Forever and Always

Chapter Seventeen: Jo

Jo

“Thanks for doing this.” I said to Ava as we sat down outside, watching Phillip and Jamie run around playing tag like there was no care in the world. The best sounds you can ever hear are the sounds of children’s laughter and the best scene to see is their genuine smiles that radiate everywhere.

Jamie has been happier than I have ever seen him before. As much as moving back home hurt me, to see Archer again, in person, in front of me, just an arm-length away almost killed me on the inside, seeing Jamie smile like this has made the pain in my chest worth it.

I was running late to Sunday dinner because I was too busy arguing with Eli about whether or not I should bring Jamie. I wanted to. He deserved to know who his father is and to see his family without restriction, but Eli fully believed that it might be too tense for him there. As that would have been the first time Archer would be seeing him, it might make things a bit worse because he said that when he sees me, things are either going to go amazingly or horribly wrong.

As much as I wanted to bring Jamie, Eli was right. I think it would have been too tense for him there that night. The look on Archer’s face gutted me. The words he said to me about how I destroyed him, sliced me deep. I was dumbfounded, hurt, and most of all, sad, but not for me, but for him.

I tried to chase after him, but I could tell he needed space. This was the first time in years we'd seen each other, and it hurt both of us. I thought I was prepared. I thought I could bury my feelings for him when I saw him again, but I was wrong.

Everything came flooding back, and I wanted to do everything I could to prove it to him that I was not going anywhere this time. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.

He grew up to be the most handsome man I have ever seen in my entire life. His dark hair was shaggy and long enough to run my fingers through and I couldn’t wait to do that. His green eyes were filled with so much emotion, it was hard to comprehend. His body, oh god, his body was something else. He filled out beautifully. His muscles were perfect and I wanted to trace my hands along every single ridge. He also had a slight beard he didn’t have before and it made him look more masculine, more rugged, sexy.

But his looks were nothing compared to his emotions. He still wore his heart on his sleeve and you could read every single feeling he had that night. He was stunned to see me, but that soon turned into happiness and then anger.

So much anger. But I don’t fault him.

When he left, I went back inside and told them I wanted to go back to my place to think. I had to figure out what I wanted to do and how I was going to approach it.

“What are your intentions, Jo?” Hannah asked as I stepped out onto the front porch to make the walk back to the house.

I turned to look at her, giving her a soft smile and said “My intention is to fix things the best I can and put everything in his court. What happens with us will be up to him, but I am willing to do whatever is necessary to regain his trust and win him back, that’s if, if that’s what he wants.”

Every day over the last four days, I sent him a text, asking if we could meet up, only to get a shrug emoji back. I called and left voicemails and the last one, I put my heart on the line.

“You never know what you have until it’s gone. I’ve lived years without you in my life, wondering what happened to you, if you were happy with your family, your child, your girlfriend. I tried to move on, but something inside me told me I couldn’t, I wouldn’t. You own my heart, Archer, and if I don’t have yours, that’s okay. I’m not here for me. No, I’m here for your son. If anything comes out of this, it would be him gaining the father he always wanted. No matter what you decide, I will support you, one hundred percent. I will never pressure you to do something you don’t want to do. I will never bug you to be there if you don’t want to be. If you want to be part of his life, I would be forever happy, but if not, I understand as well. Just know, Archer, I’m not going anywhere this time. There is more to the story and I hope you can take the time, soon, to sit with me and listen to what I have to say, because I have had months to think about everything and wrap my head around everything I’ve discovered. It’s time I put my pride aside for you. I hope to see you soon.”

I left it at that. I know Dylan has been going to him and trying to get him to talk. The last I knew he passed out and that’s when I ran to Hannah’s house to try to see him. I wanted to take care of him. I’ve only known him to do this one, but no one knew about it. I was the only one that was there. He was panicking after everything that happened with the car accident with Ray, Sawyer, Miles and Luke. It was the hardest moment I have ever seen and I didn’t know what to do to help him, so I just held him until he came to. He was only out for fifteen minutes, but when he woke up, he didn’t remember anything.

I didn’t want to tell him, but he insisted, but when he heard it the second time, he was calm and listened. He was still hurt, but he didn’t pass out again, which was a bonus. So, hearing about him doing it again, how he freaked out on Dylan and everything in between, I wanted to be there like I was before.

But when I went to his room, I saw the look in his eyes as he held the books in his hands. He was hurt and needed space and I would give it to him.

So, I called Ava to see if she wanted to hang out for a bit and have the boys play with each other. She immediately said yes and invited me over, so that’s where I am now.

Art was in his office doing some research on a procedure he was going to do in a couple of days while we were outside with the kids.

“Of course, I am more than happy to have you guys here whenever. It’s nice to have someone newish to talk to.” He chuckled, “Not for nothing, I love everyone here, but it’s been the same old thing. You coming home brings a whole new world of excitement!”

“Ha, yeah, I guess if you want to call it that.” I smiled and looked out to the kids, “He has been happier than ever before.”

“It’s because he knows where he belongs. No matter what happens between you and Archie, you two will always have family.” She reached out and held my hand in hers.

“I’m worried.”

“About?”

“How everything is going to pan out. I mean, I’ve been home for about a week, and he hasn’t made the move to see Jamie. I don’t care that he doesn’t want to see me right now, but I thought…I thought the idea of him having a son would make him want to be here with him. I can handle the hurt I have in my heart if he doesn’t want me. I know I hurt him beyond repair, but Jamie isn’t at fault here.”

“He isn’t and Archer knows that. He…he’s had a rough few years, and it’s changed him, not for the better either.”

“What happened?” I asked. I wanted to know, so badly, but I was afraid to ask the details. I was scared of what I was going to hear, but I needed to know what I was up against when it came to Archer. I wanted to know what I could do for him, to support him, help him, and if he lets me, heal him.

“Oh, God! Where do I start?” She shook her head, “Boys! Be careful by the woods, please! There is a tree that fell!”

“Okay!” Both boys yelled before running a bit closer to the playset Art and the guys built for him.

“Before I tell you what happened, remember that dinner we had, with all of us together before you left for college?” she asked and I nodded, “What were you two talking about in the corner and what did he give you?”

I smiled at the memory. It was a night I will never forget because it was the last night I spent with Archer before we broke up. He pulled me to the corner and told me he had made a mistake. He couldn’t think about me being with anyone else but him and he loved me. He wanted to make the long-distance work and with communication, we could, because we’re strong. He saw a future with us and he was going to wait however long he needed to wait before I was ready to come back home and be with him. And once we were together again, we could go anywhere my heart desires and he would follow me to the ends of the earth.

That night, he gave me a simple promise ring. It was a beautiful rose gold ring with a blue opal in the center in the shape of a heart. Simple, yet stunning. “Keep this as a reminder of how much I love you, Jo. I will never stop, no matter what happens and whenever you’re ready to be us, officially, again, I will be here, waiting for you.”

I wore that ring every day until we broke up. When that happened, I took it off for the first time since he gave it to me and put it around my neck on a chain I found in my mom’s things before we moved.

“He gave me this promise ring.” I whispered, taking it out of my shirt. I still wear it to this day. I couldn’t go without it. She gasped when she reached for it.

“It’s beautiful…but do you know…do you know where this came from?”

I looked at her, confused, shaking my head, “No.”

“There was one night when us girls were over at Dylan and Ray’s. Archer came up from the basement and wanted to talk to Dylan about something important, so they went upstairs to his office. Me, being the nosy busy-body that I am, decided to follow them with Sawyer and Ray behind me so we could eavesdrop. Archer told Dylan he wanted to give you a promise ring, but he didn’t have the money at the time. He was willing to work for Dylan and help him coach if he could borrow a couple hundred, and that’s when Dylan went to his safe and pulled that ring out. Dylan told him it was their grandmother's. She got it as a gift from Austin’s biological father before he passed away and she left the jewelry to Dylan in her will to do what he needed to do with it. He promised he would never get rid of anything, but give it to those that needed it the most.”

My eyes sprung with tears, listening to her story. It was beautiful. I never got a chance to meet his grandparents, but their story, I’ve heard a million times, was heartbreaking and beautiful, for them to come together at the end when it mattered the most.

Before I could say anything, my phone pinged with a message from someone named Tony.

‘Jo. This is Tony. Austin, Eli and Tristian know me. I was watching Frank all these years and I have some news. There have been sights of him in Tennessee but they lost him again. I don’t know what he is doing, but he is heading towards Texas. Please, be careful. His intentions are unknown, but he is marked as dangerous.’

My eyes widened and I started to cry. A part of me wanted to pack my things and move out of here, get out of this town before he comes here and finds me, but the other part knows, that with these people, it’s where we are the safest. I don’t know what he wants. Why is he coming this way? Is he really after me? What will he do if he sees me again?

Ava took my phone and read the message and immediately got on the phone and messaged people, starting a chain. I didn’t know who she was talking to, all I wanted to do was figure out my next steps. I looked out to where Jamie was playing and went to open my mouth when she stopped me.

“I know what you’re thinking and don’t. Please, don’t do it. You just got here. You just came back in our lives and if you leave with him now because of a fear of the unknown, the what if’s will plague you until you go crazy. We don’t know what he wants. We don’t even know for sure he’s coming here, and if he does, we have your back. You know you’re being watched and taken care of, let us help you.” She begged, “Boys, let’s go inside and get ready. Art and I will take you guys out for ice cream.” She yelled as the boys cheered and ran inside, “Come on. Let’s get in there.” She smiled, but there was something else behind her smile. Her phone kept going off, raising flags.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

We walked inside and she yelled for Art to come downstairs. In a rush, he almost tripped over the last step and came over to us when she took my phone and showed Art.

His face became red and he started to pace, pulling out his phone and calling more people. I went to the couch, sat down and tucked my legs under my chin as the tears started to flow. I don’t know how much of this I could take. Frank nearly destroyed me when I was young, almost took everything from me and when he got arrested after trying to shoot Eli, I thought I was in the clear. I thought I could breathe and move on, but life likes to throw curveballs.

The thoughts came rolling in my head. The what if’s started to happen and I kept thinking of the worst case scenarios. What if he does come here? What if he hurts me? What if he tried to do what he did before? What if he finds out about Jamie? What if he tries to take him from me? What if he hurts him? What if he hurts anyone I care about?

There was a commotion outside and yelling and the next thing I knew, the kids were outside with Art and Ava and I felt chills run down my spine…