Free Jealousy by Jenna Galicki Page A

remark about him, I still see that little boy who always got bullied, and all those feelings from my childhood come back again . . . only worse.” She put her hand to her chest and furrowed her brow. “It fucking kills me. I’ll never forget what he went through, and I’ll never stop defending him. I’ll do anything to protect him. I would give my life defending him.” A single tear slipped down her cheek. It was a small glimpse of the torment she went through, but it left her emotionally drained and frazzled.  She leaned forward, put her elbows on the table and rubbed the tension from her forehead for several seconds.
    She folded her a rms across her chest, sat back in the chair and barely met Peter’s eye. “Please don’t mention anything about what I said to Justin. I would die if Justin found out I divulged his personal business. You know he never talks about his childhood. He hates to be reminded of it.  We both do.  And Tyler doesn’t know anything about it, either.”
    “ Whatever,” Peter said.  “I still don’t want them making out in front of the house.”
    A loud gasp escaped her.  “Whatever?  That’s all you have to say?” His words hurt her more than they angered her.
    “ I get it.  You both had it rough as kids.  So did a lot of people.  Move past it, already.”
    “ What?”  She was shocked at his lack of compassion.  “You could be a little more sensitive.  I knew you wouldn’t understand, but you can see that I’m upset, you could at least . . .”
    Justin and Tyler entered the house, and she quickly changed the subject.  She shook the emotion from her face and pretended nothing was wrong.  She leaned against the windowsill and watched Justin have a casual conversation with Tyler at the table. She tried hard not to show it, but she still couldn’t let go of the heartbreak that resurfaced during the sad recap of their childhood.
    Justin felt her stare and shot her a quizzical look. She returned a small smile and shook her head, but he didn’t dismiss her response so easily.
    “ Do you wanna sit?” he asked.
    Justin starte d to rise, but she stopped him.
    “ There is an empty chair right there,” she said, pointing to the opposite end of the table. “I’m fine. Sit down.”
    “ Alright,” he answered, hesitantly.  He stared at her for a moment, before returning to his conversation with Tyler.
    No matter how happy and confident Justin was today, when she looked into his eyes, she always saw the insecure little boy she knew as a child and it tugged at her heart. She reached out to him and placed a soft loving kiss on his cheek.
    “ What are you doing?”  He backed away with surprise.
    “ Be quiet,” she whispered into his ear, and hugged him with all her might.
    “ Are you OK, sweetie?  What’s wrong?”
    “ Nothing.”  She squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head on his shoulder.  “I just need a hug.”
     
    Chapter Fifteen:
    Justin was expecting to see Heather on the opposite side of the door, even though it was hours earlier than she usually arrived on Sunday mornings.  Instead, Tyler ’s loving brown eyes smiled back at him.
    He wish ed he never answered the door.
    Justin brought someone home last night, but he had no intention of letting his guest spend the night. They were both very drunk, had sex and then must have passed out.  The first time Justin woke up was when Tyler rang the doorbell a minute ago.
    It was sort of an unspoken rule, a “given”, that they weren’t supposed to drop by each other’s place unannounced.  Why did Tyler cross the line?  Justin sighed.  Because Tyler was in love with him, that’s why.  Justin had no reason to feel guilty, they weren’t exclusive, but he did anyway.  A queasy feeling settled in the pit of Justin’s stomach.  He told himself that he wouldn’t let it happen, but all along he knew that he would break Tyler’s heart.
    Tyler put his hands on either side of Justin ’s face, gave him