Star Bright

Twenty Six: Trap

  "You ready to do this?"

  "Yeah. No time like the present."

  "Gonna need backup?"

  "Why? You have another date with Hannah?"

  "No. She has a family thing this night. Just thought you might need someone there with you."

  Dani chewed on her lips, staring up at the big house. This was a personal problem that she only had to deal with. Nobody else was to be involved.

  She shook her head. "No. I have to do this on my own."

  Gabe nodded a bit, his eyes scanning her. "Okay. Let's go then."

  They got out of the car, walked into the stylish environment, and climbed up the stairs to the living room. Dani knew where Jeremy's room was, so Gabe squeezed her shoulder, going his way.

  The climb to Jeremy's room was intimidating, each step she took her heart thumped. Finally, she got to the door, took a deep breath, and knocked on it.

  "Go away, Gabe. I'm not dead."

  His voice made her heart lighter yet almost at the same time, heavier. He was just on the other side of the door.

  "It's me. Dani."

  The anxious silence that followed had been expected, but it was still effective. Dani found herself biting her lips again. She chided herself to stop that bad habit or she would injure herself one day.

  "Whatever I said to you that night was a mistake. I was drunk. I hardly remember anything. You can leave now."

  She blew out a shaky breath. "Can I come in?"

  A 'No' was supposed to answer her but instead, there was another anxious silence. Dani decided to take her chances; She turned the knob and stepped in.

   The room was messy (and she was kinda glad it was. It was a sign of a true heartbreak). Clothes lay on the floor, there was a weak odor in the room, his big bed was covered with CDs of his favorite songs and lastly, his computer sat on his stylish desk, alive and glowing.

  Jeremy, himself, stood beside his desk, sorting out a pile of clothes. He wore a blue t-shirt and grey sweat pants. He was clearly trying so hard to avoid her eyes; he kept glancing at her through the corner of his eyes. Nevertheless, Jeremy carried on with his sorting.

  "And I thought my room was bad." She quietly joked, chuckling alone.

  He snapped around. "Really? This is the time to be making jokes?!"

  She shook her head, looking at her feet. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was just trying to put you at ease."

  He scoffed, throwing a shirt at a cupboard with an amount of strength not needed.

  She breathed in, stepped closer. "I'm not gonna say I'm sorry for what I did, because what I did made Gabe happy, even if it was just for a while."

  He paused but didn't turn around to face her.

  "I went to that party to get Gabe on the football team, true, but when I saw you with Sandy, I got jealous. And yes, you were right, Ian only accompanied me because Jean asked him to. My main goal was to find the druggie but I also got distracted. You, Jer. You were the distraction."

  Jeremy resumed his picking and throwing.

  "When we kissed, it was everything I had ever dreamt about. Nothing sat in my mind during the kiss, nothing except you. Then when you said we couldn't be together, I was beyond disappointed. You knew how I felt about you, yet you still said that." Her voice cracked and she quickly cleared her throat. "Anyway, with your words still in my head, all I wanted to do was to leave the party. Everything seemed to choke me, I needed to breathe."