed getting dressed up in a puffy dress that made her feel like a princess, but back then she wasn't aware that Midsummers was nothing but a pathetic excuse to flaunt all the money the residents on the wealthier side of the island obtained.

And to make matters worse, while the kooks were to celebrate later that night, the residents on the cut were still dealing with the drastic aftermath of hurricane Agatha. They'd been left without power since the hurricane struck, and they wouldn't be granted generators due to the lack of income that was received.

"Hey. Did you eat breakfast at the Smith's?" Her fathers voice caused her to grow even more annoyed as he stepped into the living room, adjusting the collar of his button up as he stepped closer to his daughter. This time, she'd thought ahead and asked Andrea to cover for her while she was off in Chapel Hill searching for her mothers belongings. She didn't know how he believed her lies, but it worked and that was all that mattered.

"No. I figured I'd just come home and eat a snack." She brushed shoulders with him as she walked past him, wanting nothing more than to get upstairs and into her room. She did want to confront him about everything she'd discovered, but she wanted to get cleaned up first. Hotels always made her feel gross.

"Whatcha got in the box?" Henderson raised a brow up at Jaylene, curiously staring at the box that was tightly gripped in the brunettes arms. The name Marleen H.R. that was written in black permanent marker was facing Jaylene's stomach, not allowed to be seen by the public.

Jaylene thought for a few seconds, hoping a convincing lie would manage to spew from her lips. And it did. "Just some stuff I left over there when Jason and I were still together." Even she was surprised with how honest her response sounded. She was a horrible liar to begin with, but she'd managed to convince him that she was in fact telling the truth.

"We're leaving at six. Be ready before that." He planted a kiss on her cheek, unable to see the death glare she sent in his direction at the action. He had no idea how chaotic and heartbreaking that night would end up being, but for now, the Rosewoods would continue being the picture perfect family that everyone knew them as.

Without a second thought crossing her mind, Jaylene shot her father the fakest smile before rushing up to her room to place the box on top of her bed. Then, she made her way across the hallway and pounded on the wooden door that led into Nathaniel's bedroom. Music was loudly blaring from the speakers he had installed, causing her to roll her eyes before pushing the door open, letting out a sigh of relief that she hadn't walked into something she wasn't supposed to.