truly mine

012. complications

Conrad

Only seconds after I'd put my cereal bowl in the dishwasher, Belly came in the front door with a deep frown on her lips and a dark, almost bitter look in her eyes. "Is everything... okay?" I asked with hesitation.

"I don't want to talk about it," she rumbled in response before rummaging through the refrigerator for something to eat. "Do you want to go get muffins or something? To take your mind off of whatever it is you're worrying about?" I asked quietly.

"Only if you want to. I don't want to mess up your day if you have work or something," Belly replied. I smiled softly at the ease that was beginning to wash over her. "You don't need to worry about that. I'm off today anyways. Haven't got anything to do, so why not?"

I'd do anything to make you feel better about whatever it is plaguing your mind. You always come first to me, Belly is what I wanted to say. But I knew I couldn't. Not when she was still dating Jere, even if he had treated her horribly the night before and didn't deserve her.

We drove over to the bakery in silence, just listening to one of Belly's feel better playlists and the sounds of the wind that whooshed around while we drove with the windows down.

God, she looked so beautiful. I couldn't even keep  my smile to myself, and she noticed and laughed at me. "Why are you smiling so much? You already ate this morning."

I shrugged and smiled even bigger. "I dunno. I guess I'm just happy. I don't really go on morning drives in California during the school year. I've missed it." I've missed you.

We ended up getting double delight (double chocolate), dirt bombs (cinnamon and brown sugar), and pink snowballs (strawberry with a hint of coconut). Dirt bombs have always been Belly's and Jere's favorite. Surprisingly, they're even sweeter than the double delights. Pink snowballs have always been my favorite, and Belly has never let it go. Even if they are "girly", good food is good food.

Steven

I woke up as soon as I smelled the warm scent double delights that I knew were waiting for me downstairs. I guessed Conrad must have been up early and headed to the bakery before they were gone. I saw Jere pacing around in his room and raised an eyebrow at what he was doing up so early. "You good, man?"

He rolled his eyes at me wearily and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," He said before shutting the door to his room. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at his immaturity. I love Jere like a brother, but I have my reasons for being team Conrad. This is only one of them.

As soon as I got downstairs, I heard Belly and Conrad laughing in the kitchen and a smile spread across my lips. They were getting along. That was a good sign. "Good morning, guys. You both seem happy this morning. Got the good muffins, I see. How many'd you get?"

Belly's eyes lit up as she said, "Twenty. There's four for everyone." I nodded. "Good, 'cause I'm gonna be eating a lot. Also Jere's awake if you wanna go talk to him about last night," I said as I placed two double delights on my napkin.

"I already talked to him this morning," Belly replied. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how did that go? You wouldn't happen to know why he's so moody all of a sudden, would you?" She nodded and said, "Because I called him out for lying to me," with a shrug.

I set my napkin back down on the island and stared my little sister down. "He lied to you?" Belly nodded. "Yep. This morning," She said with a flick of the dirt bombs box. "About what?" Conrad asked.

"He said that we made up after I woke up last night, and I know we didn't. He won't tell me what happened because he says it's better for everyone if I don't remember. But I can tell he's lying about that too. I just don't know why," Belly replied.

I shook my head as my hands balled themselves into fists. "I swear if he keeps acting like this I'm going to beat him up." Belly frowned. "If he keeps acting like what?"

"Well, I guess since he didn't tell you, I should. When you were passed out, he called you a bitch. There's a lot more to what happened, but you should at least know that he wasn't happy when you remembered what happened. I'll explain it more later. I need to talk to Taylor first," I muttered before picking up my napkin and heading back upstairs.

Belly

I stood in awe of what my brother had just told me. On top of Jere getting all annoyed at me for calling him out for lying to me, he'd called me a bitch the night before?!

I looked over at Conrad to see how he had reacted, to see if he knew. He stared head on at the kitchen cabinets without saying a word. He was angry, but I could tell that he most likely knew why Jere had called me that. I also knew he wouldn't lie to me about it.

"Do you know why Jeremiah got angry at me last night?" I asked directly. Conrad swallowed and nodded. "Yes. I can't be the one to tell you about what happened, though, Belly. It'll complicate things more than they need to be."

I sighed and felt like a wall I had built up for a long time inside of me had just crumbled to the ground. "But why? Why does you telling me the truth have to complicate anything?"

Conrad closed his eyes and squeezed them tight. "I can't tell you that either. I'm sorry, Belly. I really wish I could. It would make everything make sense to you. I just can't. Steven said he would. You should talk to him when he comes back downstairs."

"Conrad, please. I promise it won't change anything. It won't complicate anything. Just tell me what happened," I pleaded.

Conrad

Belly's pleading voice was the worst kind of torture I could have been through. After everything that's happened between us, hearing her beg me to tell her something again... it takes me back to the first night she was here the last summer my mom was alive. I wanted to tell her more than anything, just like I do now. But I can't.

I sighed and opened my eyes, hoping it would make things easier. But it didn't. Her eyes pleaded with mine, and I was about to tell her when I saw Jeremiah glaring at us as he came around the corner.