The Cure

Chapter Two

Jared’s pov.

‘’Sit down’’

His stance is hostile. I have never been more terrified by anybody. He is dressed in a well-tailored black suit. The glasses on the brim of his face are perfect fit. He looks away from the plate in front of him and I release a quiet breath.

I take my seat on the dinner table and he watches as a stare at the food in front of me. Its eggs and bacon but I am too scared to even take a bite of this. He grabs the mug near him filled with coffee and takes a sip ‘’How was the party?’’ he asks me with a hint of interest.

I shrug and suspicion fills up his face ‘’what is wrong?’’

‘’I don’t know. I have a headache’’ I tell him honestly because I can’t seem to fight it. He raises a brow ‘’Do you think you can make school today. I knew you shouldn’t have gone out on a school night’’

I nod because I need to get out of this house ‘’I’ll be fine. Going out right now is probably a good idea’’

He smiles and takes a bit of his food ‘’I spoke to the lawyers and they think you are ready to dive into the company. Maybe do an internship over the summer so that you can get the hang of the business and what we do’’

I furrow my brows ‘’Company?’’

‘’Yes, remember our agreement?’’

‘’Agreement?’’ I have no idea what he is talking about right now. I know I shouldn’t act dumb. It is not a good idea but I need to have a clue.

‘’Stop joking around Jer, we made a deal last year. You come work for me once you’re done with high school. You turn eighteen soon. I need to know you can stand on your own two feet. Alright’’

I nod and the rest of breakfast goes in silence. After our meal he stands up and I follow him. ‘’I think Fawn should drive you today. You look confused and I don’t think you should be behind the wheels.’’ I watch him walk away from me and I walk back to my room.

I change my clothes and dress in a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt. My shoes are black and white vans. I walk out of the house and a black car is already parked out front. A man walks out and opens the door for me. He is dressed in a clean suit ‘’Morning boss’’

I enter the car and he goes back to the driver’s seat. He starts the car and we start our drive ‘’you’re not in your uniform. Why?’’ he asks me.

I frown ‘’uniform?’’ I ask because I had no f*****g clue.

‘’Yes sir’’

‘’I have a uniform. s**t, would I be fine without it?’’

He looks at me through the rear-view mirror ‘’Are you okay boss?’’ he is worried.

‘’I am fine’’ I assure him even though I know I am not. I need someone on my side. I cannot do this alone. I don’t know anything ‘’Are we picking up Bren today?’’

Bren?

The flashes I had earlier spring up to my mind and suddenly I want to see him. I want to see the only person I have a little memory of.

‘’Yes’’

I watch as he drives and wait till we get to the other side of town. The streets are littered, there are people I assume are in gangs loitering the streets so early in the morning. The car stops, and we are in front of a house. It’s the opposite of my house. The paint on the falls are chipped, the doors and windows look worn out. The mailbox is broken; the whole house looks bruised.

‘’You coming down?’’ Fawn asks.

I nod and walk out of the car. I walk to the front door and press the doorbell. The door opens, and a little girl opens it with a bright smile on her face. She drops the doll in her grasp and runs into my arms ‘’Jared’’ she shrieks excitedly in my arms. I hug her back because I don’t know what to do in this situation.

She pulls away after a couple of seconds, but her smile is still bright. ‘’Bren said you weren’t going to come anymore’’ I smile because she is the cutest little girl I have ever seen. Her blonde hair is up in pigtails and her eyes are blue doe eyes. ‘’He said you weren’t his anymore’’

His?

The confusion on my face is eminent but she doesn’t seem to notice. She grabs my hand and pulls me into the house. I follow her as she leads me into the kitchen. He doesn’t notice me immediately because he has his back to me but he speaks up ‘’who is it?’’ he asks.

The gleam in the little girls' eyes shine ‘’its Jer bear’’

I feel the tension in the air. He doesn’t turn around, his grip on the frying pain becomes tight. His breath heavy. I don’t know what happened between us last night but he doesn’t want to see me. I can already sense the anger before he even speaks up.

I wait for him to turn around, say something. Yell at me, anything to give me a clue of what happened last night. I need to know, I can’t keep being in this limbo state.

‘’Bren’’ I call his name softly.

He finally speaks up ‘’Go to your room Stace’’ he is talking to his sister—I assume.

She lets go of my hand ‘’I want to stay with Jer’’

Bren finally turns around and his eyes are red. His breath hot and heavy. Even through all the anger evaporating from him, I have never met anyone more handsome. He frowns when he notices how close his sister is to me.

‘’Go upstairs now’’ he yells. This time, she obeys but she grabs unto my legs in a tight hug ‘’Please don’t disappear’’ she walks away from me and my heart breaks. I don’t know the kid but she has my heart racing.

‘’Bren’’ I call his name and it feels right rolling off my tongue.

He shakes his head ‘’don’t’’ he sighs loudly ‘’what are you doing here’’

‘’I came to pick you up’’

He frowns ‘’I don’t need you to pick me up. f*****g leave me alone. You said all you needed to say last night.’’

I shake my head ‘’ I need your help. I don’t know what happened but I don’t remember a thing from last night’’

He laughs ‘’ this is not a f*****g joke. You won’t pull me back into the joke that is your life’’ he is trying to hurt me but he isn’t even convincing. I don’t believe him right now. This looks like it is hard on him. He doesn’t want to hurt me but he is acting like he has no choice. I take a step towards him and he takes a step back ‘’don’t come close to me’’ he warns me.

I ignore him and suddenly I am an inch away from him ‘’something happened to me last night. Somebody did something to me, I can’t remember anything. I don’t even know my own name. All I know is I remember you—okay maybe not you but I had a memory and we were in bed. You kissed me, you were mine’’

His eyes are sad. He remembers. I know he does ‘’I don’t know what you are talking about’’ he lies. It is obvious, this is hard on him. He doesn’t want to push me away.

I grab his hand in mine and I wait, to feel the spark that I know is there but I don’t feel anything. Touching him is grim, suddenly there I feel disgust. I pull away from him and he watches as I shiver. What the hell just happened? I stare at my hand in confusion.

I know I feel something for him but my body is reacting differently. I felt pain when I touched him. It felt wrong.

Why did that happen?

‘’I need your help’’ I beg him desperately.

He laughs ‘’you can’t even touch me and you want my help? I can’t help you. Please leave my house ‘’ he turns his back to me and I sigh.

This didn’t go as planned. I nod because there is no convincing him today. There is nothing I can’t do right now but I am not going to give up. I am going to find a way to get him to help me. The person in bed with him is not the same person I am right now, but I will find a way to remember. I will find a way to touch him again without cringing.

‘’I won’t let this go. I will be back. I will prove to you that this is out of my control. I will remember what happened last night and I will fight for you’’ I walk out of the house without waiting for a reply and into my car.

We get to school, and everyone is dressed in uniforms except me. J.J walks up to me in the parking lot ‘’Where the f**k is your uniform?’’ his eyes scan through me from head to toe.

‘’I didn’t know I had a uniform. It seems like you’re a lot slower than you look. I can’t keep explaining this to you’’ I am upset and you can’t blame me. He doesn’t want to listen to me and I am tired.

“Dude, you can cut this s**t out. It’s getting old’’

I furrow my brows at his words “What are you talking about?’’

He laughs ‘’You are upset. Lashing out, this is not the first time you’ve done s**t like this. Just stop because I can’t keep up’’ he slaps my shoulder playfully but the frown remains on my face. This is not a joke. I am f*****g serious but I am a f*****g liar—apparently.

‘’I am not lashing out. I am serious. I don’t know what happened to me last night but I don’t remember a thing except waking up in bed next to someone’’

‘’Who?’’

I shrug as we walk into the school building, people pass us by and they are all strangers to me. I can’t recognise anyone “I don’t know. She ran out of the room before I could ask her’’

We get to homeroom and I sit down next to him “is she in our school?’’

I slap my forehead dramatically out of sheer frustration. He doesn’t want to listen to me. I just don’t understand how I could possibly explain this to him in a way that he can grasp.

I am tired.

I part my lips in an attempt to respond to his stupid question but I stop mid-sentence from his presence. Bren walks into the classroom and his eyes find mine instantly. He stops for a second and I know he wants to walk up to me. I can see the longing in his eyes but all he does is look away. I feel the rejection in my heart. It hurts but I can’t focus on that right now.

Something happened last night.

It involves him and I need to find out.

‘’Yo Bren’’ J.J calls him out in front of the whole class. He looks at my supposed best friend but he doesn’t answer. He ignores him and walks to the far end of the class and takes a seat in the last row. He rests his head on the table and covers his face seemingly uninterested in the class and everyone.

“What happened between you guys last night” he asks yet another stupid question. I shake my head in disbelief.

Students fill up the class and I watch hoping I see someone I actually recognise but everyone is strange, everyone is unknown.

The teacher walks in and I am the first person he notices “Where is your uniform Mr. luz’’ there is an angry expression on his face but he doesn’t look surprised.

I scratch the back of my neck nervously because I don’t have an answer to his question “Not going to say anything. You know at some point in your life, you need to act responsible. Not everything will be handed to you on a silver platter” his words get to me because I know I don’t know why he is lashing out on me but it seems like I might be a trouble maker. I don’t know what kind of person I am but I don’t think I like what I am finding out.

“I’m sorry” I apologise and this time he looks surprised. Like an apology coming from me is unbelievable.

“Don’t make it a habit. Now let’s get on with today. As you all know there is a game with West Foreshore high on Friday, so everyone in the football spirit’’ he cheers on like it is the biggest deal ever.

I zone his words out and my attention is back to Bren, he is still resting his head on his table but this time his eyes are open. They are sad and I want to do something to make him smile. Make him happy. I don’t know why but there is a longing in me.

Deep down.

And I will bring it out no matter what I do.

*********************

The bell rings and according to J.J it’s time for lunch. We walk side by side to the cafeteria but hunger is the last thing on my mind. I follow J.J because at this point that is all can do. I don’t know where I am supposed to sit. I don’t know who I am supposed to be. I sit down next to him on a table full of people. There are three girls and two guys plus us in total. They are all munching away and laughing, everyone in their own world.

They all look up as I sit down but no one says anything. J.J immediately sits next to a girl and she blushes a crimson ‘’How f****d up was the party last night’’ he passes to the crowd. One of the guys burst out a laughter that I cannot understand and the rest of them join him ‘’Did you see Devon at the end of the night? He was f*****g out of his mind’’ same guy who laughed speaks up. They continue their chatter but I am lost—confused.

I don’t blend in this crew. I don’t know anyone, and I can’t act like I do. I stand up from my chair and J.J grabs my arm. ‘’Where are you going’’ he leans towards me.

‘’I just need some air.’’ I tell him because right now I can’t breathe.

He nods ‘’ be right back, okay?’’

I walk away from him with my food and out of the cafeteria. I go out of the building and stop in a garden. It is secluded and empty, there are no seats, just the grass but frankly I don’t mind that right now. I sit on the grass and take a bit of my apple.

I grab my phone. They say if you want to find out stuff about someone; the first place to look is their phone. There should be something in here that could tell me what kind of person I am. I unlock it with my finger tip and the screen lights up. I look at the wall paper and for the first time since I woke up i notice it. It is a picture of two hands joined together. I look away from the phone and stretch my hand out; tying to see any resemblance. There is a tattoo on my index finger; it is tiny—almost unnoticeable.

The letters B and F are written in a bold italic. I don’t know what it means but I ignore it and continue my search for whatever it is I am looking for in my phone. I check my messages but there are none saved up, I check my f*******:, none either. It seems like my phone was completely wiped out, which seems weird. I go to my photos, looking for something—anything to help me understand.

The pictures on this phone are random, nothing personal. What kind of high school student doesn’t have a selfie of themselves on their phone? I am about to give up when I notice a folder. It is stored as homework but I open it. There are two videos in this folder, so I open the first one.

The video starts out with me on a reclined chair. I am lying down and there is a goofy smile on my face. A voice from the background speaks up ‘’Are you really going to do this?’'

I nod with a bright smile ‘’I love you and I want scream it out to the whole world’’

I hear the voice again ‘’Your father will kill you. You know these things are permanent’’ the camera suddenly shifts away from me and I see his face. His hair is covering part of his eyes but I recognise him immediately.

Bren.

‘’You are crazy. He’s not going to do it. I can almost bet my life on it’’ the camera moves away from him again and it's on me again.

‘’A.J please tell my boyfriend that I am a beast. I will get a face tattoo of him. I am ready to shout out to the world that he is mine’’

I sound drunk.

Okay, I also look drunk.

Am I always drunk?

There is a laugh in the background and the camera is suddenly on another man. This man is covered in tattoos. He walks over to us with the tattoo gun and sits on the bench beside me. The camera follows us but I hear Bren again ‘’You seriously kid too much. You are crazy’’

A.J brings the gun to my face and I watch as he presses it to my skin. I see the blood as it pierces my skin and I watch as I scrunch my face from the pain. The only reason why I am not freaking out right now Is because I actually don’t have a tattoo on my face.

The phone suddenly drops but it is still on record. I can hear them ‘’Babe stop’’ the sound from the gun stops and I press my ear to my phone to hear them.

‘’I want to do this’’ that’s me. I sound very serious. At this point I don’t understand the significance of a tattoo in proclaiming my love for him. I don’t think that should be the defining factor.

‘’I don’t need you to do this. I already know how you feel. I feel the exact same way’’

I hear a loud sigh ‘’ I love you ‘’

‘’Till infinity and beyond’’ that’s me. The tone in my voice is intense. I don’t know who I am right now but I know I was in love with him. I don’t know why this is happening but I want that feeling again.

Bren picks up the phone and I see both of us in the shot. I am still on the chair but I am seated upright. There is a smidge of blood on my cheek. I watch as Bren leans closer and wipes it off softly. Still holding the camera, he leans close to me and plants a soft kiss to my forehead. It is innocent, it shouldn’t mean anything but my heart responds differently.

I press the phone to my chest, trying to slow it down but it only beats faster. I bring the phone to view again and there is a chuckle ‘’So that was a fail, but it’s a good thing no one will ever see this’’ I am holding the phone now and I look embarrassed.

The video ends and I am sad. I need to know more; so, I didn’t get the tattoo of him but I did get a tattoo which means I eventually got one. But I don’t know the story behind this tattoo.

I go back to the video and open the second one. Bren’s face springs up. It is dark and I shouldn’t be able to recognise him so quick but I do. The camera is obviously on night mode because some parts of him are negative.

‘’So, you don’t know I am doing this but I have to ‘’ he is whispering. I listen and he continues ‘’I am so proud of you. I have never loved anyone more even though we shouldn’t’’

The camera moves away from him and I see myself in bed, snoring lightly. I am covered with the duvet but my arms are exposed. He shifts the camera back to himself ‘’You are very stubborn, the most stubborn person I have ever met but I guess that’s one of the reasons why I love you so much. You wouldn’t be my Jer bear if you weren't this f*****g stubborn’’

I stir in my sleep and he chuckles quietly.

‘’Thanks for loving me, thanks for convincing me to get this. He brings his middle finger to the view and there are initials tattooed on it. It is JL. That’s my name. He comes back to view and smiles ‘’Our own personal f**k you to the world’’

The video abruptly ends but I still stare at the screen. In complete shock and pain. He got my initials tattooed to him. That is permanent and even though I don’t know his last name; I know that I did the same.

I stare at my hand and a tear falls from my eye.

My phone beeps, I unlock it and it reveals a message from an unknown number.

Unknown number: Don’t trust anyone.