truly mine

009. messy

Belly

My vision began to blur as I watched Conrad flee from the house. He couldn't even look at my face, in my direction. Jeremiah turned to me, and I suddenly felt all of the other eyes on me too.

I knew Jere would get angry at me, but how could I not run after him? How could I just let him go off without knowing how he truly felt? What if this whole time Conrad has still cared for me? Have I really been that oblivious? 

My heart started to beat faster and faster and my hands started to shake. "Bells, look at me. Belly. I'm going to go talk to Conrad. I'm going to make sure he doesn't come near us, come near you again. Not when he's still in love with you," Jeremiah muttered bitterly as he squeezed my arm.

"No," I whispered. I couldn't see a thing, but I tried to fight for what I could. "You can't. Stay here. You can't be awful to him after all of this." The pressure on my upper arm disappeared, and I knew Jere had taken a step back. "You're defending him over this shit?"

"No. There's nothing to defend him over," I whispered. "Nicole's just stirring unnecessary drama. That's all. She's just angry over what happened two years ago. She hasn't let it go. That has to be the only reason. Conrad doesn't love me. Not anymore. He doesn't love anyone. Please. Don't go."

I knew the words coming out of my mouth were lies, but how else was I supposed to get Jeremiah to stay and not try to hurt him? "You don't know if that's true or not, Belly. If he didn't love you, he wouldn't have run in fear like that. He's afraid of me for a damn good reason. I'll be at the shit out of him if he tries to take you from me again."

My vision started to get even more blurry, and I realized I was crying so hard that I could hardly breathe. I remember muttering one sentence more before everything went black. "He... never... took... me... from... you."

Taylor

I watched Belly's eyes close as she went unconscious and Jeremiah shout, "What the fuck?!" as Steven caught her before she could hit the ground. I didn't understand what my best friend had just said or what she was talking about, but I knew I was angry at Nicole. This was all her fault. Because if Belly realized that Conrad did truly still have feelings for her... it would be bad.

"You bitch!" I shouted in Nicole's face. "Why would you say something like that after everything that's happened?! You're messing with people's entire lives!" Steven set Belly on the couch and came running back to where I was yelling. He quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back close into his chest. "Calm down, Tay. It's okay. It's okay. They just need to leave."

I shook my head, burning with rage. "Reason one thousand and fifty seven why I hate annoying rich people who leave me naked in the woods," I growled underneath my breath. I heard Steven's classic little trying not to laugh at something that's happening in a serious moment laugh in my ear before he whispered, "They're leaving, Tay Tay. It's fine. I'm sure it'll all work itself out in the way it needs to."

I sighed heavily as he turned me to face him. "Yeah, but last time this happened, Conrad and Jeremiah both--" He pulled my face as physically close to him as possible without touching as he said, "It's all going to work out, sweetheart. I promise. Zen exists for a reason." His eyes reflected the lights with warmth as he smiled, and I melted. "Okay, fine. Maybe you're right. But if you're not, then I'm going to stop believing in your 'zen' stuff."

He shrugged before pulling me into a feverish kiss. "Maybe so, but at least you're still my girlfriend and no one's dying. That's all that matters right now. It's summer. Not everything's going to be perfect all the time. Why don't you go ahead and head upstairs to bed, okay? I'll take care of everything down stairs, and you won't need to worry about a thing."

I slightly tilted my head and shook my head in disbelief with a smile that made me feel higher than cloud nine. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Steven rolled his eyes a little and shrugged, obviously pleased. "I guess I'm just a lovable person." I nodded in agreement. "Touché." 

Jeremiah

I stood there staring in awe at my unconscious girlfriend because of the words that had just come out of her mouth. "He never took me from you."

How could she say that? That's all Conrad's ever done. He's done it since the moment she started crushing on him. She'd look at him in admiration, he'd ignore her for something or someone else, she'd get upset, and then he'd apologize and beg for forgiveness. 

Why, hell, he did it before we were even official. He did it for years, and then when I finally got my girl to myself, he came in and took her entirely away in one fell swoop, and I was left with nothing, no one. I wasn't just angry at Conrad anymore, now I was angry at Belly too.

"Dude, really? I know you're in shock but you could've at least tried to catch my sister before she almost collapsed onto the floor," Steven muttered with a shake of his head. I turned to him, burning with anger. "You're kidding, right? No offense, Steven, but she was just being a bitch to me! She always ends up fucking defending Conrad, and I'm so tired of it! She's my girlfriend, not his!"

Steven's face went emotionless as he stared me down with crossed arms. He wasn't even married, and he was giving me the dad look. "Don't ever call my sister a bitch again. If you do, I'll make sure you'll never talk to her again." 

"Okay, okay, maybe that was a little far. I'm sorry. I'm just so tired of Conrad always getting her back when shit like this happens! It's always him! I just wish he'd stay away for one in his goddamn life! When will Belly realize he'll always let her down and that's why she's with me!" I shouted.

Belly

I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of Jeremiah shouting about how much better he was than Conrad. I didn't remember a thing, but for some reason I had the desperate urge to go upstairs and wallow in my bed with sobs. 

"Belly, how are you feeling?" Steven asked as soon as he saw me open my eyes. He walked over and slowly helped me sit up. I rubbed my eyes and hoarsely said, "I don't know. I don't really remember what just happened." 

His eyebrows shot up. "You don't remember anything about what just happened? Please tell me you're joking." I shook my head. "The last thing I remember is Conrad and Nicole getting ready to eat that really nasty looking cake."