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Chapter 01
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"You know you should leave him. You deserve better, Jeremy." Tiara urged to Jeremy and held his hand. Jeremy remained silent, staring out of the café window. It was a busy city. A long line of incessantly honking cars had formed on the road. It was snowing now and the slippery road made commuting a dangerous task even for the best of drivers. Everyone was in a hurry to be at home but the snow had other plans. The tricky pavement was as slippery as the road and those walking would often get a mini heart-attack as their foot slid a bit more than they expected it to. Then there were the teenagers goofing around and sliding all over the pavement, generating frowns, scowls and even growls in some cases. The carefree spirit and I-don't-give-a-damn attitude that these teenagers had was missing in the nineteen year old Jeremy Green sitting inside and looking but not taking in the scene outside.
"Are you even listening to me, Jer?" Tiara slightly pressed Jeremy's hand to bring him back from his thoughts lingering on the one person who had been pivoting Jeremy's life around himself.
Jeremy sighed and looked at Tiara. His bright green eyes had a deep emotion of resignation and submissiveness. "I can't leave him, Tiara. You don't understand this."
Tiara had heard a lot of this "you don't understand" for a better part of last year and was in no mood to let the conversation into that cul-de-sac direction. She began in this fashion.
"Well, then please explain to me. Tell me what I don't understand. Who do you think you're kidding, Jeremy? Have you looked at what you've become ever since you met him? Where is the Jeremy I knew? Where is that happy, carefree, awesome friend I had? Who is this shadow of the Jeremy we all looked up to?"
Jeremy listened to Tiara's exclamation with no sign of emotion except the look of resignation and submissiveness that he always wore now. He made no comment. He didn't say a word. No tear followed this reproach. That corner in his heart where something of this kind would have triggered some emotion, some response seemed to have become inert, indifferent, and incapable of feeling or emoting. He simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to staring outside the window.
The traffic was still dragging itself on the road. The number of people on the pavement was less now but the sense of urgency to return to their warm homes had increased. The high-rise buildings and the skyscrapers on the opposite side of the road stood majestically against the black sky. The light in the tiny windows of the high buildings seemed to present a sense of peace, calm and belonging. Emotions that had long deserted Jeremy. Tiara was right. He had changed since he met him. But, she didn't know. She didn't understand that he could not leave him. He had been trying to work things out for a year now. And Jacob wasn't that bad. Jacob had his issues and there had been ugly moments but he knew despite everything Jacob loved him.
"At least respond to me Jeremy. You have no idea how much it pains us to see you this way; how much it pains me. You're going down the road of self-destruction. There is no coming back. There's time Jeremy. Let him go and come back to us." She yearned with tears in her eyes.
Jeremy looked at her with concern. He wiped her tears with his hands and kissed her on the cheek. "I am with you guys, Tiara. Nothing will happen to me. This is just a bit complicated. Jacob and I have some issues but then that's something all relationships have. I don't want to ruin what special bond we share just because of mere issues."
"Mere issues?" Tiara's voice rose as her patience gave way. "You are so delusional. You refuse to see the truth of the relationship. You refuse to see how it is gnawing at your heart, weakening you at the core, slowly destroying you."
Jeremy looked down at his coffee. The steaming cup of coffee was now cold and still. He didn't reply to what she had just announced. There was some part in him telling him to listen, but there was the dominant side that refused to let him think, to let him question, to let him analyse his situation. As he sat ruminating over his inability or perhaps his refusal to accept, his cell rang cutting through his thoughts. He checked the caller. The photo of an exceptionally handsome, well-built athletic guy about 25, with jet black hair and giving a forced smile with a raised eyebrow surfaced on the screen. Jeremy sighed and received the call knowing what would follow.
"Where are you?" A rough voice spoke on the other side. He knew this did not bode well.
"At the Costa Café. I'm having coffee with Tiara." Jeremy answered apprehensively.
A long silence followed after he spoke. Nervousness made its way through him as he started feeling uncomfortable and slightly sweaty despite the cold. When the silence and Tiara's burning look started disturbing him, he spoke.
"Hello? Jacob?"
"You have fifteen minutes." The line went dead. This definitely meant bad. He quickly got up and asked for the cheque.
"I gotta go. See you later." He told Tiara and rushed out without stopping to listen to her interventions. He knew there was no time to waste. When Jacob announced a time limit, he would be sitting staring at the clock waiting for him to turn up within the allotted time. A minute late and things would be bad, very bad.
He walked as fast as the slippery pavement would allow. The cold air was cutting his skin, making him freeze; he wrapped his coat tightly and hugged himself in order to keep out the cold. His heart was racing and his thoughts were centred on Jacob and how he would be sitting in his chair, watching time pass on the clock. Their apartment was a block away and if he walked fast enough he could make it in due time. With each passing minute his earnestness was getting the better of him. He checked his watch. Seven minutes and the apartment was not in sight yet. Plus, they lived on the fourth floor. That would take extra time. A sense of fear gripped him as he walked faster.
Funny how fate has events planned for us, quite contrary to what we expect or wish, isn't it? Well, let's say dear fate had things planned for our Jeremy too. As he walked faster on the pavement, he lost control and slipped. With wide eyes and wildly flinging of arms, he fell on the hard, cold stony pavement on his ass. A sharp blinding pain shot through him as his butt made contact with the not very inviting pavement. He yelled in pain as tears swelled in his eyes. As he lay there, rolling in pain and unable to get up, he felt a pair of strong arms hold him at the shoulders and help him get up.
Slowly, wincing in pain Jeremy started getting up. After a struggle that lasted a couple of minutes he could finally stand on his feet. However, his hip hurt and he had angry red bruises on his palms from the fall.
"Are you okay?" A soft, deep voice asked him. He would have felt better had the voice not betrayed obvious signs of attempting to suppress laughter.
"I'm fine." He replied and now that his pain seemed bearable he turned to look at his helper. A guy about twenty-four or five, young handsome chiselled looks, ripped physique with the perfect built, spiked black hair and striking blue eyes. Jeremy thought he should have felt a sense of gratitude and endearment for such an Adonis. However, his biting his lip, trying to hold back a smile with amusement simply radiating from his eyes; didn't appeal to or amuse him. Apparently, his pain was funny for him.
Jeremy raised his eyebrows and was about to retaliate when he remembered his deadline. He hastily checked his watch. Fuck! He was a god ten minutes past the fifteen minutes allotted. He was a dead man now.
"Thanks." He muttered and turned quickly to walk away. However, his hurt hip didn't seem supportive and the intense pain that shot through him made him wince and fall yet again. However, this time he landed not on the stony pavement but in the arms of the hottie.
"There I saved you again. Seriously, what's the hurry about? Why are you hurting this cute little ass?" He remarked unabashed.
"Excuse me?" Jeremy turned the neck the most he could while he held him from behind. Jeremy had turned a deep shade of red and was guessing the 'cute ass' he was talking about was a deeper red. The guy laughed and put Jeremy's arm around his neck while his under the latter's shoulder. Once he had balanced them and they assumed a stance fine enough for walking with least discomfort, he enquired.
