Page 12 of Forced to Share
Dad didn’t hesitate. He moved down the hall like the overprotective parent he was. If only he knew what had really been going on. Though I only knew part of it at this point. What the hell had Leah meant by saying she’d wasted years on someone who couldn’t get it up for her?
Like a deer in headlights, Jeremy's eyes widened in panic as he pushed off me and sprinted down the hall and down the stairs. The slam of the front door let me know he'd run out of the house.
Leah came out of the room, blanket still clutched around her. Disbelief marked her face as she looked up and down the hall.
“Leah?” I asked, standing from the floor and brushing myself off. Dad stood beside me, looking just as concerned as I felt. His lips pursed and his eyebrows knitted together as we all stood around like a bomb had just gone off. We were still waiting for the dust to settle, and it wasn’t going to at this rate until someone explained what was happening.
“I think—” Leah’s eyes closed and fat tears formed on her lashes before they streamed down her face. “I think my relationship just ended.”
“What?” both Dad and I said at once. There was still so much to unpack because no one knew what was happening.
Leah’s bedroom door slammed closed, which left both Dad and me staring at it in confusion. What the hell did you do in a situation like this? One thing was for sure—we needed to talk to both of them and figure something out.
I nodded at Dad, both of us coming to some sort of silent agreement. He’d handle Leah if I took care of Jeremy. It wasn’t like I really wanted to talk to my ex, who was suddenly now my sister’s ex as well.
On autopilot, I went back to my room to grab a thick jacket to throw over my hoodie. I’d noticed the snow starting to come down earlier when I’d been in the living room with Mom. While I was at it, I grabbed an extra hoodie for Jeremy. We’d been about the same size back in the day. He wasn’t very different now, so I hoped it would still fit him.
The walk to the front door felt different. Like I was walking toward some sort of finality. Once I approached Jeremy again to figure out what happened, it would change the course of things forever. It was such a stupid idea. They were both obviously upset, but I had a connection to the man that the rest of my family wasn’t aware of.
Jeremy was sitting on the front stoop, arms wrapped around himself as he shivered. The snow was falling faster and faster. You couldn’t see the grass any longer, and the road was becoming covered, which meant that we were in for a real storm.
I was quiet as I sat next to Jeremy. He didn’t even notice me at first until I shoved the sweater in his direction. He jumped, but took it from me with a forced smile. At first, he only held it before realizing just how cold it was. Winter was cold, but nothing compared to the way the wind blew off of Lake Michigan. It’d bite you in the ass if you weren’t paying attention. Jeremy finally pulled the thick material over his head before turning to face me.
“Well, that was probably one of the most humiliating things I’ve ever had anyone witness.”
I chuckled, bumping him with my shoulder.
“I’m not so sure about that. My sister just had her brother walk in on her in her underwear.”
That got him laughing. “In her defense, it was only her bra.”
I raised my eyebrows, laughing even harder. “I fail to see how that’s any better.”
At least the moment didn’t feel all that forced or awkward. We were able to talk about it, which was worlds above where we were the day before. How did I let my defenses down around him so easily?
Once things settled a bit, a seriousness came over Jeremy as he looked over the yard in front of him, no longer able to look at me. His fingers pulled at the sleeves of the hoodie as he took deep breaths. Was he thinking about what to say?
"I'm sorry, by the way."
The words were so quiet that I almost missed them. When I looked at Jeremy he was looking out across the yard and not at me.
"What do you mean?" I asked. Realistically, I knew what he was apologizing for, but I needed to hear him clarify it. If we were ever going to move on, the words needed to be said.
"You were right that I was scared, but that wasn't all of it. It doesn't make up for how badly I hurt you, and I don't think it will ever be enough. All I know is that I want to try."
I blinked at him for a few moments because Jeremy still wasn't looking at me, but it was nice that he acknowledged that he'd done things the wrong way. It was a lot more than I expected, and a lot of my anger disappeared.
It was simple. Small. But it didn't detract from the meaning. We all do stupid things at different points in our lives, and it didn't mean that we didn’t deserve a second chance. Jeremy had been nothing but kind since he'd arrived at my parents house, if not a little twitchy and unsure. I owed it to him to hear him out.
“What happened?” I didn’t want to push, but I needed to know.
Jeremy dropped his head between his knees before he looked up again, shaking his head and kicking at the snow that had built up on the steps.
“It’s stupid. Embarrassing.”
“Try me.”
Silence continued to stretch between us. I could ask him directly about what Leah had said, but I suspected that would only make him lock up and not answer me.
