Book 2: Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day I was up early making breakfast in Jay's kitchen. My nerves were getting the best of me, remembering I had to go to the Hadid's home. The only thing I could think of doing was cooking breakfast for everyone. Pancakes, bacon, and eggs were always a treat in the morning. I also cut up some fruit and set aside some eggs for the baby. Jay wasn't clear on what to feed him, but he was a one-year-old. I believe he's allowed to eat a little bit of table food. I may even have to throw in a yogurt.

Either way, I got Jacob's and Nadia's food prepped to eat before their mom came to get them. I'm also nervous about meeting her. She may get the wrong idea about Jay and me since she didn't know our history. It'll be a shocker if she even knew I existed. Jay didn't peg me to be someone to gossip. However, that was his stand-in mom. If she was willing to leave the babies with Jay, they surely built a relationship with one another. It made me happy that he had someone to confide in.

A few minutes later, Jay walked into the kitchen wearing sweatpants and no shirt. He poured himself some coffee, drinking it without cream or sugar. It's a mystery to me how people drink black coffee. I'd rather choke than drink black coffee. That stuff was revolting, yet Jay drank it like it was the best thing in the world. So much surprised me about him.

He walked over to me as I flipped the last pancake. "What's all this?" He looked around at the display.

I smile, looking at him, eager for him to eat. "I made breakfast! Smells great, doesn't it?"

"You made breakfast? I knew I missed you being here," he said, giddy.

That made me laugh as I made him a plate and added some strawberries to his pancakes. You could never go wrong with strawberries for breakfast. This was the perfect way to start my dreadful day. Staying with Jay would be the refresh I needed before dealing with anything to do with Jenna and Farah.

Before we ate, we talked a bit about today's activities before getting the kids up.

"Are you excited about the events for today?" Jay continued to drink his coffee.

I rolled my eyes, "no, but what choice do I have?"

He shrugged. "You could've said no." That part was a fact.

"Yes, but what fun would that be? Besides, I have a lot of unfinished business here in Sunbury." Saying no would have been stupid on my part.

Jay finished his coffee while putting his cup in the dishwasher. "You mean with Cyrus?" His tone of voice changed a little.

I'm not sure what he expected. That my feelings for Cyrus would change because they wouldn't. My feelings for him didn't waiver. Why would it be any different for Cyrus? Yes, I could've said no, but then I would miss out on the opportunity to see Cyrus again. As much as it hurt, my heart wanted to see his face again. Soon there will be no way to look at him the same once he's married to Jenna.

However, Jay wasn't the one I would talk to about this. We had unfinished business as well. It shocked me he was the one to bring up Cyrus, but I'm assuming that's because he knows what's going on. Since it involves all three of us. I'm sure deep down; there was still that jealous feeling lingering inside of him. He's been hiding it well.

"Where are the kids?" I changed the subject, and I wanted to eat.

Noticing, he went along with me. "They're still sleeping, but we can go wake them."

I grab his hand, dragging him along, "let's go then!"

We headed off to wake the children up, Jay grabbing his sister and me getting the baby. Nadia didn't want to get up, but she came to life once she saw the pancakes on the table. I got Jacob set up in the high chair and helped him eat as much as he wanted before I ate my food. The silence was a bit awkward between Jay and me, with Nadia talking about princesses here and there. Our relationship wasn't how it used to be. We've both grown into different people but still wanted to be with each other. It was a paradox that we were both trying to figure out.

Interrupting our silence, the doorbell rang as Jay rushed to answer the door. I grabbed the plates off the table, sticking them in the dishwasher. When I turned around, the woman standing there looked similar to his biological mother. It was almost like I saw a ghost from the picture I'd seen of his mom. The resemblance was uncanonizing and showed that his father had a type. She had a sweet face and looked surprised to see me.

"Jay, who is this?" She asked, intrigued.

Jay smiled, introducing us. "This is Autumn, and A, this is Clara, my stepmom," he said happily.

I smiled, not in my best dress today. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. Your kids are so lovely." I compliment.

Clara's eyes widened, and she quickly ran over to me to hug me. "It's you! Jason always said you were gorgeous, but I thought he exaggerated." Someone has been talking about me to his parents.

Laughing, I hug her back, looking at Jay's embarrassed face. I'm glad it was his stepmom that I was meeting first; otherwise, I may not have been as lovely as I am right now. His dad was someone I wasn't looking forward to seeing at the moment. I'll have to meet the guy at some point, but my feelings toward him are still bittersweet. I'm glad he's making somewhat of an effort. An effort that could have been made beforehand, though it's better late than never.

Regardless, Clara seemed like a loving lady. She was beautiful, charming, and welcoming all in one. It's no wonder her daughter is so sweet, and her little boy is always smiling. The most significant part was that she had so much love for Jason. It's been so hard for him without his mother. Clara being around made a tremendous difference in him. No one can replace his mom, but at least he was able to feel the love of a motherly figure again. I couldn't thank her enough for that.

Clara gently grabbed my hands. "This is so exciting; you have to come to have dinner at our house," she exclaimed. "Your father would love to meet her."

Jay scratched the back of his neck, uncomfortable with the whole thing. "I don't think that's a smart idea."

"You guys can't keep avoiding this; besides, I would love to get to know you personally, Autumn." Clara was not listening to what he was saying. It was pretty funny.

I laughed, appreciating her offer. "If it's okay with Jay, it's okay with me," I say, unsure if it was the right thing to do.

That made her day, though. "Splendid, we'll shoot for some time next week. In the meantime, kids, it's time to go!" She called out to her children, Mainly to Nadia.

Jay was on the fence about the whole thing, but I thought it would be lovely. Getting to see his new family dynamic was going to be interesting. It would be even better to see how he interacts with his father. I was going to try my best to keep my composure in front of him. That was going to be easier said than done.

Clara said goodbye as we also said bye to Nadia and Jacob. It was nice getting to meet her. Now my worst nightmare could begin. Jay took a shower before getting dressed so we could head over to the Hadid's estate. It was weird riding in his car again. It's been so long since I've been inside, but nothing has changed. The vehicle was still immaculate as ever, and it was a smooth ride as we pulled out of his parking lot.

There wasn't any excitement from us on the way to the house. My eyes scanned every home as we drove by, slowly dreading that we had to be here. I'm not sure why Jay was going over here, but apparently, he had some planning to do as his best man with Cairo, Cyrus' father. What would anyone think of us showing up together? I hope it isn't turned into a spectacle.

Breaking the silence, Jay spoke up first. "You're going to speak with Farah with sweatpants on?" He asked curiously.

I scoffed. "Yep, I've done it before. She's lucky I'm even coming to this thing," I say, still annoyed by the ordeal.

Jay laughed. "Fair enough, you look great either way," he compliments. "I was unsure if I would grow used to the short hair, but I love it."

That man was always making me blush. "Thank you," I say, eager to change the topic. "Why are you coming over here today?"

"Best man duties, duh." He's a smart ass. "Did you forget I was given that title for his shit wedding?"

It's not that I forgot; more like I'm surprised Cyrus would make him his best man. It shouldn't have been shocking since they're best friends. Given the information, I know this whole scenario was a bit fucked up. Cyrus would be crushed in the long run, and I was unsure how long I could keep this secret from him. It's a lot of baggage to carry, and he already had a sneaking suspicion before choosing Jenna. Showing up with Jay may cause more not-so-well thoughts.

"Shouldn't a best man be more positive about his friends' wedding?" I asked, laughing at his wording.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying the wedding itself is shit. Just that he's marrying Jenna of all people." He had a good point. "I'd be happier if he was marrying Kameron goddamn Blake over Jenna."

I laugh at the disgust in this voice for Jenna. "Geez, I thought my feelings toward her were bad."

"She crossed someone significant to me, and I don't like that." He stated.

The fact that he was still protective of me warmed my heart. He would never stand for anyone hurting me. I don't think he would even stand for Cyrus hurting me if it came down to it. Jay was very set on his feelings, and I would hate to be the one to break his heart. It was like I was his first true love making things even more complicated than they were. Cyrus was still his friend, meaning we would have to figure something out eventually. We have been hiding from our feelings since we came into contact with each other. How long were we going to keep this up?

Pulling into the Hadid's place, my heart sank at the thought of walking into that house. I inadvertently sank into the seat wishing we could turn around. The nerves that washed over me were petrifying. Worst case scenario Cyrus is right through those doors waiting for Jay but is surprised to see me. In the best-case scenario, I get in and out freely. God, I was being ridiculous.

Before going in, I wanted to ask Jay something serious.

"Are you ever going to tell him what's going on?" I look at him to read his face.

He sighed, contemplating what to say. "To answer that, are we ever going to be more than what we are?"

I was not too fond of that question. "Jay-"

"That'll be the only reason he needs to know, honestly. If we aren't going to be more than just friends, then I don't see what the point would be to start unnecessary drama." He explained it to me in a way that made sense.

It would be pointless to bring this up to him if we weren't going to be anything more than friends. If we were going to put this behind us and work on our friendship instead, Cyrus didn't need to know more than he already did. It was still lying, though; part of me would always want to let him know what happened. However, who said I just wanted to be friends with Jay? The fact that he was friend-zoning me without talking about it first hurt. Will there be any hope for us? It seems like he was already pushing that option out of his mind. Should I be doing the same?

Not questioning it, I nodded, understanding what he was saying. "Yeah, you're right." That's not what I wanted to say, but what I had to, at least for now.

"Great, let's get in here before Farah wonders why we're late," he said, opening the car door.

Following suit, I tried to push back the tears that wanted to form on my face. It was a bit ridiculous; however, knowing that he didn't see us being anything more than friends triggered something in me. Believe me; it's great that we can still have a friendship and be friendly like we've always been. What we had in the past wasn't something I planned just to let go of, though. There won't ever be a decent time to talk about it, but Jay and I's story wasn't going to end like this. Not if I had something to do about it.