Chapter 64 - Dinner With Gerald

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After a few hours of surfing, Jared dragged me back to the house for the dreaded dinner with Gerald. We entered the house to what sounded like singing and when we both rounded the corner, it was safe to say I wanted to melt into oblivion.

Gerald and Mom were swaying back and forth, his hands riding low on her hips and he was singing into her ear. She was giggling. Like a school girl.

Jared elbowed me to snap me out of my obvious look of disgust, but his own expression didn't scream excitement. He cleared his throat sending the two sprawling apart like teenagers caught making out on the front porch.

"Oh god," I groaned under my breath.

"Welcome!" Gerald bellowed, throwing his hands out wide with a pudgy grin on his face. Mom was blushing, her hands behind her back like a child.

Kill me.

Jared and I grimaced at each other and quickly grabbed a seat at the kitchen table, the sound of silverware clinking against the table and Mom maneuvering pans around the stovetop filling the awkward silence.

"How was the surfing?" Gerald asked as he took a seat next to me, forcing Jared to kick me underneath the table to make me stifle my obvious look of horror.

"The surf was alright, Gerald!" Jared quickly replied, his eyes staring a hole into the side of my head.

Mom sat a casserole dish in the center of the table and took a seat next to Jared, resting the pot holders next to the dish.

"Jared honey, isn't it funny how you and Gerald have such similar names?" Mom grinned like a mad woman. Well, she obviously was mad. Simply bonkers. She went from our Father to...to this.

"Let's call him Jersey, solves that," I murmured under my breath. Jared kneed me. "Ow!"

I shot him a glare and huffed in frustration. Jared shoved the serving spoon into my hand and grinned back at Mom and Gerald.

"Excuse her Gerald, it's that time of the month if you know what I mean," Jared shrugged. My jaw snapped shut as I shook my head and Gerald coughed uncomfortably.

"What's up with you two?" Mom asked.

"Nothing," we both grumbled.

"Did she lose a surf contest with you?" Gerald wondered.

"Um, no." I sent Gerald a hard gaze before he caved and stared at his plate.

Something in my heart shifted at the look of hurt in his eyes even if it was my intention. Suddenly, I could feel my own Father's compassionate disappointment in my treatment toward Gerald.

I stared at the unusual pair in front of me, feeling Jared's gaze on me from my right and I sighed.

Really, I shouldn't feel guilty. Why should I have to accept a new father figure in our life? Especially so soon after his death? It simply wasn't fair and I felt I had every right to be unhappy with them. I felt my Mom was betraying my dead father. How could she? She called my Dad her soulmate.

This was a concession to that lie. How could they have been soulmates if she was able to be with Gerald? Either she was a liar or a traitor. My anger reignited, I glanced away from them and forked some casserole into my mouth.

Mom audibly swallowed as she filled her plate.

"Alice, honey, are you all packed to head back?" She placed the salad tongs back into the bowl and passed it to Gerald.

"Yep," I murmured with a full mouth.

"Did you need any help with—"

"Nope."

Jared dropped his fork onto his plate and glared at me. "Alice."

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I smirked and turned toward Gerald.

"Gerald, are you from New Jersey?"

Confusion flashed before he slowly shook his head. "Ah, no." He cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'm from Pennsylvania, actually."

I snorted. How positively average.

Opening my mouth to reply, Jared kicked me.

"Can you not?" I hissed at him.

"Gerald, any kids?" Jared ignored me.

"I have one adopted son."

Well crap, I couldn't hate the guy for that.

"He is absolutely incredible, I can't wait for you two to meet him!" Mom smiled, clearly excited at the prospect of the three of us being together.

Future holidays flashed before my eyes. Gerald in a santa costume with his perfect adopted son doing everything for our Mom, Jared and I sitting by ourselves in the corner while they entertained the entire neighborhood. Panic began to rest heavy on my chest and reality snapped back into place.

"Alice, are you okay?" My mom was staring at me with concern.

I blinked. "I'm fine."

"Now, he is actually originally from New Jersey," Gerald smiled.

I was staring at my plate, pushing a loner carrot around. "Of course he is," I replied.

Through my peripheral, I saw Mom and Gerald glance at each other with obvious regret crossing their features. Good.

"Will you excuse Alice and I for just a second?" Jared stood, pushing his chair back and grabbing me by my elbow.

"Ow," I yelped as he ripped me out of my chair and shoved me outside the kitchen door and onto the bottom deck.

"What the hell, Al?" he ran a hand through his hair.

"What? This is the dumbest idea Mom has ever had!"

"You are being so selfish!"

"Selfish?" I crossed my arms. "Selfish is Mom completely forgetting about Dad."

"Is that what this is about?" Jared placed a hand over his mouth as he stared me. "Al, don't you think she deserves to be happy?"

"She was happy, she cried at the funeral, bawling about how she lost the only man she would ever love."

Jared sighed, his eyes staying locked onto mine. It was becoming uncomfortable before he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me.

I was frozen against his chest. "What are you doing?" I mumbled against his shirt.

"Al, I told you Gerald isn't replacing him," he murmured into my hair.

"I know that."

"Let her live again," he sighed and stepped back.

I met my brother's blue eyes and finally saw it. He was hurting too. He was just as pained by this scenario as I was.

After a few moments, I dropped my arms back to my sides with a sigh.

"Listen, I'm not going to like him," I began walking to the door.

"You don't have to, but you don't have to be a bitch," he opened the door for us and sent me a condescending glare as I stepped back into the house.

I took my seat back at the kitchen table, half tempted to steal Jared's seat, but decided that move fell under the bitchy classification.

"Alice, I was wondering if you've already bought your plane ticket back for break?"

"No Mom, I'm lucky I even got my ticket back in two days."

"Oh, are you not wanting to go back?"

I glanced up. "Oh yes."

Jared cleared his throat quietly.

Bitch. Right.

"I'm ready to be back so I can just be done with college," I corrected, stuffing my mouth with a large bite to save me from further conversation.

"Almost done," she grinned and turned to Gerald. "She's graduating with a marketing degree."

"How sensible!" Gerald praised. I felt sick.

What have I done? I plastered my best smile onto my face before stuffing another large bite into my mouth.

"And Jared," Gerald continued. "What are your next plans?"

"No idea, I'm lucky to be out of rehab."

Mom choked at the same time I snorted out a laugh.

"Right," Gerald murmured, clearly uncomfortable.

"He's been writing again, haven't you Jared?" Mom was trying to salvage the situation.

"Eh, sometimes. I've been really into COD lately, ever played Gerald?"

Mom looked like she was going to pass out. Gerald was at a loss, his mouth gaping like a fish.

"I, uh, I can't say that I have actually."

"Don't worry Gerald, he's not an animal." Gerald nodded at me. "He plays FIFA too."

Mom's fork clanked to her plate and she wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up.

"Dessert?"

"I'm good," Jared and I replied in unison.

"As am I," Gerald said slowly and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Right," she breathed. "Well, Gerald and I were going to go see a movie."

"Have fun!" I grinned.

"You kids don't stay out late," Jared waggled his fork in the air at Gerald. He chugged the rest of his wine before standing.

He nodded and escaped the obviously tense atmosphere to find Mom.

"I want it noted I wasn't the bitch this time," I said quietly to Jared.

He shrugged. "I was perfectly nice."

"Much nicer than me," I took another bite with a smile and sat back.

"We're shitty kids."

"Oh don't go soft on me bro."

He gave me a light shove before he rest his napkin onto his plate.

"Are you actually packed up?"

"Am I ever packed up this early?"

He nodded in agreement.

"What are you actually going to do now?" I placed my own napkin on my plate.

He pursed his lips, drumming his fingers against the table. "I have no idea." He leaned forward and rest his elbows on the wood.

"Yeah, well," I breathed. "Me either."

We glanced at each other and sighed.

"So about you and Jesse," he started.

"Don't worry about us." I sat up straight. "Let's all just go back to normal."

Jared eyed me suspiciously.

"With the exception of you and Demi of course."

A tinge of pink began to flood his cheeks and I fought off every urge in my body to mock him. He was happy and for once, I wouldn't tease him about it. He deserved a good break.

When a vibration moved against my pocket, I dug it out to check my notifications.

Lissa.

"Did you know there's a party tonight?" I murmured as I text a quick reply.

"Where at?" He stood up, gathering the plates to take to the sink.

I waited for my phone to light up with the answer. When Lissa finally replied I was surprised.

"The Cove?"

"Huh, usually Jesse is the one to throw those." Exactly and Jesse usually only throws one a year. He did it at the beginning of the summer.

"I wonder who it is," I murmured as I typed out the question to Lissa.

Jared shrugged and plopped back into the seat next to me.

"Might be high schoolers," he reasoned. "In which case, I'm not showing up."

I smirked. "Don't want to get suckered into buying kids alcohol?"

"Preferably no," he laughed.

As my laughter faded, I watched him. How did Jared show up to the summer parties, surrounded by liquor, and resist? Well, I suppose he didn't once, but as it turned out he had a slight run in with the date rape drug courtesy of Olivia.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I readjusted in my chair. "Like what?"

"Like I'm a charity case or something."

"As if you need any more attention golden boy," I smirked. "But Jar," I leaned forward. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" He leaned away from me and kicked his feet up onto the chair next to him.

"Be around all of it?"

He glanced down at the table, picking a piece of loose wood, and shrugged.

"It helps if I have one of you there, keeps me distracted." He shifted. "And accountable," he laughed sharply.

My phone buzzed and as I read her message, I decided not to push him further.

"She doesn't know who's throwing it, but said the group is all going." I laid my phone on the table and sat back, my eyes on my brother. "I'm sure Demi is going."

He smiled and met my watchful eyes. "I'm sure she is, I'll go don't worry."

I nodded.

Jared stood up suddenly and pushed the chair back in.

"So I guess this means you won't be putting in effort anymore now that you and Jesse called it quits."

"Excuse you," I narrowed my eyes and turned my body to watch him escape through the living room. "I always put in effort!"

He was climbing the stairs as he laughed. I heard his door shut and I turned back around, crossing my arms.

What am I, a Wookiee? Of course I put in effort. Maybe just a bit more the last couple of weeks, but barely.

With a sigh, I stood up. Deciding to go find my final party outfit of the summer, since I apparently never put in effort, I made my way up to my room. We lived on a beach for crying out loud. Why would we ever properly get ready anyway?

As I stepped into my room, I knew the real reason I would choose a well thought out final party outfit and it wasn't to prove my brother wrong.

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