Even Now

Chapter 16: True Faith

Lol the picture above is this exact situation 😂 Jerry and Layne, y'know, flirty and like that... Mike knows (you can see the pain on his face), and Sean is looking at them like... wtf is going on 😆

Okay on to the story...

***

November 3, 1993: Perth, Australia

Once Mike is sure that he's got Jerry alone, he really goes off on him.

"What in the name of hell were you thinking?!" he yells, freaking Jerry out a bit.

"Ok, Mike, keep your voice down," Jerry pleads, his hands raised defensively out in front of him.

"KEEP MY VOICE DOWN?!" Mike shouts back. "Do you know what I just saw?"

"Yeah, you told me-"

"I saw you KISSING Layne! After I TOLD you not to do anything!" he scolds.

Whoa. Maybe I should calm down a bit. I sound pretty mean.

Mike takes a deep breath as Jerry crosses his arms, embarrassed.

"I... well, he said he wanted to kiss me," Jerry shrugs, reluctant to look Mike in the eyes. He smirks. "And, hey, can you blame me? He's awesome at it."

"Doesn't fucking matter!" Mike fumes, frustration boiling over.

"Well, you've never kissed Layne before, so you don't know why that would've been so tempting to me," Jerry objects, eyebrow raised mischievously. "Don't you dare fucking try, either."

"Ugh!" Mike cries out, blown away by Jerry's casual outlook on the situation. "The man is married, Jer, married. And he's about to have a fuckin' baby! He's got more important things to worry about than you and your 'feelings'. This will not end well for either of you, you have to know that!"

"I know. And I don't care," Jerry argues, his confidence blinding him. "If I get hurt, so be it. I've been hurt before. I can handle it."

Mike groans irritably. "Do you even hear yourself right now? Do you know how selfish and idiotic you sound? So you don't care if you get hurt; that's on you. But what about Layne? What if his marriage falls apart because of you? What if he loses his kid?"

Seriously, this is some kind of 'Great Gatsby' shit.

Jerry shoots a worried glance at Mike, eyebrows slightly raised. "I... I don't want to hurt Layne. But it's not like I'm asking anything of him."

"Well, in a way, you are," Mike sighs. "If... this... gains 'momentum', he'll be forced to hide things from his family, nevermind everyone he knows. Besides, how long do you expect this thing to last?"

Jerry scuffs the ground, eyes down. "I'm... not really thinking that far ahead right now."

Clearly.

Mike narrows his eyes. "Well, start. Because one day you'll want more. Unfortunately, the man is married, Jer. He's already committed to someone else. So, where does that leave you?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know," Jerry mutters, brow furrowed.

"Jeez, it's like talking to a fucking kid!" Mike exclaims, rolling his eyes. "How many times do we have to have this conversation before you start listening to me?!"

"I am listening to you!" Jerry roars, his face red with anger. "You just don't understand how frustrating this all is for me! I see him every day, and all I want to do is show him how I feel about him. And when we were together out there, talking, he... he said he felt something for me, too. That he'd wanted to kiss me last night. And yes, I know, he can't commit to me, but... it's not like he didn't tell me that before it happened."

"And you were okay with that? You told him that? Really?"

"Yes! I expected it. And I really don't mind."

"Jer... please, just... be careful, okay?" Mike cautions. "If you're thinking you can make him leave Demri somehow, you've got another thing coming."

"I don't... I don't want to make him."

"Fine, you want him to leave her on his own. Chances are he won't do that."

Mike suddenly remembers something that might help his case. "Say, doesn't Demri have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, what makes you think Demri won't let him have a boyfriend? Y'know, to make things even? The odds of him leaving her are gonna be pretty low if that's the case."

Jerry appears to be processing this, his mouth thin and his forehead wrinkled with thought. When he speaks, it's pretty sad what he's concluded: "At least I'd have a chance to be with him."

"Ugh!" Mike shrieks. "I'll ask you once again: do you even hear yourself?! God, the lengths you're willing to go to to make Layne happy, but not yourself? It doesn't even make sense, man."

"Layne has always made me happy. He's my best friend, and he's starting to reciprocate the feelings I've had for months now, which is more than I ever thought I'd be lucky enough to get from him. Like, how rare is that? I don't care if he stays with Demri... he's afraid to leave her because he doesn't want to be alone. I know that for a fact. He's confided in me about that kind of stuff, way before I ever had feelings for him. Or, at least before I knew I did."

Oh, God... this is confusing.

The answer here is simple... MOVE ON. Why can't he see that?

"So you think, if he has you, it'll convince him to leave her?"

"Well, I don't know... maybe."

"That's just not gonna happen. You know that as well as I do. He loved her first, and he's even going to rehab with her for three months, despite what she's done. That's love."

Jerry clenches his fists. "No, it's not! He's only doing it for the sake of the kid."

"Yeah, okay, but that's still a form of love, right? Don't you think he'd at least choose the kid over you?"

Jerry goes silent at this. He looks away and shuts his eyes.

Mike puts a comforting hand on Jerry's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, man. Just... please just... understand what you're getting yourself into."

"I understand," Jerry murmurs, else still closed. "But... I don't want to let this go, not when things are finally changing. I just... I need to see this through."

Mike shakes his head. "Good luck, man. I... I really can't watch this. You're on your own."

Mike walks out of the rehearsal room, saddened by his friend's hopeful outlook on what was sure to be a right disaster.

I tried my best... I swear, I did... but I'm out. I can't do this anymore.

God help him.

***

I'm sorry this chapter's so short! I just wanted it to kinda be the end of the Mike saga, I guess, and I didn't wanna drag it out. Gotta say, it was fun writing from Mike's perspective!

What a mom friend Mike is, huh? :')

This chapter reminds me of when my friend liked this guy she couldn't have... she never listened to me when I'd talk her out of it 😅 eventually she did listen, and I'm grateful she did... guy was a bit of a jerk.
^that anecdote in no way relates to the content of this book as a whole dw

To be continued... very soon! :)

ALSO

I wanted to thank all of you who've been reading and commenting and voting and stuff :) it really means so much to me!! Thanks guys :) I love interacting with you!! 😄❤️❤️❤️