“I know what we’re up against, Jared. You forget I have been—” In a moment’s time, he crossed the room and came to stand right in front of me.
“I didn’t forget what you looked like when I picked you and Zerro up on the side of the road. I didn’t forget I had lost so much, and I didn’t forget my mom had died. None of those things have changed—even though God continues to throw more shit my way.”
When the words ‘death’ and ‘mom’ fell from his lips, I looked up into a face I thought I knew. It was very apparent to me, though we all seemed to be doing okay on the outside, we were truthfully each fighting our own demons. There might have been a war raging between families, but there were bigger wars waging within each of us.
“I’m so—”
“Don’t even say it. We both know we’ve heard the words I’m sorry a million times. It doesn’t help heal the pain. I’m just telling you this because our father hasn’t had anything truthfully to live for in years. He didn’t even know where you were. He knew about you but had no idea where you were.” Jared sounded tortured, and my heart started to ache.
“I didn’t… I had…”
“We know you didn’t know. We never expected you to have a clue. I know you have been through so much, Bree. I know everything has been thrown at you at once, but I’m begging you to see things for more than they are.”
“I’ll talk to him, Jared. I never said I wouldn’t. It just breaks my heart how my mom isn’t here to answer my questions. It hurts me to know my life was a lie and there’s not a damn thing to fall back on.”
“Well, buck up, Princess, because it’s about to get ten times harder,” Jared said. There was no emotion in his voice, but I knew my words had made him feel better.
“Thanks, asshole,” I said before taking another sip from my cup. I was getting anxious. I wanted answers, but I was also afraid. I wanted to run. To hide.
“Anytime. How are things with you and Zerro?” Jared asked nonchalantly as if he didn’t know we were hooking up.
“We’re fine. I understand his need for revenge. There wasn’t anything I could do anyway. I need to be strong, and I’ll hold onto my strength until I can’t anymore.”
He smiled, rubbing a hand over his face. He still had stubble, and the bags under his eyes said he was stressing over something at night instead of sleeping.
“Yeah, you sounded fine, last night…” he teased. My cheeks reddened. I wasn’t a prude, but with Jared considered family, it was quite strange to know he heard us having sex.
“Ahh, don’t be shy about it. Not like Zerro ever was,” he joked. I turned my face away from him and out toward the rising sun. I wasn’t even sure where we were anymore. All I knew was we were forty miles from my father’s house. North, East, South, or West, I wasn’t sure.
“Ha. Good to know, I guess.” I tried to joke as well, easing all the tension from the room.
“I’m going to make breakfast. You hungry?” he asked.
“Fuck, yeah, I am,” Zerro chimed in his voice causing a cascade of goose bumps to form over my body.
Jared shook his head, causing dark locks to fall to his forehead. “I bet you are. I heard you last night…”
“Oh, really. I bet it wasn’t me you heard, but your little sis over there…” Zerro commented, throwing a wink in my direction. I couldn’t help the smile that popped onto my face. It felt strange being able to be happy after what I had been through.
“Ha. Don’t even bring that up.” Jared got up from the table and headed for the fridge. I just stood there ogling at Zerro, who was shirtless. His hair was in a fuck-me kind of way sideways, and his body didn’t look a bit damaged, even though he had taken numerous bullets. I was stunned he had lived at first, but something in me told me he couldn’t have died. I would’ve known.
Jared’s phone rang, and my attention automatically slipped from Zerro to him. He answered it within a second bringing the phone to his ear.
“Dad,” he said coolly. I pretended as if I wasn’t listening to the conversation, but Zerro caught me out of the corner of his eye.
“Eavesdropper…” he teased, grabbing an apple from the fruit dish in the center of the table. His mouth opened showing white teeth as he took a chomp out of the apple.
“Yeah, 102 Hickory Lane, right past the Piggly Wiggly, and left at the gas station,” Jared rambled. He must be giving him directions. Weird how I hadn’t noticed any of those things as we passed them.