I rushed home with the box in my car. I wanted to find answers, I needed to find answers about my parents. I mean, I already knew a lot about my mom, but my dad? Not so much. And don't get me wrong, I've always appreciated everything that my aunts and uncles have done for me, but I really needed to know my parents story and how it related to my own. It was like there was this missing puzzle piece from my entire life, and even if I do find out about my family's past, I'm sure that there always will be anyways. I just need to piece together a few things. I hurried to the apartment that Joe and I shared and quickly shut the front door behind me. I rushed into the kitchen to grab a Coors Light, then I fled into my bedroom and locked the door. I placed the box on my desk and just stared at it. What contents would it hide within it? Was I ready to discover my parent's past? I took a shaky breath and sat down in the chair in front of my desk. I tapped my fingers nervously on top of the box. Maybe there are some things I wasn't yet ready to know... but then again, I had been waiting for 20 years....I started to slowly lifting the top off of the box, when I heard someone in the next room.
"JJ!" The voice shouted. It was clearly Joe's.
"What's up Joe?" I yelled back. He started banging on my door.
"Open up, dude!" I huffed and cracked my door open a little bit, standing in the way so that he couldn't come in.
"What, Joe?" I sighed. I couldn't talk to him right now! I was about to discover my past!
"You totally ditched me at Mantle's, man!" He huffed and had his arms crossed. He did look pretty angry.
"Dang, man. I'm sorry I totally forgot that I had to drive you home!" I ran my hand through my hair. "Ummm who drove you home then?"
"Vanessa did." Joe muttered.
"So?" I hit his arm with the back of my hand. "I thought that you liked Vanessa!" Of course, I did too...
"Yeah, but she was acting all weird on the drive home... plus my sister was too. It was weird." Joe explained, as he headed towards the kitchen. "I wonder why she took so long in the bathroom?" I laughed and walked behind him to the kitchen. He turned around, "Ok, what's so funny, JJ?"
"Dude, she went to the bathroom because you couldn't take a hint for your life!" I laughed, then took a sip of my beer.
"What do you mean exactly?" Joe opened up the fridge and stuck his head in it, trying to find something reasonable to munch on, but who were we kidding? We're college guys. We don't ever have a full enough fridge.
"Joe," I looked at him. "Come on man! Vanessa was totally hoping that you were going to flirt with her at the pool today." I shook my head and sat at the countertop.
"What? No she wasn't." Joe scoffed, as he reached for an apple from the fridge. Then he walked over to lean against the kitchen counter.
"Dude, she was clearly giving you a segway into who she should go out with." I snickered. Why was I encouraging him to pursue the girl that we both like? Because he needs an ego boost. Does Joe need to know that I kissed the girl that we both like? No. Do I feel incredibly guilty for not telling him that I made out with Vanessa? Not in the slightest. He can ask her out anytime he wants to. Buuuuut he hasn't, so imma slide into first base with her anyways. Call me what you want, but I don't see him making any moves.
*DING*
Vanessa: Hey! Just wanted to let you know that you should become a masseur, among other things ;)
My face lit up.
Me: oh yeah? When should I give you that next massage? ;)
Vanessa: I'm down for whenever. 😬 Also, did you find anything interesting in that box?
Me: Not yet. Joe is here and distracting me...
Vanessa: let me know when he leaves for work and I'll come help you dig into it.
Me: ok, sure. As long as your massage is part of the deal ;D
Vanessa: 👍🏻
I couldn't stop smiling. The girl that I liked was coming over.
"What's up with you man?" Joe asked, as he took a bite of his apple. "You've been extra cheery today. Which is saying something, because you're always ridiculously cheery."
"Whaaaaat? Me?" I gestured to myself. "Nah. I'm just texting some girl." I shrugged. It was the truth. Joe raised an eyebrow. He's so clueless. He couldn't even put together that I had 'gone to the bathroom ' at the same time as Vanessa had. This is why he'd never make a good sleuth, which is weird because his parents were known for being sleuths. In fact, our grandmother was too. Guess that gene skipped him though.
"What girl is this?" Joe scoffed. Again, he was so clueless.
"A girl I met at the party last night." I replied. It wasn't a total lie. I had met Vanessa there... but I didn't meet her for the first time. If I had to guess, I'd say the 'little white lie' gene came from my Blossom side, because my Mom's side was pretty open with everything. But then again... Aunt Betty never really told me what all happened with my parents either... "Anyways! Don't you have work soon?" I raised an eyebrow. I needed Vanessa to come over ASAP so we can dig through Aunt Cheryl's secret box.
"Yeah. I should probably get ready." He sighed. "Wait, are you having that girl come over or something? Like, are you trying to get rid of me so she can come over?" He raised an eyebrow. I held my hands out in front of me. Joe just shook his head and headed into his bedroom. Whew. That was a close one. I headed into my room and texted Vanessa that Joe was getting ready for work. I soon heard him leave. I sat on my bed and stared at the box on my desk. It was tempting to open all by myself, but I promised Vanessa I'd wait for her. I needed a distraction. Hmmm. I looked over at the easel that was in my small room. I had started it awhile ago... like probably two years ago, but I just wasn't satisfied with it. I walked up to it and stared at the family portrait I had attempted to paint. It had my dad, mom, and myself as a child. I had plenty of pictures of my parents to base this painting off of. Just not enough stories. It was hard for me to finish this painting because I needed to know their stories, their personalities in order for it to have any meaning. I just knew that, despite the odds, my parents had an undying love for each other. I did try to express that within the painting. I sighed.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
I hurriedly tossed a sheet over my painting and then headed over to the front door and opened it up to reveal the freckle faced beauty herself. She was wearing a red dress, daunting dark make up, and a pair of black flats.
"Vanessa!" I threw my arms out, she giggled, and accepted my embrace. "What up? Come in, come in." I let go of our embrace and gestured to my apartment. She walked in.
"Ooh! I like it!" She walked around the apartment in awe. "I love your paintings!" She walked up to a painting that I had above the couch.
"Have you... have you never been to our apartment before?" I laughed. She shook her head.
"You guys haven't exactly been close to me for awhile." She scoffed. I walked up behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders.
"Well, trust me, we're definitely going to have to change that." I whispered into her ear. She giggled and turned around to face me, as she threw her arms around my neck.
"But what about Joe?" She said lowly, a smile still written on her face.
"Oh, he's had his chance to make his move, trust me." I whispered back, as I cleared a stray hair out of Vanessa's face. She leaned in and we kissed softly.
"So this box?" Vanessa excitedly piped up.
"Ok, ok," I laughed. I took her hand and led her into my bedroom. I gestured to the box. "There it is." I let go of her hand and placed my hand on my chin. She walked up and started lifting the lid off. "Wait"" I exclaimed. She turned around.
"What? Are you too nervous to see what we'll find?" She lifted an eyebrow.
"Uhhh..." I looked at the floor. "Yeah. I mean, I've waited my entire life to know about my parents... but now that I can... it's scary." I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly. Vanessa gave me a sad laugh and walked up to me, gently throwing her hands around my neck. I placed my hands over hers.
"Hey JJ, Jason, I understand." I looked into her eyes. "It can be scary to discover things that we don't where it'll take us. But, it's better to know than not. Right?" She smiled, which made me smile in turn.
"Ok. But you open it." I replied, then I took one of her hands off of mine and kissed it. She nodded and headed over to the box. I slowly walked up behind her, and placed one hand on her hip. She cautiously took the lid off. Holy cow. There was so much within the box! I soon stood next to Vanessa and shuffled through the box myself. There were pictures of my parents together, pictures of my dad and Aunt Cheryl, and papers upon papers... along with a diary. My Aunt Cheryl's diary.
"Wow, JJ, you look like the perfect mix of your parents." Vanessa noted, as she thumbed through pictures. I picked up my aunt's diary and started to skim through it. Holy cow. This dated all the way back to right after I was born. Aw, she seemed to talk a lot about me. Wait. What was this section about Archie Andrews? I brought the diary closer to my face, so Vanessa couldn't see it. It appeared as if my aunt was head over heels for Mr. Andrews. Ew. They would've had some ugly kids. I mentally laughed. "Finding anything good?" Vanessa asked me, as she lifted up a recent document. Then her face fell. "Wait a second." I continued to read in my aunt's diary. It started talking about how she started dating my Uncle Reggie.
"Wait a second." I said aloud. "She had a custody battle with my Aunt Betty over me?" I looked at Vanessa. Her face was pale, as she continued to read a note. "What is it, Ness?" She looked up at me as if she had seen a ghost, and she stumbled backwards, and nearly tripped over my chair. I caught her arm. "Are you ok?" She wouldn't meet my eyes and she sat down in the chair. I was confused so I continued reading on. Why did Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Betty have a custody battle over me?
"Dear Diary,
Today that witch Betty Cooper attempted to murder my precious nephew, Jason Jr. the nerve! Her and her husband already did enough to our siblings, let alone him. I'm battle her for custody. She couldn't possibly take care of her nephew and her own baby within the next few months. Either way, I'm going to start dating Reggie Mantle so that his dad will help us win custody of Jason Jr."
What? What did the Jones' do to my parents? Also did she only date my Uncle Reggie so that his dad could help her? Then the diary got worse.
"Dear Diary,
Last month... I failed to mention that I slept with Archie Andrews. Well, today I found out that I was pregnant. If I'm honest, I'm not sure if the baby is his or Reggie's..."
I stumbled backwards. What?! Mantle... might not be a... Mantle?! I fell to the floor, running my fingers through my hair.
"Vanessa...?" I asked worriedly. She look horrified. "What did you just read?"
"I think I'm going to be sick." She stood up and rushed out of my bedroom and into my bathroom. I heard her puking in the distance. I stood up and shakily reached for the paper she had been holding. It was a DNA test... and Mantle was indeed not a Mantle. Regardless, he was still my cousin, but that meant...I rushed over to the bathroom and saw a mortified Vanessa, tears threatening to leave her eyes. "Vanessa?" I cautiously asked. What did I do? Did I comfort her? Give her some space? She rushed into my arms and pulled my shirt, tears spilling down her face. I gently wrapped my arms around her. "I'm so sorry." I whispered into her hair. This meant that Mantle, er Reggie Jr. (which was now clearly the wrong thing to call him) was her brother... This was not going to make good dinner conversation at her place.
------------------------------------------
After she cried in my arms for a half hour or so, we decided to chill out on the couch and drink some hot cocoa. I know it was still the summer, but Vanessa said it would make her feel better. I sat on the other end of the couch and watched Vanessa. I didn't know what to do or what to say.
"Ummm, I'm sorry." I said again. "This is all my fault for going through my Aunt's private box. I feel horrible." She leaned over and placed her hand on my wrist.
"It's not your fault that my dad ummm... you know." She squinted. "Ummm, well, I guess that explains why my mother really hates your Aunt." She went back to sitting across from me.
"Yeah, I guess so." I nervously laughed. "Ummm... so where does that... leave us?"
"Well, I mean, it's not like you're my brother." She rolled her eyes. "Ugh. That's so awkward!" She covered her face.
"What....us?" I asked.
"No! Not us, we're fine. But like... how many times he hit on me but it turns out he's my half brother!" She cringed so hard.
"Ohhhh. Yeah. That would be... ummm... really awkward." I replied. "I'm glad I'm an only child." I tried to make her laugh. She scooted across the couch, turned around, and leaned into me.
"Me too!" She reached backwards and patted my face. I smiled and kissed the top of her head, as my hands snaked around her waist. "This town and it's secrets are ridiculous!"
"Hey, on the bright side, now you can give Mantle a reason to not hit on you!" I semi-joked. She shook her head.
"Shouldn't it come from your aunt?" She turned around and accidentally elbowed me in the ribs. I yelped. She moved her elbow. "Oh. Sorry. But um, my dad probably doesn't even know." She covered her mouth with her hands.
"Or my Uncle Reggie." I gasped. "Ooooh this is our secret! We actually can't tell anybody!"
"JJ, you have to talk to your aunt! Convince her to tell everyone. It has to come from her." Vanessa explained. I was very aware of the fact that Vanessa was basically sitting in my lap.
"I don't think you understand, my aunt is like the ring leader of secrets." I sighed. "She'll never break."
"Not unless you tell her that I know." Vanessa raised her eyebrows at me. Gee whiz. The freckles on her face were remarkable. But also, Mantle has a lot of freckles and I don't know how anyone hadn't pieced it together that he was really an Andrews...
"Ok, fine." I replied. Vanessa was pretty much sitting in my lap, our faces inches apart. As much as I wanted to kiss her in that moment, I knew that it would be a bad idea. She just found out she has a secret half brother. Plus, we were home alone. That was never a good idea. I swear that she felt the awkward tension too. "I suppose that's enough of the secret box for one night." I averted my eyes from her gaze.
"Hey, JJ?" Vanessa softly asked. I finally looked up to meet her eyes. "It's not your fault that we found out about the secret. Actually... I'm glad that you did, because Mantle is a creep." We both laughed. Then, she went ahead and did it anyways, she placed her hand on my face and we kissed softly. Of course, she shifted her sitting position to where she was basically straddling me. I placed my hands on her waist again. She grabbed them and slid them down to her butt. I quickly opened my eyes, and stopped kissing her back.
"What?" She pulled back her lips and looked me in the eyes.
"Vanessa... I've... ummm.... This isn't a good idea." I quickly retracted my hands. She sat up straight on top of me, still straddling me, and crossed her arms.
"We just discussed how us dating is fine." She pouted.
"No, no, no! Don't get me wrong! I like us." I gestured between the two of us. "I just don't like that we're both home alone. It's not the best idea." I shrugged. She rolled her eyes and got up.
"Whatever. I thought you really liked me, JJ." She walked up to the front door.
"Wait, Vanessa, I do like you!" I hurried after her.
"Really? Then why did you stop?" She appeared furious at me.
"Because," I scratched the back of my neck. "You're 17. I can't take advantage of you. That's not cool." Her scowl dropped.
"Oh." She said quietly.
"Like, I'm fine with us kissing and stuff, but we can't go past first base for awhile. I'm not cool eoth that." I explained awkwardly.
"Well, ummm... thanks. I should really be going though, it's been a long night."
"Ok. Please text me when you get home, ok?" I asked. She nodded with a half smile, then left. I walked back into my bedroom and plopped down on the bed. It had been a long night.
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Reallllllly sorry for not updating sooner! I honestly did have a very busy summer.
Alright, so Vanessa and Joe? Or Vanessa and JJ?
Also, what about that plot twist huh? Did anyone see that coming? 😬