* * *

I didn’t have to debase myself after all. Just a quick check at the hospital showed that no one I knew had been admitted, which meant Jace was safe. Too bad the bitch didn’t get caught in the blaze. Still, this was perfect.

At the rate this idiot is going she’d get rid of herself with no help from me. Knowing Jace’s parents and how protective they are of him, there’s no way they’re going to let him stay with someone like her, someone who’s always being attacked.

All I have to do is figure out a way to use this to my advantage. It would help if I knew who else was after her, maybe we could work together.

And I’d have to find a way to approach Jace’s mom to put that little nibble in her ear. That last thought was depressing since I’d never been able to get her to warm up to me.

Come to think of it, his parents were probably the only people in our little close knit town that didn’t seem to believe my act. I guess I’ll just have to work harder. I’m sure if I put my mind to it I can win them over as easily as the country bumpkin has.

Just thinking about her makes the blood curdle in my veins. I was sure I’d be rid of her by now. Sure that she was just a passing phase for Jace but she was proving to be more resilient than I gave her credit for.

Was Jace with her now, comforting her? Maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong. So far every little thing just seems to send him running to her side, and I’m sure she’s just eating it up.

I need to go see for myself since Kelly didn’t give me much. Maybe the twit hadn’t been burnt severely but there’s still a chance that she’s been damaged in some way.

That thought lifted my spirits the tiniest bit as I got up from my reclining position. I sneered at the other occupants of the room who had been no help at all since my return from the hospital.

In fact the reason I’d called them here was to remind them who’s the boss, but this new development had changed things.

“I’m tired, I need you all to leave.” I can always destroy Liz’s cushy little life tomorrow, this was more important.

They looked at me skeptically but none of them dared question me as they headed for the door. I waited until the coast was clear and snuck out of the house without being detected.

I’ve been doing this so long I’ve become an expert. It wasn’t a long drive to her neighborhood, and this wasn’t the first time I’d driven by there in the last few months.

Sometimes I’d find myself coming here and just sitting, staring at the house, wondering which room was hers, and how easy it would be to get to her.

I can’t believe after all this time I’m still dealing with someone like her. I thought for sure Jace would’ve come to his senses by now and realized what a huge mistake he’d made by letting me go.

I’m sure if it wasn’t for her he’d have come back to me by now. That’s just the kind of person he is. He probably didn’t want to hurt her feelings by dumping her so soon.

Yes, that made sense. He was probably tired of her already but found it hard to leave because of the attack, hmm. I looked towards her house where people were gathered on the driveway.

I made out Jace right away and his stupid friends. Is that his mother? Who’s that she’s hugging? My hands tightened on the steering wheel as Mrs. Sanders’ body shifted and I saw the blonde head resting on her shoulder.

I felt tears gather in my eyes and wiped them away swiftly away as I watched not only Jace, but also his parents huddle over that bitch as if she was something special.

I watched from the shadows as Jace took her from his mother and touched her face gently before putting her into the back of his father’s car.

I couldn’t see his face clearly but I could imagine the look he gave her and it hurt. Why does he look at her that way, when all he does is sneer at me?

I remember in the beginning, his smile, the way it made me feel. How special I felt when he’d put his arm around me. Thinking that I’d never have that again was almost too much to bear.

I wanted to cry out from the pain but bit my lip instead and forced myself not to cry. I glared through the tinted window at where she sat in the back of his dad’s car.

I’ve hated before, people, things, but I’ve never known such hate as what I felt for her. I pulled my hands from my head when I realized that I was pulling my hair in frustration as my chest heaved with pent up anger.

I saw her friends being ushered into the car by his dad and felt the pain like a dagger in my chest. Anger made me grip the steering wheel harder as it pushed the pain away and replaced it with resolve.

They’d rejected me, one of their own and here they were accepting that little nobody. No doubt it was her innocent little girl act that had won them over.

But she’s not fooling me. I’m sure she had some tricks up her sleeve to get Jace to put that rock on her finger so soon after meeting her.

Did they even look into her, who she really is? Or had they just fell for her cutesy little routine like everyone else?

How could they so readily accept her, when they’d turned their noses up at me? I’m prettier than she is. My family has lived her longer than hers, and have been a part of their set for longer. So why?

I remember the one time I’d overheard Jace’s mom’s true feelings about me. The time she’d told her son she didn’t approve of me, that there was something about me she didn’t like.

I’d thought for sure that he’d break up with me then. But he hadn’t, he’d still kept coming around and I knew that like everyone else with a dick, I had him under my spell.

But it wasn’t long after that he’d called things off without an explanation. I could’ve blamed his mother, but somehow I knew that it wasn’t her doing. Jace had proven to be his own man, to have his own mind.

He’d still seen me even after she made her comments after all. So something happened, and even now I still have no idea what that something could be. I refuse to accept that it was anything I’d done. I was too careful.

Maybe it was the pressure from his mother after all. Maybe she’d kept after him with her dislike of me and wore him down.

Now here she was, coddling that bitch like she was her long lost daughter. And Jace, even in the dark of night I could tell that he was upset.

He hadn’t shown such care when I was hurt and in the hospital. In fact since he broke things off he’s acted more and more like we were strangers, if not enemies.

Things weren’t this bad though until she came along. Now even his friends were here. They never hung around when we were dating.

My eyes followed his parents’ car as it left the driveway and headed in the opposite direction from where I was hidden. I’d been relegated to nothing more than an onlooker in his life.

Hiding in the shadows with my lights turned off, hunched down in my seat like a thief in the night for a glimpse of him.

The longer I sat there the angrier I became. None of this was fair. Why should they like and accept her when they barely ever gave me the time of day?

I bet they were taking her home with them since it looked like her house wasn’t inhabitable. She’d be sleeping under the same roof as Jace, something they wouldn’t allow when we were dating.

They were so obvious I was glad I didn’t bring the others along with me to witness the total disrespect. “Enjoy it while it last bitch!”