Glue Holding it Together–2
“What do you mean by not separately anymore? You want us to fuck you together?” Jake looks like he’s struggling to breathe. His words come out in a rush, almost too quickly, as if he’s trying to protect something inside of him.
I flinch at the words.
I exhale, taking a moment to gather my thoughts before I speak. “No, Jake. I don’t mean physically. I mean in every way.”
He stares at me like I just grew a second head.
I feel a twinge of frustration, but I keep my voice even as I continue. “I want all of us to be a family. To be whole together.”
I pause, looking around the table, making sure they understand. Aiden is blinking fast as he looks down at his plate. I’m not entirely sure what he’s thinking or feeling.
“I don’t want to be the reason you all are civil. I want to be an addition to your relationship, not the glue holding it together. I want you to be close, to respect each other. I want you to want to be around each other, even when I’m not here.”
Jake blinks, shaking his head, clearly trying to process what I’m saying. “You… You already know how I feel about Zaid.”
I look at him, my eyes unwavering. “Then you need to talk to Zaid yourself.”
I desperately shove my hands toward Zaid, who stiffens at the sudden attention. When I turn to face him, he sighs and nods.
Jake exhales through his nostrils, his gaze shifting between me and Zaid. The silence stretches, and I can feel Aiden watching us, the frown still firmly in place.
It’s uncomfortable, the way they avoid direct confrontation, the way everything feels unresolved. I grew up in a family where we told each other everything head. That only changed when dad and Alex died and my mother ended up hating me.
Jake finally breaks the silence, his voice biting as he speaks to Zaid. “You’re an idiot,” he says, the words sharp and harsh.
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Glue Holding it Together–2
I blink, not thinking he would do this right here, right now.
Zaid’s jaw clenches and Aiden hisses beneath his breath.
Jake continues. “A coward. A careless, stupid idiot for putting yourself in danger after what happened with your mother.” He shakes his head, his anger flaring.
“I thought you were smarter than that, Zaid. I thought you had better character.”
Zaid’s posture straightens as if the impact of his words is too much. But his eyes harden, and I can see the walls go up. He doesn’t back down. “I do have better character than
that.”
There’s a subtle tremor in his voice that betrays the hurt. I turn to Aiden, who’s been unnervingly silent this whole time. His face is as pale as paper, his lips pressed together
in a thin line.
“Aiden,” I say softly, “you have to open up, too.”
Aiden flinches at the sound of his name, his eyes flicking to mine before he looks down at his plate, as if avoiding my gaze will somehow keep the weight of the moment from crushing him.
I wait, feeling the silence stretch again, until finally, Aiden lets out a shaky breath and looks up at Jake, his eyes glossy with emotion.
“I… I was the one racing,” he confesses, his voice barely a whisper, but it cuts through the
room.
Jake looks like he was punched in the stomach.
“I was the one who crashed, dad. Zaid took the blame so I wouldn’t lose my scholarship opportunities. He… he did it for me.”
The words hang in the air. I can feel Zaid’s muscles tense, his jaw tightening as if he’s fighting the resentment and pain. The rawness is so obvious that I feel like I can drown in it. I have to stop myself from getting up and holding him.
Jake’s expression shifts. Anger replaces it and he stands abruptly, the chair scratching against the floor. He looks at me, then Aiden, then Zaid.
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Glue Holding it Together–2
He says nothing as he turns on his heels and walks away and up the stairs.
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