"Are you sure your okay J?" Tyler asked me for the millionth time as we drove to Claire's a couple hours later.
I nodded.
"Ty, for the last time, im fine okay?"
He didn't look convinced. "You are a very bad liar." He told me as we took a turn.
"Okay fine. Truth, I'm slightly on edge but I'm okay. Happy?" I said, throwing my arms up in the air, rolling my eyes.
"Are you sure you want to do this J? Like, are you one hundred percent certain you just have to do this?" Ty asked me as he turned up the AC.
I sighed, combing through my hair with my fingers and leaning my head against the window.
"I have no fucking clue. All I know is that I have to do this, certain or not." I stated in a final voice.
"How can you do something if your not certain? That dosen't make sense." He objected and I stifled a groan, rubbing my forehead.
Tyler was really, really starting to get on my nerves. Ever since I woke up, he had been watching me like a halk, and asking way too many questions. It only magnified when I told him I was going to my old house without giving him an explanation. He practically dragged me to his car, saying there was no way in hell I was going alone.
"Look, I just have to do this. If you don't want to be a part of it, then leave. I was going at this solo but you decided to invite yourself and tag along." I said in a clipped tone, waving my hand in the air in a final gesture.
"I wasen't going to let you do this alone! You can't just sit there and assume I would let you leave on your own accord, go back to your old house where your abusive step father and crazy mother lives." He put the car in parked and turned to face me, giving me an incredulous look.
"Babe, all im saying is that maybe this isin't a good idea." His voice, along with the soft hum of the car, filled my ears.
"Are we here yet?" I asked impatiently, my leg bouncing up and down.
"We're about fifteen minutes away." He said briefly and I turned to look at him.
"Then why the hell did you stop?" I asked, not being able to hide my annoyance.
"And why the hell do you have an attitude? I haven't said or done shit." He shot back, and I could tell he was getting annoyed at me too.
I snorted. "You've done and said plenty of shit, all in record time actually. Congrats, you can knock it off now." I added with sarcasm and a mean glare.
He ran a hand through his already tousled hair and took a deep breath, resting his head on the steering wheel. He suddenly let out a humorless laugh.
"See, I've been worried sick about you since, oh I don't know, you woke up at four in the morning screaming and crying for your father, who's dead. It took you a whole fucking hour to calm down, for me calm your ass down-"
"Nobody fucking asked you to." I spat at him. Okay now I was getting pissed.
He continued as if I haden't talked. "-so yeah, yes you freaked me out a bit because I wasen't expecting it, not the way it wen't down. You've been distracted and quiet all morning, add to that you haven't told me anything as to why you suddenly made the decision to go back to your abusive home." He stated, his eyes narrowed.
"I don't owe you any explanations regarding the choices I make with my life and everything in it."I snapped at him, having enough.
He rolled his eyes at my words. "There you go, going all defensive over nothing." He muttered.
"Over nothing?! You make it seem as if I'm obliged to tell you everything thing I do, or think and then explain why. I'm not, and I will not. I'm only getting defensive because your forcing me to!" I practically shrieked, loosing the last of my patience.
"Oh so now its my fault?! Your bitching because I'm 'forcing you'-" he air quoted, clearly agitated "-to explain what the hell is wrong with you?! Your fucking unbelivable!" He grunted out, pissed.
I, having enough of this, grabbed my purse, unlocked the car door and threw it open, climbing out.
"Juniper! What the hell are you doing?!" Tyler shouted at me and instead of answering, I slammed the door shut. I climbed on the side walk and began walking quickly forward, crossing my arms over my chest tightly as the wind blew furiously at my hair.
Fuck all that, I thought. I'll gladly go the rest of the way on foot.
Too late I heard the loud steps that came my way, and just when I was about to run my feet were lifted off the ground.
"PUT ME DOWN! TYLER! LET ME GO!" I thrashed against his steel grip as he dragged me back to the car, my feet scraping the pavement.
"I swear to God Tyler, my boots break and the rainbow will have nothing on you once I'm done!" I yelled at him as he hauled me into the passenger seat. When I met his gaze again, I expected him to be livid. But the jerk was laughing! He had a full blown grin plastered on his face.
"I can't decided what'a worse, your bark or your bite." Tyler said between laughs as he grasped my thighs to avoid me from fleeing.
"Oh yeah, why don't you come closer and find out, tough guy?" I growled, pushing at his chest.
His smile turned into a smirk. "Fine by me." He suddenly tangled his fingers in my curly hair and yanked me to him, his lips crashing on mine. He kissed hard, in such a demanding way my head started spinning and I swear my toes curled involuntarily. I pulled away, greedily breathing air since he had robbed me of mine.
My breathing was ragged, his too, as I looked into his slightly darkened eyes that held nothing but mischief, among other things that made my mind go blanck, more than it already was.
"Why don't you sit back, put your damn seatbelt on, and stop your useless attempt in trying to make me go away?" He mumbled, cocking his head to the side slightly, watching me as moved his fingers through my hair continuously. I closed my eyes and hummed, my body relaxing inmediately, though my heart would not slow down. Tyler knew exactly what to do to make me comply, he knew exactly what strings to pull to make me agree with anything he said.
Not only did I hate him for it, or at least that's what my ego and pride wanted me to do, but it drove me absolutely crazy.
"I'm sorry for getting mad at you, and for talking to you that way. But you gotta understand, I care about you J. And not knowing what has you so worked up makes me more anxious. I just want to help you, and be there for you when you need it the most. I don't expect you to tell me everything, I get that you need your space, but I do want you to trust me. You can talk to me about anything, no matter how complicated it may seem and I'll always have your back. Can you forgive me?" He told me in a soft voice that made insides turn to jello.
I nodded, not trusting my vocal cords, and not being able to speak. He grinned, and pecked my already bruised lips. Robotically, I got my legs in the car as Ty closed the door for me and jogged back to the drivers side.
"See? That wasen't so hard no was it?" He teased, driving off.
"Screw you." I mumbled, looking out the window, my face feeling to hot for my liking. He just laughed at me, like he knew. It was obvious he did.
~•~•~•~•~•~
My house came into view and I took a deep breath. It was the first time I went back since Jimmy broke my lip and almost killed me. And what did my mother do? Scream for him to stop, to go easy on me. Afterwards, I was bleeding and could barely walk.
"You brought this upon yourself. Why didint you just listen to him?" Was the only thing she said and left to calm Jimmy down.
I was tense. I had to leave the place I once called home.
A place that was rightfully mine.
My childhood home.
"Your right. Maybe this was a mistake." I said quickly, turning around.
"Hell no. We did not just come all the way over here, and have an argument, for you to chicken out now." Tyler said lightly, holding onto my hand more tightly.
I sighed, my eyes dropping to my shoes as I shifted my weight from side to side. That stopped once Ty raised my chin with his finger, forcing me to look at him.
"After what you told me after I had to carry your stubborn ass to the car, everything that happened in your dream and what your dad said, I see why it's so important for you to do this." He spoke in a gentle tone.
"I'm scared." I blurted out, more than a little embarrassed.
"I know, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'll be there with you. Nothing bad will happen to you, I'll protect you I promise." He gave me a smile that calmed me down a little.
"What if it was just a dream, and I'm just overreacting? It could be something so simple and here I am, making a big deal out of it. We could be wasting our time, all of this could be for nothing-"
"We both know that if that were true, you woudin't have even thought about coming over here and finding out for yourself. If it had been just a silly dream, you woudin't feel the need and the urgency to put two and two together. You know that deep down, what you had was more than a dream. It was a message from your dad. He wants to help you, and it makes perfect sense that we start here, at your childhood home where once upon a time your father lived too." He said, gesturing to the house. We were standing just right outside.
Just looking at it from here made my skin crawl with fear.
I sighed, leaning my head against his shoulder. "I hate it when your right."
I pulled back a little and touched his cheek. "I can do this myself, you don't have to come if you don't want to. You could go to your house and catch up on your sleep, I could always walk back or something. I know your tired, and its my fault. I'm really sorry about that, none of it was supposed to happen but it did and I-"
He shook his head and cut off my ramble. "You have nothing to apologize for J. And I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here, with you, where I'm supposed to be." He kissed my forehead and a quick, strong bear hug. I managed to give him a grateful smile.
Grasping his hand tightly in mine, we climbed on the porch and I began looking in the pot's for the keys. Once I found it, I unlocked the house.
My mother was so predictable.
"So, you're brother, what's he like?" He asked.
"Tall, brown eyes, messy blonde hair. When I was little I used to look so much like him. But as I grew up, I started changing. My hair was red like dad's, his was blonde like mom's. We have the same, identical facial features, neither dad or mom's specifically but a mixture of both. And our personalities were so similar, it's the reason we were so close. That's one of the thing's I vaguely remember."
"He sounds cool. It sounds like you guys were really tight. Which leads to the question, why would he be trying to harm you? Why is he tormenting you?" Tyler observed, and I was surprised with how much he understood of my crazy life.
"That's the same question I keep asking myself. My only conclusion so far? Something was going on with him, something very dark and not good at all." I said grimly as we walked through the threshold.
Tyler immediately started to look around, stopping me in my steps and cocking his head as if he were trying to listen.
"At ease soldier." I said with a giggle, side stepping around him and taking a look around my former home that hadn't changed much in my absence.
He gave me a cocky smile. "Excuse me for being cautious, your highness." He mocked me with a bow, which had me giggling harder.
"They're not here silly. My mom's car stopped working ages ago, and Jimmy's car is missing. Still, the sooner we find what were looking for, the better." I said while I walked towards the stairs and started going up.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Tyler asked, following me as I ran upstairs to where my old room was.
"Information. Anything I can find out about my childhood, my brother, my father, or even my mother." I said as I opened the door. It looked strange, although me being back after months felt weird in general. There were no curtains, the closet was empty, It was all mostly empty, aside from the boxes on the floor. The room reeked of dust, cobwebs decorated everything.
"I don't like this one bit." Tyler whined like a child, followed by a sneeze.
I opened one of the boxes tentativly, to see it had six bottles of red wine. I opened the one next to it, and it had six more bottles, but of white wine.
"Aunt G wasen't kidding, she is turning my room into a wine cellar." I mumbled.
"What are we looking for? The sooner we find it, the sooner my allergy goes away." Tyler said with another sneeze.
"Gesunheit. We are looking for a broken slab. It's actually a hole where I used to hide all my stuff." I answerd.
"In that case, stepped on it." He said and turned to him. He was glancing at the floor, which seemed to have a bulge. He took the slab out and I rushed to his side. I knelt and took out my old jewelry box, the only thing I had left behind. We put the slab back in.
"Come on." I said as I took one last look at my room and closed the door. We went downstairs and sat on the couch in the living room.
"What's that?" Ty asked.
I smiled, dusting the little blue box with my hands.
"This is my old jewelry box. My dad bought it when I was born and I've had it ever since. I used to hide everything I considered at the time my most prized possessions, and my secrets."
"So, it's like a second diary. Apart from the one you have, that is." I gave him a pointed look as he tried not to laugh.
"We have had this conversation before, and this is the last time I'm telling you it is not a diary! It's a journal." I objected and he raised his hands in surrender, with his cocky smile still plastered on his face. I rolled my eyes at him and turned to the object in my hands.
There were pieces of bright color cloths, Polaroids, bracelets, rings and necklaces I used as a kid. I pulled out a stack of Polaroids and looked at them. There was me alone in a purple dress and my hair was loose, some of my teeth missing as I smiled wildly at the camera. Then there was me and mom, she looked younger but the same as she was now.
Then there was one of me and Dad. He stuck his tongue out and so did I. That picture brought me happiness. Then there was one of me and my brother. He had me on his back, his mouth open in mid laugh like mine. Following that one was another one of us but this time, he was picking me up and looking at me with adoration and awe. I smiled sadly.
"What happened to us?" I whisperd as I touched the photo. Tyler instantly put his arms around me, giving me comfort and support.
Then there was a photo of me, dad and my brother, making my heart hurt. Lastly, there was the family photo, all of us. A big, happy, perfect family.
"Everyone has a stash of secrets, I consider this one mine." I said as I rubbed my teary eyes.
I then pulled out a brown string, which held a silver key attached to it like a pendant.
"My father, Jordan Thompson, was born in a wealthy family, he was almost royalty. When he died, I remember we flew out to London for the will reading that was being held by some council."
I looked at Tyler with my eyes filled with tears.
"My father left 25 percent of his actions to his family members, including my aunt. He left my mother 5 percent. " I sighed and rubbed my eyes again.
"What did he leave you?" He asked, expecting a blow he already knew was coming.
I took a deep breath.
"He left me five hundred thousand dollars and he also left me this house." I said in a-matter-of-fact voice.
Tyler's eyes went wide.
"Holy shit, Juniper that's-"
"A lot of money, yeah I know." I said with a humoress laugh.
"I'm sensing there's a catch." He eyes me skeptically.
I scoffed.
"I remember that the judge gave it to me when I walked to receive the check and the document that said the house belonged to me. It was all in a manilla folder. " Traitor tears escaped my eyes. I quickly wiped them off but more threatened to spill.
"I remember, the look on my mother's face. She was pissed. Dad had given me all that and what did she get? Five fucking percent of some meaningless actions. When we got to the car, she demanded that I give her the envelope. I refused so many times, and she said that she was going to put that money in my trust fund. So I stupidly gave it to her." I laughed bitterly.
"That was the last time I heard of or saw the money." I whispered through clenched teeth, suddenly angry.
"I had to leave this place, a place that is rightfully mine, the place where I grew up, a place that my father left for me, all because the woman I called mother for so many year's, decided to bring that good for nothing bastard into MY house. She chose his side over her daughter, her own blood. She lied and has continued to lie." I gritted out, my fists pressed into my thighs.
I started shaking and Tyler held me tighter.
"Baby, calm down." He whisperd.
"I hater her, I-I- I h-hate her, I fucking hater!" I said and started sobbing.
And I cried and cried, pouring my guts out the only way I knew how, overwhelmed by the anger I never knew I had in me until now.
"What kind of mother does that? I'm supposed to be her daughter, she's- she's supposed to protect me. And-and instead, I've ha-had to protect my-myself ever since dad died!" I exclaimed. I could barely talk, I could barely think straight.
"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay, alright?" Tyler said, hugging me tighter.
"What if I turn out just like her? I coudin't- I c-cant! I can't be just like her, I refuse to. Or what if I become an addict like my f-father?! I-"
"Shhh, hey, hey, its okay." Tyler soothed.
"All my life, I have defined who I am because I coudint relay on my parent's to do it for me. B-but what if I've lost sight of that too? I'm tired of trying to be normal, I-I always over think things, I'm driving myself crazy and what if I am, just like my- my parents?" I whisperd.
Tyler rubbed my shoulders.
"Juniper, your not your parents. Your not Jordan Thompson, your not Claire Thompson. Your Juniper Marie Thompson. You're a bad ass. You're my crazy girlfriend and I woudint have any other way. The term 'crazy' makes you who you are: wild, free, happy and fun. Just because they're your parents, dosen"t mean your destined to be just like them. You choose your own path, make your own decisions. Your not like them, you will never be like them. Remember that. Okay?" He said and I slowly nodded. I breathed in and out several time, calming myself down.
"Take it easy." He said and I nodded.
After a moment, I was better.
"Thank you. I'm okay now." I told him, feeling more in control of my emotions.
"You sure?" He asked.
I smiled and nodded."Come one , I've delayed us enough. We have to act fast, they could be here any second." I said and he nodded.
--------------------------------
Make sure y'all listen to the song while reading the chapter, its one of my favorites.
I really dislike people who have a problem with other spontaneous people. To everyone out there, if somebody call's you "crazy", you should thank them. In reality, we all are and there's nothing wrong with. On the contrary, it makes people unique and different.
I want to thank you all for 400 reads, that's insane, and we're making our way to 100 votes. WHAT?!
Thank you all for everything♡
Dont forget to comment and vote.
And if anybody out there is going through some shit, please dont be afraid to reach out to me.
I've been told I give killer advice lol.
All funny thing's aside, really, if your going through a tough patch in your life right now, im here for anybody who needs it. So like I said, please do not be afraid to reach to me.
Bye bye for now!
-Ali
Edited