A/N: Thank you guys for the so sweet birthday wishes! You're the best! This chapter was a bit harder to write so everyone remained in character, so I would reeeeally appreciate if you guys tell me what you think. Hope it pleases you as well!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
CHAPTER 07
FORGIVE ME
Edna's house was at a distant district in Vegas. It was very similar to where Hyde used to live as a kid at Point Place, both house and neighborhood. All the glamour and fervency had been left a couple of miles behind, so the streets were darker and quieter.
Hyde stepped into the front porch and rang the doorbell, with Jackie in tow. The smell of Edna's cooking food invaded his nostrils, pulling mixed feelings to the front of his mind – he wasn't sure if it was anger, nostalgia, hurt or comfort. As they heard footsteps coming closer inside the house, the brunette held onto her ex-boyfriend's hand, making some of the apprehension leave his body.
Soon after, the front door opened, revealing Edna in casual clothes. She gave them what it seemed like a relieved smile and stepped back, giving space for them to come in.
"Thanks for coming," she said and Jackie smiled politely. "Would you like something to drink? Beer? Water?"
Jackie looked up at Steven, who was still dead serious and decided to make the decision for him.
"Beer is fine for both of us."
Edna told them to keep themselves comfortable before walking into the kitchen. Jackie sat on the ratty couch and looked around. She'd been to Steven's old house once before, and this looked pretty much like it, though it was way more organized, probably because Edna was expecting visitors.
Hyde paced around the room, stopping eventually by a wall where some picture frames were hanged. None held actual people photos, only postcards from different places from the West and Middle West. Des Moines, Minneapolis, Denver, Vegas, Point Place.
He felt a hand poke his shoulder and turned around, accepting the bottle of beer Edna was handing him.
"Are these all the places you've been?" He asked and she nodded. He looked back to the wall. "You travelled a lot."
"A little bit. Who knows where I'm going from here. Maybe I'll reach the west coast someday, don't know."
He walked to the couch, sitting beside Jackie. Edna did the same, but took a seat at an orange armchair. They remained quiet for a while, only B.B. King's guitar playing softly on the background.
"Why did you invite us over?" Hyde broke the silence eventually.
Edna eyed Jackie sideways, and the brunette understood it was a good time to leave them alone again. The brunette stared firmly at the red head, silently reminding her about her earlier warning.
"Uh, where's the bathroom, Mrs. Hyde?"
"First door on the left." The elder woman pointed towards the corridor and Jackie followed her instructions.
When she looked back to Steven, he was still holding his cold gaze on her. She sighed and wet her lips before speaking.
"Steven, I want to apologize about my behavior yesterday. In fact, about everything before. I want you to understand that despite the fact that you came unexpectedly into my life, I did want you. My problem was that I was too young when you were born. I thought I would have this whole future ahead, but it just came downhill. At some point down the road, I made this stupid decision to move on, to go after the things I supposed I had lost because of you, but it was a mistake."
"Why didn't you come back when you realized that?" Hyde said calmly, looking at the bottle in his hands.
"I guessed it would be much worse than keep going. I thought you'll be way too mad at me and I would be just wasting my time." She reached over, gently touching her son's knee. "Look, Steven, young people make bad choices lots of times. I bet you regret one or two things in your life too."
He did. In fact it was only one big thing, and it had everything to do with the brunette in Edna's bathroom.
"And I'm not trying to absent myself from guilt. I know that what I did was wrong, and I hope you would forgive me someday."
"You know, I just don't get it why you were all hostile with me last night." He placed the bottle of beer on the coffee table and stood up, pacing around the room again. "It seems only too much a short time for someone to assume their mistakes, to feel guilty and regretful about something so huge."
"I was jealous, Steven. I left you with nothing so I could have something. But now you are wealthy and probably live in a nice place, while I'm still the same failure. It's selfish, I know, but that's how I felt." She leaned back on the armchair, looking at the ceiling. It was hard to admit this to him, but it had to be done.
Hearing those words, he spun around facing her, his eyes turning grey in anger. "I'm not wealthy, ma. I just do my job and get something out of it in the end of the month. I don't live the dream life you imagine. I don't need all these things. All I wanted was for you to care and be proud, just like a regular mom."
She looked down, and nodded. Then she stood up, walking over to an old desk, opening its drawer. She took an envelope out of it – the same one Steven gave her the night before – and reached forward towards him.
"I'm sorry for asking you for money." They looked into each other's eyes. "And I want you to know that I am proud of you. You never had an easy life, I get that, and I'm proud that you'd turned out to be a decent young man." She finished with a sad smile.
Hyde had never listened to her mother talk like this. She'd never celebrated any of his conquests before. She never seemed to care in fact. This Edna in front of him was a brand new person for him. He could almost understand that she also had a hard life. That she also made mistakes. He felt like forgiving her, but it wasn't the right time yet. Maybe some other day. However, he already felt better.
"Keep it." He pushed the envelope back. "It's yours. I want you to have a decent life too, ma."
Unexpectedly, the elder woman pulled him into a hug, which he responded awkwardly at first, then willingly. At that point, Jackie came into the room, but stood several feet away from Steven and Edna, smiling satisfied at the scene in front of her. The truth is that she'd been quiet at the bathroom, trying to listen to the mother and son talking before feeling it was appropriate to come back.
Right after, the doorbell rang.
"Oh, it must be my other guest for dinner," Edna said, releasing her son and walking to the front door.
As soon as the wooden frame opened and revealed the mysterious guest, both Hyde and Jackie's chins dropped.
"Hyde!" The blonde ran to her ex-fake husband, hugging him tight.
"What the hell?" Hyde exclaimed, pushing Sam back by her waist.
"Didn't you miss me, babe?" She smiled at him, completely unaware of Hyde's scowl at the situation. Her fingers scratched his sideburns, but Hyde was fast on removing them.
"What is she doing here?" Hyde directed to Edna, ignoring the blonde's question.
"I… I thought you'd be happy to see Sam again," the red head said. She genuinely thought it was a good idea at first. Sam had told her she and Hyde used to get along pretty well, but she was forced to come back to Vegas for some reason she didn't explain, but made sure to show that he was upset for her departure.
"Why would you assume that? You knew I had a girl with me," he said angrily, motioning to Jackie behind him.
"But she told me she was just a friend," Edna tried to redeem herself, not really understanding what the big deal with the whole situation was. Apparently, there was something else she wasn't aware of.
Sam finally looked over Hyde's shoulder, finding Jackie's wide eyes staring back at her. "Well, you guys aren't back together, are you?" She asked provocatively, narrowing her eyes to the shorter chick.
Hyde looked back hesitant at Jackie, who was still frozen in place as a statue.
"Well, no, but…"
"Then…" The blonde's lips crashed on his own, not giving him time to dodge. His face was firmly held into her cupping hands.
Jackie felt tears rising up, ready to spill out through her eyes. Yes, they had agreed to leave the 'Sam subject' aside. They had acted like it wasn't a big deal. They had even teased about it a couple of times since they got to this God damn city. But when the teasing became more than that… God, it was a whole new level of reality that she wasn't prepared for. It was like coming back in time when the bimbo used to live in the basement with the love of her life. When she sat on his lap and kissed him just to get to her. When he kissed her back, assuring his past lover that she was nothing more than that: the past.
"Oh my God." She ran pass the front door, not even saying goodbye to the hostess.
Just then, Hyde managed to push Sam back, grabbing her by the arms and stepping aside. The remaining women in the room stared at him, one puzzled, the other with a wicked smile crept on her lips.
"You," he pointed to Edna, "this was the worst idea ever! And you," he pointed to Sam, "what's the matter with you? You're married and we are over."
"I'm not married anymore, Hyde. Larry and I are officially divorced."
"Whatever!" He yelled. "That doesn't mean you can kiss me whenever you want. I don't want to be with you, Sam. Just face it. You ruined my life once and I'm not gonna let you do it again. I'm outta here."
With that, he left the house and began to look around for any signs of Jackie. He spotted a dark frame moving two blocks away and assumed it was her. Running as fast as he could, he called out her name, but it didn't seem to have any effect on her.
Jackie was also running. This was all a big mistake, she thought as tears rolled wildly down her face. She'd told herself she wouldn't drop any more tears for Steven or that skank. There was nothing left to mourn about since they had finally come to an okay friendship. However, she would never guess she would experience the sight of her lips on his again, so her body and mind reacted the way they were already used to in this sort of situation.
A few moments after, Hyde reached her, standing in front of her so she would stop.
"Would you wait for me?" He gently grabbed Jackie's shoulders, steading her.
"You were right. This was a mistake. We should've never come here." And started walking again, but Steven was faster and brought her closer, holding her by the waist.
"Jackie, that was nothing. Sam is a sociopath, we all know that. She lied to me about already being married. She'd probably lied to Edna too so she would think it was a good idea to invite her over. I didn't mean to kiss her. I didn't want to kiss her."
His hands slid up to cup her tear stained face, coaxing her to look up at him. They held the stare for a few seconds, both lost in a trance, before Hyde leaned in. Their lips were almost touching when Jackie raised her hand, placing it over her ex-boyfriend's mouth.
"You're not kissing me with these stripper kissing lips," she said solemnly, but he knew that deep inside she was a little bit cooler after his reassurances. After all, that was all she ever wanted from him – being sure about his intentions.
"I didn't even kiss her back, Jackie," his muffled voice said behind her hand.
"But your lips touched."
He smirked and pushed back. "Would it make a difference if I wash my mouth first?" The innuendo made them both chuckle.
"I don't know." She looked down, smiling coyly.
Hyde smiled at her, took her hand and entwined their fingers as they walked away from Edna's neighborhood. He could try and change that 'I don't know' into a 'yes' later.
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