Family Ties

Confrontation (part 1)

They hopped into Jonathan's BMW and proceeded to travel to his parent's home. Once, they were inside the gates, they proceeded to sit in Jonathan's car for a little while. He needed to take some deep breaths and prepare himself for the absolute disregard these people had towards his feelings about their precious son and his girlfriend.

"Hey, so how would feel about going on my vacation with me", Jonathan asked Damien. Damien couldn't contain the shocked expression from making an appearance on his face, he thought that Jonathan would much rather want to be alone.

"Whoa! Are you sure you're okay? You almost never invite me when you go away to regroup". Jonathan chuckled,

"Yes, I am okay! Can I not want my best friend to come travel around Jamaica with me?"

"You can, it's just weird coming from you that's all and sure I'll come along. I need a break from my own business ventures anyway", Damien replied.

Damien ran his own clothing lines and being the boss could get a little hectic sometimes. There was a big scandal in his company a few years ago when he was given information to some of his associates using slave and child labor to mass produce some of their products. Damon had to cut ties with many investors and revamped his company's image by building some factories in smaller towns across the United States, he wanted to help some failing communities by giving them jobs while also giving them clothes that they could afford.

He may not be in the same tax bracket as Jonathan and his family but he did well for himself while trying to help those less fortunate; his parents always instilled in him that money and status can easily disappear so not to be attached to it.

Once he was fully calm, Jonathan exited the car and Damien followed suit. They walked up the white painted wood steps together, staring at the marble columns on each side. They continued to walk across the wood porch until they reached the massive wood and metal doors that would lead them into the home of James and Maya Meyers.

Jonathan rang the doorbell, as he did not feel that he was a part of the family anymore, especially after they treated his feelings and emotional health as something he could brush off. They stood side by side waiting for door to open; and once it did they were greeted with sight of Maya Meyers.

She was a petite woman of thirty-two years of age with brown hair and brown eyes; standing at 5'9 an almost exact replica of Jackson except she was a woman. She was a socialite by birth, her maiden name being Wilks a part of the Wilks family in Wyoming whom started their lucrative business in farming but hit the jackpot once the patriarch William Wilks struck oil on the family property.

Once the family started getting money for the oil, William started buying property and cattle across the states thus starting the Wilks Cattle ranching company that was still in high production even in present times. It was one of the few companies that was still standing after a couple centuries in the beef industry; Maya was born to parents Warren and June Wilks. She was doted on her parents from the time she entered this world. Thus, she grew to expect the utmost respect from anyone she crossed without giving much in return.

"Hello Damien! How are you? We haven't seen you in a while. How are your parents?" The Meyers weren't very close friends with the Wells, well Maya wasn't.

She grew up apart of too rich for your kind crowd whereas the Wells were more pull themselves up by the bootstrap people. They fought hard for a place in the fashion and music industry so they could get their message to other like-minded people. The message being you can try your best to be happy and to keep pushing forward.

"I'm doing well Mrs. Meyers and my parents are doing great." Damien was as polite as he could be in the presence of a person who stuck her nose up at his parents at their first meeting. Although it had been a decade that they first met, Damien didn't truly care because he was so accustomed to people like Mrs. Meyers that her opinions didn't matter to him in the slightest. Jonathan just stood aside and let them exchange pleasantries while he put his emotional armor in place.

"Jonathan, darling why must you always choose to wear such bright colored suits? Do you just want all the attention for yourself?"

Jonathan stared at her with a blank face and with a monotone voice and replied, "Hello mother, is it nice to see you again." And with that he simply pushed pass her through the door into the grand foyer.

He could see various members of both sides of his family milling about. It looked to be only about 20 people here or so, less people than normal. Jonathan thought that maybe the night wouldn't be such a disaster after all.

"Jonathan! You arrived, how are you dear boy?" Jonathan turned to the voice of his uncle Harold to see that the older man had a glass of champagne in one hand and an unlit cigar in the other.

"I am doing fine Uncle Harold. You look to be enjoying yourself rather well." Jonathan could only feel a genuine likeness to his uncle, his father's eldest brother was always the one to tell him to take a day off every once and a while and do what was best for him.

His uncle was one of the few family members who cared about him as an individual and not as just the family name. He and his uncle had many parallels in their life; so much so that people often thought that he was his uncle's son and not his nephew. As his uncle continued to talk to him about his constant vacations and partying; Jonathan spied Damien flirting with one of his cousins and chuckled when he struck out.

The Meyers families knew Damien Wells as a player and for the most part have continued to stay away from him. The only member of this clan that he talked to without any sexual innuendos is Jonathan and Jackson, the latter only because Damien found himself to be way too afraid of what the reaction could be.

"Hello Damien, how are you?" Damien could feel his entire care free mood shift to utter annoyance and a desire to be invisible. He turned to find the one person he really would rather not speak to, like ever.

"Hello Ms. Vanderbilt, how are you this evening?' He stared at her with an air of absolute boredom. She was dressed elegantly in a sky-blue evening dress with matching heels that seemed to all be brought together with her golden blonde hair pulled up in a tight bun with a few loose strands covering her face.

"You don't have to be so formal Damien; we did attend the same high school for all four years. I don't understand why we can't be cordial with one another." She looked at Damien with a look of desperation.

A look that said she just wanted someone to be nice to her without the judgmental looks or subtle digs about what she had done.

"We have never been cordial Ashley; there is no need to start now. So, is there a reason you are asking how I am? Because I know it isn't that you actually care how I am doing." Damien knew there had to be an ulterior motive to her even daring to speak to him. In all the years she had been with Jonathan, neither tried to forge a friendship; so there had to be a reason why she suddenly was interested in him and it wasn't his wellbeing.

Ashley released a deep sigh, "I just wanted to know how he was doing. He didn't deserve what I did but that doesn't mean I don't care about him or his wellbeing."

Damien titled his head to the side and snorted; he couldn't believe what she had said. What kind of person strings a person along for almost a decade just to turn around and screw his family member?!

Damien thought he had heard all he needed to hear. So, with a chuckle and a shake of his head he replied, "It's funny that you say that you care about him when your actions prove the exact opposite of that statement. Unfortunately for you, Jonathan is stronger than you or his brother anticipated. He is going to be just fine without the two of you in his life. He is going to rebuild himself like he always does and hopefully find someone who truly loves him for him and not what he can be for them."

Ashley had a look of despair on her face, because she knew he was right. Jonathan was a fighter, always had been. Especially for the things he believes in. So, if Jonathan felt that his life was better off without her, she knew no one would change his mind.

Damien walked away with nothing else to say; he didn't want to be the cause of any altercations at the dinner party and didn't want Jonathan to have an outburst in front of these people. When you have all the money in the world, life becomes mundane to the point that any reaction spurns the wheels of gossip among the rich community. It doesn't matter that the rumors are untrue, it only matters that they are entertaining. Damien did not want his best friend to be entertainment for the rich and weary.