Heartbreak Anniversary x Jeremiah Fisher (2)

Chapter Twenty

May
(three weeks after Susannah's funeral)

Jeremiah reached back, unclipping the gold chain and setting the cross softly on top of his dresser into the black velvet box. Slowly running his fingers against it, Jeremiah sighed. Everyday he was still mesmerized but the beauty of the gold cross and the person that gave it to him.

Jeremiah finally got up from the floor and headed back downstairs. It's time to face reality again. The downstairs house area was still filled with people. The fake polite smile that he's been so accustomed to the past couple of months made its way back onto Jeremiah's face as people gave their condolences.

"Hey sweetheart," he heard and turned to see a familiar and comforting face. Laurel was approaching him with a small black velvet box in her hand. "I've been looking for you."

"Have you seen Conrad?" Jeremiah asked.

Laurel frowned. "I believe I saw him leave shortly after Angelina did."

The tightness in Jeremiah's throat grew as he simply nodded. There was still so much to take care of after and Conrad just left him here by himself.

He was about to turn around when Laurel softly gripped his wrist with one hand. "Hold on," she said, handing him the small box she was holding. Jeremiah took the box with a questioning look. The box was really soft as he held it. "Angelina said this gift was for you before leaving."

Laurel walked away and Jeremiah headed towards the kitchen hoping no one was in there. As he entered, he was pleased to see no one else. He shut the door behind him and set the box on the kitchen island. Box was as soft as the person that gave it to him. Jeremiah gripped the edges and let out a shaky breath feeling a rush of different emotions rise. Carefully opening the box, Jeremiah saw a gorgeous cross with a gold chain.

Lifting it up delicately out of the box knowing it was expensive, he ran it through his fingers holding it up to his view. Without realizing it, Jeremiah suddenly felt wetness in his eyes and shut them as a tear ran down his cheek.

Jeremiah reached for his phone on his night stand and clicked to call the contact he hasn't touched in months.

It ran a few times and Jeremiah let out a small sigh. Suddenly he heard, "Angelina's phone. This is Victoria speaking?"

Jeremiah cleared his throat awkwardly as the tightness began to settle in and said, "does she not want to speak to me?"

He heard a sigh over the phone. "She's in the shower at the moment so whether or not that statement is true, I don't know."

Feeling slightly better, Jeremiah added, "I think Conrad's gone. He hasn't answered my texts or calls since yesterday night."

"What? But we're in the middle of finals," there was a pause as if there was realization in her breathing. "But now that you mentioned it, it was odd for him not to show up today when we're studying."

"Apparently he told his roommate everything is fucked and then he just took off. So I'm going to go tomorrow morning to Brown to see if I can get an answer."

"Don't tell Angelina you're coming. That's why you were originally calling her for, right?" Victoria said hastily.

"What?" Jeremiah barely let out feeling a tug in his heart. He was hoping they could do this together so he wouldn't be alone. If anyone knew where his brother could be, it would be Angelina.

"Not until you get here at least. She has a morning final tomorrow and if you tell her Conrad is missing, she'll ditch the final and go look for him with you because that's who she is." She paused for a moment. "But, Angelina needs to pass this class in order to complete the next step in what she is trying to do. So for once, can the Fisher brothers let her do what she needs to without involving her in your drama first."