Finding Us (Interracial Romance)

Between Loyalty and Lies

Jeremy

I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at my phone as it lies face down on the nightstand. It's quiet in the house, or at least it was until the sound of the front door opens and I hear footsteps, laughter, and voices spilling into the hallway. My family is back from church. I didn't go, of course. I'm not much for religion anymore—not like them.

"Jeremy!" I hear Ellie's voice call from downstairs. "You missed the best service! Seriously, the BEST!"

I close my eyes and let out a long breath. Here we go.

I hear footsteps stomping up the stairs, one heavy and determined, and before I can react, my bedroom door swings open. Ellie barges in, her curly brunette hair bouncing as she grins at me, her face flushed with excitement.

"Guess what happened?" She says, flopping onto my bed like she owns the place, which, let's face it, she basically does. "You seriously missed it. Pastor Jerome was on fire today!"

"I bet," I mutter, looking away from her and toward the wall. The last thing I need right now is another reminder that I skipped church—again.

"No, seriously, though, everyone was there. The whole congregation—and guess what?" Ellie continues, her grin widening. "Cecilia got congratulated for being nominated for a Grammy!"

My stomach tightens. Of course. I knew it was coming; I just didn't expect to feel so... weird about it. Cecilia and I go way back. We were best friends until a few years ago when everything got screwed up. And now she's out there, doing amazing things, while I'm back home. Going nowhere since I turned down the role for a horror miniseries that Netflix or Hulu could pick up.

"She looked so happy, Jeremy. Everyone was cheering for her. Pastor Jerome said a prayer for her success, and the whole congregation clapped," Ellie says, sitting up and nudging me with her elbow. "You should've been there. You could've congratulated her."

"I already did," I mutter.

Ellie frowns. "When?"

"Two nights ago," I say, leaning back against my bed frame. "Outside of Sylvia and Noah's wedding rehearsal dinner."

Her eyes widen. "You went?"

I nod, looking at my hands. "Yeah, I went."

"So... how'd it go? Did she say anything?"

I rub my face with both hands, trying to push the memory of that night out of my mind. "I told her congratulations and I was sorry, and then she kneed me in the gut."

Ellie's eyes widen even more, and she lets out a low whistle. "Ouch. What happened?"

I exhale sharply. "She's still pissed about... you know, Hannah."

Ellie's expression darkens at the mention of Hannah's name. "Oh, that she-devil."

"Yeah, that." I can't even say her name without feeling sick. Hannah, the woman I wasted three years of my life on. The woman who lied to me, betrayed me, and then left me for my acting coach, of all people—Cindy. But what burns even more is how she poisoned my relationship with Cecilia and Athena before she left.

Hannah told me that Cecilia and Athena came onto her, tried to seduce her. I believed her—how stupid could I be?—and it ruined everything. Cecilia was my best friend, and Athena... well, Athena hasn't spoken to me since. She can't even look at me.

"You really believed her, huh?" Ellie says softly, reading my thoughts. She always could.

"I did," I admit. "And now... now Athena won't even speak to me. She hasn't for years."