Dammit Thomas
JJ had been sitting on her parent's sofa, looking miserable. On the table in front of her was A framed picture of a mousy-blonde, sixteen year old JJ looking just as miserable in her crisp, white cotillion dress. Her arms were linked with her father, Thomas van der Berg III esquire, and her arms were clad in elbow-length gloves. It had been her presentation to society and JJ had hated every second of it, even though she had fulfilled her every duty flawlessly.
That had been JJ back in the day. She had a 4.0 GPA from a very prestigious private school where she also had an flawless attendance record. She had so many extra curriculars and charity duties that she rarely had time to sleep. Jessica van der Berg had been the very picture of the perfect Upper East side society daughter and underneath the surface she had hated every single second of it. Her photos lined every wall of the penthouse, staring inanely from behind the glass, her face the very mask of perfection. She hated it.
Notably absent from the photos, at least after the age of fifteen, was Joey. When the elevator opened, he led Jesse and Nicholas into the grand entrance hall and he shuddered involuntarily.
"Holy shit," Nicholas whispered as they proceeded into the apartment. "Holy shit."
"I know," Joey grumbled back. He glanced at one of the photos of a blonde JJ and pointed it out. "Just look how miserable she's trying not to appear. Framed in gold filligree."
"Oh thank god!" JJ cried when she caught sight of her boyfriends and brother. She tried to jump off the sofa, but as pregnant as she was, it was slow going.