Bren leans toward the window as wisps of his fourth cigarette escape into the pull of the air. He had placed the car in auto since he was following Sina and Fuchsia. Even if he couldn’t sleep, he was thankful for the rest and time to think. He hoped that he had made the right decision.

Yesterday, while Jax was in the shower, he noticed that Sina was really stressed and he tried to talk to her. She had, as usual, become unapproachable to anyone other than Fuchsia. He had asked Fuchsia if there was anything he could do and she had told him that Sina was trying to find a safe location for them. He had eagerly suggested that they use his grandmother’s cottage. It was far away from the city and he was hoping everyone could relax. Sina and Fuchsia hesitated, but eventually he talked them into it.

He turns to look at Jax who still is sleeping. The soft rumbles only aid in his continued slumber and Bren is grateful for that. A muffled purr emanates from Jax’s lap, drawing Bren’s attention. The cat purrs and stretches looking innocent, eyeing Bren with its one green eye. The innocence only lasts a moment as he begins kneading, his claws extended, digging into Jax’s legs. Jax’s eyes fly open and he jerks upright with a yelp. Bren grabs Nix by the scruff of his neck, pulling him upward. Unfortunately, Nix only digs his nails deeper. Bren, exasperated by Nix’s crazy antics, leans forward and blows in his face. Nix instantly retracts his nails and tries to get away. Bren softly tosses the cat into the backseat. Jax rubs his hands over his lap with a frown.

Bren sighs and says, “Damn Cat!” as he reaches over and touches Jax’s shoulder. “Sorry about that, cats have a strange way of showing affection. Especially Nix!”

Jax nods, sighs and says, “How long have we been traveling?”

Bren takes another drag of his cigarette before tossing it out the window and says, “A little over three hours. We will probably get to our destination soon.”

“Do you know where we are going?” Jax asks.

“I might have an idea!” Bren says with a smile.

Jax looks at Bren curiously before he returns to his silent gaze out the window.

The two fall into an uncomfortable silence, but Bren breaks it rather quickly as he wants to know what had upset Jax earlier.

Bren turns in the seat to face Jax and says, “Can we talk about this morning? I need to know what happened to upset you.”

Jax pulls his body against the door and looks out trying to avoid conversation.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Aggravated and determined to get an answer, Bren raises his voice and says, “You can’t shut us out Jax, you have people who care about you! You are no longer alone!”

Jax covers his face with one hand and places his other arm across his body. His heart was beating fast and he felt nauseous. Despite the sickness that he felt building, he knew there was no reason to hide what he was thinking. Bren was right. He isn’t alone, and even if he and Bren could only be friends that would be enough. He doesn't want to be alone!

He uncovers his face and pulls a crumpled picture from his pocket and pushes it in Bren’s direction.

Bren took the picture and unfolded it and then covered his mouth while looking at Jax.

Bren says “Are you upset about this picture? I don’t understand. It was in the trash for a reason, Jax!”

Jax looked at Bren with tears welling up in his eyes and said, “I’m sorry! I just….you looked really happy and I….”

Bren cut him off saying, “I experienced a lot of pain at that time and I am no longer the person who you see in this picture. The person who you see me with was unwilling to stay with me during the hard times. She left me when I needed someone the most. She was not who I thought she was and It is a part of my past that I wish to forget.”

Jax looked down at his feet in silence. Bren reaches over to pull his chin in his direction. “Talk to me about what is worrying you, don’t let things get out of control in your head like this morning. I can’t help you if you shut me out.”

The ringing of Bren’s phone ends their conversation. He taps the video link in the car. Fuchsia’s image pops up above the dashboard. She nervously fidgets with the ringlets of her hair as she says, “We are almost to our destination. I hope you won’t have any trouble getting into the place!”

Bren shifted in his seat, switching the car off auto. “I am sure there won’t be a problem! It is my place afterall.

Jax turns again to ask where they were headed as he was hit with the intense smell of warm salty air. Jax takes in a deep breath followed by an excited, “Are we headed to the beach?”

Bren taps the steering wheel with his fingertips and chuckles at Jax’s excitement over the beach. He knows that many things have to happen while they are at the cottage, some of which Jax was going to fight but he hoped that they all could relax and enjoy it a little.

Not long passes before they pull onto the road leading to the cottage. As of yet they had avoided any sight of the beach or ocean but soon their sight would be unobstructed. The trees begin to thin on one side of the road, and if the vehicle slows even the slightest they might be able to catch sight of the water but neither Sina or Bren do so.

Jax leans forward as he notices a white cottage in the distance. He can see birds flying above the cottage. His vision mindlessly follows the birds as they fly in a different direction. He can hear their noisy squawks as they dive down and disappear for only seconds before appearing again. His vision blurs as he tries to focus on where they were going, finally realizing it is water. He can finally see the ocean and all its glory. He hadn’t noticed the car had come to a stop and Bren was staring at him.

Bren says, “Let’s get our stuff inside and then will go take a closer look. Ok?”

Jax nods. He looks forward and can see Sina and Fuchsia standing beside their car, they are talking and pointing at the water.

Fuchsia turned around quickly, scaring Jax. She ran at him with her arms flailing like a mad woman. What the hell was happening?