Status: Slow Updates

Until We Meet Again

Crushed Hopes

July 3rd 2000

Six. That was the exact number of months it had passed since she’d last seen Gerard, and that was the exact number of phone calls she’d exchanged with him. He had promised to call her every day. It should have been 182 calls.

And that was why now, as her mother picked her up from the airport to, for the first time, spend summer vacations at home, Gerard did not know. The last time they’d talked to each other had been over two weeks ago and he didn’t seem to show much interest in knowing what she was going to do once college was over, so she didn’t bother telling him.

Thanks to her new job, that paid her significantly better than the previous one, Jordan was now able to spend the next month away from London, but the fact that she and Gerard were not on the best terms made her staying a lot less appealing.

Once she arrived home, after all her luggage had been brought upstairs to her room, Jordan stood in the middle of it, not really knowing what to do next. And for the first time she realized, that since she’d left to go study abroad, the only friends she’d kept there were Mikey and Gerard.

“Jordan” Her mother’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She was suddenly by the door and Jordan hadn’t even realized it. “I need to go shopping. Do you need anything?”

“No -” Jordan hesitated for a second. “Actually, I think I’m going with you.”

That earned her a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to meet your friends?”

“No.” Jordan exited her room, followed by her mother.

“What’s wrong? Are you mad at them?”

“No,” she repeated, knowing she wasn’t exactly lying. She was only mad at Gerard.

“Melody…” Her mother pressured, using her middle name that she knew Jordan hated.

“Everything’s fine mom, trust me.” She made sure to stare into her mother’s eyes. “I just want to spend some time with you first; I’ll go meet them later.”

Her mother didn’t seem very convinced, but grabbed her car keys and followed Jordan, both of them leaving the house.

Almost two hours later, they were home again. Jordan was helping her mother put the groceries away, but the looks she got from her were starting to get on her nerves. She now clearly knew that something was going on, but didn’t press Jordan to tell her anything.

“I going to lie down for a while,” Jordan said after everything was finally in its place. “I’m tired from the flight.”

She walked upstairs, her mind going back and forth on whether she should or shouldn’t talk to Gerard. She recognized she was being a bit rancorous toward him, after all things between them had been supposedly resolved before she left to London. But to Jordan it didn’t feel like it.

Jordan lay on her bed, her eyes glued on the white ceiling. One year ago he’d flew to London just to be with her. One year ago they had shared a weekend together, just the two of them.

Her eyes started to close. There were days when she regretted all that had happened during that weekend, and there were days when she regretted not taking them further. But everything had changed so much since they’d met, that she no longer knew if things could ever be the way they had been a year ago.

When her eyes opened up again, her father was smiling at her, making her realized she must have been asleep for hours.

“Hi dad,” she spoke in a tired voice. “I missed you.” Her father hugged her.

“I missed you too. How was your day today?”

“Good, it feels good to be back home.” She used her fingers as a comb to pull her hair back into a ponytail. “Is it time for dinner, already?” Her father nodded. She followed him downstairs, smiling as the smell of her mother’s food reached her nostrils. That was one of the things she had missed the most.

Dinner had been quiet, with the usual questions about college popping every now and then and Jordan talking about a few of the courses she was taking. However there was an exchange of looks between her parents that was starting to annoy her. Like if her mother had told her father about her lack of interest in seeing Gerard or Mikey.

“What?” Jordan suddenly snapped, getting tired of all the secretive looks.

“Your mother told me you didn’t go to see your friends today.”

Jordan rolled her eyes at him. “And what’s the problem with that?”

“I know it’s none of our business, but you haven’t seen them for half a year. I’d expect you to want to see them first thing you arrived.”

“You’re right; it’s none of your business.” She got up and left to her room.

***


Jordan stretched her arms and smiled lazily. The house was silent and for the first time in a long time she didn’t have to worry about school or work. She could sleep all day if she wanted to.

Slowly getting out of bed, she stumbled downstairs. No one was home; both her parents had left for work a long time ago and she had the whole house just to herself for most of the day.

Heading toward the kitchen, she grabbed a plate of food her mother had left her for lunch and decided to eat it while watching tv on the couch.

After a while of flipping through channels, without anything worth watching on any of them, Jordan decided to face the boring task of organizing all the things she had brought from London, knowing her mother would be angry with her if she didn’t do it.

She had just stepped into the shower when her mother’s voice echoed inside the house, announcing her arrival. Jordan walked downstairs to greet her, her hair still wet and a brush on her hand.

“Hi sweetie.” Her mother smiled as Jordan planted a kiss on her cheek. “How was your day?”

“Great, it felt good to sleep in.” Her mother chuckled. “How was yours?”

“Oh you know.” She shrugged. “It’s work.”

It was Jordan’s time to chuckle. “Oh, in case you’re wondering, I’m getting ready to go to Gerard and Mikey’s house.” She eyed her mother.

Her mother simply smiled, disappearing into the kitchen. “I might be home late!” She yelled, hoping to get some sort of reply, but only more laughter reached her ears.

As Jordan parked her car in front of the white house, she was certain that this was the right decision. If she really wanted to be the bigger person, she needed to show that everything was okay. That there were no hard feelings about anything.

Jordan knocked on the door and waited a few moments before it opened.

“Jordan?” The surprise on his voice was as evident as the smile on his lips.

The commotion inside the house made her eyes wander away from him. “Hey Mikey.”

“I thought you were in London! Gerard didn’t tell me you were coming home this summer.”

“He doesn’t know,” she shrugged, deciding to ignore the questioning look on his face.

“I thought I’d heard your voice!” An excited voice echoed from down the foyer.

“Hi, Mrs. Way.” Jordan waved.

“Oh come on, you know it’s Donna.” She smiled brightly and caught her in an embrace. “The boys didn’t tell me you were back from London.”

Jordan exchanged a look with Mikey, but neither answered his mother’s remark.

“Well, where are your manners, Michael?” She gestured for Jordan to come inside. “You should stay for dinner.”

“No, thanks.” She smiled politely.

“I insist. Besides, Grandma’s visiting today, I’m sure she would like to see you too.”

Jordan shared another look with Mikey. She really didn’t want meddle in their family dinner. She was not family.

“Yeah, Grandma asked about you the last time she was here,” Mikey claimed, pressuring her to finally accept.

Jordan had only met their grandmother once or twice. She was a petite woman, with the warmest smile and the kindest eyes she’d ever seen, which wrinkled pleasantly when she smiled. A smile she saw once she walked inside the house and then into the dining room, being greeted with such a tight hug she thought she would pop.

They talked for a while, mostly about her college and London, with Mikey and his father occasionally taking part in the conversation.

“Hum, Mikey? Where’s Gerard?” Jordan asked after his father and grandmother had disappeared into the kitchen, leaving them in charge of setting the table.

“He must be on his way from New York.” There was a quick glance at Jordan before he continued. “Katherine is coming, too.”

Jordan nodded. She had almost forgotten about her. Well, not exactly, but since she hadn’t been mentioned in any of Gerard’s phone calls she wondered if they were no longer together. After all they still were.

“So, he’s been working until this late every day?” She tried to take the conversation in another direction. Maybe he’d just been too busy to call her every day. If he always worked until this late, by the time he left Jordan would be probably already asleep, due to the time zone difference. Maybe that was the reason.

“What? No.” The confused look on Mikey’s face quickly told her that that was not the reason. “He was actually fired last week. Wait, he didn’t tell you? He’s not living here anymore, he lives with Katherine now.”

Jordan didn’t know what to say. She had the impression she was staring back at Mikey like a deer caught in the headlights, forcing her brain to send impulses to her mouth to move.

“Oh,” she finally murmured, her eyebrows drawn together in the most perplexed expression Mikey had ever seen. “When did he move out?”

“I’m not sure, maybe a month ago or so.”

“Oh,” she repeated, mentally slapping herself for how embarrassing her reaction turned out to be. “Wait, you said he was fired? Why?” She suddenly realized Mikey hadn’t explained the reason.

A knock on the front door made him stop before he could even start to explain, apprehensive eyes swinging from Jordan to the source of the sound. “It must be them.”

Oh hell, this was going to be interesting.
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I know, another late update, I'm sorry. Things have been really busy lately, but I hope this chapter leaves you wondering about what's going to happen next.
Hint: drama awaits ;)

xoxo