pull me back | a drag me down spin off

【twenty two】

There's a swarm of nerves building in my stomach as I pull up to my house. Jesse's soaking wet body is placed in my passenger seat, and the water droplets from his dark hair are crashing down onto the floor.

Both of my parents are home, and so is uncle Duke. They're patiently waiting for my arrival, thinking they are about to be thrown into a happy celebration. Instead, they have a wicked storm coming their way.

I should probably think this through in a more rational manner, but I can't pretend everything is okay. Nothing about my life is ever going to be okay again.

"Are you sure you want to do this in front of everyone? Maybe you should just talk to your dad." Jesse's nervous voice speaks through the quiet car.

"My mom and uncle are in on it, too. They know everything." I simply shrug, my eyes staring back at the house.

"Well, It looks like your family is home. Should we go in now?" He gulps, looking back at me. The rain is still heavily pounding onto the street.

"They were planning on celebrating tonight, by the way. I got accepted into two law schools, one of them was Harvard."

"Oh, wow. That's amazing, congratulations." He nods, flashing me a weak grin. I can tell he's nervous about this upcoming interaction.

"Thanks." I sigh and turn off the engine of my honda. I want to be in a happy mood, but my stomach is in knots over the information I discovered tonight. "And thank you for doing this with me, I'm sure you're overwhelmed with emotions."

"I am, but I understand why you need to do this. It's a lot to handle." He agrees.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I inhale a sharp breath.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to meet my dad's twin. After all these years, it's finally happening." His voice continues to shake.

My breathing hitches as I turn to face him. I didn't realize how important this moment is for him, too. My father is his uncle, which is crazy to think about.

"Well, it's time." Without hesitation, I open my driver's side door and step back into the rain. Jesse follows closely behind me as we walk up to my front door. I slowly push it open and step inside.

"Is that my law school accepted daughter?" Mom's voice calls out in the distance. I can hear excitement in her tone.

As I step further into the house, my body goes into shock. Not only is my entire family sitting in the living room, but Cameron is also with them. His eyes meet mine, before shifting back to Jesse. I can see confusion growing on his face.

"Cameron?" I mutter.

"Uh, hey." He clears his throat, but his eyes stay on my cousin.

"What are you doing here?" I can't help but ask.

"I picked him up on my way home from work, I didn't want you to see his car. We wanted to surprise you. I thought we were celebrating." Mom says, her attention turning toward Jesse standing next to me. "Who's this?"

"Why are you guys soaking wet? What, did you go swimming with your clothes on?" Skylar asks, eyeing my damp outfit.

Dad's eyes land on Jesse, and his eyebrows immediately knit together. "Grace, who's your friend?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Uncle Duke chimes in, his heavy accent floating across the room.

"Did you switch off from Riker to Jesse?" Cameron harshly asks, jealousy is cutting though his tone.

"No, I just figured I would introduce my family to somebody." My voice shakes as I place my hands on Jesse's shoulder. "Everyone, this is Jesse Livingston."