young lies

chapter twenty six - failed estate sale

along the dirt trail of the park sits bexley, nick, and jeremy on a cold metal bench. their posture is tense and awkward; no one really knowing what to say. nick and jeremy hold their boba tea in their laps, staring ahead uncomfortably.

bex also holds her drink, but instead looks down at it with a pounding heart and knotted stomach.

her head turns to nick as she speaks in a suggestive tone. "it's getting close to noon. you wanna head back?" nick tilts her head slightly in the direction that they came in as she taps the straw of her cup awkwardly.

"i'm not done with my boba." jeremy states with a slight smile. he brings the orange straw to his lips and sips as both bex and nick look at him with blank expressions.

nick looks back at bexley with an annoyed frown before sighing and looking back to jeremy. "dude, what are we doing here?" she asks genuinely.

the boy clenches his eyes for a moment. "sorry." he shakes his head in shame. when he opens his eyes again he shifts his body to look at the two girls. "look, i'm not very good at admitting when i'm wrong."

"really? i had no idea." nick gasps sarcastically, making bex laughs softly. jeremy sighs as he looks at the two girls.

"okay, i deserve that." he mumbles. at his words, bex and nick's attention goes to him. jeremy takes in a deep breath before speaking again. "i just wanna say that i'm sorry about the other night." his expression is intense as he speaks genuinely. "i'd never considered what y'all have been through, and i had no right to violate your privacy."

a small smile forms on bex's face as she watches his gaze flicker between her and nick as he speaks.

"yeah," nick nods, smiling softly. "that's what we've been trying to tell you."

jeremy's head faces the floor as he sighs with regret. when he begins to speak again his gaze returns to the girls. "it must have been difficult to have me on you guy's case constantly questioning you." his expression is full of remorse and bex looks at him with a sad smile. "i am really sorry." he continues when nick looks to the ground.

looking back up, nick nods slightly. "okay, i get it." she smiles softly. "apology accepted."

jeremy smiled before turning his attention to bexley and becoming serious again. "bex," he sighed. "i want you to know that i'm really, really sorry about what i did. what you were keeping from us..." he breathed out. "i should've never forced you to tell me anything."

a tight feeling formed in bex's chest as she smiled solemnly. shaking her head, she took in a deep breath. "i shouldn't have told you sooner." she states softly. "but, i forgive you."

another wide grin forms on jeremy face as he looks at her. bex laughs softly at his excitement before looking to nick who smiles at her gently.

nick's expression turns into a more serious smile as she gets ready to stand. "can we go home now?"

"eh, not yet." jeremy insists as he holds up a hand to stop her. nick's face becomes annoyed again, and she turns to bex with a frown as she sits back down.

once the two girl's eyes are back on jeremy, he breaths out. "i just wanna say that you've both done a lot for me. for all of us." he nods his head, his tone sincere. "i wanna thank y'all."