The Keys to Jericho (70 page)

My dad says, “We’re here to help you, Jared. You are out of control.”

I raise my head, long enough to shoot him a look. “I’m 30 fucking years old!”

“Watch your mouth!”

I shake my head at the floor. “Jesus.”

Dad says, “As I was saying, this is an intervention.”

Looking up again, I glare at him and then to the two assholes next to him. “What the fuck? You can’t be serious!”

Leaning forward, he counters, “And
you
can’t be serious if you’re not taking
us
seriously.”

I mutter, “Unbelievable.” I doubtfully nod at Rio. “What say you, Duquesne? I thought you were done with me. Why aren’t you elbow deep in pussy right now? Did that commandant of yours grant you special permission to be here?”

Dad yells, “Jared!”

I roll my eyes as Rio answers, “Dash called me in a panic. I said it’s time we all get everything out into the open.”

“No. It’s time for me to get back home.”

Dad says, “
This
is your home. You have no reason to be up in Philadelphia yet.”

“Yeah, I do. I have to work Friday. So, again, you’re wrong.”

“Well, for now, you’re here, so you’ll listen to what we have to say.”

I sit back, crossing my arms over my chest, and my ankle over my knee, smirking. “Oh, I can’t wait for this shit.”

Dad shifts forward, perching on the edge of the couch. “You’re becoming an alcoholic. I’ve said that.” I sigh, shaking my head at the ceiling. “At first, I thought you were drinking because of the stress of living here again. Old memories coming up, having me around you all the time, but then, I noticed that the drinking didn’t really kick up until a few days into working at Brenda’s.”

I yank on my bill, shielding my eyes. “Jesus. Not this shit again.”

“This will only help if you shut up and listen.”

I again roll my eyes and he says, “The change came around when you met Kat. It started slow, at first, but then the night at the races, you were a totally different person. It’s as if a light turned on, but you checked out.”

Dash clears his throat and jumps in. “The thing is: you knew her in school. I had no idea you went that far back with her. You never mentioned Kat. I did see you several times with a girl in the halls, but I didn’t think much of it and forgot. When Kat and I met at Bowie, I didn’t recognize her as that girl I saw with you. We eventually found out we had gone to the same high school, but we didn’t know each other there, so nothing more was said about it. We thought it was funny that we had gone to the same school, but it wasn’t our topic of conversation. Still, I
do
find it funny that we had been friends with the same Jared Beckett, yet didn’t know it.”

My dad says, “I had no clue about them knowing each other previously, and I had taken him to the hospital to visit Kat after her accident.”

I glare at my dad, and he rolls his eyes at me, which only encourages my frown to intensify.

Anxiously fidgeting, Dash nods and says, “Anyway, Kat and I stayed in touch over the years and we’re both teachers, so we run into each other from time to time, too. So when you asked me to help you out at the construction, and Kat and I again ran into each other, we struck up an even better friendship.”

“Are you going anywhere with this?” I impatiently ask, glowering at him. I don’t need to hear about their symbiotic friendship. I might just barf, although, that would be better than wading through this bullshit.

Dash’s blue eyes meet mine, oddly radiating a calm significance. “Well, Kat and I have talked.” Shit. No.

I slam my fist onto the arm of my chair and roar, “I knew it! You have been talking shit to her behind my fucking back! I was right! It’s
your
fault she’s leaving!”

Dad snaps, “Am I going to have to tape your mouth shut?”

Dash smiles at him, but cowers as he looks back to me. “Don’t worry, Jericho. It’s been all good. She thinks highly of you, despite your bad attitude, dirty mouth, and hissy fits.”

“Fuck off.”

Dad sighs, digging his hand into his salt-and-peppered hair. “I said stop talking, Jared Adam.” Son of a cop-calling bitch.

Dash says, “Kat has been a good friend to you. We both have, believe it or not. But the day I introduced you to her, not knowing you used to be friends, I saw the change in you, too. At first, you clammed up around her, and then you slowly started to open up. I don’t mean with things you may have said to her, but you’re actions. I could see them. I’m not as dopey as I look. You liked spending time with her, not with just driving. You were happy.”

Rio leans forward and clasps his hands. “I know you thought we were making you the butt of a joke, inviting Kat to the beach house. That’s not so. As I told you, it was all my idea to invite her. I knew you’d never ask her, and I thought you’d like to spend more time with Kat, other than with driving. You had a good time with her at the club. That was evident. You smiled with her. You don’t smile much, unless you’re making fun of my job, or Dash in general.”

Dash eagerly nods and I scowl at both. Rio says, “When you and I lived together, there were several occasions that you were asleep and you mentioned the name
Kat
. How you missed her, thought she was pretty, and other things I couldn’t make out.”

I scoff, “You did not.” However, the look on Rio Duquesne’s face exhibits his sincerity. As usual.

Fuck.

He licks his lip and says, “It’s true. When I met her at the club, I knew she was the one you had talked about.”

I argue, “I was drunk at the club, and just like when I allegedly said her name, I didn’t know what I was saying.”

My dad frowns, but Rio chuckles. “At the club? You weren’t drunk when she showed up. The look on your face was stone sober, and the rawest expression I’ve seen from you, Jare.”

“Maybe
you
were the one who was drunk,” I grumble, reaching for my water.

“You know I didn’t have a drop of alcohol the entire night.”

I scoff before taking a drink, “Yeah, because you weren’t allowed to.”

He sighs. “Everything I do is on my own volition. Spending time with Lib. Putting up with your shit. Moving to Virginia. Being here for you right now. All on my own free will.”

I want to roll my eyes, but his unwavering gaze is disturbingly serious, and I gawk at him in dread. He goes on, “We’ve all been trying to help you, Jare, because we see you suffering. You’re unsure of what to do because it’s never happened to you before, and it’s something you’ve fought since I’ve known you. I’ve never seen you go through this, but as Dash said, neither has he, and he’s even known you a lot longer.”

Growing more anxious each second, I set down my water and lean forward, gripping onto my fist, nearly matching how he’s sitting, resembling a faceoff. “What are you getting at, Duquesne?”

He sadly smiles. I suddenly look to my dad and then to Dash, who are giving me roughly the same expression. What the fuck is going on?

Rio says, “We’ve seen the aftermath of the arguments you and Kat have had.” He nods at Dash. “He told me about the one earlier.”

I growl at Dash, “Traitor.”

“No way, Jare. He could technically press assault charges.”

I inhale and sit back. Dad says, “Look how far you’ve sunk.”

Before I can argue, Rio states, “Your outbursts stem from buried feelings you have.”

I roll my eyes. “What the hell? This psych diatribe is tiresome. I’ll tell you all damn day what I
feel
for him.
Contempt
would be the first word that comes to mind.”

Dad says, “Jared, shut up.”

As I rub my fingers over my jaw, Rio raises an eyebrow with a smile, and shakes his head. “No, Jare. Your feelings for Kat.”

My fingers freeze on my face.

Jesus Christ.

Rio says, “You’ve said you don’t believe in it, and you thought you could avoid it.”

My eyes widen and I can’t look anywhere else. The only actions I can do is grit my teeth, shake my head, and say, “No. Don’t even, River.”

He sighs. “Jare…”

I don’t know if I’m ready to bolt or ready to scream. I clutch the arms of the chair as I begin to lose my grip on everything I’ve held to be true.

Dad slides off the couch and kneels next to my chair. “It’s okay, bud.”

Staring at Rio, I continue to shake my head, and repeat, “No.”

Dad says, “We all know. We’re all here to help you.”

“You don’t know shit,” I growl to all of them. Rio purses his lips and glances at the coffee table.

Dad takes a shaky breath and I automatically look at him, seeing his eyes dampen. “Jared, you’re in love with Kat.”

I bark, “Shut your damn mouth!”

Ignoring my outburst, he says, “I know you have a hard time trusting women, but I see the look in your eyes when you’re with her. It’s undeniable.”

I put my forehead into my hand, close my eyes and seethe, “You see nothing.”

“Jared, you need to face this.”

I sourly scoff, “I don’t need to do shit.”

Dash mournfully says, “You’ll lose her to someone else, Jericho.”

Cautiously lifting my gaze, I see Dash wiping his eyes and I want to roll mine or throttle him. He’s always been the weepy type.

Instead, I irritably grumble, “Jesus, Calder. Get a damn grip.”

Dad asks, “Why can’t you accept it? You’ve never believed in it, but you found that it does exist because you found it with her.”

I laugh in disdain. “Oh. Right. So it exists? Bullshit. I’m just her next victim.”

My dad sighs, while Dash says, “Jericho. How can you say that? She would never hurt you.”

I angrily sneer, “Dash, you know nothing about our past or present. You all must think I’m a chump, believing in this shit. She’s been down that road before, so it’s not her first ride on the marriage-go-round. Look how
that
turned out for her!”

Dad says, “Kat thought she had the love she wanted. She made a mistake and she corrected it.”

“Really? Like
you
should have? Hadley and I were a mistake, right?”

“No. I’d do it all over again just to have you two.”

“Why would you do that?”

He leans his elbow onto the arm of the chair, burrowing his fingers into his hair. “Because you two mean the world to me. You’ve kept me alive.”

I mutter, “Christ, Dad. You need a hobby.”

Looking to Rio, who hasn’t given much of a reaction, I snap, “What, Duquesne? You fucking don’t believe all this bullshit about me, do you?”

With his blue eyes on me, he steadily says, “You love her, Jare.”

Holy fuck.

I shake my head because that’s all I know to do. “Huh-uh. Fuck, no.” I again glance at him for a smile, or any indication he’s joking, but he isn’t. I know better. Rio Duquesne has always been my rock. My voice of reason. He always puts out my fires.

Still, they all have to be fucking delusional. I thought maybe I was developing…those kinds of feelings…but Kat didn’t notice, so I thought I had been mistaken.

This can’t be happening. I never in my worst fucking nightmares had imagined my personal plight would be displayed for all to see.

Leaning forward, my hands go into my hat and I anxiously fluff my hair, jostling my hat back and forth. Closing my eyes, I try to focus on nothing, and not the darkness suddenly falling over me.

My dad asks, “Are you okay?” No, I’m not fucking okay! I’m hanging onto the edge of a cliff and my fingers are slipping. I can’t hold on anymore.

Dash says, “Jericho, you need to talk to us.”

Opening my eyes, I glare at the coffee table because I can’t bear for them to see the depth of my humiliation. I tightly ask, “And why in the fuck would I do that, Dash? After you and Rio both have stuck knives into my back?”

Dash shouts, “I didn’t tell Kat to leave! Why don’t you get that? But really, why should she stay? You told her there isn’t a future for you two!”

“Of course, she tells you everything! You’re only upset because you won’t have her around to blab everything!”

“You told me I couldn’t be friends with her anymore!”

“Because you tell her all kinds of shit about me! I can’t trust you!”

“Not true because you don’t tell
me
shit about you!” He indignantly laughs and asks, “You want to know why I call you
Jericho
? Bible school. That year, fifth grade was it, when we did a skit about the city of Jericho and its walls falling down? Yeah, that’s you—Jericho. The name is similar to yours and it fits perfectly. How crazy is that? At 10 years old, you were closed off! You’re surrounded by walls to keep out everyone! You don’t tell Rio and me anything! Hell! I know more about Rio than I know about you, and I’ve known
you
most of my life!”

I peer over at him and he wipes his face again, more calmly saying, “It took trumpets to bring down Jericho’s walls. That’s why we’re here. We’ve brought the trumpets, Jared, and those walls of yours are coming down.”