The Crystal 2 by Jones M (reading cloud ebooks .txt) 📕

"Oh, and I thought you knew me..." I commented, still laughing at her.

"Why are you laughing?" Selena asked with a frown.

"This is sad. This is so sad," as I talked, I felt tears prickle at my eyes. I blinked hard, trying to dry them off.

"Seriously? Do you know how confused your notions are? At one point, I want to get rid of Bianca. At the other, I want to kill Liam! You even told me that I wanted to break the band! Make up your freaking minds!" I yelled at everyone, making them flinch at my outburst.

"Why don't you sum it up and say I wanted to get rid of all of you?"

Bianca gave me a glare.

"What, Bianca? Afraid I'm cracking your plan? Oh, please. You should have stuck with me wanting to get rid of you and you alone. Besides, since everyone here thinks I'm bad, don't you think I would have already done it by now?" 

Everyone tensed.

"If I was as evil as you all think I am, none of you would even be here right now. Liam," his eyes zeroed on me, "don't you think I would have told everyone what you and the rest had done to me in high--"

"Emery," Zane cut me off with a glare. Bianca turned to look at Zane in confusion.

"What? Oh, your girlfriend doesn't know your secret?"

"What secret?" Bianca asked. Zane didn't face her, still glaring at me. That just made me smirk.

"Oh, nothing that I would tell you. You see, Zane, if I wanted to ruin your lives, I would have done it by now. Especially since it is so easy to get my hands on the evidence."

"What is she talking about?" Bianca asked, but everyone ignored her as they stared at me in fear.

"But don't worry, guys. That secret won't get out... if you play your cards right. The only secrets I'm looking forward to finding out are Bianca's."

Bianca turned to face me at the mention of her name.

I ignored her as I turned to go further in the bus, heading towards my laptop. My leaving had signaled to the others that the conversation had ended, and everyone went to convene further away from me. 

They were probably talking about what I had just told them. Hopefully, they would see reason and realize they had been wrong all along.

I resumed the lessons in coding, but I started zoning out minutes later. I tried to listen, but it was not working.

Maybe it was my location.

I got up to move around the bus, looking for a place to study while getting weird looks. I ignored them, and after a while of finding a spot to use, I finally gave up. I went to the bunk beds, choosing instead to arrange my luggage under Liam's bunk bed. I held onto the bag that had my laptop because I had stuff that I wanted to do.

"Guys, I'm hungry. Do you want to go for a bite to eat?" Ethan asked. I saw everyone stand from my peripheral vision. Then they all started to exit the bus. 

Yay! Privacy!

I went to the front with my laptop, planning to find a seat and to resume my lessons.

"Emery!" Ethan called out to me. I looked at him, surprised he even mentioned my name. 

"Do you want to come eat with us?"

What?

I stared at him, still in surprise. 

"Erwiches could attack us even when we're outside."

Oh.

With a shrug, I followed Ethan out of the tour bus.

***********************************************************************************************

We all ended up in a fast food restaurant. 

The boys and Selena had worn disguises to avoid recognition from their fans. Surprisingly, so did Bianca.

I shook my head at them, turning to face my laptop. I had taken a seat far away from the boys to do my stuff. 

Ethan may have invited me for lunch, but I wasn't too sure that everyone had gotten over our disagreement in the bus. Also, I did not want Bianca to know what I was doing, especially after what had occurred on the plane.

I stayed there for a while, waiting for a waiter or waitress to service me while I went through stuff on my PC. My mood had been ruined ever since we left the bus, and the person taking their time to service me was not helping matters.

It felt like a long time before I sighed in exasperation. I turned my head up to see if there was anyone running the joint.

I was surprised that the boys' group had already been served. In fact, they were laughing, talking to each other while eating their meals. 

Ethan was even halfway through his food!

The sight of the guys enjoying each other's company brought a pang of jealousy. I used to hang out with them, but at the moment, I never would.

In fact, why did seeing them having a good time hurt?

I pushed the thoughts away when I spotted waitress pass me without sparing me a glance. I raised my hand, clicking my fingers to get her attention, but she ignored me. 

I sighed, trying to quell my anger down. 

"Hey! Waitress!" I yelled out loud as I clicked my fingers, having a couple of eyes turn to me. The waitress spotted me, and she gave me a bored look before coming to my table.

Finally!

The blonde waitress swiftly came towards me. 

"Hi! Sorry to call you out like that," I apologized when she was near me. "Could I have--"

"Yeah... I'm not your waitress today," she said with a fake smile. "None of us will be! Would you like me to help you with something? Probably to show you the way out?"

What?

"Excuse me?" I asked with raised eyebrows, seriously confused. The girl's fake enthusiasm dissolved into a look of contempt.

"You are Emery Davis, aren't you?" she questioned. I didn't reply, confirming her query.

"I must say I'm surprised you're out of jail. Something must be wrong with our government if they allow people like you to be free!"

The hell?

"You don't know what you're saying," I replied. The girl rolled her eyes at me.

"I know what I'm saying. And what I'm saying is that you are an evil bitch. I'm even surprised you have the guts to show your face in public, you no good motherfucker."

My eyes widened at that.

"You don't belong here you slut. In fact, you don't belong on earth. You belong in hell! You had the nerve to hit Liam with a car. You thought you killed him, but you lost you pathetic little piece of shit. He's still alive. And you? You are getting all the hate that you deserve in the world."

"Okay!" I shouted, having heard enough from the girl as I stood from my seat. It seemed like her insults were a bit uncoordinated, but I didn't care at the moment. She had angered me, and I was not going to just sit back and take her insults.

Those days were long behind me, and I would be damned if I ever let them make another appearance.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up, okay?" I spat at the worker loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear. "You can keep on talking, but you'll just be wasting your breath. I don't care what you or other people say. I know that I'm innocent. And even though I had committed such crimes, what gives you the right to butt into my business and act all high and mighty? Do you see me complaining about that makeup on your face that is too trashy for you?"

"Wh--"

"Shut up!" I yelled, interrupting the girl from speaking. By then, I was certain that every eye was on me.

"I've let you talk enough, and I get your point. You could continue insulting me, but you will fail. It will take more than kindergarten words from a bitch like you to get me to cower. I have gone through a lot, and what you are just trying to do is pathetic. If you want to know how you can embarrass me in public, I will be more than willing to give you a demonstration." 

I cracked my knuckles.

"If you really want to get to me, don't use words alone. Use hands."

In an instant, I was all over the waitress. My hand lashed out, slapping her face. The slap was strong enough to turn her head to the side. She cried out in shock. 

The girl did not have time to react with her own slap before I gave her a couple of others on her face.

I jumped off the table, landing on the girl and sending the two of us on the floor. The people around us were making shocked noises. 

I knew I was in public, but I didn't care.

I was quickly on top of the waitress, and so I started slapping and punching the hell out of her. She kept crying out when my hands made contact with her face.

"Emery!" Selena shouted, charging right at me. I got off the girl who was crying in tears and staring at me with wide, scared eyes.

"Miss, is there a problem?" a man came towards me. He looked to be in his forties.

"Are you the manager?" I asked.

"Yes."

Perfect.

The waitress had lied, but then, that didn't matter.

"This individual," I pointed at the waitress, "did not serve me and ignored me when I called out to her. Is this the kind of service you offer to people? Do you know how many people have complained about this restaurant and how many bad ratings this place has on Google?"

Okay, I may have lied about the last part. But then, mentioning customer complaints and bad ratings to a manager of any business, they would be willing to do anything to have the problem fixed.

The manager turned to face the girl.

"Cherry," he called out to the girl in a patronizing tone.

"She's Emery Davis!" the girl yelled out in protest.

"I don't care if she was freaking Hitler! She is a customer of ours, and you were meant to treat her well."

"But she beat me up!" Cherry yelled.

"Did she start it?" the manager asked. Cherry remained quiet for a while.

The employer sighed before saying, "You're fired."

The girl's eyes widened in shock, and so had mine. 

I was just happy the bitch was getting what she deserved.

"What?"

"You are fired. Pack up your things and leave."

"But—"

"We have heard many complaints from the customers about you. Did you think this day wouldn't come?"

Talk about luck! Complaints from other customers? The girl was as good as dead meat.

The girl cried as she got up, staring at me with a glare.

"It also helps if you go after what your enemy cares about," I said as if I was telling a three-year-old something interesting. The girl shook her head at me in disbelief before she left.

Then the manager turned to face me with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry about her. Would you want me to get you something free of charge?"

The owner looked so apologetic I couldn't even think of saying no. But then, I wondered what the other waiters would do to my food. The girl must have been friends with some of them, and they could do something in revenge for me getting Cherry fired.

I declined the offer. After a short conversation with the employer insisting and me politely declining, he left. Then I went to my seat, resuming my position as I waited for the rest to be done with their food. 

Well, there went my appetite.

I expected the attention on me to go away, but just like always, I never got what I wanted.

"The fuck just happened?" Bianca asked with a shocked expression. I turned my attention to the bitch in front of me. I hadn't realized that she had been approaching me.

"What the hell was that?" she stared at me in disbelief.

"Bitch, what did you expect to happen?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows while feigning innocence. Bianca glared when I insulted her. Then a thought came to mind. I doubted it at first, but when I put two and two together, it made sense.

"You sent her," I said. I wasn't sure. I just said it to see if I would