He smiles softly, albeit sadly. “She became pregnant with me.” He pauses, taking a breath as if to steady himself. “Her pregnancy was rough. She was sick and bedridden almost the entire time. Then once she had me, she had post-partum depression so bad she could barely take care of herself, let alone me. My father, who is no longer in the picture, had to take ownership of me for a while. It ripped them apart. She blamed him for everything…her loss of career, her life, and for ruining her body. She wasn’t a bad person; her mental health was just in a terrible place. She ended up divorcing my father and taking full custody of me in the divorce. My father, the poor bastard, was still madly in love with her. It wrecked him. He had this built right after I was born, hoping it would show her what she could still be if she wanted and how he believed in her. Unfortunately, she was too far gone. It wasn’t until she met my stepdad and got into therapy that she became a good mother. I’d swear you can even say she loves me now. My father on the other hand hasn’t bothered to show since divorce court. So, you could say he definitely doesn’t.”
A noticeable bitterness surfaces in his tone under his fake chuckle before he goes quiet, his attention on the fountain.
When I look back at the statue, she no longer seems magnificent. What kind of horrible woman would do that to the father of her child, let alone her own child. I wish she would have gotten help sooner or things would’ve turned out differently for Jared’s sake. That’s tough.
Is this why Jared pushes himself so hard and hopes to move far away from a home this beautiful? Maybe this isn’t some beautiful mansion to him but a reminder of the hardships he’s had to endure.
I brush his arm gently with my fingers to comfort him when I can’t find the right words to say because whatelse is there to say to that story besides, “I’m sorry”. He grabs my fingers and holds them on his arm under his hand. My cheeks burn at us practically holding hands, but again, not in a flattered way. It’s uncomfortable. Wrong. Nothing like Ben’s touch.
It’s just friendly touching. It doesn’t mean anything.
“I’m sorry, Jared. I can’t imagine what that must have been like to deal with as a child. Have you lived here your entire life?”
He nods, continuing to stare at the statue, his face unreadable. “I’ve broken this statue three times. My stepdad always pays to fix it. He’s under my mom’s thumb but he seems to enjoy it. To be fair, my stepdad is a good guy, I just think he has low self-esteem. Plus, I have him to thank for my life getting better after he got my mom into therapy. But after everything, I can’t find it in me to feel much love toward him. I’d rather just not have parents and do my own thing away from all the drama and baggage that comes with it.”
I squeeze his arm, unable to imagine feeling that strongly about escaping your parents or the life you grew up in.
“Well at least you’ll be moving out soon, so you won’t have to see her anymore if you don’t want to.”
“Kinda. She forced a stipulation on me where she won’t give me any money unless I visit home a minimum of once every three months. I won’t need her money for long, but I’ll need it at the start. I’ll be forced to come here for the first couple of years until I’ve saved up enough, but after that I’m free. Fully free to escape forever.”
He grips my fingers harder, almost painfully.
“Ow.”
“Sorry, you okay? My anger came out in my grip there. I apologize.”
He releases his grip, enabling me to shake my fingers out.
“Yeah, it’s okay. I’m fine…” I say hesitantly, looking for a way to escape. “Wait. Where’s Shirley?”
He rolls his eyes, minutely shaking his head and his blonde hair with it. “I left her in the kitchen talking to one of my cousins who's here from out of town.”
“Oh?”
“Why were you trying to set me up with her?”
Unprepared for such a blunt question, I shift on my feet and look down, embarrassed.
“We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s go back to the party, shall we?” He holds his arm out for me.
My muscles freeze in hesitation. Is it wrong to grab his arm now that I know I want to be with Ben?
“I won’t bite.” He winks, his mischievous smile returning.
Chuckling awkwardly, I grab his arm to appease him. I guess it won’t cause any harm. Technically, friends do this, right?
The thought of Ben seeing me with Jared pops into my head, immediately making me want to pull away. My gut suddenly squirms, telling me I’m betraying Ben by doing this, but I don’t know how to pull away without making it weird, so I keep my arm where it is. My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out in my free hand, hoping it’s Ben. Halting in my tracks, my breath hitches.
“What’s wrong?” Jared leans in to catch a glimpse of what I’m looking at.
Tilting my phone quickly away, I clear my throat. “It’s nothing.”
Unconvinced, he frowns, his eyebrow raising in suspicion.
“I’m good, come on. Let’s go.” A low hum vibrates beneath my skin as I forcefully shove my phone in my back-pocket. I can’t text him back here with Jaredwatching. Hell, I don’t know if I should text him back at all. Who is he to tell me who should and shouldn’t be touching me? What game is this guy playing?
But even though I’m frustrated at his previous rejection and lack of contact, a small part of me is curious enough to consider playing the game back.
