Chapter 3- Jay

Jay, Alexa and Zoey were all at his house; his parents were out of town for the next few weeks, so he had the place to himself. Alexa had called him last night, in tears, saying something about her brother. He hadn't been able to make out all the words, but she hardly cried for anything, so he knew it must have been important. He'd also called Zoey over, knowing she would also be able to help Alexa.

He handed her a mug of hot chocolate. He hadn't seen her like this- she was sad, her hair was messy and down. She kept leaning on Zoey, and tears would go down her face.

"Alexa.. What's wrong?" He asked, sitting beside his friend on the couch. She couldn't seem to talk right.. Blubbering out anything. Zoey grabbed her girlfriend's hands. "Lexi, calm down." She looked right into Alexa's blue eyes, "Just tell us what happened, alright?"

She let out a shaky breath, and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes. "Yesterday… in class…" She kepts breaking off in sobs. Jay didn't know if he was worried, or scared, or a combination of both. "Ms. Jackson got a phone call from… from the police."

Jay gave her a hug. He knew her father was abusive- did he go to jail? Why would she be crying about that? He knew, something else must have gone wrong. Something must be wrong.

"Lexi, did something happen to your dad?" Zoey asked, as if reading Jay's thoughts. Alexa broke out into a short, sad laugh. "Hell no, I wish." She said. She took another deep breath, and it clicked.

"Oh no.. It's something with Max, isn't it?" Jay asked. Alexa nearly broke down, she crumpled up, trying to hold herself up.

"He's dead," She hissed. "They say he was sick, but I know better than that. I know he killed Max. I know he did it. They say he's innocent, but I know he's not.." she broke off, her anger flaring. She was sad-furious, and honestly, it was slightly scary.

"Your dad killed him? You think?" Jay asked, trying to think. He knew how badly he was, but could he really murder Max?

"I know!" Alexa shouted, making Jay flinch. "I Know what he did! And if I go back, I'm next!"

Jay put a hand on her shoulder. "The camping trip is tomorrow, you'll be away then. And you can stay here, Alexa."

She looked at him, her eyes the saddest he'd ever seen. "Really? I can stay here?" She didn't wait for a response, and gave Jay a quick hug. She wiped her tears, trying to calm down once more.

"Thank you Jay.. I just.. Need to calm down." She said, giving him a small, and clearly forced smile. Zoey stood, grabbing Alexa's hand, and pulled her up, and off the couch. Jay stood as well, leading the two of them upstairs, and towards the bedroom right beside his. It was the extra bedroom his parents used for guests, it was painted a sky blue, with a white bed frame and dresser, a blue and white matching chair sitting by the desk. Alexa looked at it, turning in circles.

"I've never seen something so.. Clean…" She said, tracing her fingers along the wood of the dresser.

Zoey let herself fall onto the bed, grabbing Alexa's arm and dragging her down as well. As she hit the mattress, her eyes lit up. "Holy shit, this is comfortable! Is this what everyone sleeps on!?"

Jay laughed, sitting on the bed beside his two best friends. "Yeees, what do YOU sleep on?"

"The floor, mostly. My bed feels like a rock, and doesn't have a single blanket. This is… amazing." Alexa said honestly. Jay was glad he was able to get her mind off her little brother.

"Oh, I wanted to invite Daniel over, if you don't mind?" He looked pointedly at Alexa, who had a habit of strongly hating anyone who wasn't Max, Zoey, or Jay.

"I thought you guys broke up?" Alexa said, sounding genuinely confused. Jay froze, and slowly shook his head. "No.. we haven't. Why?"

"I, er…" She looked at Zoey for help, not knowing what to say. Zoey simply stared, wide-eyed, and confused. Alexa snorted. "Zoey and I went to the mall the other day… and well, we saw Daniel there. With a girl."

Jay shot up. "What?" He shouted, "He was cheating on me? Seriously? With a girl?"

"With Ashley, Jay. I KNEW something was wrong! Grrrr, he looked so guilty when he saw me! I should have beat his ass right there!" She said, her temper flaring again.

"Well, you didn't! And that's good because you could have gone to jail!" Zoey protested. Alexa glared at her. "Well at least he would have earned his lesson! That little-"

"Alexa, it's fine," Jay said, not honestly. "Really, I… I didn't expect him to…" He stopped right there, feeling the sob rising in his throat. He didn't finish his sentence, and he didn't need to. The three of them sat on the bed, staring at the painted walls, none of them making a sound.