Wrong Impression

When Jimmy Dumped Izzy

"Are you... are you sure?" His voice was weak, stuttering.

"Yeah." Derek bit his lip so hard, he drew blood. "I asked around. From credible sources. They've been at it for months."

At it. Izzy didn't do relationships without sex. Did that mean... Could he actually believe Derek? Because it wasn't even the issue of Izzy cheating on him. It was Tom. Tom would never do something like that to him. He knew how much Izzy meant to Jimmy, he knew...

Holy shit. Tom didn't know Izzy. He'd never introduced them. Which meant that this could actually--

Jimmy's eyes tried to find something else to focus on, to stop his brain from going over the possibility, from accepting it, because if he were completely honest, as much as he loved Izzy, he thought her capable of something like this.

His gaze finally found a suitable target. And the ground ran out from under his feet. On the roof of the school, a dark silhouette rose against the sky. And he was one hundred percent sure it was his brother.

With newfound energy, he sprinted towards the school. He wasn't going to let this happen.

☠☡☢

Tom hadn't known. Of course he hadn't. And Jimmy didn't find that surprising at all. He'd pulled his brother off the edge of the building, made sure he wouldn't try that again, pretended to understand and walked away.

Straight into a bottle of beer because he didn't understand shit. He knew he shouldn't drink. Knew that one beer was enough to bring him to his knees when he was so tired. But he wanted to pass out, wanted to forget. Wanted to die.

But he wouldn't, because he wasn't the type. He was the type who rationalized and came up with the best solution. So he'd just break it into pieces and solve the damn thing.

Question number one: did he believe Tom? Yes, he totally did. Because Tom would never lie to him. He never had and he never would. It was like a silent agreement between them.

Question number two: did he believe Izzy capable of doing something like that? The evidence was against her. She'd obviously known Tom was his brother. She'd said it with her own mouth. She'd also obviously cheated.

If he trusted Tom, the answer to this question was easy. But here came the heartbreaking part. For some godawful reason, he wasn't surprised. He knew Izzy, knew she had an insatiable, perverted side to her. He'd just been stupid enough to believe he could control it. That he was enough to cover all her needs. That she was satisfied.

She obviously wasn't and the monster had come out to play. But why Tom? Why his own brother? Despite their tumultuous relationship, Jimmy though Izzy loved him. She'd said so and he'd believed her.

Sure, their relationship was a little unconventional, but they were doing okay. All the normal couple things like helping each other out around the house, talking about their days, making decisions together. They'd moved in together. He actually thought they had a future.

Obviously not. Because when he slipped and loosened his grip on her, she slithered away and did her damage.

Question number three: should he have seen it coming?

Yes. He should have. From the day she'd made her move on him. It was flattering. She was popular and older and the fact that she wanted to hook up with him had stroked his ego. Especially because he barely had time to breathe. But they made it work somehow and what he'd taken as a fling turned into a relationship. Back then, he hadn't cared that she'd dumped her boyfriend for him.