Time To Waste

Chapter 14: Circles

They had been home for several days, and Jenna had grown curious. The questions began as simple little inquiries that blended fluidly into their conversations, but they were escalating, and Chris' patience was decreasing steadily. He had promised himself that he was going to white-wash history and remove that entire episode, forget that it ever happened and move forward in his relationship without leaving that painful stain on the love that they shared. But Jenna seemed to have another idea. He heard her talking on the phone to her brother, Brian, with whom she was too close, much too close. He frowned.

"It just doesn't add up," she was uttering into his landline. Yes, he still had one. Cellphones got to be old news when he was off tour and he didn't want to always be available for all the band shit, didn't always want to be 'Chris Motionless'; you know, those rare, fulfilling moments when he wanted to actually be boring old Chris Cerulli again. Tuning back into what Jenna was saying, he heard her voice fill his kitchen. "I went to a club with my boyfriend, spoke to my ex, and –" She paused and then nodded. "Yes, I saw Benjamin. He was good, he was sweet as always."

Chris wanted to tear his hair out and scream at this. If that guy was around, he would absolutely murder him and not think twice. How could she say he was 'sweet'? He had drugged her, taken away her ability to consent and ruined every single fantasy that Chris had attempted to bring to life that night. Now, all that was left was a mess that Chris had to clean up in some way, but no, not Benjamin. He got off scot-free, he got to be the sweet one. Chris could not possibly hate another man more! Wrenching his knuckles into distorted positions and praying for a loud crack, he chewed on his bottom lip and strained to hear what other treasures of wisdom she would impart to her older sibling.

"I don't know, Bri," she laughed. "I mean, yes, it's scary that I was drugged somehow. My drink was never out of my sight though, I swear. I know all that, yes; I took self-defense in college, remember?" she demanded, growing annoyed. "Chris? He doesn't drink, Brian! And thank god or he would have been drugged, too!" She paused, then continued. "I woke up in the afternoon, in our hotel room, and he was asleep in a chair beside the bed. He says that I acted crazy and that the only way I would stay with him is if he slept in the stupid chair."

Chris listened but he wasn't going to be able to hear Brian's response, but he didn't need to. The second his little sister gave him a story that matched Jenna's, he would flip his shit and demand answers. He knew that he would, and he couldn't deny that fact even if he tried. Jenna knew that he would fight to the death to defend his family, especially his young sister; she was precious to him, and he wouldn't have anyone bringing harm to her. Brian was the same way, because Brian was a good guy. Chris wanted to believe that he himself was a good guy too, or so he hoped. But when this whole disaster-piece ended, would Jenna think so?

In the other room, Jenna snorted. "Look, I'm not going to go into the details of my sex life with my brother. That would just be gross, okay?" She paused, then laughed. "I don't want to hear about what Angela did last night, no. Thank you. Don't you have a munchkin that you should be taking care of, by the way?"

Chris laughed at this. Brian and his wife of three years had struggled to have a baby, or so he'd been told when he met Jenna's family. Finally, four months ago, Angie had given birth to a healthy little girl that they named Carmen. While he wasn't exactly a fan of the name – or of kids, in general – Chris had to admit that Carmen was a cute little thing with her dark hair, stunning blue eyes and ginormous chipmunk cheeks. Jenna was absolutely crazy over her niece, and she had been very quick to introduce him, and they had already babysat more times than seemed possible in just over a month's span of time. In fact, he found that he was okay with caring for someone else's kid, just as long as he got to give it back at the end of the night. Kids were cute, as long as you cut your ties and ran quickly.