POV: Jade

I sigh and set my bags down by the front door. I know I have to face them sooner or later, but I really don't want to. I took a few days off from work after that disaster of an interview to just center myself again and calm down a bit.

It's all over social media, trending for days. People coming to my defense in spades. Other talk shows commenting on it. I had to log off social media for a while. I just want peace, quiet, and time to think.

Not to mention the other bombshell. Kenzie called me out of nowhere and told me Darleen proposed to her and she said yes this time. Apparently, it was Darleen's plan all along, that's why she took Kenzie to London for the summer. 

I pretended I was happy for her, and I really wanted to be, but it just hurt so bad. It reminded me of how happy I was when Skylar proposed to me.

Kenzie and I ended up fighting after I told her I thought she was taking things too fast with Darleen. She ended up confessing to me that she and Darleen had actually had an argument over whether or not Darleen still had feelings for Aphrodite. Darleen promptly ended the argument by proposing to her. Darleen had planned to save the surprise until the end of summer but she and Kenzie made up and felt it was finally the right time. 

I ended up apologizing to Kenzie, knowing I only lashed out at her because of my own pain. To which she gave me the idea to just take a break from it all and let it sink in. Said I should just go home for a few days to get away from it all. So, that's what I'm doing. 

I ring the doorbell.

I lost my spare key a long time ago, didn't have the heart to tell them though.

"Coming! Who is it!?" I hear my aunt call.

She unlocks and opens the door, we lock eyes.

I look down at my bag.

"Come here," she pulls me into her arms.

I instantly start crying and bury my face in her chest.

"Shh, come on, come inside. I got you, shh." She soothes me.

"Jade? What are you doing here?" My uncle comes to see.

"Shh, enough about that. She's always welcome here. This is her home. Go whip up some warm milk for us." She chastises him.

She brings my bags inside and I go sit on the couch, wiping frantically at my tears.

"Tell me what happened," she sits next to me.

I sniffle and pull the rings out of my pocket. Skylar gave me her ring back; I've been holding on to the one she gave me. Unable to part with it. The rings look so good together, they belong together. Two of a kind.

She sighs and grabs them from me.

"I'm sure you've seen the news," I say.

"Hard not to, it's all anyone talks about." She says.

"That's what happens when you're a popular couple." I sigh.

"What happened?" she pleads.

"It all fell apart," I sob. "I tried so hard to make it work but we couldn't find common ground."

"Well Jade, sometimes relationships end. You just have to move on and make the most of the time you two had together."

"How!? How can I when I still love her?" I sob.

"Why did she leave you? What drove her to do that?"

"She said I wasn't taking her needs into consideration. That I was just making all these plans without her. That I wasn't there for her when she needed me. I tried so hard, but I couldn't give her what she wanted. She basically wanted me to stop acting forever and just be with her." I say dramatically.

"I'm sure that wasn't what she wanted. But maybe she was on to something. A marriage is cooperation before it is anything else. You just went plowing ahead without thinking, without stopping to catch your breath. Skylar isn't innocent either, but in all honesty, I just think you two rushed into something you weren't ready for. And that's okay. You live and you learn."

"What do I do?" I sniffle.

"Maybe this is for the best Jade. Maybe some time apart from each other will help put things into perspective for both of you. Help you both grow up a little. If I know Skylar, she'll be back. She loves you, true love. Maybe now wasn't the right time for you two, but if you grow as a person, if you start putting in that hard work and bettering yourself then you'll be ready for her when she does come back. Or you'll be able to move on and find someone new. You never know what life has planned for you. Keep an open mind and try to stay positive." She says.

I sigh as uncle brings us warm milk.

I stare into the cup of milky goodness.

"I don't even know where to start," I admit.

"Take care of yourself, Jade. You're working yourself to the bone. Filming back-to-back seasons. Going to this interview and that public appearance. Flying here and there. Do you ever even sleep or just take a day to yourself?"

"I don't want to seem like I'm not a team player. Fans want the show to go on. They want to meet me and all that. My publicity manager says it's good for my brand, that it will open up lots of doors for me."

"What's good for you is taking some time for yourself. Skylar had a point; you were never around because you were always off doing something else. Take a break between filming seasons. Relax, and enjoy your youth while you still can. Come and visit us more often. Check-in on your cousin. Hang out with your friends. You're working yourself into the ground and it's all going to come crashing down if you don't stop." She warns me.

I sip my milk and think.

"Jade, look at yourself. Do some self-reflection, can you honestly say you're happy with your current situation?"

I shake my head no.

"Slow it down young lady, take a moment to breathe and feel the emotions. Don't just ignore them. I'm worried about you Jade."

"We both are, and so are your parents." Uncle sits next to me.

"You hardly come around anymore. You've lost so much weight. I've watched you grow up and I can tell when you're faking it. Even before Skylar left you weren't happy. I could see it. Stop forcing it. You did it, you're famous now, you have a successful career, take some time to enjoy it. You got all this money, and you can't even spend it fast enough because you're always working. Reward yourself for all your hard work. Eat something girl." She pats my stomach.

I chuckle.

"Please Jade, we care about you. We just want to see you happy." Uncle pats my back.

"Okay," I sigh.

"Tell your manager that you are going to need more time off. That filming this and that and going here or there is burning you out. They will understand and work with you. Who cares about being a team player? I care about your health and well-being."

I know she's right. I just don't want to be seen as a diva or whatever. I don't want people to think I'm difficult and be blackballed. I know that's ultimately what drove Skylar away from me. I'd promise her I'd go see her, or that we'd finally get married the next month, but always push back the date or cancel plans.

That would push anyone away.

I just wanted to make my production team happy. Show them how great I am. Show them that even though I'm a novice, I have some clue about what I'm doing. I'm not just a clueless idiot. One of the main reasons people love me so much is that I'm willing to work myself to the bone to please them.

I've always been very open and welcoming to my fans.

If I change that now, they might turn on me.

Especially after that disaster of an interview.

"Okay, I'll try to take some time for myself," I say.

"Jade," she sighs and hugs me.

I drink more milk.

My aunt sighs and pulls back to inspect the rings in her hand. I stare at them too, their twinkle temporarily blinds and I have to look away.

"Why don't you go across the street," She suggests. "Skylar's mom and sister are here, and there might be something there you'd want to see." 

"I don't want to face them," I pout.

"Go on, you'll thank me later."

I sigh and set my milk down.

"I'll put your stuff in your old room. We can go for dinner later."

"No," I whine. "No public stuff. People will see me."

"Fine, then I'll go to the store and cook dinner," she pats my head.

I hug her again.

She sighs and kisses my forehead.

I suck it up and go across the street, knocking on the door.

"Got it!" I hear Oliva call.

She opens the door and eyes me before leaning in the doorway and crossing her arms and staring at me.

I frown at her.

"Can I come in?" I ask.

"What's the password?"

I roll my eyes.

She smirks.

"Oli is the very best and no one is worthy of her time."

"You may enter," she moves out of the way.

"Dork," I ruffle her hair.

She giggles.

She looks so much like Skylar these days. Just a less chiseled and softer version.

"Who is it?" Skylar's mom says from the living room couch.

"Hi," I say.

"Oh, Jade! Come here," she gets up to hug me.

I hug her and she squeezes me tightly, her embrace reminding me of Skylar.

Something bumps my leg and I look down to see the Countess rubbing against me.

"My baby!" I squeal and pick her up.

She purrs in my arms.

They both giggle.

"Oh my baby, what are you doing here?" I kiss her and pet her.

"We are watching them for Skylar. We plan to take them to London this weekend." Oli supplies.

"Oh my baby, I missed you." I hug her.

A grumpy meow draws my attention to Cloud who is glaring at me, waiting for his cuddles. I giggle and kneel down, setting down the Countess to pet him too. He rubs against my hand as I scratch under his chin.

"I missed you too handsome sir," I say.

"You guys are going to London too?" I ask without looking up at them.

"How could we resist? Aphrodite offered to pay for the whole thing. We've never been out of the country before. We just got our passports in." Skylar's mom says.

I can't help but feel a sting when she says that. Aphrodite is paying for them. I bet that beautiful wife stealer is also trying to steal my cats too. I pout.

"So you like her then? Aphrodite?" I stay looking at the cats, petting them.

There is a moment of silence.

"Sorry," I sigh and stand up. "That wasn't a fair question." I relent.

"Oh Jade, you know you will always be our favorite. You're like a daughter to me." she hugs me again.

"As long as the girl is rich, I don't care who she dates." Oli shrugs.

Her mom whacks her.

"Ow, just kidding," she grumbles.

"It's okay, you guys go to London and enjoy yourselves. Aphrodite isn't that bad. I just don't currently like her for obvious reasons. Skylar and I are cool now, so you don't have to feel guilty for talking to me or anything."

"You okay? How are you holding up?" Skylar mom's pulls back and looks into my eyes. Her sky-blue eyes seem so familiar. It hurts me inside.

I shrug and don't answer.

"Oh Jade," she sighs and hugs me again.

"Skylar will come back to you, she always does," Oli says.

"I'm not so sure this time. This time was different." I mumble.

"She's just going through some things. She's finally learning who she is and growing into herself. She's just going through this phase in her life where she needs room to grow and the freedom to explore herself and what the world means to her. Give her time Jade. That saying is true, time does heal all wounds. Eventually, you two will be able to be around each other again without one of you wanting to cry." She assures me.

"I know, it just hurts."

"I know Jade, I know." She rubs my back.

"You coming to Paris to watch Skylar?" Oli asks me.

"I don't know," I sigh.

"I'm sure it would mean a lot to her if you did." Skylar's mom says.

"I'll try, that's all I got right now."

"You're never going to win Skylar back with that attitude," Oli says.

Again her mom whacks her.

"Ow, just saying." She mumbles.

I giggle and smile at them.

"Behave yourself Oliva, but she does have a point, Jade."

"You guys are ridiculous." I giggle. "I thought you said you like Aphrodite."

"But we like you more. Duh," Oli says.

"I'm not sure Skylar would appreciate you two conspiring with me."

"What Skylar doesn't know won't hurt her."

I shake my head at them.

"Skylar is happy and that's all I could ask for. She doesn't want to be with me anymore, I have to accept that." I say.

"Wow," Oli says. "You really have given up huh. Never thought I'd see the day Jade Tate gave up on something."

"It's called growing up, you'll get there one day." I pat her head.

She frowns at me.

"Sooner than you think, now that you're going to be starting college soon." Her mom says.

"I'll never grow up!" Oli runs upstairs, Dukin running after her.

We both laugh.

"Still can't believe it, one daughter fresh out of high school going to start college soon. The other is an Olympian and about to graduate college. Time goes by so fast." Skylar's mom stares after Oli.

"Too fast," I agree.

She turns to me and grabs me by my shoulders, looking me in the eyes.

"Even if you and Skylar never get back together, you will always be like a daughter to me. I'm so proud of you Jade. You've come so far from that spoiled brat I used to try and prevent Skylar from getting into trouble with. You're strong, you'll get through this. Skylar's a complicated girl, but if there is one thing I know about my daughter, it's that she loves you. Maybe now is not your time, but one day you two might be able to make it work. Just have faith."

"Thank you," I say as my eyes water.

"Come here," she hugs me.

I sniffle and let her hold me.

"You're more than welcome to stay for a few hours and cuddle your cats."

"Thank you."

So I go to Skylar's old room, still the way she left it, and stare out the window over to my old room.

I wonder how many times Skylar stared out of this window longing to be with me. If only I hadn't been a complete idiot and noticed her feelings sooner.

I lay on her bed and cuddle up with the cats, taking in deep breaths, imagining I can smell Skylar's lingering scent.