Chapter 19: My Wife Thing
It's early the next morning when we're summoned by the master of the house, and I can't help but get the feeling that we're in trouble...
"I know that you two are newly engaged, soulmates or whatever," Boss Man begins his boring lecture, having forced me and Jay to have a 'sit-down' with him, "and so very much in love and all that but you need limits or you're going to eventually hit a dry spell. You can't be at it all the time. You'll run out of stamina." He has really misunderstood the situation. "I mean, just yesterday morning, Aqueela was—"
"Angry undressing," I speak over him before he can make up his own version of the story. "I was only angry undressing, Dad."
Boss Man shrugs, not caring about my reasons or excuses. "Point being," he looks over at Jay for this next part, "I bet that I've seen your fiancée, half-naked, almost as much as you have."
I cringe, hearing what he's saying. "That's probably true."
"Is this an intervention?" Jay asks him calculatingly, remaining composed in spite of the annoyance flickering through his eyes. "Because it feels like it is."
"Greg..." I drawl, using his real name, hoping to clear the air, "you make sound points. We understand that this is your home and that we're only visitors. We're extremely grateful for your hospitality and we're planning to be out of your hair soon. Thank you for all that you've done for us. We love you and we appreciate you."
Greg stares at me in disbelief before slowly smiling, much to my and Jay's astonishment. "I knew that there was a reason that I liked you from the very start, Aqueela." He sighs to himself and shakes his head, remorseful. "I don't know what's going on with me. It was a long shift yesterday and I guess I'm just cranky and taking it out on you guys."
"No," I stop him before he can do that to himself, "don't do that, we're in the wrong and we're sorry. Granted, Jay started everything and is more in the wrong than me but I'm still the one who's most sorry."
"And are you also sorry that a bus drove straight over me after you first threw me under it?" Jay asks me with a frown on his face.
"No," I answer him immediately, causing his frown to deepen. "No, I'm not."
Jay turns to face Boss Man, a solemn expression on his face. "Aqueela willingly responded to my advances, so I'd like to think that we were equally involved as the other and that she's as much to blame as me, if not more for tempting me."
"Your bus hit me harder!" I complain and shoot my fiancé a deathly look. "You're the one with the one-track mind and you should be held accountable for it!"
"Well, sorry for loving you so much that reality gets away from me sometimes and that sometimes, I get a little carried away with my strong feelings for you, my future wife," Jay stresses the last word, retaliating with kindness – his usual go-to, and today, I'm not having it.
"Unforgiven!" I huff, hard-headed as usual, my hackles up. "Or not forgiven! Whatever. You guys know what I mean."
"I know how this works; I really don't need any more details," Boss Man interjects, growing impatient with us. "I just want it to stop."
He's going to be the reason we never have kids!
"Jay will try to stop but as you probably know, I'm irresistible so he might find it difficult," I reply in all sincerity.
Where's the lie?
Jay just shrugs, owning up to it. "She's not wrong."
"Alright," Boss Man stands up and dusts himself off, refusing to listen to us any longer, "let's wrap this intervention up. I think we're done here."
"I knew it was an intervention," Jay remarks and smirks at Boss Man before also standing up. "I'm going to go and check on Zac."
"And I'm going to follow you!" I insist and jump up from my seat in excitement – today's the day we finally help Zac and hopefully, it won't be an uphill battle.
I follow Jay to our room. He knocks on our bedroom door and when there's no response, he opens the door and barges in, thinking the worst. Much to both of our surprises, we see the empty bed and hear the shower running.
"He got up on his own?" I ask, dubious. "And he's actually showering?"
What the heck is going on?!
"I'll really be shocked if he comes out with a shirt on," Jay replies, just as baffled as me.
I hesitantly approach the bathroom door and knock on it. "Hey, Zac? You in there?"
"Yep!" he yells over the rushing water, somehow having heard me.
"How are you feeling?" I ask him, sharing a confused look with Jay.
"A lot better, thanks for letting me stay the night," he says while turning the shower taps off and opening the shower door.
"So, you're in your right mind again?" I keep the questions coming. "You sound like you are."
I hear some ruffling from his end; he's most likely changing back into the clothes that Jay lent to him last night. "I know where I am and I know who you guys are, so I'd say so."
"Well...uhm...we were really worried about you last night," I tell him, getting the feeling that he's trying to make this go all away, to sweep this under the rug like it's no big deal.
The door finally opens and Zac exits the bathroom. He glances over at Jay and grins crookedly. "Thanks for the clothes, dude," he says before making a move to leave the room. "I should get going. See you guys around."
I feel a pang of hurt soar through my chest and I'm not even sure why.
Jay pulls him back by the collar of his own shirt before he can get very far. "Well, you're reacting as expected. Could you please actually look Aqueela in the eyes and thank her too? She always jumps through hoops for you and you know it."
Zac squeezes his eyes shut and mumbles something to himself. He sucks in a deep breath and reluctantly turns to face me. His dark, almost black, eyes hold shame as they meet mine. "I don't know what to say," he says quietly, barely able to maintain eye contact. "You shouldn't have fetched me, I'm not worth it."
I shake my head and try to hold a smile but it quivers and breaks. With tears brimming my eyes, I step forward and hug him. "You are, Zac," I hold him tightly, feeling all of his sadness and pain wash over me, "you'll always be worth it to me." I hate that he feels this way.
"You don't know jack, Aqueela!" he snarls and, abruptly, shoves me off of him. "I'm not worth it! You think that you know me but you don't!" he shouts at me, his jaw set tight and his shoulders slumped forward. "You think that you can fix me but you can't!" he snaps, turning white with rage but at the same time, there's raw anguish embedded deep in his eyes. "Mia even sees that so why can't you?!"
Furious, Jay steps forward to intervene. Acting fast, I place a hand on Jay's chest and shake my head at him, forcing him to stand down. Jay gives me a look but takes a step back anyway, allowing me to handle it.
Zac stares down at me with stone-cold eyes and a scrutinizing gaze. "I'm always going to disappoint you, Aqueela," he concludes morbidly. "And I'm always going to end up hurting you and everyone else who is close to you. And you need to finally let me go like you should have done all those years ago when Lars and I sold you out, when I indirectly put you in hospital, and when I nearly took your life from you. Let me go, Aqueela," he nods grimly as if to emphasize what he's saying, his eyes the slightest bit watery. "Whatever happens to me is not on you. I'm not your responsibility."
He still feels so guilty about all of that...
"No," I agree with him, "you're right, you're not but you are my friend and that makes you my family and I love my family. And let me tell you something, Zachary Phoenix Stokes, I never give up on my family and certainly don't ever let them go."
Zac's not just a party animal, he's a pity party animal.
"You're an idiot, Aqueela," he belittles me, attempting to break all ties between us. "I don't know why you don't hate me but I bet that you will soon. And, by the way, if the situation was reversed, I wouldn't hesitate to kick you out of my life."
"I don't care, Zac! I don't care how you'd treat me if we swapped roles because that's you, that's not me! You aren't going to change my mind. You're a work in progress, so what?!" I reply angrily, trying to help him see clearly. "We all are! No one is perfect. We all make mistakes."
He presses his lips into a thin line and shakes his head, all life seemingly ebbing away from his eyes. "Not like mine." He looks at Jay next. "And you're wrong, giving up is an option. It's my only option."
Jay shakes his head firmly, his mind already made up. "I won't allow it. I won't allow it to be. This isn't a period in your story, it's just a comma. We can fix the addiction. A rehab will give you the tools to fight this and I give you my word, we'll stand by you through all of it."
Zac doesn't bother to give it a second thought. "I'm not going to rehab, Jay. Let's get that straight, right now."
"Yeah, you are," Jay argues with him before walking out of the room, tugging me along with him, done with this conversation. He shuts the door after us, leaving Zac to wallow alone in his thoughts.
I about to ask Jay what he meant by all that when a pretty blond comes into view, everything suddenly making sense.
"Hi, guys!" FeeBee greets us cheerily, meeting us just outside the door. "I was looking for you-s! The barman let me in."
"Feebs," Jay breathes out in relief and smiles before instinctively embracing her, his love for her as clear as day. "Thank you for coming. You're right on time."
"Anything for you, Jay," she tells him kindly and knowing her, she means it. She radiates authenticity.
"Hi, Feebs!" I say hello to her and hug her after Jay.
"Great to see you, Aquella," she says, getting my name wrong...again. Still, it's extremely difficult to not love this girl with your entire heart. She's a beautiful soul who has been through way too much.
"So, you just want me to bond with him for the day, like, to strengthen our already strong relationship and stuff?" FeeBee asks us and I merely shrug at her seeing as I've been kept out of the loop on this one.
Jay nods. "Uh-huh. Yeah, just spend the day in the room with him, talk, hang out, and remember, don't let him leave through any windows."
"Sure," FeeBee nods, happy-go-lucky as always. "I've been meaning to ask him how many kids we should have. I'll start there," she tells us before entering the room with the utmost confidence.
Here we go...
"Hey, Pac!" we hear her greet him all too eagerly – for some reason, she adores him and thinks that he adores her too. "How many babies for us? All of them? Put all of them in me now."
Jay quickly locks the door after her and then grins at me. I feel myself smile in return. His plan is cruel, no doubt, but genius – there's no denying that.
As predicted by Jay, Zac is already banging and slamming on the door, begging to be released. "Hey! Are you guys still there?! Let me out! Or get her the hell out! I don't care, just separate us! Even if it means killing me off!"
"No can do, Zac Attack," I respond, not letting up.
He rattles the door handle before punching the door in frustration. "I can't believe you guys locked me in! This is entrapment and I'm pretty sure it's illegal! You don't want to test me, I'll sue!" he chastises us.
"Are you going to sign the papers and agree to go to rehab?" Jay asks him in nonchalance, undeterred by his threats.
"No," Zac answers flatly but truthfully.
"You look very pretty today, Dac," I hear FeeBee tell Zac, her mere words enough to drive him to the brink of extinction despite her being a wonderful human being who only means well. "I love the extra weight you've put on your neck. And did you do something different with your teeth?"
"Yes! Of course, of course, I'll sign them! A thousand times yes!" Zac instantly agrees, immediately changing his mind, making it too easy for us. "I definitely will if it means that I can be released from this never-ending hell! My brain hurts from all this stress!"
"She just got here, Zac," I remind him, pointing out the facts seeing as he obviously needs a reality check. "You've hardly spent any time with her in there."
"Please! Please! I'll sign the damn papers!" he shouts over me in desperation while repeatedly running at the door and jumping, trying to break through and escape. "Punch me, kick me, stab me, put my face through a meat grinder, just anything but this! Open the freaken door so that I can sign the stupid papers!"
Jay chuckles knowingly. "Call me on my cell when you actually mean it, Zac. In the meantime, I'll be in the kitchen with my beautiful wife-thing."
"How long do you think it will take him to break, like really break?" I ask Jay, sitting on the kitchen counter and feeling super relaxed as I watch him make us pancakes for breakfast at my request.
"Three or four hours, tops, give or take," Jay replies while putting chocolate chips in the mixture just like I asked him to. "He's not as tough as he thinks he is."
I laugh, aware of the fact. "He really isn't."
Jay leaves the batter for a second and turns around to face me. "Look, Aqueela, I know you probably don't want me mentioning it but I have to say this, I don't like the way Zac spoke to you. He disrespected you and it kills me that you wouldn't let me defend you. You don't deserve to be treated like that."
"I know," I say, recognizing what he's feeling – he wanted to protect me, "and I appreciate you taking a step back and allowing me to deal with him. Zac was just speaking from a place of emotional grief. I didn't take anything he said personally and you shouldn't either."
Jay smiles down at me before cupping my face with both of his hands. "I know that I said that I hate the word 'perfect' but you've got to be pretty close," he tells me before leaning down to place a short but sweet kiss on my lips.
He's so nice...but also such a liar!
I pull away and grin up at him. "I thought you're against placing people on pedestals," I tease him, using his own words against him.
"Hmm, I guess I lied," he jokes before going back to the subject of Zac, the whole thing clearly bugging him. "He was really harsh with you though, are you sure you're okay?"
I nod and smile in reassurance. "You forget that I've known Zac for a long time now. I know how he operates. Despite what he says, he uses his words more than his fists during arguments," I inform my fiancé.
"Well, for the record," Jay replies, calming down, "I don't think you're an idiot, I think you're incredibly smart and I love the way you love everyone else and never give up on anyone."
"I could say the same of you..." I chime and pause dramatically, "but I'm not going to."
Jay moves away from me when his cell phone begins to ring. "What's up, Zac?" he asks him as soon as he accepts the call. He listens for a second or two before handing me the phone. "He wants to talk to you."
I put the phone on speakerphone just in case Zac tries to negotiate with me and I fall for it – that's such a 'me' thing to do but, at least, I know my weaknesses. "Hi, Zac," I chirp into the phone, feeling weird speaking to him like this, through tech, when he's only two rooms away from me.
"Bold play, Aqueela," he says from his side of the line, irritation laced in his tone, "using your sexy voice on me, very clever, but it's not going to work."
I raise my eyebrows, puzzled, and look to Jay for help. He chuckles from beside me and merely shrugs at me before mouthing that it's true.
"This is my normal voice, Zac," I clarify, confused.
"Sure, it is," he retorts in sarcasm. "Listen, your boyfriend's not listening to me. This arrangement with FeeBee can't be permanent, alright? She's randomly showering with her clothes on. I can't live like this," he tells me, hoping to persuade me into freeing him. He knows that I'm the weaker target – he's a lot smarter than what I tell people he is.
"Zac, if you can live with yourself every day, then you can live with anything," I reassure him, being the wonderful person that I am. "Trust me, I have experience and you're difficult to live with."
Obviously peeved with my response, Zac hangs up on me without another word.
"Not quite broken yet," I update Jay on where Zac's head is currently at.
Jay nods. "Didn't think so," he says and hands me a plate of delicious-looking, chocolate-chip pancakes before taking a seat at the kitchen counter.
I hop off the kitchen counter and take a seat beside him on one of the kitchen chairs. "And where's yours?" I ask him, noticing that he didn't dish for himself.
"Do you have any idea how much junk is in there? You know that I hate eating unhealthy," he expresses his disapproval of my diet which consists mostly of sugar. "Also, I don't really have a sweet tooth, not when it comes to foods; only when it comes to you."
At least, he eats ice-cream occasionally – I guess I can live with that.
I munch on my pancakes, disapproving of his disapproval. I give him a look and swat him on his bicep. "Stop flirting with me, Taylor," I order after first swallowing a mouthful of goodness – Jay's so talented with cooking and baking; he's actually just an all-rounder in everything really.
"Why? Greg said nothing about harmless flirting," Jay responds with an uncaring attitude. Nonetheless, he drops the matter and opens Boss Man's laptop that's lying before us on the kitchen counter, typing something in and then showing me the many houses that he has on the screen.
I internally smile. We're about to take the next step and it's so exciting. I mean, I've lived with Jay for a long time but never in this context, not as an engaged couple. It's all new and it makes me happy to know that this time 'round, it will be our house.
"So, last night, after we got into trouble," he smirks mischievously and winks at me, "I did some research. There are a few places up for sale that I think might have potential. We should go and have a look," Jay explains, showing me various photos of various homes, none of them quite catching my eye.
"Alright," I agree, at peace with his suggestion, "I'll go with you to look if you first try this," I hold up a piece of the pancake on my fork to his lips, bribing him.
Jay rolls his eyes and opens his mouth, allowing me to feed him the small piece of sugar. I watch him chew and look at him expectantly with big eyes.
"Yeah, okay, bright eyes, it's good," he eventually admits, hating himself for it. "That's what you wanna hear, right?"
I nod a whole bunch of times and smile widely. "Yip!" I glance back at the laptop screen. "I know you must have a favorite, show it to me already," I adjure, eager to see the one that he has his heart set on.
He meets my gaze and smiles. "You know me well," he says and shows me a picture of a medium-sized, two-story house with a natural brick finish. It's beautiful and modern but there's nothing really striking or special about it. It's very simplistic and basic and thus, speaks straight to my fiancé's heart. "What do you think?" he asks, biting down on his bottom lip, apprehensive of my answer.
"It's really pretty," I manage a reply and feign a smile, not wanting to disappoint him. I don't want to be picky but this house isn't saying anything to me, if anything, it's hurling insults at me.
Jay cocks his head to the side and stares me down with his piercing gaze. "Aqueela," he says sternly, "you hate it, don't you?"
A beat of silence floats between us.
When I don't say anything, he playfully nudges me with his shoulder, coaxing a response from me. "It's okay, a house is just a house. At the end of the day, my home is wherever you are. You know that, right?"
"I think you've made it abundantly clear by now," I reply, biting back a smile. He's made huge strides since we first met, from never expressing his love for me to taking every chance he gets to express it.
"I value your opinion more than anybody else's in my life and if you don't like the house, that's fine. We'll keep looking. Just be honest with me," he tells me, warming my heart with his words like he always does.
I sigh in admission. "I don't hate-hate it," I confess, feeling uneasy. "But I don't love-love it either."
He merely grins, unperturbed by what I just said. "Called it."
"I feel like there's something missing," I try to explain my perspective. I want something unique, wild, and a little bit whacky, something that our family will love too. "But we should still see it in person. Pictures are deceiving." I don't want to shut him down completely; I'm willing to give the house a shot.
"I think we'll know which house is meant to be our home the second we step foot in it," he responds with his admirable optimism.
I can tell that he's thinking about it because he has this carefree and hopeful expression on his face and it somehow lights up every inch of my soul. An overwhelming and powerful burst of affection flows through my entire being and I can't help but smile until my cheeks begin to hurt.
He's so cute.
Unable to control myself, I lean over and kiss my fiancé on his cheek. "I just got a feeling of love for you," I tell him and place my hand over his, leaning my head against his shoulder.
"Yeah?" he asks me, angling his head to look at me, a teasing glint to his blue eyes. "Good. Lean into that feeling, lean right into that feeling of love for me," he says before attacking my face with a flurry of playful kisses.
"Taylor, stop!" I giggle and push him away while I attempt to actually finish my breakfast – I still have my priorities in order.
*~*~*~**~*~*~*
"How do you know that he means it, this time?" I ask Jay, five hours later, as we make our way back to our bedroom. Zac held up longer than I thought.
"I could hear it in his voice," Jay says, bending down to slide the papers and the pen under the door. "Once you sign, Zac, we'll let you out," he tells him, knocking on the door to let him know that we're here.
It's not even five seconds later when Zac slides the papers back to us without saying anything. I pick up the papers and quickly skim through them. I motion Jay over to me and show him Zac's signature before grinning in victory. "It's legit, he signed."
Jay takes the key out of his pocket and unlocks the door, keeping to his word. Zac, who had obviously been leaning against the door in distress, immediately collapses into him. Jay pats him on the back, showing him sympathy. "There, there, bud, you've made the right decision."
"Forced into," he corrects Jay, looking exhausted and defeated. FeeBee has truly sucked the life out of him.
I arch an eyebrow at him and stifle my laughs behind my fist. "Why are you wearing FeeBee's tight yoga pants?" It can't be good for his blood circulation... yeah...he's probably going to have to be cut out of those pants.
"She insisted that it would be cool if we swapped pants and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer," Zac groans in misery before leaning against the wall, catching his breath. "She watched me undress, Aqueela, and didn't even do anything about it."
Of course, that's what he's most upset about. She unintentionally took a shot at his ego.
I glance over at FeeBee sleeping soundlessly on the floor. She has a smile on her face while wearing Zac's sweat pants. Technically speaking, it's my fiancé's pants but I don't want to run with that thought right now. It's better not to get into specifics with things like this.
"What happened to her?" I point to FeeBee, befuddled by the sight.
"She literally talked herself to sleep," Zac answers and shudders at the memory. "I was hoping she'd talk me into a sleep coma or death...but nah, unfortunately, I'm still here."
"Let's go sit and talk," I tell Zac, gesturing to him to follow me to the TV room while Jay is busy picking up FeeBee and placing her down on our bed so that she doesn't have to wake up in pain later this afternoon.
Zac sits across from me on one of the couches and runs his hands down his face, tired. "What is it now?"
"The rehab we picked for you is close by," I notify him, wanting him to know what we've decided and what's going to happen to him – it's only fair. "We'll visit you whenever we can and we'll support you as much as possible. I promise."
"I appreciate it," he says despite himself. "Thanks."
"How are you feeling?" I ask warily; I don't want to step on his toes or have to put out more fires.
"It's a momentous moment. I am so excited about this change. It's going to be so much fun," he replies dully, choosing to be sardonic.
"Petrified? Anxious? Scared?" I give him a few words to choose from, words that might accurately describe how he's feeling.
Zac just looks at me, probably feeling all three at once.
"Great! Me too! Glad we're both on the same page," I say when he doesn't answer. I know that it's taken a lot out of him to sign the papers and commit to this huge step forward and I can appreciate that. "I'm so proud of you, Zac," I tell him in pure sincerity.
Something happens after that. Zac's rude demeanor crumbles and his mood instantly shifts. He begins blinking back tears while looking at me with a heart-breaking sadness on his face, the anguish still rooted in his eyes.
"Aqueela...I-I," he stammers, seemingly fearful, unable to get any words out, "I need to tell you something."
I furrow my brows, taken aback by the sudden change in him, but nod anyway. "Sure. I'm all ears."
"A while ago, I was out with some friends. We were drinking and this one guy took out some powder..." he trails off, struggling to hold my gaze, "...anyway, I got high. Mia was waiting for me to bring her car back so I got behind the wheel," he recounts the story to me, looking vulnerable, "and it was late...and..." he falters mid-sentence and begins to full-on sob, having a complete meltdown -- something so completely out of character for him.
Concerned, I'm up and out of my seat in a heartbeat. I sit down beside him and pull him into me, holding him close, trying to console him. "Hey, hey, hey..." I whisper, unsure of what's going on with him, "what's happening?"
He tries to push me away but he's crying so much that he's failing. "Don't resent me forever, Aqueela," he snivels, losing it entirely.
"What?" I ask softly, stunned to the core. "Zac, I don't resent you. I told you, I love you. Is this about five years ago? Because if it is, you're—"
"I hit another car," he speaks over me, not wanting to hear my words of comfort. "It was an accident. I was going to stop but when I saw Bell..." he continues speaking but I don't hear anything more after that.
I drop my arms from him, watching them fall limply at my side, promptly feeling numb. In shock, I blink, sure that I've just left my body and flown out of the room. A thousand different thoughts begin to race through my mind and I can't seem to hold onto a single one of them. Images flash through my head and my chest begins to burn with a scorching fire. Everything constricts until I'm gasping for breath, wheezing for oxygen.
"...I got scared and decided to keep on driving..."
My lungs seem to collapse on themselves. Unable to bear it, the truth, I feel myself drop and hear an ear-splitting sound followed by Zac yelling for help. I weakly touch my temple and pull back to see my fingertips covered in blood, the sight pushing me further over the edge. I try to breathe but it feels like someone has their hand wrapped tightly around my neck, mercilessly suffocating me.
"Aqueela!" I hear Jay shout my name in panic before he falls to his knees in front of me.
*~**~*
Hey guys :)
Sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger. 'Chapter 20: A While Isn't Long Enough' is up on Radish if you can't wait to read it here in a few week's time.
1. What was your favourite part of this chapter?
2. What did you think of Greg's talk with Aqueela and Jay?
3. Does Greg have a right to be upset? Why/why not?
4. Who's more to blame for upsetting Greg & why? Aqueela/Jay?
5. Did you expect Aqueela to pin all the blame on Jay?
6. What are your thoughts about the way Zac is treating Aqueela?
7. Are you surprised Jay stood down when Aqueela asked him to?
8. What do you look forward to the most in regards to Jaqueela's relationship?
9. Do you think that rehab is a must for Zac?
10. How do you think Zac is feeling toward the end of the chapter?
11. Should Zac be forgiven for everything that he's done?
12. How do you think the Mills family will react to this revelation?
13. What's going on with Aqueela?
See you in the next chapter!
Love you guys!
~ CJ