Bad Blood

 If only Jade could have stayed. It weighed heavy on Liv's mind. She'd decided to quit the grocery store and thought it was time to work somewhere where she wasn't with Rico all the time. 

As it was, they still had one more year of high school to go. A part of her decided she might graduate early if she kept some summer classes going. She'd already taken one college class this past year and she did OK so she decided she would just keep going and also find a new job at the coffee shop. 

Thankfully, Rico could see that she needed her own space. Maybe it would help their relationship. Maybe. But deep down she was still a little upset with him, but in the week she worked with Jade, it felt as if she'd found a real friend who could listen to her problems. Unlike Allie who only wanted to talk about her problems. Granted, things were better with Allie now, but still, it was nice to meet someone like Jade who was already in college. It gave her insight to the future and it made her want to be on her own. Maybe she didn't need Rico all the time, but there were the weekends and she was always glad when he wanted to do something. Maybe she wasn't completely grownup after all.

And then Jade got on at the yoga and dance studio. It really left Liv a bit lonely. She'd felt so right at the coffee shop and there she was already having to train someone. She hardly knew what to do, as it was.

"Don't worry too much," Jade assured her she would do fine. She was a natural pro with so many things behind the counter. "You'll figure it out." She told Liv to call her if there were any problems. She said she would be happy to just talk.

Liv was relieved to hear this. She needed a friend like Jade to help her with so many questions about her relationship with Rico even talking about how bad her brother Tristan had been. 

Then when she found out Jade would be working with Tristan's girlfriend it was like the TELL ME MORE song from GREASE. She wanted to know everything about Delia.

"You mean her name is not Dale?" Liv asked when they were on the phone late one night. Oh, it was only a text, but she felt as if she was reading a novel about this girl that Tristan was with.

"She's..I dunno..um, OK I guess."

"You guess?" Liv laughed. She knew that girl would have to be crazy to be with her brother.

"I bet she doesn't know how medicated he is. I doubt he's in the right mind," Liv texted Jade.

"What? What are you talking about?" Jade wanted to know.

"You mean, you don't know?" Liv wondered if she should really tell Jade. Well, they were friends. They'd only spent a few hours together at the coffee shop but it felt like years, in a way.

"What are you talking about?" Jade persisted with another text. Liv kind of hated to tell her about the bad blood between her and her brother.

"If he doesn't take his medication he can be really abusive," Liv finally told Jade.

"Abusive?"

"He's hurt me before," she felt numb after she texted Jade. Honestly, she couldn't say anymore. It was something that would always be with her. He could take all the medication he wanted, but he'd always be a monster to her.