Tough Love (Hidden Secrets) (5 page)

BOOK: Tough Love (Hidden Secrets)
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Chapter Five

Jackson

 

 

 

 

“Are
you sure about this,” stopping from chopping potatoes to turn and ask. “Please don’t feel obligated to do this. We’re okay just being us.” Sadness was both in her eyes and in her voice. It truly broke my heart.

“I
want to do this. It’s a cookout at my sister’s ranch. They’ll have so much to do and animals to see. They can meet my family, so can you. I’d really love it if you’d come. It’s Friday. I could pick you up once I’m done at work.”

She
sighs, “Okay. I’ll do this for them. They are really taken with you. Surprising honestly. But I will drive there. I need to have a way to leave because Sebastian doesn’t do well in groups of people.”

“Fair
enough.”

Just
then the boys run into the kitchen. “We’re done! Come on! Come check!”

“We
did it really good.” Sebastian yells excitedly.

Laughing,
I let them tug me down the hall to their playroom. When I walked in there, I noticed a small couch, a television, some boxes that assumed housed toys. There were also a couple gaming systems next to the television.

“Wow,
you guys did an amazing job. I’m proud of you.”

“Holy
crap! I’m in the wrong house.” Shannon says shocked.

“Sissy
Shan Shan, you’re funny,” Sebastian says laughing.

“Yeah,”
Atreyu is laughing too, “this is our playroom, in our house.”

Smiling
at them, their laughter was infectious. Looking at Shannon and seeing the smile on her face made my heart sore. What the hell was it with this woman?

“Well,
Jack, did we do enough?”

Kneeling
down, “Yeah buddy, you did way more than enough. You earned your secret prize. Do you guys want to know what it is?”

“Yeah!
Yeah! Yeah!” They scream excitedly.

Crooking
my finger at them for them to come closer, I whisper, “You get to come hang out with me, a bunch of animals and meet my family. How’s that sound?”

Atreyu
starts dancing around, pumping his little fists in the air, screaming “Woohoo!”

Sebastian
stood there nervously looking at me. “Y-you mean a lot of people?”

“Well
considering I have a lot of siblings, I guess you’d say a lot of people. But you don’t have to worry Captain. I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’re going to have a cookout. They’ll love you both I just know it.”

“Y-you’ll
be there with me?” He asked nervously.

“Of
course, Captain.”

He
hugs me tightly and my heart breaks a little more for him. “Okay, I’ll go. Thank you Jack.”

My
phone vibrated in my pocket. Standing up, I pulled my phone out and checked the text message.

 

Jake:
Hey, hope you finally got laid. On my way to get you.

Me:
That’s not why I came here and you know it!

Jake:
Doesn’t mean you didn’t get laid.

Me:
You’re an asshole.

Jake:
Nope, definitely didn’t get laid. Where am I going?

 

Once I gave Jake the address, Sebastian pulled my attention. “Want to play a game with me? Please!” He begged.

“Sure,
I’ll play a game.”

We
sat there playing a game where everything was in the shape of a block, including animals. You built things and had achievements to achieve. Sebastian got seriously into this game. I have to admit it was a lot of fun. Before I knew it Jake was walking into the room.

“Hey
man, that was fast. You didn’t wreck my car did you?”

“No,
what are you playing?”

“Minecraft,”
Atreyu says excitedly. “You want to play too?”

Pressing
pause, they both get upset. “Hey, I want to introduce you to one of my brothers. This is my twin brother, Jacob. I bet if you ask him you can call him by his nickname too.”

“You
have a nickname too?” Jake nods. “I have one now too. Jack gave it to me.” Sebastian says shyly, gripping my arm.

Jake
kneels down. “You know what? Jack is great at nicknames. He gave me mine.”

“He
did?” Sebastian says amazed, letting go of my arm and climbing in my lap, closer to Jake.

“Yup.
Everyone kept calling me Jacob. Then one day Jack says. ‘He so fast, he’s like a snake. Jake the snake.’ All our brothers and sisters called me Snake until we got older and most call me Jake now. I bet he gave you a cool name too.”

“Yeah,”
he nods his head rapidly. “He calls me, Captain because I love ships. I’ve never had a nickname before.” He smiles brightly at me.

“My
nickname is Roo, but my sister gave me that.”

“I
like that nickname. Very cool,” Jake says.

Atreyu
pulls Jake to sit down and gave him a controller. We all sat there playing. Sebastian was in my lap and Atreyu was in Jake’s. Sad as it was to say, it was one of the best moments I’ve had in a long time.

“Boys,
it’s time to eat.” Shannon called from the doorway. “Wow,” she breathed.

I
turned and saw her with tears in her eyes, looking at us. Lifting Sebastian off my lap, I sat him on the couch. He crawled over on Jake’s lap, which caused me to smile. Turning my attention back to Shannon, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“They…
You…,” shaking her head. “They’re happy,” she breathed. Looking up at me, “You made them happy.”

Clearing
my throat, “You made them happy, we just gave them friendship. I offer the same to you, you know?”

“You
have done more than enough,” Swallowing hard. “Can I come in on Friday and we talk more options for Sebastian.” She says her eyes focused on Sebastian, tears falling down.

I
couldn’t stop myself from pulling her into a hug. “Of course. Come in at four, we’ll leave at five.”

She
surprised me when she wrapped her arms around my waist. Then I surprised myself when I kissed the top of her head and breathed in the smell of her hair. Damn, if she didn’t smell good and feel even better in my arms. My arms tightened around her and I sighed. Lost in the moment for a second. Then reality hit me like a ton of bricks as images from four years ago danced in my head.

Pulling
back and putting on a smile, “Things will get easier, but you’ve got to give yourself time to mourn. It’ll eat at you if you don’t.”

I
turn to the guys. “Okay guys. Game time over. Jake and I need to go and Captain and Roo need to eat. Remember be good for your sister so you can get both your prizes, okay?”

The
boys hug us and we walk out the door. Neither of us really said anything to each other until we were headed down the road.

“Those
kids are amazing.” Jake said quietly. “Sebastian asked me if I liked him. He said because no one likes him, but you, his brother and his sister. That hit home.”

“Yeah
I know man. I’ve invited them to Mary’s on Friday.”

“What’s
the deal with you guys? You like her?”

Silence
is both a good thing and a bad thing. At this particular moment, it was a bad thing. Jake saw it as a sign that I was infatuated with Shannon. I wasn’t. I couldn’t be. Sometimes, I hated my brother coming into town.

“Are
you staying at my house?” I bit out.

“If
I’m still welcomed,” he says with a smirk.

Pulling
into the parking garage for the building of my condo, we climbed out and walked to the elevator. My mind kept going over everything that Jake had said. Was I looking at Shannon longingly? Did I overreact when it came to her or the boys?

The
elevator ride to the top floor left far too much time for me to think. By the time we arrived, I was tense and needed something to break the confusion and heartache that was settling deep within me.

“I’m
going to take a shower. You can have your usual room.” I threw over my shoulder.

Just
as I was about to make it to my bedroom, my buzzer went off. Turning around grumbling under my breath, I made my way back to my door. When I saw Nate on the screen, my problems vanished. Nate took over my concern.

“Jake
, get out here man!” I yelled as I pressed the buzzer to let him in.

“What?
What’s up?”

“Nate’s
on his way up and he doesn’t look good,” I said sadly.

“Shit,”
Jake mumbled, shaking his head.

Nate
was like a brother to us all. He came into our life as a partner trying to save Kayla, but has stuck as part of the family since. During the time he had helped Jason, Nate fell in love with Mary. Happily Ever After as far as we were all concerned. We wanted our out of control sister to settle down. There was no better man than Nate to us. But then Mary met Tobey. Nate tried to win Mary over. In the end, Mary’s heart belonged to Tobey. Tobey’s a good guy and he is great to my sister, but Nate isn’t handling it well.

Just
then the elevator pinged, the door opening and Nate fell out. I mean he literally fell out of the doors and onto the floor. Honestly, I was shocked that he even made it into the elevator.

“Nate
how’d you get here?” I ask.

“Drivshed,”
he slurred.

Jake
and I exchanged looks, then pulled Nate into the living room dropping him on the couch. Nate slumped to the side laughing. His normal alert blue eyes were cloudy. His smiling baby face as we always said he had was pale and I can’t remember the last time I saw him smile. Nate’s hair has grown out as well as his facial hair. To sum it up he looks rough.

“Nate,
you’re a detective. What the hell are you doing driving drunk?” I hissed.

He
drunkenly points his finger at me, “You, you letsh hersh leavsh me.”

“I
didn’t let her do anything, Nate. I don’t control her.”

“You
allsh helpsh him winsh hersh back,” he slurred.

Sitting
next to him, I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Nate, she’s happy with Tobey. Don’t you want her happy?”

He
nods awkwardly, “With me.” He attempts to point a finger at his chest.

“But
she loves Tobey. She’s happy with Tobey. I want my sister happy,” I say softly.

“What
aboutsh me? Why can’tsh I besh happy toosh?” He asks sadly.

“Because
brother, you want something that you can’t have.”

His
head drops and I see tears falling on his arm. He’s breaking down. If it were me, I wouldn’t want someone witnessing me at a point I wouldn’t like to enter. So I stood up and grabbed his arm over my shoulder. Jake grabs the other in the same fashion.

“Come
on, big boy. Time to sleep it off buddy.” Jake says as we walk him to the other spare room.

“I
lovesh hersh so mush.” He sobbed.

“I
know buddy. I know.” I whispered.

After
getting him settled, Jake and I walked out in a solemn mood. Nate really did love my sister, but sadly she just doesn’t feel the same. Mary has said time and time again that she loves Nate like a brother, but nothing more.

When
he first found out that we had all gotten together to help Tobey win her back, he didn’t talk to us for weeks. We were worried because he even quit talking to Jason. Then he just showed back up on my doorstep, much like he did today. I don’t turn him away either. He really is hurting. I’ll be here to help him every step of the way. He’s my brother, no matter what else happens. All of us feel that way.

“He’s
getting worse, Jack. We need to do something.”

Sighing,
I ran my hand through my hair. “I know. I’m doing what I can right now. I’m just here for him when he needs it. You can’t help someone that isn’t ready to be helped. When he is, I’ll be there for him every step of the way.”

“Yeah,
I agree. I’ll be there too. I think we all will.” Jake said, staring at the door to the room Nate was in.

“No
doubt. I’m going to go get that shower now and probably hit the sack. See ya in the morning. Good to have you back home.” I hugged my brother and headed into my room.

My
heart was heavy, not just for myself, but for Nate, Shannon and the boys. No one should have to hurt the way they hurt on a daily basis. They deserve happiness and smiles, especially the boys.

BOOK: Tough Love (Hidden Secrets)
5.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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