***Ronnie's POV***
"Thank you so much for all of the food, Hannah, it was really a treat. I hope that I'll see all of y'all soon, maybe I can even come back tomorrow?" Jc said to my family, very obviously trying to charm them.
It took so much restraint for me not to yell at him right then. I was still pissed off about the surprise announcement of us dating. He could of at least told me that he was going to say that, so I could be mentally prepared for the dropped bomb that wasn't even true.
"You know what, it's already pretty late, why don't you just stay here for the night?" Jake asked when we started walking towards the door.
I gave him a surprised look. Since when did he trust me at all? Of course, when I didn't want to see any more of Jc right now, that's when.
"There are already enough people sleeping at this house tonight, we don't need another one. And besides, wouldn't that be a little weird?" I responded.
"Not really, you've stayed over at my apartment plenty of times," Jc added in his two cents.
"With Kara," I said. He really shouldn't be testing me right now, couldn't he tell that I was already upset enough?
"If you don't want him to stay, he doesn't have to, I was just offering," Jacob said, then turned to Jc again. "You can definitely come back tomorrow, you're always welcome here."
I rolled my eyes and began walking toward the front door. Even though I didn't want to, I know I needed to talk to Jc before he left and find out what the hell was going on.
I felt a warm hand on my waist when I was almost out the door and turned to find Jc next to me. I turned to him with a scowl on my face before harshly shaking his hand off of me.
"What was that for?" Jc asked me with a smile after shutting the front door softly.
Making my way towards Jc's car, I was clenching and unclenching my fists in order to calm down. I kept my breaths even and collected my thoughts so I didn't sound stupid when I began to lash out at him.
I realized I was pacing, and stopped to find Jc staring at me. I held his gaze for a few seconds before beginning to talk.
"Would you cut that out?" I asked sharply, and was impressed with myself for keeping my edge.
"Cut what out? I don't know what you're talking about," He responded, his voice smooth and relaxed.
He was clearly trying to irritate me with his carefree words. He knew that I was angry, and honestly, I don't think that he cared.
A small gust of wind swept by, and I immediately wished that I hadn't shed my jacket inside. I looked over at Jc's car and longed for the warmth that it would bring, but I knew that if I went in there with him, I wouldn't be able to be successful in this upcoming argument.
"Jc, what the hell happened in there?" I asked, pointing towards my house.
He sighed and opened the door to his car, not looking at me.
"Hey!" I said, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away from the car. "I want to know why you said that, you can just walk away!"
I slammed the door shut and pushed him farther away from the car, into the street. I was full of rage at this point, and he still hadn't said anything.
"I told them that we were dating because I wanted answers. How do you know that they don't know about us being related? If any of them knew, then they wouldn't have accepted our relationship, they would've hated me or treated me badly. They obviously liked me, which means that they probably have no idea," He said, all of his words even and calm.
"And you couldn't have warned me about it first? God, Jc! I can't believe you right now! You made me look like an idiot back there, in front of my own family! In front of your family," I was yelling at him until the last statement.
After I said it, I felt a little guilty, but he didn't seem affected by it. He hadn't raised his voice at all, and he still seemed happy, although I didn't know why.
"Why don't you just let it go, Veronica? If none of them know, then let's just keep it that way and leave it there. You can tell them that we broke up or something, I honestly don't care," He said, and now he was starting to look upset. Not mad, just upset.
"What do you mean, you don't care? Don't you want to find out who your mom is? We could go find her, see what she knows about my father. I knew that he wasn't a good man, but this just doesn't make any sense. Why would I even be here if he had a baby with this Lydia woman? Why would he go back to my mom?"
"Veronica, I have a family, and I don't want to go searching for a woman who gave me up. I've already lost so much, I just don't want to have hope in someone who I don't even know. She could be a drunk, or an addict, or homeless. I can't just go and find her like that, especially because I wouldn't be able to help her." He sighed.
"But don't you just want to know? She could be a successful woman, Justin! What if she's married? You might have siblings!" I was still screaming at him, and I just couldn't get through to him.
How would he not want to even know his parents? My parents were gone, and while my dad was alive he was a failure. I wish that I could have parents as amazing as his dad and his step-mom, but I'm just not going to have that chance ever again.
"I already found out that I have four siblings, and that's too much for me to think about. So what if I have more? Just let it go, it's not your problem," He was starting to get angry now, but he was still keeping his voice even.
He was showing much more self-control than Connor ever did.
"Yes, it is my problem! You're my brother. My father cheated on my mother before I was even born. So no, I'm not going to just 'let it go,' whether you like it or not," I turned to walk away, but found myself staring into the headlights of a car that were approaching fast.
It was Connor's father's car, I should've known. He was one of the worst drivers I had ever seen. He stopped abruptly right in front of us before rolling his window down.
"I really need to talk to you!" He yelled at me before pulling into his driveway.
I figured I didn't have anything to lose by waiting for him, my night was already ruined enough because of Jc. Connor hopped out of the car, walking towards us with none other than Jennifer Allen behind him. Well I guess he moved on fast.
"How's the happy couple doing?" Connor asked in a mocking tone.
"We're just fine, thank you," Jc responded before I could, immediately defensive.
"God, we're not a couple," I said with as much irritation as I was feeling.
Jc looked at me with a strange expression; hurt mixed with something I couldn't quite decipher. Connor must have been able to though, because he chuckled slightly under his breath.
"Veronica, can I talk to you?" Connor asked me.
"Nothing's stopping you," I replied, unaware that he meant alone.
There was a silence among the four of us, where I took a second to look at Jennifer and Connor. His arm had a red mark on it where it looked like he had been hit by something. Her face was streaked with red marks, like she had been rubbing her eyes, crying, I assumed.
"Well, I think I'm going to go now," Jc broke the silence and started to move towards me.
Before I could object, his arms were around me in a hug, and I only accepted it because he was incredibly warm, contrasting with the cold air surrounding us.
"Just play along for now, please," He whispered into my ear before giving me a kiss on the side of my head and getting into his car.
I watched his car drive away, upset about what he said tonight. How could he seriously not want to know his real mother? I understood how he could be afraid of her being a failure, but if it was me, I would jump at the chance to find her. I still needed answers about my father, and if it took me finding Lydia myself, then I would do it.
"I see you moved on pretty fast," Connor said, pulling me out of my deep thought.
"I could say the same to you," I said, gesturing to Jennifer who had walked back to the warmth of Connor's car without me noticing.
"It's not like that," He responded quickly.
"Really? Then why'd you take her home with you? Did you figure that it was too quiet at your dad's house and someone would hear the two of you-"
"No. No, it's definitely not like that. I took her here because my dad came home drunk and started touching her. He pushed me into a shower too, but that doesn't really matter. I was wondering if she could maybe stay over at your house? My mom hates her because of what she did to me and I really don't want to have to explain what my father did right now. So I know that you probably hate me or whatever, but can you please just let her stay with you? Maybe borrow some clothes?" He explained everything so quickly, and I actually believed him.
It took me a minute to process what he was actually asking. Did he really want me to allow that whore to sleep in my house, to wear my clothes? I thought about it for a moment, then remembered her tear-streaked face.
"You better pay me for this, Franta," I responded, walking towards his car.
When I got there, I flung the passenger door open, and took a hold of Jennifer's arm, pulling her out.
"Come on, let's go," I said.
"What?" She replied, clueless.
"We're going to my house, and you can stay with me for tonight. Just tonight," I said.
She trailed behind me as we walked across the street, and I opened the door, trying to think of a convincing lie. I wasn't sure if Timothy knew Jennifer or had even seen her before, but I prayed that he wouldn't recognize her if he had.
When I walked into the living room, they were all crowded around the television, just as I had expected them to be. No one looked up at me until I cleared my throat, then Hannah met my eyes.
"Who's this?" She asked.
"This is my friend Jenny," I cringed at the word friend. "She was over at Connor's house, but since it's getting late, we thought it would be responsible if she just stayed over here with me. Is that okay?" I asked with a smile plastered on my face.
"Yeah, that's fine, hon," Hannah responded before turning back towards the TV.
I walked towards my bedroom, happy that she had bought my act, but still pissed off that Jennifer was walking behind me. As long as she left right in the morning, it would be fine.
When I got to my room, I pulled open a drawer and took out an oversized t-shirt and some gym shorts. Turning towards Jennifer, I threw the garments at her.
"Thanks," She said, slightly aware of the awkward vibe between us. "Is there a bathroom, or?"
"I didn't know that you mind changing in front of people, it didn't seem like a problem before," I snapped.
She looked a little hurt by what I said, so I sighed and amended my statement.
"Down the hall, to the left," I said.
She walked out of the room without a word, and while she was gone, I pulled out the extra mattress that was under my bed. It was a little bit lumpy, but it was all that I had, other than the floor. It already had sheets on it from the last time that Kara came over, so I didn't have to do anything.
I went back to the drawer and pulled out another pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Coincidentally, this one was Connor's, one that he had left after we went on the camping trip. I thumbed through the contents of the drawer, but there were no more shirts, they were all dirty. I guess I would have to just wear Connor's.
I pulled the dress I was wearing over my head and threw it in my overflowing laundry basket in the corner of my room. I stepped into my shorts and tugged them up to just above my hips. I had to roll them down because they were too big. While I was grabbing the shirt off of my desk, the door to my room opened.
"Mind knocking?" I asked Jennifer, turning quickly so that my right hip was facing her, I didn't want her to see my left one.
"Sorry," She muttered before sitting on the spare mattress.
I shrugged my shirt on before hopping in my bed and taking off my ring, then setting it on my bedside table.
"What's that?" Jennifer asked, pointing at the ring that I had just pulled off.
"It's just a ring that I always wear. My grandmother bought it for me when I was in fourth grade. I've worn it everyday this year, and now I'm just kind of attached to it," I said, remembering the day that I went to St. Augustine for a field trip.
My grandmother had told me that she would buy me one special thing, and we passed by a stand that was selling rings. We waited while the man etched 'Veronica' into the metal, and I was so excited to see how beautiful it was. I wore it for a week, then never saw it again until about a year ago.
Timothy took me to get it resized, because I had gotten smaller, and I hadn't gone a day without wearing it. I guess it was a way to hold on to my grandmother, I missed her so much.
"That reminds me of the necklace that Connor bought for you, it was so beautiful. Too bad you never got to see it," She said before closing her eyes and quickly falling to sleep.
I reached up to switch off the lamp, and turned my back to Jennifer, hugging a large bear that I still slept with. Don't judge, you probably do too.
I replayed the events of the night many times in my head before finally drifting off into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YAY FOR LONG CHAPTERS!
I kind of sporadically decided to write this chapter, and I also planned out pretty much the rest of the book, and it isn't going to last for that much longer. But knowing me, I'm probably going to change everything and come up with new ideas and crap. Oh well.
Oh and also I only have four weeks of school left which means that I will be able to update more frequently really soon. Yay!
Love Always,
~shelbigrace