dark paradise•conrad fisher

four

"WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?"

Those words stung Angela. They stung more than any bee or anything ever. It was like she was a stranger to him. A ghost.

Conrad Fisher could barely even look Angela Cortez in the eyes. Jeremiah sure noticed the tension between them.

And on top of that, the beach house was apparently put up for sale. Susannah's house was put up for sale.

Jere tried to break up the silence, turning to Conrad. "So, this is why you haven't been answering any of my calls or texts."

Jeremiah sounded angry, and he rarely was angry.

Even while Jere was speaking to him, Conrad was staring at Angela. He wasn't saying anything else though. Just glaring broken and angry into her eyes.

He finally turned to Jeremiah. "Jere, Jere. Did you not hear what I just said? We're going to loose this house. Mom's house."

Both of the Fisher boys were pissed off. Conrad seemed the most upset about the house though.

Angela shook her head. "Why would your dad sell this house?"

"He's not. Our Aunt Julia is."

"Susannah's sister?"

"Half sister," Conrad corrected. He rolled his eyes a bit. "Apparently the house belonged to both of them and then when mom... now Aunt Julia owns the whole thing."

Angela noticed Conrad's pause when he was about to talk about Susannah's death. It pained her that he didn't even want to see her, but she saw that he was still hurting.

Jeremiah was angry, and he was taking it all out on Conrad "Okay! Then we'll call dad and figure it all out."

"You think I haven't already done that?" Conrad snickered. "He says legally the house is hers."

"Okay, then he'll buy it!" Jeremiah said, raising his voice. Both of them were beginning to yell.

"We don't have the money to buy it! Between Brown and the medical bill-"

"Yeah, I know how much the medical bills cost; because I was there," Jeremiah snapped, running a hand through his curly hair.

Conrad froze, trying to find words to respond to Jeremiah. He couldn't speak. Jeremiah was still angry.

"How long did you know about this and not tell me?" Jere demanded.

"Jere, this was all happening so fast, I was gonna tell you after I'd taken care of it."

Jeremiah sarcastically laughed to himself. "And this is you taking care of it?"

Angela stepped in, putting her hand on Jeremiah's shoulder. She had to go on her tiptoes to reach. "Jere, let it rest-"

She saw Conrad softly smile just for a second when she stepped in front of him. Jeremiah didn't listen to her though. He stepped in front of Angela, putting his arm in front of her.

"So you're going AWOL, ditching school-"

"F school, I don't care!" Conrad shrugged, a lazy tone to his voice.

Although Angela felt bad for Conrad, she did have to agree that Conrad needed to go back to school.

"Connie, you have to go back to school. How are you going to become a doctor if you fail college?"

Conrad put his finger out, not even attempting to make eye contact with Angela. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Angel."

That nickname... he was using it again.

Jeremiah turned to Angela, seeing the hurt look on her face. The deja vu she was experiencing with that name.

He looked at Conrad with a snicker. "Seriously? We went to Brown to check on your ass. You know, I didn't think you'd pull this again, but you don't give a shit about anyone but yourself."

It wasn't true. Conrad may not show it or communicate it well, but he truly cares about everyone.

Jeremiah left the room, leaving Angela and Conrad alone. In dead silence. He wouldn't even look at her.

She approached him slowly. "I'm sorry if me being here is weird... after everything."

Conrad still wasn't looking at Angela. He didn't answer right away, so Angela awkwardly continued. "So, the house is-"

"For sale. And Jere doesn't even care."

"Of course he cares. But he cares about you more. You went missing, Conrad. He was really worried about you. We both were."

Conrad smiled for a second, but had a straight face again almost immediately. "Jere's really great, isn't he?"

In the moment, Angela didn't understand what Conrad was suggesting. "Connie, what?"

"He'll treat you well, you know?"

She paused, still not understanding. "Both of you do... did."

It got silent again, so Conrad changed the topic. "I got a call two days ago from Liam, who was asking me about a for sale sign in our front yard. I thought it was a misunderstanding. So I drove straight here and pulled the stupid sign out of the ground."

He paused, actually making eye contact with Angela this time. "I threw it in the garbage. Seeing that sign was like loosing her all over again and I didn't want that for Jere. I'm going to use my trust for the payment house, and I'm talking to one of my mom's financial guys in the morning."

Angela's lips parted. "Oh-"

"I didn't mean to worry anybody. I'm handling things. You guys can go."

Of course he would say that. Angela was beginning to think that just maybe they were reconnecting again. But no, Conrad was just pushing everyone away again. He had lots of hard things and hard feelings to deal with, but instead of asking for help he just pushed everyone who tried to help away.

But Angela was trying to be patient with him. Even though she was hurt by him, she still loved him. And it's hard to be mad at someone you love.

"Jere and I care about this house too. And it's not just the house, Connie. I care about you too. And I'm here for you."

He leaned forward a bit, Angela blushing just a little hit at the closeness of them. It was making her think of what they used to be like.

"I care about you too, Angel. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Then let me stay."

"Really, you and Jere don't need to-"

Angela shook her head, sighing. "Just push me away again," she mumbled, waking off into the other room, leaving a heartbroken Conrad standing there.