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Jason's Pov:
I walked into the building that I hoped I would never see again. Part of me was apprehensive at the thought of leaving. This was the place that I considered home. I thought of Jeremy and I felt sick at the thought of leaving him here, vulnerable.
I walked up the stairs, there wasn't a soul in sight in the lobby. I walked through the door of my apartment, I was expecting an empty space but Mark and Jeremy were sitting on their mattresses.
"He returns." Mark commented without taking his eyes away from his comic book. "How are you doing?"
I shrugged. "I'm alright. The best I can be now that my life has been turned upside down."
I looked over and Jeremy smiled at me, I gestured for him to come over towards me. He sat on my mattress and I sat next to him. Mark looked at me curiously, he set his book down and sat up to look at me.
"What's up?" Mark put his hands on his knees and gave me his full attention. I almost felt guilty for leaving, Mark and Jeremy were the only people in this apartment that I cared about, I wanted to keep them in my life.
I cleared my throat and looked at both of them. "I'm moving out." They didn't need bullshit reasons as to why I leaving right off the bat, I wanted to just get it out there and gauge their reactions.
Mark just looked a bit shocked, but pleased none the less. "I'm glad you have made the decision to get out of this place, kid. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss you, but this is what is best for you. Why exactly have you made the decision to leave anyway?"
"After my mother's funeral, my father basically dropped my little brother in my lap, really no explanation. Just gave him to me and told me to take care of him. Don't take this the wrong way, but I cant have him stay here. Not by himself and I don't trust anybody but you guys to take care of him. I don't want to ask you to do that."
"So, where are you going to be staying?" I looked over at Jeremy and frankly, he looked close to tears. I didn't want to leave him here without any protection, but I couldn't just throw my little brother to the wolves. I had to do what was best for my family.
"My boyfriend, Ace has offered to let us stay with him. I promise, I will come and visit you and you can call me whenever you need me." He knew that meant, if they give you any trouble you know who to call. I could not ignore the way my heart stammered when I referred to Ace as my boyfriend.
Jeremy sucked in a breath, underneath all of the sadness he must have been feeling, he looked happy for me as well. "Well, you better keep in touch. I'm happy for you though."
"I hate to rain on your parade, but the others aren't going to be too happy when they find out that they aren't going to be able to count on your rent anymore. We are barely scraping by with you, they won't be throwing you a farewell party, that's for sure." Mark said.
I knew it was true, I nodded. "That is why I will be gone by the time they get home." I wandered over to my nightstand that I took from a dumpster and grabbed the only three books that I owned and placed them inside my backpack. I stuffed the few outfits that I possessed inside along with my toothbrush and comb. I wasn't kidding when I said I could fit everything that I owned into a backpack. I zipped it up and threw it over my shoulder, I spotted my pay check on the nightstand. I picked it up and immediately handed it over to Jeremy, he looked up at me as if I were crazy. "Consider this my apology for me moving out."
"But you have to take care of your brother! I promise we will be fine." He tried to give it back to me, but I wasn't having it.
"Next month will be my month to pay, I don't want to leave you guys without a back up plan. Take this so that if there is no alternative, you have money to pay the rent. I don't want to be the reason that you guys get kicked out." I pushed the check further into his hands and they both looked at me with gratitude.
"Thank you, and don't worry about what the others will say about you, you deserve to be happy. You obviously have better things to do than hang around here." Mark said, he got up and gave me a pat on the back. "I've got to go to school for a few hours, I hope to see you soon. Call if you need anything."
"You too." I waved to him and he walked out with his backpack hung over his shoulder.
I turned back to look at Jeremy. "I really do mean it, I want you to call me if you ever need me."
He nodded, but his mind looked far away. "You better get going before the guys show up, that is not a fight I want to witness right now." He turned and walked into the bathroom without another word. I couldn't help but feel a little hurt, was he really that upset about me moving out? Was there something that I didn't know that was bothering him?
I shook my head and sighed, there was nothing I could do about it now, I needed to get out of here before the guys showed up. I didn't have the time or the energy to fight with them over something that was none of the business. I walked out of the building and took a deep breath once I hit that cold air. I looked over and spotted my bike with the flat tire still intact. I walked over to it and put the kickstand up and began to walk over to the diner.
I hadn't spoken to Carrie since earlier in the week when I asked for time off to help with my mother's funeral. She was more than willing to give me the time, but I was looking forward to going to back to work. I hadn't seen Scarlett in a week and I was looking forward to laughing again, she was the one person that could make me happy no matter what situation we were in.
Most people were at work during this time of the day so I was able to make it to the diner in about twenty minutes. I put my useless bike in one of the bike slots before walking inside the building. It was comforting to be here again after being at home for the first time in two years, it was nice to be somewhere familiar.
I walked in just as Scarlett walked out of the kitchen with an empty tray in her hand. She looked up and spotted me immediately, she stood still for a moment but then squealed and barreled towards me. "I missed you so much!" She yelled before throwing herself into my arms. I caught her and hugged her to me tightly.
"I missed you, too. So much." She pulled back and looked at me with her gleaming blue eyes.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you when your mom passed, I didn't even know until Ace called Phoenix and he told me" She fussed.
"I didn't really want you to know, not because I didn't trust you, but because I didn't know how to handle it. I would have called you, but I was more effected by it than I wanted to admit,"
"You have nothing to apologize for!" she insisted. "No matter what, she was your mother and you have every right to be upset. I am just glad you are back, you were starting to worry me." She led me to our favorite table in the back and sat down.
"What about your shift?" I asked as I sat down.
She looked around and gestured towards the nearly empty diner. "Does it look like there are customers literally flagging me down by the second? Just talk to me, let me know what happened. Even Phoenix has been worried about you."
"I'm flattered." I told her everything, it came pouring out of me. Her eyes widened every time i mentioned something new, she was itching to interrupt me. I could tell by the way her fingers tapped restlessly against the table and how she bit her lip until it was red. When I was finished, she wasted no time before she jumped in.
"He just left him with you? I can see a million things wrong with that. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that your little brother is back in your life, but like this? Why does it have to be like this? That little boy just lost his mother and now he has to get used to a whole new way of life. Not to mention, the way he just pawned him off on you. That has to be hard on both of you. I don't understand how a parent can just leave their kid, especially when they are that young." She ranted. She actually looked pretty upset about the whole ordeal.
"I am so happy that I have Tyler back with me, but I just wish it were under different circumstances."
She smiled wide. "There is another very good thing coming out of this. You and Ace making things official?" I was beginning to think her face was going to split in half. "I am so happy for you! You guys are the hottest couple I have ever seen." She looked thoughtfully. "Besides Phoenix and I of course."
"Of course." I smiled. I looked over her shoulder and saw Carrie standing behind the bar. "I have to go and talk to Carrie for a minute about my schedule next week. You should probably be, oh, I don't know, working." She stuck her tongue out at me but still got up and began to serve the customers that had just walked in minutes before.
I walked over towards Carrie, her eyes brightened when she saw me. I sat in the bar stool in front of her, she set a coffee in front of me and I gave her a grateful look before taking a sip. "You know me too well. How is everything?" I wasn't a very big fan of coffee, but apparently Carrie could tell when I needed it.
She shrugged. "Not the same without you. When do you plan on coming back?"
"How about Wednesday? I would come back in tomorrow but I have to get my brother situated in school before I worry about work."
She smiled. "As long as you have a valid reason, I have no problem with that. I can't wait to have you back though, Scarlett tends to get extra crazy when you aren't around."
I scoffed. "As if that were possible."
"I heard that, and I can assure you it is very possible." Scarlett said as she walked past us and into the kitchen, she didn't even look over as she talked.
Carrie and I laughed, I missed this more than I thought I ever would. I said goodbye to them both before walking the few blocks to Ace's apartment. I was excited to see him again, I was looking forward to waking up with him in the morning, watching him make breakfast for us on the weekends, I was ready for it all.
Maybe we actually could make a life like this, just us and my little brother. My sisters weren't interested in Tyler, I knew that I was his only hope. They had their own lives to worry about, I would be worried about them not having enough time to invest in him. I was prepared to put him and Ace first, always. I would do anything for them, Ace was someone I couldn't lose. I was falling for him in a way I didn't even know possible.
I walked to his apartment, I looked up at the door. This felt like the beginning of a new chapter in my life, It felt like the second I walked into that apartment I started living a different life. I took a deep breath and walked up the steps to his door, I didn't even have to knock, the door opened and Ace stood their with a smile on his face. "I was hoping it was you."
I smirked. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"Never." I walked into his already open arms and hugged him tight. He strength his body emitted made me feel more safe than I had ever felt in my whole life. The way he set his chin on the top of my head made it feel like I was made to be in his arms. I could barely form the words, let alone look him in the eye.
"I love you." I whispered into the air. In that moment, all I could hear were the horns on the street, the hitch in his breath and his heart pounding against the side of my face. I could hear his heart beating twice as fast as it was before. I was scared, but In another strange way I felt free.