Someone Like That

I lay in my bed, trying to put the event of the last twenty-four hours out of my head. Yesterday morning, it seemed as if I had everything in control and knew exactly what I wanted. Then right before my eyes things spiraled out of control way too quickly. Almost as if it had blindsided me.

I'd kissed Kristen. No, she kissed me. But did that detail really matter, in the end, if I didn't stop it? Well, I did, but not right away. Not as quickly as I should have.

Yesterday afternoon I'd told Justin that I didn't mind if he wanted Kristen or not, even after he'd asked me if I was sure. I'd reassured him that I was perfectly okay with it. .then I went against the code and kissed her anyway.

What happened to Bros before Hos?

I close my eyes, sighing, disgusted with myself.

Maybe it was my doubt that made me mess up. Propping my head on my hand, I debate over this silently for a few moments. Yes, that had to be it. Even when I had given Justin my blessing - if you could call it that - I still had uncertainty all around me. The same uncertainty that allowed Kristen to glide through my protective shield and mess me up.

Though if Cara hadn't killed my defenses already, that would have never been able to happen.

I narrow my eyes, still pissed over the fact that I'd made myself so open to her anyway. What a fail that was.

Giving up, I push myself off the bed and head downstairs. Any distraction, even if it meant getting into a heated debate with Joe, was worth it right now. I need to get my mind on something other than yesterday.

My family is having breakfast when I enter the kitchen - pancakes and bacon. On any other occasion I would have been heated with anger at the sight of them sitting together as a family and having a meal without me, but every since lines got crossed the other day, we've all been avoiding each other like children. Well not avoiding each other, more of everyone avoiding me.

Espen had left after for home after giving me the car yesterday, claiming to have business and his wife to tend to. I can't blame him. With all the chaos surrounding this place, I would have went home, too. Anna followed in his suit not too long after.

I sit at the table silently after making my plate, and everyone's eyes are on me instantly. Even Taliana looks shocked. Usually, unless I feel like moping in their sight, I skip out on breakfast and leave the house on my skateboard instead. But as of right now, I'd rather look at my family than any of my friends.

"Jacob," Melanie starts, hesitantly, to break the silence.

The caution in her voice makes me feel guilty. For the first time, with my defense being down, I realize what a disturbance I have become. Instead of me being the one walking on eggshells with them, as I'd thought, their doing the exact same with me.

Anything to not set Jacob off....Let's not get him started.

"We want to talk to you about what happened the other night," Melanie continues. Her brows pull together as she looks at me. "We're apologize for the way things. .escalated." Her eyes, brown and shiny, flicker to Joe then, accusingly. "I hope Daniel doesn't feel as if he's not welcome here anymore."

Taliana watches everyone eagerly, soaking it all up. Just as she had the other night. Not seemingly to mind that some of her hair has fallen over into her plate, getting coated with the thick syrup.

"I know Daniel," I mutter. "If Joe hadn't to have talked to him the way he had, he wouldn't have went off the way he did."

I knew from experience that my brother always gave off the energy he received. If you were genuinely nice and respected him, he did the same. But if you treated and talked about him as if he were a dishrag, that's the way he would treat you.

"Whether or not that is true," Joe starts, stabbing a stack of pancakes with his fork, "it doesn't make it right. "He lacks respect and tact. Sort of like you, Jacob."

I clench my fist under the table, fighting to control my temper. "Look, I'm not trying to argue. That's not what I sat here for. But Danny was respectful to you at first, until you started throwing the fact that he's a young father in his face, and implicating how bad of a role model he is. Which is, in fact, only your opinion, and also insulting. He came here to visit me, not to be picked apart by my mother's boyfriend."

"Only my opinion?" Joe spluttered. "Hm. Call it what you want," he said, dismissing my comment with a wave. "But what am I supposed to think when your mother comes home and finds you in your room with a young girl?"

"Technically," Melanie intercepts. "I didn't find them there. I just saw them coming down the hall when I got home. I know Jacob and I'm pretty positive in him and his decisions."

Joe rolls his eyes. "Yes. But I'm just pointing out the fact that he didn't do things like that until that brother of his arrived. You can't deny me right there."

Melanie sighed in agreement.

A knot had formed inside my throat. How could I possibly defend myself, let alone my brother, when Joe thinks he has me all sewed up? "Daniel dropped me off at school, and suggested that the three of us hang out." I cut my eyes at him. "That's all."

"Is that what you're calling it these days?" Joe asks sourly, rolling his eyes.

"You know what makes me so mad I could spit?" I snap, angry now. "If Daniel wouldn't have been here, you wouldn't have made a big deal about Kristen coming over. Just last week you were condoning that I should start spending time with friends. You just wanted to make Daniel feel like shit. Sometimes you're mean for no reason, Joseph."

"So you're delusional now, too?" Joe replies. "I had no intentions to belittle your brother. I was simply stating the obvious and putting two and two together. Daniel was no stranger to girls, and who the hell knows what else when he was your age. And look? He got a girl pregnant when he was seventeen. And then he comes here, and all of a sudden you're bringing girls home?" He raises his brow. "That's all I'm saying. I will allow the fact that yeah, maybe I am wrong Jacob. But I'm just looking out for you here. I know your eyes are wide open to everything he does, but that isn't always a good thing, you know."

The silence that followed was painful as ever. Painful, because as much as I'd hate to allow Joe to win, I saw where he was coming from.

"Everyone makes mistakes," I counter, finally. "That was his. .and you know what? That's okay. Unless you don't have anything or any memory you aren't exactly fond or proud of, then you shouldn't be so quick to judge.

Look at him now. He's working with some of the best businessmen around. I'm pretty sure that's a huge leap from where he's come."

Something in Joe's expression changes then, and I don't know if it's him allowing me to have the last word, or if he, too, saw where I am coming from as well. And considering how Joe and I have gotten along in the past, this is a huge advancement.

I think about what I'd just said about how everyone makes mistakes. Yes, everyone.

And I know mine.

Before I can stop myself from what I'm about to do, I'm already talking. "I'm still not happy with the. .circumstances," I admit tonelessly. "But I'm sorry."

"What?" Joe struggles to swallow his food, then coughs. "Come again?" His green eyes shrink to needle pricks in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," I repeat myself.

"For what?" Melanie asks, gingerly, pressing for more. She eyes me with patience, but the way she runs her fingers through her long hair nervously gives away her worry. Like I might go off any second.

"For being extremely unreasonable." I watch Joe now. "Even though you make it excruciatingly hard to be nice and open-minded, I'm going to try to be. .better. From what I've gotten from this, I see it's possible." Then I smile, a sign of commitment.

Joe doesn't miss a beat. "Yes. I'm going to try, too. I was thinking, the other day...there can only be one man of the house. However, it never occurred to me that before I was around, that was your position, no matter how young you were at the time." He stops then, his eyes flickering to the table as he struggled for whatever he was about to say next.

Melanie watches us both, intently, and in complete shock. The way her eyes flash back and forth between me and Joe consistently, as if she can't believe what she's witnessing.

"But yes," Joe starts again. "It's kind of like with animals, in a sense. I stepped in a took over your turf. What I'm trying to say is that I never really considered the situation I put you in, Jacob. For that, I am sorry. And contrary to what you may believe, you are apart of this family, too."

I choke on the words before I can get them out. "So are you."

I don't need to explain myself for them to recognize the significance of what I'd just said.

Melanie pops up from her chair, and meets me with her arms out, wrapping me up tight in a bear hug. "Oh, Jacob!" She almost sings. "You don't know how long I've been waiting on you to say that." Her dark hair is ticklish against face. "Thank you."

Her happiness almost makes me feel sad. Even though it's obvious they didn't need my blessing, and were going to go through it anyway, Melanie has always wanted me to accept Joe so that she could get married without a guilty conscience.

She pulls away from me quickly, pulls her red cell phone from her pocket, and excuses herself. The smile still etched upon her face.

Taliana gets up, silently and confused, and follows after her.

Joe watches me from his chair. "Even if you didn't do that for me, I'm happy you did it for your mother. You have no idea how much it's bothered her. Thank you, Jacob."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure." I say, waving it off, ready for the mushy moment to end.

Joe smiles then, clearing the table before leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I sit there for a moment, letting the reality of what I've just done soak into my skin when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

It's a text from Daniel, telling me to come outside.

My heart skips a beat. With the note we'd ended on, I'd been pretty sure that another blue moon would pass before I heard from him again.

He's leaning against his car when I get outside. He is dressed down in a fitted black T and jogging pants today, and smiling. As if he's completely forgotten about how things ended the last time he was here. The way his hazel eyes are glazed over with the happy shine they always wear, it's easy to see he's over it.

"I thought you were going home?" I ask casually, closing the distance between us, and tilting my head to study his expression.

He pushes away from the car, his smile still in place. "I was going to. .but I couldn't. I just couldn't leave the things the way they were. Especially since we only see each other like twice a year. I'm not that much of an asshole." He rolls his eyes then, as if I was already supposed to have noted this fact.

"You could have fooled Joe," I clip. "Thanks for your help in making my family look crazy in front of Kristen."

He carefully gauges my expression. "Well you should tell him that if anyone in this family is a bad influence, it's him." He tucks his hands inside his pockets, kicking the tire of his car in a slow rhythm. "The bastard needs to hear it from someone."

"Yeah," I mutter. Not bothering to tell him about how breakfast went this morning. "But good luck with that. Joe is always right. If anything, teenagers are the devil. At least in his eyes they are."

Danny snorts, flipping his shaggy hair out of his face. "I'm not a teenager. I'm a grown ass man." He crinkles his eyes at me then. "And since when did you begin to care what Kristen thought?" His smile is smug, now. Taunting.

"I don't."

"Don't seem like it."

"Doesn't it? Well I could care less about either of them."

Daniel sighs then, shaking his head and leaning back onto the car. "Aw shit. What happened?"

He doesn't have to wait long for answer. "Why does something always have to have happened?" I ask, wearily.

He shrugs. "Cause you're Jacob."

"Yeah that's just great," I reply. "What the crap is that supposed to mean?"

Daniel frees one of his hands from his pocket and points at me. "It means that I know you well. So well that I know when you are attempting to distract me. Nice try. Now tell me what I missed."

"Nothing spectacular. Except for me looking like a jackass yesterday when Cara ditches me because her ex showed up."

He winces, closing his eyes in a sorrowful way that I didn't like. I didn't want him feeling sorry for me. "Well that's..awful. But maybe it was just awkward for her."

My eyes widen in horror. This dude has got to be kidding me right now. Cara stood me up yesterday and he is still on her side? At her defense when I'm the one who's at expense?

What the hell.

"Please don't tell me you are okay with that BS she pulled yesterday. If you are, I've been thinking too highly of you."

He holds his hand up in defense, raising one of his brows. "Jake, cut that out. No jumping to conclusions here, alright? I'm just saying that maybe her ex showing up was just weird and she freaked. Girls tend to do crap like that all the time."

I'm disgusted. "I cannot believe you right now, Daniel. Please don't waste your time in going home. I'm done talking to you."

"Hear me out, Jacob." All seriousness is in his voice now. His hazel eyes are locked on me. "I did a girl like that once."

"Explain."

His shoulders relax then, satisfied that I've given him time to talk. "Miya and I had gotten into a fight this one time, so I went out with another girl. It was kind of a double date. Sam was there."

I nod, knowing exactly who he is talking about. Sam has been his best friend was years. Plus, I can't forget that he was also his best man at his wedding. Which continues to piss me off each time I think of it. "And?"

He shrugs. "We went to see a movie. Sam's girlfriend ended up showing up, and we freaked. We bailed and left the girls in the theater."

I stare at him, horrified once again. "Wow. That only proves that you're rude as hell too."

He accepts my challenge. "So you're telling me that you truly believe with all your heart that Cara asked you to hang with her just to ditch you? You sure 'bout that?"

"I don't have to be sure, Spud." I am nearly shouting now, flailing my hands in the air. "She doesn't know what she wants. I can't deal with a girl like that."

"What kind of girl can you deal with?" Daniel presses.

"One who isn't that screwed up."

Daniel runs his hand through his hair casually. "So you don't wanna give her another chance? Look, if I hadn't known you so well, I would tell you to hell yeah, kick her to the curb, but I do know you. So I can't. You actually think that if you cross off Cara that you're gonna be able to talk to other girls? Hell no. You're gonna cage yourself off again, and use what happened as an excuse every time a new opportunity comes up. Now tell me if I'm lying."

I stare at him uncomprehensively before the statement registers. "Shut up."

His grin is back. "I thought so. You don't have to forgive the girl right away, but yeah, you should do it eventually. Instead of being mad about it for the next decade."

The certainty of the fact penetrates and a surge of bitterness tears through me. "I get your point, Spud. You can shut up now."

"So," he starts again. "You said you hated both of them now. Cara and Kristen. What did Kristen do?"

Instead of trying to avoid his question and failing like I'd did earlier, I slowly give him a brief recap of yesterday's events. Leaving out the part about the promise I'd made to Justin. That was a completely different problem all on its own.

I even include the part about Joe, which he didn't want to know a lot about. He told me to move on so fast I couldn't catch if he was angry or not.

“Wow, Jacob. I leave you alone for what, two days? And somehow you manage to get yourself caught up,” Daniel says in an endearing yet clearly condescending tone. "I admire Kristen's persistence, though. Maybe I was wrong about her. The girl's got heart."

Leave it to my brother to find humor in everything. "I don't admire it. She's making this extremely difficult for me. As if I need to level of difficulty to be any higher."

Daniel shrugs, his shoulders making a weird noise against his car. "I think all of this is so amusing. You gotta admit, it's kinda hot how these girls are fighting over you like that. A few years ago, I would have totally milked this situation."

I snort. "Anything that includes women is hot to you, Danny. And there is no fight here. Kristen and I are just friends. Cara is the one I want. Things just got out of hand yesterday."

"I love how you convince yourself," he teased. His fingers absently stroke his light goatee. "It's like you talk more to yourself than you do to other people."

I cross my arms over my chest. That's one thing I'd forgotten about Daniel; he notices too much. "How sweet of you to call me crazy. And you should shave that thing."

His mouth pulls into another of one his famous grins, and his eyes shine with new amusement. "Miya likes it better when I have some hair on my face." He scrutinizes my pallid expression for a second, then laughs loudly.

I try to shake the thought. The last thing I want to know is any details of my brother's obvious, wild sex life. The last and only time I'd went to Chicago to visit him, him and Miya had hardly been able to stop making gaga eyes at each other. It was sickening to just be in the same vicinity as them.

"Thank you for making me sick," I hiss.

"No problem." He agrees quickly, mocking my light sarcasm. "You made me sick too, when you confessed to apologizing to Joe. He's the last person in the world who deserves that."

I say nothing. It would be stupid to try to argue with Daniel about Joe. He hates him with a passion, and though it's easy to understand why, it's clear to see that he may even hate him even more than I do.

No doubt it was hard to let Joe off easy today, but it'll be too stressful not to. Someone has to apologize and be the bigger man sooner or later, and it might as well be me. I am, after all, the reason everyone is tripping anyway.

I open my mouth to fill the awkward silence that has began to become extremely uncomfortable, but before I can get the words past my teeth a dark blue Taurus screeches to a stop at the end of my driveway.

Danny turns his head as soon as I do, a smug smile crossing his face when we both see Cara through the window, quickly stopping the engine. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she climbs out of the car, and heads straight for me.