Days Behind - Chapter 18
Jared was waiting for Jensen when he showed up at the other man’s house. “You could have just called, you know,” he said, leading Jensen through the house to the back yard.
“Yeah, I suppose I could have,” Jensen kicked at the stuffed zebra near his foot. “But I felt like you needed to hear it in person.”
“Oh, believe me, I already saw it on three networks.” Jared sat. “Nice out there.”
“Oops.” Jensen sat at the picnic table. “I didn’t really think did I?”
“No worries. I don’t think anyone connected the voice.”
“Sorry.”
“It was bound to happen sometime. I think that outburst from Chris was more the focus anyway.”
Jensen shook his head. “Yeah, that was a little out there, even for him.”
Jared nodded. “Have you eaten?”
“Yeah, I grabbed a burger on the way-“ Jensen’s phone rang. “Can I just?”
Jared waved his consent to the other man.
“Hey, Steve…yeah, I’m at his house now…he what? Oh, Jesus…Why?” Jensen went a bit pale before nodding to the phone. “Okay…I’ll be right there.”
“What was that?”
“Well, uh, seems that Chris kinda went out for revenge and is now sitting in the county jail.”
“What?”
“Yeah. So…you should maybe call and check on Chad.”
“Why should I be calling to check on Chad exactly?”
“Because Steve said that was who Chris went to talk to. Said he’d been thinking all day about that magazine article and the more he thought about it the more it bugged him. So he made Steve stop so he could buy a copy to read during the fitting. Turns out that Chad had actually given a statement to the magazine Chris had gotten ahold of.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah, and last time they paid Chad a visit, Steve told me that Chris warned him. I guess he felt like that warning had been violated.”
“Steve didn’t say anything about Chad then?”
“Only that when Steve got there that Chad was as mad as a hornet and his face was pretty swollen.”
“I know he’s my friend and all, but he can be the biggest dumbass on the face of the earth.” Jared shook his head. “Now what?”
“Now I have to go with Steve to get Christian.” Jensen slipped his arm in his jacket. “You wanna come?”
“Nah,” Jared stood and walked into the kitchen. “I can just start dinner and by the time you get back, it should be ready.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I mean, if I go, I’ll just get in the way. It’s fine.” Jared waved him out. “Go, bail your friend out of jail.”
Jensen took two steps before turning back to Jared. “God, I hope you don’t have to keep saying that to me.”
“I dunno, I kinda like dating someone who hangs around with bad boys.”
“You’re friends with Chad. Isn’t he a ‘bad boy’?”
“No, Jensen, Chad is a douchebag. Big difference.”
Jensen smiled as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
Jared heard the door open and looked up from where he was just finishing up with dinner. “Everything go okay?”
“If by okay you mean Chris looks like a mad, wet hen, then yes.”
“What happened?”
“Chad gave as good as he got. You might want to call him and check on him later - after somebody posts bail, that is.”
“Maybe I should have gone with you.”
“Nah, some girls were there waving bail money around. He should be fine.”
“That makes me feel a little bit better.” Jared turned to the counter and got the plates sitting there. “And you have perfect timing.”
“Looks good. We should take this into the living room and pop in a movie.”
“Or we could just sit at your table and talk.” Jared suggested, following Jensen into the dining room and joining him at the table. “I realized I hardly know anything about you. I mean, you could have secret kids somewhere you don’t talk about.”
“Fair enough.” Jensen shrugged. “Just so you know, I have no clue who that woman in that article is.”
“If it means anything, I didn’t even read it.”
“That makes me feel a hundred times better, actually.”
“Glad to be of service.”
Jensen smiled and dug into the food in front of him. “This is amazing.”
“Old family recipe.” Jared smiled. “Glad you like it.”
“What would I have to do to get said recipe?”
“First off, you would have to drag it out of my mama - which won’t happen.”
“Not even if I am on my best behavior?”
“Especially if you are on your best behavior - she’d know something was up.” Jared looked at Jensen over the rim of his glass as he drank. “Wait. Are you planning on meeting my mama?”
“I think it’s only fair. You met mine.” Jensen took another bite.
“But I didn’t get to see any really embarrassing pictures. All the ones your mama had up were nice and presentable. You probably got rid of the ones that weren’t.”
Jensen arched an eyebrow. “But she did give me that box.”
Jared’s grin turned almost wicked and he began to shovel food in his mouth.
“What are you doing?”
“Less talkin’, more eatin’ - gotta see those pics!” Jared spoke around his mouthful, causing Jensen to shake his head.
Jensen sat next to Jared on the couch. “Once you stop bouncing, we can do this.”
Jared stopped bouncing his leg and put on a serious face. “We can do this.”
Jensen pulled at the flap on the box, then paused mid-way. “First, let me say that if you laugh, this box will get taped shut with a thousand layers of duct tape and then I am dropping it into a very deep lake.”
“Pinky promise,” Jared held his finger out.
Jensen locked fingers with Jared before flipping the box open. “Uh, I don’t know about this.”
“What is it?”
Jensen pulled out a battered, very patched up stuffed dolphin. “So, this would be Flip.”
Jared started to smile, but bit his lip before Jensen saw. “That’s…sweet.”
“I’ll stop, I swear...” Jensen started to close the box.
Jared stopped his hand. “Nono…don’t.”
“One more time and I will.”
“I can’t help it. It’s just so cute.”
“You’re going to have to.”
“I’m doing my best.”
Jensen said nothing else, just pulled a shoebox labeled ‘pictures’ out of the bottom of the box. “This should be suitably traumatic.”
“Maybe you should look at the picture before you show me?” Jared suggested.
“No, I should just jump in.” Jensen took the lid off the shoe box. “This is one of my school pictures. Please don’t judge my haircut. I was young and mama still made my decisions…”
“Listen, if you saw my pictures, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
“I just put that on my mental list.” He passed another picture to Jared. “And here I am showing how much of a He-Man I am.”
“Is that Mackenzie?”
“Yeah, she was all legs.”
“I see that.” Jared was staring at the picture when Jensen put another into his line of sight.
“Um, I honestly wish this didn’t exist, but this is from a photoshoot in my teens.”
“Nice ringer shirt.”
“Shut up.”
“No, really, it’s nice the way you are leaning on that wa-Hey!”
Jensen held the picture he had just snatched away from Jared behind his back. “That’s enough. I’m going to burn this one later.”
Jared managed to wrestle it away from him and sat looking at the slightly crumpled picture as Jensen ignored him by rooting around in the shoebox more. “But then how will we know how the pretty began. I mean, look at those lips.”
Jensen had gone silent at a picture he held in his hand.
“You okay? I was just playing with yo-“
Jensen turned the picture so the other man could see. He swallowed hard and, setting his mouth, gritted out the question he didn’t want to ask. “Is this you?”
“Uh.” Jared’s hand went to the back of his neck as he sank back into the sofa. “It’s…”
“Jared. Is this you with Mac?”
“Yes?”
“And is that Chad with her too?”
Jared found his voice missing, so he nodded slowly.
“So you know Mac?”
Another nod. “Yes.”
Jensen went back to looking in the shoebox, closing his eyes as he held something just out of Jared’s view in his hand. “This…Jared, I need you to be honest with me.”
“Okay.” He swallowed thickly around the lump forming in his throat.
“What does this mean?” Jensen handed over the picture he’d been holding.
Jared looked at the picture for only a moment, but knew exactly which picture he was holding before even looking at it. He felt Jensen looking at him, demanding answers silently.
Taking a deep breath, Jared began to speak, trying not to let his voice shake. “This is a picture of Eleanor and Addison when they were first born.”
“And why is my baby sister holding them?” Jensen clenched his jaw. “Please tell me it’s because she knew their mother.”
“It’s because your sister knew their mother,” Jared repeated flatly.
“Good,” Jensen sighed.
“It’s because your sister is their mother,” Jared mumbled, turning from Jensen.
“What?” Jensen felt like the room was simultaneously turning red and spinning. He stood involuntarily. “What? No - ”
Jared joined him. “Jensen, I was going to tell you.”
“When, Jared? When were you going to tell me? When the girls graduated college?”
“No, it’s just - ”
“God dammit, Jared! This isn’t something you keep from someone!”
“You were fine with it when you thought the girl’s name was Louise.”
“But her name wasn’t Louise - It was Mackenzie and it was my sister and you lied to me.”
“It’s not just you. I lied to everyone. I even lied to Chad.”
“Oh, so just because you lied to the douchebag that is your best friend, it’s okay?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“Okay then, uncomplicate it for me then.”
“I couldn’t tell Chad because Kenzie was dating Chad.”
“Mac dated that asshole?!?” Jensen ran his hand through his hair roughly. “It’s like I don’t even know my own baby sister.”
Jared turned sharply. “Do you?”
“What?”
“Do. You. Know. Your. Own. Baby. Sister?” Jared knew he was on dangerous ground, but couldn’t seem to stop.
Jensen blinked slowly and then clenched his jaw. “What the hell are you even saying?”
“Do you even know who your sister was friends with in college?”
“I guess not,” Jensen bit back.
“Then there’s a lot of stuff you don’t know about Kenzie.”
“Get. Out.”
“What?”
“Jared, I like you. I really do - maybe even love you - but you need to just go home.”
“I don’t understand.”
Jensen fell onto the sofa, letting his whole body go limp. “You need to go so I can think about things. I feel pretty damn betrayed right about now.”
“I never meant for this to happen - ”
“Honestly, you aren’t the only one that hurt me here. I thought I knew Mac better; that we were closer.”
“I’m sorry.” Jared leaned in to hug Jensen, but Jensen visibly moved away.
Jensen held up his hand in a stop gesture. “Really. Please go. I’m sorry.”
The words sounded too final even as he listened to the footsteps down the hall and door closing.
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