A/N: Woo

A/N: Alright, I did re-do this chapter because, even though I was feeling totally skeptical about even posting the previous one; all of your guys’ reviews and emails just made me realize that I could not let you guys read that chapter and leave you hanging on something completely weak. So I did the only thing I knew to do, REWRITE! Lol. I do hope that this chapter meets the standards that I’m trying to keep up here. Reviews deeply appreciated.

A Heart Held Hostage

After explaining to Mel and Gloria the situation I was in, they could care less that I stayed with Drew above their garage. Gloria seemed to be a nice girl; just the type that wants you to think she’s real badass. She had curly black hair, an average body, and a nose ring, that I had to admit, looked pretty cool on her. She had a slight Spanish accent, which is what Mel said attracted her to Gloria the most. All in all, I had to say that the two of them made a cute couple; but I didn’t plan on staying under their wing for long.

The small place they let Drew have, that I was now sharing, was much better than he made it sound. It turned out that it used to be a hangout spot when Drew and Mel dated, but when he was sent to prison, she had it remodeled into a guest house. There was a nice double bed set up in the middle of the room, a thirty-two inch television set up, with satellite, and a mini fridge to tie you over. When we first arrived, I smack Drew in the back of the head for making the place sound like a dump.

Gloria, Mel, and I now sat in the living room, waiting for Drew to arrive back with a pizza. Mel slowly planted her pregnant body on the couch while Gloria sat widely next to her. I sat on the floor across from the two, openly telling them my story from beginning to now.

“You let that pendejo hit you!?” Gloria screamed. My body tensed up at her shriek, I have no idea what pendejo means, but I’m pretty sure it’s mean. “I didn’t let him…” I replied, “He just did it.” Mel shook her head, eating some grapes, “What a dick.” Gloria took a huge gulp of her soda and set it down; “You see, that’s why I fucking hate men, they think they can play with you and shit.” I nodded, as well as Mel, stuffing grapes into her mouth. “I mean, they just pick you up, fuck you, and then throw you away like a fuckin’ rag doll man.” Gloria continued.

“I know, it’s like-“ I started. “They think they have all the fuckin’ power because they have a dick or something?” she continued. I shrugged, “I don’t know but-“ “You know what, thank god for the person that created dildo’s.” she said. I opened my mouth in surprise, “Ummm…”

“Babe, I don’t think you need to-“ Mel started. “We should have a fucking protest or some shit.” Gloria said. Now I am totally confused; and I realize that Gloria is a complete feminist. Although I do think that she was an individual feminist, meaning that she was one as far as sex and emotions go. “I think I’ll pass on that…” I replied. Just as she was about to open her mouth again, Drew came through the door; two large pizza’s in his arms. “What’d I miss?” he asked. “Fuck off…stupid men.” Gloria replied. He stared at her blankly then sighed; “You must have told her about Steven…” he looked at me.

I smiled faintly, getting up to help him with the pizzas. “Shut up Drew, I should kick your ass.” She replied. “What for?” he asked. “For not calling me when that asshole put his hands on your girl.” She replied. He sighed, “I took care of it myself.” I walked with him into the kitchen, as Gloria was still spouting her rant as we tuned her out.

I propped myself up to sit on the counter while Drew opened the pizza boxes. One box contained jalapeño peppers, pepperoni, sausage, olives, anchovies, and bell pepper; while the other one had pepperoni, olives and extra cheese. He took the first box out to Mel and Gloria in the living room, and returned to sit at the table staring at the pizza. “What’s wrong?” I asked him, with a slight giggle. He looked back up at me, not seeming to want to speak. As I hopped off of the counter and sat in the chair next to him, he took a slice of pizza and placed it on a paper plate, setting it in front of me. “What’s wrong?” I repeated.

He didn’t bother to answer me right away; he only bit into a slice of pizza and looked at me while he chewed. “If you don’t say something…” I warned him. “I saw Jeremy when I was leaving Round Table.” He said. My heart settled some as I bit into the pizza, “So?” He shrugged, rubbing his head before taking another bite of his food, “It’s just…how I saw him.” His voice was scared and shaky, my body tensed up again, sensing that there was something he wasn’t telling me, “How did you see him?” I asked. “I saw him…he…he was getting arrested.” He said.

“What!?” I yelled, “What the fuck did he do?” I asked. “I don’t know.” He replied, “I just came out of Round Table, heading to the car, I noticed cop lights down the street and I saw Jeremy handcuffed, and they were putting him in the car.” I dropped my head in my hands, “Did he see you?” I asked. He shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

“What’s wrong with you two?” Mel asked, as she entered holding her stomach, getting a glass of water. “Nothing.” I breathed out. “Then what’s with all the yelling?” she asked. “Mind your business Mel.” Drew told her calmly. She rolled her eyes, “You are in my house.” She told him, before walking back into the living room. Just as I rolled my eyes at her behind her back, Drew’s phone began to ring. He looked at it before answering, “Private Call…” he said, and tossed it on the table.

“You know what, I don’t care, he’s on his own now.” I told him, eating my pizza that had lost its heat. Drew’s cell phone vibrated uncontrollably on the table, indicating that a voicemail was left. He picked it up, annoyed and listened to the call. I chewed my food hastily, trying not to think of Jeremy. “Umm…” Drew cleared his throat. I looked at him, downing a can of Pepsi. “I think you need to hear this…” he said, holding his phone out to me.

I took it slowly, pressing one to repeat the previous message. “First new message sent today at five-forty three pm: ‘Drew it’s J…what’s goin’ on dude? Hey listen…I’m in jail…and uh…I don’t really know anyone else to call…Lisa’s old number is no good so…you’re the only one I could think of at the moment and…well…I need you to bail me out dude…they set it at two fifty…and I don’t have it on me. I promise I’ll give it back to you bro…and…yeah…just come down when you can.’ End of message, to save this message press nine…” I hung up the phone, handing it back to him. “What are you going to do?” I asked.

He shrugged, “What do you want me to do?” I scoffed, “What are you asking me for?” “Maybe because you just said you don’t care what happens to him.” He replied. “I didn’t mean it like that…I just meant that…never mind.” I told him, “Do you even have two fifty?” I asked. He nodded, “It’s not that hard to come up with around here.” I watched as he stood up, walking into the living room. I followed behind him as he started talking to Mel and Gloria. “I know this is forward but…we need two hundred and fifty dollars.” He said. They looked at him as if he were crazy, and so did I; like they were just going to give him the money. “What the fuck for?” Gloria asked. “A friend of Lisa’s got arrested…”

“Fuck no, I’m not putting up because one of your friends screws with the law.” She spat out immediately. “But…” he continued, “SHE is afraid because the cops have been touching all over her…” he said. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Oh my god…” Mel whispered. “They’re gonna fuckin’ rape her, shit…fuckin’ men!” she screamed. I jumped, backing into Drew. “I know, I know…that’s why we need to bail her out.” He said. “Let me get my wallet.” She said, getting up and going into the bedroom.

I looked at him, wondering where the hell he came up with such a thing. Gloria returned, giving us three hundred dollars in twenties and hundred dollar bill. “Thanks…I’ll give it back to you.” I told her. She waved me away, “Don’t worry about it, just don’t let those pendejo’s touch your friend. I swear, men are so-“ she started. “Thanks Glo, we’ll be back.” Drew replied, dragging me out the front door with him.

((BREAK))

“Can I help you?” the officer asked as we stepped up to the front desk. “Yeah umm…we’re here for Jeremy Armstrong.” I said. He looked at me as if he were waiting for me to say something else, “These aren’t visiting hour’s sweetie.” Drew lightly moved me to the side as he took my place, “Yeah but bail doesn’t have an hour…we’re here to get him out.” The cop eyed him for a second before going through his charts looking for Jeremy’s name. “Bails been set at two fifty.” He told us. Drew took out his wallet, counting out all of the money Gloria had given us, setting it on the counter. The cop counted it again, and took out fifty dollars from a cash box, handing Drew his change.

He then got on the phone and dialed a few numbers, “Armstrong’s bail was made.” He simply said before hanging up. Drew sighed, looking down at me with a smile. I smiled back faintly, taking his hand in mine. “Need you to sign here…” the cop interrupted, shoving a piece of paper and a pen at Drew. Barely scribbling his name, Drew gave it back to him.

I went to sit on a hard bench across from the desk. Drew shortly joined me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder; “You alright?” he asked. I nodded, giving a small smile. “Your face ok?” he asked. I touched my cheek lightly, the swelling had gone down, yet it was still slightly puffy. “It’s fine.” I told him. Then I saw him; my brother, Jeremy, was walking out from a back room in handcuffs. They started to remove them when they needed him to sign a release form. He signed it quickly, as they gave him his wallet back that they had taken when he arrived.

Drew stood up, waiting for him to walk over. I remained seated, not really wanting to be eye to eye with him just yet. He spotted us, strolling over slowly. His face was emotionless as he stood before Drew letting out a deep sigh. “Hey man…” he said softly. Drew gave him a nod, “Hey…” I stood up slowly, holding my head down. “Lisa…” Jeremy spoke. I looked up into his eyes, tears suddenly welling up in them. I wiped them quickly and sighed out, “Hi Jeremy.” He smiled faintly, “Thanks for the bail…I’ll uh…pay you back later.”

“Don’t sweat it right now.” Drew replied. He looked at me again, stepping forward; “Can I get a hug?” he asked with open arms. I walked into him slowly, wrapping my arms around his body as he wrapped his over mine. He buried his face in my neck, smelling my scent. “You smell nice.” He chuckled.

As I pulled away from him, he touched my cheek. “What happened to your face?” he asked. “Nothing.” I shook my head. He knew I was lying, I could tell by the way he was looking at me. His next question just assured me that he knew I was lying. “How’s Steven?” I looked at Drew then back at Jeremy, “How should I know?” He shrugged, “Aren’t you his girl?” I shook my head, “No…not anymore.” He scoffed, “Well according to what he told me, you were his wife and pregnant with his baby.” My body tensed, and butterflies invaded my stomach, “What do you mean ‘what he told you’?” I asked. “I saw him two days ago, he said you guys got married, and you found out you were pregnant.” He said.

That son of a bitch Steven; he had talked to my brother and never told me about it. He wanted me to think that he wanted nothing more to do with me. I wasn’t ready to think about him anymore, so I decided it was best to leave him and my life with him in the past. “Well, I’ll tell you this…he lied to you.” I said, “We’re no longer together.” He nodded, a smile creeping on his face. “So can we talk?” he asked. “Jeremy I know what your thinking…and, I don’t see us together.” I told him. He stepped back as I took Drew’s hand in mine. “Oh…I didn’t think you guys were continuing with that whole thing.” He said.

“Sorry…” I said softly. “No, no don’t be sorry for who you want to be with.” He said. “Why don’t we go to our place and finish some of that pizza?” Drew piped in. Jeremy shook his head, “No, you guys go on…hey listen, thanks for bailing me out and all…I’ll get that money to you as soon as I can.” He said, walking away from us. “Jeremy…wait, I want to ask you something.” I told him as I caught up with him just before he reached the door. He turned to me, trying to hide the fact that he was in a hurry. “What did you do to get in here?” He shrugged, “Shoplifting…” I gave him that disgusted and confused look I usually gave him when I wasn’t sure about something, “What?”

“I gotta go, I’ll get back to you guys alright, see ya.” His last words to us before practically running out of the police station. I looked back at Drew as he stood with his hands in his pockets, “What the hell is with him?” I asked. “I don’t know…I do know that he’s upset about us…” he said.

“God…why can’t he just get over it, I am.” I asked, feeling completely annoyed with Jeremy’s feelings. “You can’t really blame him for being in love with you.” Drew replied. “He’s my brother Drew.” He shook his head, “You keep saying that but obviously you didn’t have a problem with it when you were with him.” He was right; everyone kept telling me that and I finally realized they knew what they were talking about.

When Jeremy and I first hooked up, I knew it was wrong but I acted on my feelings anyway. Now the only thing I did was remind everyone else including him that we were brother and sister and he shouldn’t have those feelings for me anymore. It was something he just couldn’t control or deny; he loved me, probably more than I had loved him.

Without thinking, or saying another word to Drew, I rushed out of the station. I searched to my left, not spotting Jeremy; to the right I saw his figure walking away quickly. “Jeremy!” I called out, running towards him. He turned his body towards me; the night sky restricted me from seeing his face completely. “I just…I don’t mean to hurt you.” I told him. He brought his hand to his face; I then realized he had been crying, wiping tears from his glassy eyes. “I know you don’t…I just can’t help…never mind.”

“We can’t be together anymore.” I told him, trying to sound sincere. “You sound like a broken record; you say that same shit over and over again.” He told me. I looked away, as he brought his hand to my chin turning me back towards him; “Do you even mean it when you say that; I mean I know I may not be the same guy…but prison will do that to you.” Our eyes stared into each other deeply, almost as if we were looking through one another. I could do nothing else but listen to him; his words were hitting me hard. “One thing that hasn’t changed about me is my love for you. And if you ever once thought that I didn’t love you, then you were so wrong.” He finished, letting go of my face.

“Jeremy, I don’t really…” He brought a finger to my lips, “Shhh…now I know you say that we can’t be together, but I’m asking do you want to be together?” I folded my arms, leaning on the brick wall behind me; “I told you I don’t love you like that anymore.” He shook his head, “I don’t believe you when you say that.” “And why not?” I asked. “Because,” he began, “every time I’ve heard you say that, you’ve looked away from me…I know you well enough to know that when your telling the truth or really sincere about something that you look me in the eye.” My eyes darted into his again; how could he know me so well? As my brother I thought he knew nothing about me; but as my lover he knew every little detail about my life. “Tell me you don’t love me…look me in the eye and say that to me.” He said. “I…I…” I stammered. How could I look him in the eye and say something so hurtful. Especially something that I didn’t mean; so this was it… knowing that I couldn’t look him in his beautiful eyes and say that I didn’t love him was confirmation of what he was just explaining.

I did love him.

“I can’t say that…” I told him. He let out a small sigh, a crooked smile planted on his face. “Lisa!” Drew’s voice called. The both of us looked over and saw him still standing on the steps of the police station. Drew; the completely amazing guy that I couldn’t resist. He was the eye candy I needed when things weren’t going my way with Jeremy, or Steven. But that’s all he really was, eye candy. I had no real feelings for him; of course I loved him dearly for helping me when I needed it, and telling me things I needed to hear when no one else was around to do it. But my relationship with Drew wasn’t, and would never be, like a relationship with Jeremy.

He started walking over towards us, and I suddenly felt nervous. “Everything cool here?” he asked. “Drew…I think Jeremy and I should talk…” I said softly. He stared blankly at me, then at Jeremy. “I’ll probably just stay at the house for a while.” I told him. He scoffed and stepped back, “Do you think I’m stupid?” Jeremy rolled his eyes, clenching his fists. “No…what are you talking about?” I asked. “Look, just…whatever, have fun screwing each other again.” He said. Jeremy loosened his fists and looked at me. “That’s not…that’s not what this is about.” I told him, “We’re just going to talk, that’s it.”

“Yeah right.” He said. “J, I just want you to know that…we didn’t sleep together.” He said, slowly backing away and turning to walk back to his car.

We watched him go, just before he started the engine and drove off. “That was…weird.” I giggled. Jeremy wasn’t laughing; he still had that serious stare on me. “What?” I asked. “I love you.” He said. My smile faded as he backed me into the brick wall I was once leaning on. My body became pinned between the wall and his body. He kissed my cheek and ran his fingers down my arm, sending tiny chills throughout my body. “I love you…” he repeated, kissing my other cheek and then my forehead. He stared into my eyes once again, cupping my face in his hands, and kissing my lips softly.

We pulled away from each other. I started to feel slightly light headed, not having his kiss or his touch for so long brought back those great memories, and those wonderful feelings that I always had when I was with him. I opened my mouth to speak, but my mind wasn’t cooperating with me. Instead my heart is the one that took over as I told him, “I love you too.”

A/N: scared Was this better? Lol. I have to be honest; I like this chapter A LOT better than what I had up previously. I mean, it makes more sense than branding Jeremy as “insane” right? Again, thanks for the previous reviews, which made me seriously think and change the chapter. So don’t be scared, and let me know if you like this one better, just constructive criticism please, no flames lol. By the way, what do you think about the Lisa/Drew fiasco ending? I’m sure the Lisa/Jeremy lovers don’t mind, lol.