The Experiment

Family Drama

Jake knows something is wrong. Somehow, he always does. He knows who did it without me telling him. Sometimes I feel he knows me better than I know myself.

"What happened?" he inquires. Should I tell him? I know I will eventually, but should I tell him all this right now? I don't think so; it will ruin the mood.

"Nothing happened," I say with a straight face. I don't know why, but whenever I talk about something that's hurting me, my eyes water.

"My question is not 'did something happen,' it's 'what happened?' There's no point in lying to me," Jake insists.

"I don't want to ruin your mood by telling you how stupid my family is."

"You're ruining my mood by not telling me what's wrong; I am not a stranger," he adds.

He always makes me feel loved, and I don't feel that with anyone else. Everyone else is just thinking about themselves.

I don't know what happened, but I started sobbing. Mind you, I look very ugly while crying, so I hid my face behind my thin hands. Despite my best efforts to stop crying, I can't. The hurt has accumulated, and now it's all coming out. Jake doesn't say anything but hugs me and says, "It's alright. Tell me what happened. I will try my best to help you. I don't like to see you like this. When Britney was bullying you, you didn't say anything, and I know that's not you; you always stand up for yourself. I can't see you like this. It hurts me."

Him saying all this made me cry even more. I didn't expect to hear this. He unwrapped his arms around me and pulled my hands away from my face. He wiped the tears from my face and gave me a smile, signaling me to start. He was looking into my eyes, waiting for me to begin. So I did.

"Yesterday, when mom came back home, she looked stressed and angry. She was pacing in front of the door, waiting for dad. I didn't think much of it and went upstairs to take a nap. When I woke up, I heard mom and dad screaming at each other." More tears started to stream down my face. He engulfed me in a hug as I continued in a muffled voice, "I went downstairs and heard mom saying that she saw dad having lunch with another woman. She said dad was flirting with her and dad dismissed it, saying she was just a colleague and they were working on a project together. Mom felt guilty, but dad said hurtful things to her and hit her. I tried to intervene, but I couldn't do much. Mom was hurt. She was bleeding, and I can't see her like that. Dad also looked very stressed. I-I-" I started crying so much that I couldn't speak.

"It's alright. I'm here, don't worry. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding and things will go back to how they used to be," Jake comforted me.

"W-when?" I cried.

"Soon," he reassured, holding me tighter.

"Jane, what are you hiding?"

Shit, how does he know I'm hiding something?

"I know that's not all. Your father has hit your mother several times, but you didn't cry this much," Jake observed.

Should I tell him? I tell him everything, and sooner or later, I'll tell him this.

"My father said he-he will divorce my mother," I cried louder into his arms.

"Jake, I-I don't want to see them fall apart. I-I don't know what's happened. I want to fix this. I want us to be normal again," I sobbed.

"He won't do such a thing," Jake assured me and pulled back. He wiped the tears from my face and added, "Never put on an act of being okay in front of me. You're just wasting your energy. You can be actually okay with many people, but that's not what you have to do with me, okay?"

I nodded, and he smiled at me. He's so gorgeous with his blue eyes, blonde hair, and tall stature.

"Come, let's go to my home and eat some ice cream and chill," Jake suggested, extending his hand. I took it and got up.

Then we walked back to his home and went to his room. He asked Niya to get strawberry ice cream for us, and we watched Frozen 2 together since he had never seen it before.

As 7 pm approached, I felt the familiar tug of time slipping away too quickly when I was with Jake. "Jake, I really have to get going now. It's getting late, and my mom will be worried if I'm not home soon," I said hastily, grabbing my bag.

"Okay, let me ask my driver to drop you off," Jake replied, brushing off my protest.

"No, really, it's fine. I can walk," I insisted, but Jake had already made the call.

"Five minutes," he said, joining me by the front gate as we waited for the car.

"Jane, if anything happens, just call me. I'll come pick you up, no matter what time it is," Jake said softly, his gaze steady on mine.

"Thank you, Jake. That's really sweet of you," I replied with a grateful smile. When the car arrived, Jake opened the door for me, and I waved him goodbye as I settled into the back seat of the spacious white car. The drive home took about 20 minutes, the sunset painting the sky in peaceful hues as I stared out the window, lost in thought.

I must have dozed off because I woke to the driver gently waking me. My heart sank as I saw my house; the events of yesterday clouded my mind. I thanked the driver and walked silently to the front door. Memories of recent turmoil flooded back as I touched the door handle, and I entered the house quietly, hoping to avoid any conversation. Climbing the stairs cautiously, I finally reached my room, tossing my bag in a corner before collapsing onto the bed.

With closed eyes, I replayed the day's moments with Jake, feeling a warmth in my cheeks at the memories. I pondered over my feelings, realizing it wasn't just a crush—it had lasted too long and felt too deep. But I pushed away the thought of love; after all, we were just friends. Yet, the fear of confessing my feelings gnawed at me, afraid it could ruin everything.

Lost in thoughts of Jake, I drifted off to sleep, only to be abruptly awakened by my dad's shouting downstairs. Hastening downstairs, I found a stranger with my mom, and my dad's rage filling the room.

"Why is there a man in my house with you?" my dad bellowed.

"He's a colleague, here to work! You can have lunch with colleagues, and I can't even work without suspicion?" my mom retorted defensively, the man beside her awkwardly silent.

Tempers flared, and before I knew it, my dad had attacked the man, leaving him bloodied on the ground. Shocked, I stood frozen until neighbors intervened, pulling my dad away. The man left without a word, and I retreated inside with my parents, locking the door behind us.

"Don't you ever bring another man into this house!" my dad shouted, his anger still raw. Trembling, I fled to my room, collapsing on the bed in tears, overwhelmed by the day's events. Desperate to reach out to Jake, I hesitated, not wanting to burden him further. Exhausted from crying, I eventually fell asleep, seeking solace in dreams amidst the turmoil of reality.