"I just don't get why you still stay with her," Jake says as he opens the front door of the house. We barely spoke on the drive back, but the tipsy haze that once clouded my thoughts was now long gone.
"I never said it was her who did anything, you're assuming."
"MJ, it's always her. It's been her since the day I met you. I may have missed a few years with you, but I was there for enough to know when she's in your head. It was never an issue for you to stay with us back home, and it wouldn't be an issue now. I have an extra bedroom here and I wouldn't make you pay a dime."
"You know I can't take that offer." I say softly, watching him as he gets two glasses of water.
"No, I don't know that. I don't understand why you won't just take my help. I mean, I know you're stubborn, but my god MJ, she's wrecking you. And if you lived here you wouldn't have to work so much, you could finally get a healthy amount of sleep and not have to worry about overworking yourself." I wish he was wrong, I wanted that so badly. But as always, he wasn't.
"I can't just come in and intrude on your life." I mutter as we sit down across from each other at the dining room table. That wasn't my only reasoning, but it sure was a large part of it.
"That's not why you're saying no. You know that you being around isn't intruding. I know your mind is racing, I can see it. Tell me what's going on up there." He was stern, but in an obviously caring way, one that made it clear to me that he wouldn't just let me walk away from this.
I was silent for a while, not knowing what to say. My hand finds my necklace quickly, moving it between my fingers and looking down, as if looking at Jake would make everything I was saying too true for me to handle. "I can't leave her alone there," I start quietly, "she hasn't been alone after my dad and she's already this bad. I've just spent so many nights trying to help her, cleaning up after her and making sure she gets to bed instead of sleeping on the floor or the couch. I try to make sure she has food to eat and running water. And I know I shouldn't, I know she treats me like shit, but before you guys got here, her and Alex were everything I had. She was all I had that was home for me, even if she never acted like it. She needs someone to take care of her."
Jake was quiet for a moment, reaching across the table and taking my hand into his, letting my other hand stay on my necklace. "You're a better person than most, I hope you know that. But none of that can excuse the way she treats you. You were there for her to take care of everything she needed after you dad, but is anyone taking care of you?" his voice was soft and his question made me want to sob, but I didn't. I bite the corner of my bottom lips just slightly and shake my head, closing my eyes.
"You haven't had a break since you were 7, Mary Jane. You've taken care of everything for 16 years now, that's not healthy. You hop from one job to the next with what? 3 or 4 hours of sleep in between? You look drained. If you would just take this one offer, you wouldn't have to worry about any of it." He says, placing his finger under my chin and lifting it to make me look at him, "You can pay part of the rent if you insist, because I know you will, but you wouldn't have to worry about anything with your mom anymore. You would have all of the privacy you need, your own room and bathroom, as much space as you need. And you could come home and not worry about cleaning up after someone or carrying your mom to bed. Plus, I would love to have you here, we always talked about living in a big mansion together when we were younger, all 5 of us, remember?" the memory made me smile slightly as I nodded.
"No Josh, I would get the room with the bathroom attached, I'm the only girl in the house!" I whined, only causing Josh to argue his same point again.
"We would all have bathrooms, it a mansion you guys." Danny said, stopping the bickering between me and the older twin as we realized he was right.
"I say we put the studio in the basement so we can play whenever we want. I'm gonna have a guitar room." Jake beamed, knowing he was destined to make something of himself and his talents.
That conversation was something I dreamt of after I left, finding the guys again and finally living out our dreams. But now, the offer was standing right in front of me, living with Jake and right across from the other 3 boys, and I was stupid enough to hesitate?
"If I do this, I'm paying half of the rent and groceries too."
"We'll split groceries." he shot back quickly.
"Fine, but I'm paying for at least half."
"Quit your job at the diner."
"I can't just quit, they barely have any st-"
"Then quit your job at the coffee shop."
I could tell he meant his words with his whole heart, he really didn't want me working night and day like I've been doing lately.
"We'll see." I say, giving him a nod and taking a sip of my water.
"Perfect, next time your mom isn't around we can go back and grab your stuff, for now you can start making yourself comfortable in your room."
My room, a room in a house that was so beautiful, that I would be sharing with my best friend, right across from 3 of my other best friends and away from my mother. I couldn't even put into words how much it meant to me that Jake was willing to do this. I knew he could tell I was at a loss for words as he stood up, making me stand too, before wrapping me in his arms.
It felt like everything would finally be okay, like living here with Jake would fix so many of my issues. But that's the thing with me, those problems don't just stop, you never know what's coming next.
YOU ARE READING
Rekindled- Jake Kiszka
FanfictionMJ was best friends with the Kiszka's through high school, up until she had to move away. What happens when she runs into one of the three brothers 6 years later?
