Even Heroes Have Scars

[62] Get Back

Jacob's P.O.V.

Scarlet came over last night. I really appreciated her presence in my life, as well as Ansley's. She helped my sister a lot without even realizing it. Ansley had gotten much better, visibly gaining weight and emotionally more stable. She was my sister. There was nothing I wanted more than her happiness. Except soundproof walls would be nice. They weren't loud, but they sure as hell weren't quiet. Of course, I wouldn't confront her about it. I just made a point to wear my Beats headphones and listen to my music.

I overheard my sister talking with Scarlet that next morning. They were going to the airport to drop off Scarlet. Scarlet was working out a deal with a guy who was interested in buying her car for a lot of money, so the keys would be left at my apartment and the paperwork would be done via mail once the guy made a decision. She was going to Minnesota. As it turned out, Demi was to be returning from her tour this morning. Perhaps they would see each other. It excited me, yet made my stomach churn. God knew what would happen if they saw each other. Scarlet and Ansley walked hand in hand down the Ansley's car, and I smiled to myself as I watched from my window. They even kissed, which definitely took me by surprise. How could she move on so fast? Maybe it was a pity thing, an I-won't-see-you-ever-again-so-let's-have-loud-lesbian-sex kind of thing. But if my mentally ill sister could have sex with someone she didn't know for an extremely long time, did that mean she was believing in herself? Could my sister be starting to love her body? This was something I wanted to talk to Demi about, but I knew I'd never be able to.

When Ansley texted me that she was on her way back, I was scrolling through my twitter timeline on my laptop. I used it to check up on Demi. Something made me catch my breath and hold it in my chest. A video was posted of Demi arriving back at the airport. It showed Demi walking through the airport with Marissa and her bodyguard, all of them dragging luggage. Someone shouted something about an ex-girlfriend, and the camera panned over to two girls. A redhead and a dirty blonde. It showed Ansley and Scarlet saying their goodbyes. The camera moved back over to Demi, who stopped walking, watching Ansley and Scarlet. Then it moved back to the two girls, who kissed. And then Scarlet left, and it was back to Demi, who looked devastated. She, Mike, and Marissa turned around to exit the other way. The rest of the video was following Demi to the exit of the airport.

She saw. She witnessed it. She died inside.

I shut my laptop and held my head in my hands, running my fingers through my hair. My entire timeline had been talking about it, about how Demi wasn't over a girl who fucked her over two months ago, a girl who was clearly into someone else. I felt awful for Demi, but I had to side with my sister. She'd been so broken for so long. This was the happiness she deserved.

A few minutes later, Ansley walked through the front door, running her fingers through her hair in stress. I stood up in front of her, slightly shielding my laptop. "Hey, Anna. How'd it go?"

She laughed sarcastically. "It was fine. We both cried, but it was fine." It was hard to tell if she was lying or if she was being completely honest.

"Did you really like her? Like a lot? How are the few days after this going to be?" I asked, adjusting my blue button down shirt.

She gave me an odd look. "If you're asking if I'm completely heartbroken, the answer is no. It didn't fuck me up as much as Demi did." Sighing, she sat down at the table, resting her head on her hand. "I thought I liked her. I thought I loved her, that I was in love with her. But..."

"But you aren't?" This was confusing. Why did they have sex if they didn't love each other?

A laugh that almost turned into full on sobs. "No. I'm not. I thought I was, but when we kissed, I..." she looked down, playing with my mother's ring on her finger. "It was different. It wasn't the same feeling as..."