True Love Waits novel Chapter 54

Jared was itching to spend all the money in Damon's VIP card. In truth, apart from being half brothers and sharing the same father, they didn't have a lot in common.

One day, Jared stole the VIP card from his brother's table when he was passing by Damon's room.

Debbie had heard about Damon from when Jared used to complain about him to her. From what she could gather, Damon was always very nice to his younger brother, whereas, Jared would treat Damon with disdain.

Although it was Jared's one-sided statement, Debbie could tell that he had been obedient to his older brother on some occasions.

"Jared, what are you two talking about? Come over here!" One of their classmates urged the two to join them.

Jared responded in a loud voice, "All right, all right. Scott, you won't be allowed to leave here until you have more alcohol than blood running through your body." All of a sudden, Jared looked at Debbie with a concerned expression on his face. "Tomboy, I won't drink much tonight. You don't need to drink if you don't want to."

This caught Scott's interest, as he looked at Jared and cheerfully shouted, "Hey bro, what's up? Are you two dating or something? Do you have to ask for Debbie's permission before you drink, huh?"

Debbie and Jared were very popular in their high school. Most of their classmates used to joke about their relationship. However, the truth was quite far from reality. Although they had been good friends who trusted each other, that was all their relationship was, a reliable friendship. Apart from that, they had absolutely no chemistry between them.

Debbie was interested in guys who weren't afraid of commitments, while she thought Jared was more of a playboy. On the contrary, Jared thought Debbie was a tomboy, whereas, he liked winsome coquettes.

They both understood each other very well and agreed that they could only make good friends.

"What? A couple? Come on! Even if we spent the night in the same bed, nothing would happen between us, besides the usual chatting and fighting." Jared held the chair out for Debbie like a gentleman, but the latter cast a reproachful glance at him before sitting down.

In truth, Debbie never enjoyed taking part in these gatherings. Most of the girls chose to isolate her because she was a pretty girl and the boys liked hanging out with her. Their impression of Debbie was that of a bitch who was just pretending to be a tomboy to attract boys.

The girls began to speak ill of her amongst themselves in soft murmurs so that Debbie wouldn't hear them. But she could tell from their body language and the way they looked at her that they were quietly conferring about her.

Why didn't they just say what they had to say to Debbie's face? Mostly because they were afraid of being beaten up by her. Besides, they didn't want to offend Jared. Why didn't they just keep to themselves? They would if they could, but they were so envious of Debbie that they needed some way to vent their anger on her.

Debbie, however, felt wronged and misunderstood. After all, she had never laid her hands on a girl before. Even when her cousin, Gail, had given her multiple reasons to hurt her, Debbie refrained from laying even a finger on her. Instead, she would let Gail off with just a warning.

It wasn't like Debbie was afraid of the girls; far from it! The girls wouldn't even stand a chance in a fistfight with her. She could easily injure them without even breaking a sweat.

A few moments later, Jared went to the men's room to clear out the several bottles of beer he had drunk. Right after he left, the girls started to taunt Debbie because they believed that her arrogance and power only lasted as long as Jared was with her.

"Even after so many years, she's still running around after Jared like one of his lackeys. I guess he's not interested in her at all."

"Hey, have you guys heard that she confessed her feelings for Mr. Huo at his launching ceremony? She said 'Carlos Huo, I love you' at least ten times!"

"Of course I've heard of it. By the way, a friend of mine told me that she is a lesbian."

"What? I feel sick..."

Debbie was appalled at the unconscionable comments being made about her and she instantly regretted coming to the party. She found it amazing how these people hadn't changed at all even after so many years. They might have grown but they were hardly qualified to be considered 'grown ups'.

They passed derogatory remarks about her non-stop and after a while even some of the boys joined in the banter. Debbie was just about to get up and leave when another boy sitting at a nearby table stood up before her.

He shouted contemptuously, "Are you here to enjoy the party or make mindless gossips? Why don't you look in the mirror to see what kind of people you are first before you talk about someone else? Until then, shut the hell up!"

The boy was red in the face, as burning rage hissed through his body like venom.