Free Jealousy by Jenna Galicki

was aware of her relationship with his brother.  After Tyler silently berated her, he never alluded to it again.
    Heather realized that the underlying problems in her marriage were what led to the affair in the first place.  She vowed to make things right between her and Peter, but she had no idea how.  She suggested a vacation, but Peter said he couldn ’t leave the store.
    A cool breeze blew in, and a shiver ran down her spine.  She cranked the handle closed on the casement window and was about to turn away, but Justin ’s car pulled into the driveway and caught her attention.
    She watched Justin and Tyler get out of the car, and they stopped and kissed on the front lawn.  She laughed softly at Tyler. He never kissed Justin like a normal person. He threw all of his passion into it and hung all over Justin.
    Peter joined her at the window to see what she was laughing about.  He jerked his head back and smirked at her.
    “What?” she asked.
    “ I wish they wouldn’t do that in front of the house,” he said.  “What are the neighbors going to think?  It’s fucking embarrassing.”
    Heather spun around to face him and waved her hand in the air.  “Why shouldn’t they show affection in public? How would you like it if people judged you all the time?”
    Peter rolled his eyes.  “Why do you always have to get defensive and overreact?”
    “ Because it’s unfair.  I know I’m overly sensitive when it comes to Justin, but you have no idea what it was like for him growing up . . . what it was like for the both of us.”
    Her thoughts returned to their childhood and it saddened her.  She sat down, put her elbows on the table and rubbed her forehead.  She hated bringing up the past, but maybe if she opened up a little to Peter, it would bring them closer together.  Maybe it would help him understand why she was so overprotective when it came to Justin.
    She looked up at Peter with a deep frown.  “Do you have any idea what it feels like to watch someone you care about get bullied and picked on constantly?” Her voice was soft and fragile. “Justin used to get beat up and teased all the time, and then they started teasing me because we were always together. I was the only one he had . . . the only one who ever stuck up for him and came to his defense. He was always tall, but he was scrawny. He didn’t know how to fight, and kids always picked on him. They were fucking relentless!” She slapped her hand on the table, and her face quivered. “Do you know what that’s like for a kid?” Her voice cracked and she paused. “It broke my heart. I used to wish I was the one getting picked on instead of him. I would give anything to change his childhood. He never bothered anybody.  He never did anything wrong. He didn’t deserve to be treated that way. No one does.  Especially a kid. I used to cry harder than he did.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Kids can be so fucking mean!” She paused again and tried to get control of her emotions. “I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I made him take karate lessons to learn how to defend himself.”
    “ He knows karate?” Peter asked.
    “ Tae kwon do.”  She waved her hand.  “It’s the same thing. He’s a black belt.”
    “ Really?  I didn’t know that.”
    Heather nodded. “He hated it at first, but I used to drag him there twice a week.  Then he started lifting weights and building up muscle. He started to gain self-confidence and for the first time in his life he felt good about himself and about who he was.  I’ll never forget the first time he defended himself in a fight.” She looked off into the distance and visualized the incident in her head. “He knocked the shit outta this kid who always used to beat him up. It was a turning point in his life – in both of our lives.  We were about 16, I think. I watched him get tormented all those years in school.” She let out a long, exasperated breath. “Whenever someone makes an insensitive