Forbidden Ties

Chapter 12: Conflicted New Beginnings.

Jax's P.O.V

Both of us jolted awake at the sound of the knock on the door, followed by my dad’s voice, muffled but clear. “Jax, we need to talk.”

My heart pounded in my chest, and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Sam stirred beside me, her eyes slowly blinking open.

"Jax?" she whispered, confusion clouding her gaze as she met my frantic eyes.

I quickly leaned over, my voice low and urgent. “Sam, you need to hide. It’s my dad. He wants to talk to me.”

Her eyes widened as the reality of the situation sank in. "What? No—" she started, but I cut her off, my words sharp with panic.

“Please,” I urged. “In the closet, now.”

She hesitated, glancing between me and the door, but I could see the fear and the urgency in my eyes. Without another word, she scrambled out of bed, pulling the closet door open just enough to slip inside. I quickly adjusted the covers to cover any traces of what had happened.

I held my breath, every muscle in my body tense as I heard my dad’s footsteps getting closer. There was no escaping this conversation, no avoiding the consequences. It was happening, whether I was ready or not.

“Come in,” I called out, trying to sound casual, though my pulse hammered in my ears.

The door creaked open.

My dad stepped into the room, his face set in that serious, no-nonsense expression he always wore when it was time for a talk. He didn’t look around, didn’t seem to notice the tension in the air, the way my heart was still racing. His eyes locked on me, and he shut the door behind him with a quiet thud.

“We need to talk,” he said again, his voice low, but the authority in it was clear.

I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral. “Yeah, I figured that.”

He crossed his arms, studying me like he was trying to read me, see through the facade I was putting up. “You’ve been distant, Jax. What the hell’s going on with you?”

I swallowed hard, the words sitting in my throat like a rock. I wasn’t about to admit anything about Sam. Not now, not when things were already so messed up.

“I’m fine,” I lied, leaning back against the headboard. “Just... stuff going on. You know how it is.”

Dad raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “I know more than you think. I’ve seen the way you’ve been acting, and I’m not stupid. This... this situation with Sam—” He paused, his jaw tightening. “It’s not good, Jax. You need to figure this out before it gets worse.”

I could feel the weight of his words, and it made my chest tighten. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take, juggling everything on my own.

“I’m handling it,” I said, my voice a little sharper than I intended. “I’ll figure it out.”

Dad sighed, his expression hardening. He uncrossed his arms and took a few steps closer, voice dropping lower. “Look, Jax... You’re at an age where you should be out there living. Dating girls, going to parties, doing what boys your age are doing. Not sitting around here, making longing eyes at your stepsister all day long.” He shook his head, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “This isn’t normal. It’s not healthy, and it’s not right.”

I froze at the words, feeling a hot flush creep up my neck. He didn’t understand, didn’t know what this was, what it had become between Sam and me. But I couldn’t say that. Not to him.

“I’m not doing that,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, but the frustration slipped through. “I’m just... dealing with some stuff. It’s not a big deal.”

Dad’s eyes narrowed, the frustration in them matching mine. “It is a big deal. You’re isolating yourself from everyone, and that’s not how this works. I’m telling you, Jax—you need to get your head straight and stop focusing on things you can’t control. This obsession with Sam is eating at you, and it’s not healthy.”

His words hit me harder than I expected, cutting deep, but I didn’t show it. I couldn’t. “I’ll figure it out,” I repeated, but I wasn’t sure if I believed it anymore.

Dad’s gaze softened, just slightly, but the disappointment was still there. “I hope so, son. For both your sakes.”

He paused for a moment, then turned to leave. As he reached the door, he stopped and looked back at me one last time. “Get out there, meet people. Don’t keep yourself locked away in this... whatever it is. It’s time to start living like you should. Hell, like you were before she moved in.”

With that, he left, the door clicking shut behind him, leaving me in the silence, the weight of his words hanging in the air.

I let out a long breath, staring at the closed door. Was he right? Was I letting this... whatever this was with Sam become my world?

And if I was, was it really something I could walk away from?

Everyday seemed like I was already in too deep for it to be possible.

The car ride to school was quiet, the tension still lingering between us even after the conversation with Dad. I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead, watching the passing cars blur in the morning light.

Sam was beside me, her silence almost as heavy as my own thoughts.

Finally, she spoke, breaking the stillness. “Your dad... he wasn’t wrong, you know.”

I turned to look at her. There was a coolness in her tone, but beneath it, I could tell she was grappling with the same weight I was.

“Yeah. I know. He has a point.” I let out a breath. “It’s not like we can keep pretending we’re fine. We’ve been dancing around this, and it’s messing everything up.”

Sam sighed and nodded.

I stared out the windshield.

“We’ve been playing with this fire for too long, and now it feels like we’re on the edge of something we’re both too afraid to admit.”

Her eyes flicked to mine, serious but guarded. “So... what do we do now?”

I hesitated. “We stop. We move on. We can’t keep doing this to ourselves—or to everyone else.”

“Yeah, but—” Sam frowned, her lips pressed together. “You’re not saying we should just forget about everything that happened, are you? Because that doesn’t sound... possible at this point.”

“No, I’m not saying forget it,” I said quickly. “But we need space. To figure this out. Maybe... dating other people? Like, for real, not pretending it’s just a distraction.” I winced, even as the words left my mouth. The idea of dating someone else now felt alien, but it was the only way to get out of this mess.

Sam exhaled slowly, like she was weighing every word. “I guess we could.”

I glanced at her and nodded.

She stared ahead for a moment, before giving a small nod of her own. “I’ll go along with it. I’ll try. But, Jax... if we’re doing this, it’s got to be real. No half-measures. We need to make it clear we’re serious about moving on.”

I shot her a look, a half-smile pulling at my lips. “Yeah, no fake-dating. That’s just cruel.”

She gave a wry chuckle. “I’m not interested in playing games, especially with other people's feelings.”

We fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, before I added, “It’s going to be awkward, but we’ll make it work.”

“Right,” Sam said, her voice steadier now. “But we have to promise not to let this—” she gestured between us, “—make everything worse.”

“We won’t. It’s not the end. Just... a new beginning.” I wasn’t sure I believed it yet, but I had to. For both our sakes.

We pulled into the school parking lot, and I was relieved to see that the storm had passed. No one was whispering about the viral picture anymore. It felt like a weight had been lifted, but in its place was the uneasy sense that this was just the calm before another storm.

“I guess the picture things blew over quicker than we expected,” Sam muttered, her hand gripping the door handle.

I nodded. “Yeah, thank goodness. Now, we just have to make sure no one sees us as... whatever they think we are.”

Sam gave me a look, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Right. No more... this.” She said it like a final decree.

“No more ‘this,’” I echoed, but as the words left my lips, a part of me wondered if it was already too late to move on.

But at least for now, we were trying. And that had to be enough.

As Sam and I walked down the hallway, Kyle appeared with his usual grin.

"Hey, Sam, I’m throwing a party tonight at my place. You should come. Nothing crazy, just some music and drinks."

I felt my jaw tighten, but Sam smiled.

"Yeah, sounds fun. I’ll be there."

My chest tightened.

She was playing along, but the thought of her with him—of her moving on—stung more than I wanted to admit.

But this was part of our new plan, right?