Two Weeks Between Love and Hate

Sunday was the day known for being lazy and lacking excitement. Well, whoever coined the phrase Lazy Sunday clearly hadn’t witnessed the whirlwind that was Jillian and Jason. After the morning they had, Sundays would never be the same. Jason found himself back in bed, staring up at his ceiling yet again. Even back in his teens, when he had a rougher day than normal, he would spend hours staring up at this ceiling, wondering why life was so unfair.

And so here he was again, laying there as the hours passed, hands behind his head, replaying the events of last night and this morning in his mind. Remembering the pain and distress that was etched on her face, when he caught her hand in his pants. “Did she feel bad for what she was doing or because she got caught? Could she really consciously do such a thing after our conversation last night? Maybe she would…What if I’m overlooking something, though? She didn’t really act on those impulses while drunk. Hell, she even shyly asked me instead at Mika’s. Would she really just do it, all while sober?” It just didn’t add up for him. The whole situation felt like a plot straight out of a cheesy romance novel. Except he rejected her and there was no chance of them falling in love of course.

Thoughts kept swirling in Jason’s mind as he tried to make sense of it all. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that there was more to this fucked up story than he knew. But now things were even more awkward than they were yesterday.

“Ugh, how do I even approach her now? Should I just go over and ask?” Jason groaned, rubbing his face in frustration. “Why does everything have to be so complicated?” he muttered, sitting up on the edge of his small bed.

As he looked ahead, Jason noticed Jillian’s black hoodie by his closet again. His eyes widened as he saw it, feeling like he’d struck gold.

“That’s it!” he exclaimed, getting up and rushing over to grab the garment. It was a simple black pullover with a hood, nothing particularly remarkable about it. Clearly too small for him, but just a bit too big for Jillian’s petite frame. His thoughts wandered momentarily. He couldn’t help but find it odd how she always seemed to be sniffing him.

“What the hell was up with that?” his thoughts wondered as his curiosity was piqued, lifted the hoodie to his face and took a cautious sniff.

“Hmm... Cinnamon and...” He paused, taking another big sniff. “What’s that scent?” Bringing the fabric closer to his face, he couldn’t quite identify it.

“Hey, sweetie, did you...”

His mom wasn’t usually one to barge in, but it was almost noon, and she heard Jason talking in his room. She stared at her son, still in his underwear, holding a small hoodie up to his face. Jason and Katia locked eyes and stayed silent for a few seconds that seemed to stretch into minutes.

“Oh... um, sorry, sweetie, I just, uh..,” his mom started but didn’t finish.

Katia slowly backed out of the room and closed the door behind her with a soft click. “If you’re hungry, I was gonna make you something since you skipped breakfast. But uh, no rush, t-take your time,” she called out, her footsteps quickly fading down the hall.

Jason felt like his brain had just short-circuited, caught red-handed standing there, sniffing Jillian’s clothes. His face burned with embarrassment. Burying it in the hoodie, he let out a long, irritated groan. After a moment, he lifted his head.

“Ginger!” finally figuring out the elusive scent. It perfectly matched the fiery redhead’s personality and appearance. The subtle spice of ginger and the delicate aroma of cinnamon would forever remind him of Jillian.

Deciding what to wear, he threw on some relaxed jeans and a plain white V-neck tee with an Italian brand stamped on the chest. After slipping on some socks and his trusty old sneakers, he folded up the hoodie and left his room. As he made his way down the hall, he heard his mom chatting away in the kitchen, likely on the phone. Stepping into the kitchen, he quickly started talking.

“Hey mom, I...” but was interrupted as Katia nearly dropped her phone in surprise.

Katia breathed a sigh of relief as she managed to grab her phone while leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Jason, hey there sweetie! What’s wrong?” she chirped, shooting him a slightly guilty look. Jason brushed it off, assuming it was just her getting caught off guard.

“Nothing, just wanted to give you a heads up that I’ll be out for a bit. But I wanted to ask if you would like to go out for dinner tonight?” he asked with a smile.

Katia blinked a few times before responding, “Oh, uh... sure, sounds great, sweetie. Unless you want to take ji-“ She caught herself before saying something too forward. “I mean if you’d rather take someone else, that’s fine too.”

Jason firmly shook his head.

“Nope, there’s no one else I’d rather take to dinner than you, Mom,” with a smile, he moved closer and leaned down to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Love you, Mom. I’ll be back.” With that, he headed out of the house, leaving Katia a little stunned.

“Hello? Kat, you still with me?” The voice from her phone snapped her out of her daze.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m here. Jason just came by to tell me something.”

“I heard. Going to dinner with such a handsome young man. I’m jealous.”

Katia laughed softly with the voice on the other end of the line.

“Oh, Ginny, stop it. But you’re right. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful son,” she admitted, a broad smile spreading across her face. “Anyway, what were you saying?” Ginny asked over the phone.

“Oh, right. Well, it was definitely a piece of clothing. Black but not big enough for him to wear and he was sniffing it,“ Katia replied, leaning against the counter and taking a sip of her tea.

“Oooo, do you think it might have been a girl’s, perhaps? Maybe a certain red-headed girl’s?” Ginny suggested with a laugh. Kat gasped lightly and agreed happily.

“Oh, that might be it!”

“Now we just need to figure out how he got a hold of one of my blouses.”

The two shared another good laugh at the joke.

“Just a sec, Kat, there is someone at the door. Give me a shout if you find anything new, alright?” Ginny chirped.

“Yep, will do. Catch you later. Bye!” They exchanged a quick kissing sound before hanging up. Ginny set her phone down and headed into the living room. There, she found her youngest and Lonnie engrossed in playing with their toys, behaving like little angels for once. Smiling at the sight, she strolled past them to the front door and pulled it open, only to be surprised by the sight of Jason standing there.

Ginny was a bit stunned for a moment before regaining her composure and putting on her best smile.

“Oh, hello Jason, I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you, dear?”

“Good, thanks. Sorry to bother you Mrs.Lins, but is Jillian home?” Jason replied, watching as Ginny’s eyes widened in shock. After pausing to think, she eventually shook her head.

“Hmm, I don’t think she’s here right now. Mika took her somewhere.”

The young man’s face fell, as if he had just received some terrible news.

“Ah, well...” Jason hesitated for a moment in his response. Ginny glanced down and noticed the black article of clothing he was carrying with him. Without explaining how he ended up with it, he held it out to her.

“Can you give this to her when she gets back?” He asked, handing the item to Ginny. She automatically reached out and took the hoodie, pausing to inspect it for a moment.

“Alright, well I should head...” Jason began, but before he could finish, Ginny shouted, “Please come in!”

Jason flinched a bit from the shout but was more surprised by the words.

“Come in?” He asked, confused about what was happening. Ginny cleared her throat.

“I mean, please come in. I’m sure she won’t be long. They’ve already been gone for almost an hour. I’m sure they just went to get some coffee or something. You know, young girls and their fancy coffee,” Ginny laughed a little awkwardly, having to lie about how long the two had been gone. She reached out and took Jason by the wrist. There was no way she was going to let this chance slip away from her daughter.

“Oh, um, okay,” Jason said, looking confused as he was pulled into the big two-story house. He glanced around and saw all the pictures hanging up. There was barely a blank space to be found anywhere in the home. It was pretty much the opposite of Jason’s apartment, where all he had on the walls were the TVs in the living room and his bedroom. Ginny closed the door behind them and pulled Jason into the kitchen.

“Please, sit down. I was just about to make lunch.” Ginny said cheerfully as she guided him to the kitchen table.

“Oh, that’s not necessary, Mrs...” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Please, just call me Ginny. Trust me, it’s easier for both of us. And when my best friend’s son comes over, I won’t let him leave hungry. It’s a mother’s duty after all,” Ginny said with a smile, sealing the deal with her warmth. Jason just gave in to her request and his empty stomach grumbled slightly in agreement. Nodding, he sat down at the end of the table, feeling a little out of place. She giggled softly, then threw the hoodie on the counter and grabbed her phone. With a quick picture of the garment, she texted it to Katia.

“You won’t believe it! Jason just returned Jillian’s hoodie, he’s here right now!!!”

Katia replied with a bunch of shocked emojis and then some embarrassed ones. “That means he was totally smelling her clothes earlier then! I can’t believe it?!”

Ginny chuckled at the message and replied with some heart and bell emojis. She then put her phone down after sending one more important text.

Mika stared at her best friend sitting across from her at the small table outside the coffee shop.

“Jill…,” she began, but quickly hid her face with her hands, trying to rub the mental images out of her eyes. Jillian had shared every detail from the previous night, leaving nothing out. This included the description of Jason’s...well, let’s just say it was something Mika didn’t really need to know, along with the hand gestures that accompanied it. While she was a bit disappointed in her friend for essentially molesting Jason in his sleep, she still had Jillian’s back. Even when Jillian wasn’t on her own side, Mika would support her.

“I know. I’m a terrible person,” Jillian admitted. “I hate myself for what I did, for all he’s been through, everything I put him through.“ She continued expressing how bad she felt.

Mika sighed heavily and groaned a little.

“Girl. . . like, from what you said, it was just a mistake. You can’t control what you do when you’re asleep. Not after the shit you have been through. Why didn’t you just tell him that?” She asked, taking a long sip from her now slightly cold cappuccino. Jillian sighed heavily.

“I was too scared. Afraid he wouldn’t believe or yell at me. I just panicked.” Mika groaned again.

“Bitch, you need to stop jumping to these dumbass conclusions. Not everyone is gonna scream at you for a stupid mistake. You’re not there anymore,” her tone softened.

Mika was the only one Jillian told about where she had been the last several years. She knew it would just make her family see her differently. She had barely managed to tell Mika a month ago, and that was after a ton of drinks. Jillian sighed heavily and frowned, looking down at her third mocha latte.

“Sometimes I wonder... If it wouldn’t be easier just to go back to him,” she whispered, slowly looking back up at Mika. A firm hand suddenly slapped Jillian across the face, hard enough to send her head twisting and her curls flying.

“Ow, what the fuck!” Jillian cried out, causing a few other customers to glance over at them. She raised her hand to her cheek and shot Mika with an angry glare. But her expression softened as she noticed her friend staring back with angry tears in her eyes.

“Don’t you ever fucking say that again, Jill. Just... don’t,” Mika’s voice caught at the end, gripping her wrist as her hand stung badly after slapping Jillian. The pain in Jillian’s face suddenly didn’t seem so terrible, especially since it was a lot weaker than the slaps she was once used to.

“Sorry,” Jillian mumbled as the two of them sat there quietly for a moment. The buzz of Jillian’s phone caught their attention, she picked it up and saw a text from her mom.

“Huh... My mom says she wants me home ASAP,” she read the text aloud with a curious look at her phone. Mika wiped away her tears and composed herself quickly.

“She didn’t say why?”

Jillian shook her head. “Nope, all she said was I need to get home.”

Letting out a sigh, she stuffed her phone into her bra. “Can you give me a ride back?” she asked, prompting Mika to tease her.

“Nope, you gotta walk home. Haha, of course I will. You may be an idiot, but you’re my idiot.”

“Oh fuck you!” Jillian shouted back, pretending to be offended.

They both stood up and hugged each other tight for a few moments, then wrapped their arms around each other’s waists, still holding each other.

“I love you, even if you hit like a girl,” Jillian joked. They both giggled a little before getting in the car and heading back to the Lins’ house. It was about fifteen minutes by car because they wanted to go to the one decent coffee spot in town that wasn’t Starbucks.

Pulling up, Mika and Jillian hopped out of the car and strolled up the driveway toward the house. Jillian called out as they entered, “Mom, I’m here! What’s the emergency?”

Ginny’s voice quickly responded, “Hey sweetie, we’re in the kitchen.”

They both made their way into the kitchen. Not surprisingly, they found her two youngest brothers and June already seated, digging into what appeared to be bowtie pasta salad, grilled chicken, and soft-boiled eggs in neat little egg cups.

What really caught her off guard was seeing Jason chowing down on an already half-empty plate of food, casually seated in her father’s usual spot. Jillian’s eyes widened, and her heart sank at the sight.

“Mom... what the fuck is happening here?” she asked in a whisper, trying to mask her growing panic. Ginny just grinned at her daughter.

“Language, young lady. Jason simply dropped by a little bit ago, and I thought I’d offer him some lunch,” she said innocently.

Mika was almost as surprised. Jillian had yet to come up with a plan for the next time she saw Jason. She felt wholly unprepared. “Oh god, I’m so not ready for this!” her brain buzzing with activity.

“Mika, would you like to join us, dear? I made plenty,” Ginny offered, pulling Mika’s attention away from Jason.

“Thanks, but I gotta open the shop in about half an hour. Sundays are always super busy,” she explained.

“Oh, well, that’s too bad. I expect you to join us again for dinner soon, though, dear,” Ginny said, walking over to refill Jason’s plate, while he looked between Jillian and her little brother Lonnie, who seemed to be staring at him.

“Alright, I will soon, Mrs. L,” Mika replied as she stuck her hands in her pockets. Jillian walked over to her mom, who was getting her own plate ready at last.

“Mom, what the fuck is this!?” Jillian whispered loudly at her.

“Language!” Ginny repeated in a whisper as well.

While the two were arguing with each other, Mika approached Jason and whispered in his ear. “I know she messed up, and she will apologize again, but she’s in a really bad place right now. So you will give her the chance to do so. If she says. . . what she said to me earlier, something she should never have said to me in the first place. I’ll sneak into your room while you’re asleep and castrate you with a pair of rusty garden shears. Don’t speak, just nod if you understand.” Mika’s tone was extremely serious, and when she leaned back, he nodded slowly, putting another forkful of food into his mouth.

Jason had no idea what Jillian said to make Mika so mad. Wasn’t he supposed to be the one that was mad, or did he miss something?

“Alright, I gotta go. See ya, Jill. Bye, Mrs. L,” Mika said happily, effortlessly transitioning from her threatening tone. As she walked out of the kitchen, another unseen voice was heard.

“H-hey, Mika!” The voice cracked a bit, to which Mika simply replied,

“Hi Wendy. Bye, Wendy.” Then the front door opened and closed, followed by a heavy sigh from around the corner. Jillian groaned as she finished arguing with her mother, and then settled in the seat between June and Jason.

Jillian’s hands gripped her pants, scowling at the table instead of at him.

“What are you doing here?” She whispered, trying to remain calm. Jason quickly finished chewing the food in his mouth and wiped his face with a napkin, before he started to explain.

“I...” was all he got out before Ginny placed a plate of food in front of Jillian.

“Jason came over to give back your hoodie, sweetie. I thought you might want to thank him yourself, plus I wanted to get to know him better. So I figured this would be a good opportunity.” Ginny said with a smile as she went back to grab her own plate of food.

Jillian looked a bit stunned at Jason for a second.

“My hoodie?” She asked, confused. He nodded and got up and grabbed the hoodie from the counter. When he sat back at the table, he handed the nicely folded hoodie to her. She took the garment and stared at it for a bit. Did he really use the hoodie as an excuse to come over and see her? Or was it something else? Her heart started to beat faster in her chest. It was such a small thing, but she could feel the weight of the morning slowly lifting off her shoulders. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Ahem, well, Jillian...” Ginny cleared her throat, snapping her out of the trance.

“Oh, right,” Jillian said as she turned to Jason. They stared at each other for a long moment, which caused Ginny to smile widely as she watched in fascination, soaking in every moment watching the two love birds. Feeling her sister nudge her with an elbow, Jillian looked over at June giving her a curious look. June made the sign for thank you with her hand, making Jillian frown.

“I know, I know, sheesh,” Looking back at Jason, she let out a happy sigh and smiled. “Thanks, Jason, I appreciate it.”

Her words were a bit too sweet and made Jason feel an odd sensation in his stomach.

“It’s uhh no problem,” he said softly, turning back to his food with a light smile. A little while later, a boy in his late teens, with dark chocolate hair flowing past his shoulders strolled into the kitchen, looking a bit depressed. He was in a thin zip-up hoodie featuring a Beholder from DnD.

“Hey Wendel, there’s food on the stove if you’re hungry, hon,” Ginny chimed in as the teen rummaged through the fridge. He grabbed a cola and a small bag of carrots before turning to his mom.

“Thanks, but I’m okay. I...” Wendel finally realized that something was off in the kitchen.

Looking at Jason, who was basically shoveling pasta into his mouth, Wendel blinked a few times. He then turned to his mother with a confused look.

“Oh sweetie, this is Katia’s son Jason. He will be in town for a few weeks.” Ginny could tell that wasn’t the question he wanted to ask. “He came to return your sister’s hoodie.” she added, with a bit of an emphasis on the last words. Jason glanced at the young man and nodded in greeting as he chewed his food quietly. The teen returned the nod before giving his mom a pleading look. Ginny sighed and nodded, giving the boy permission to quickly leave the uncomfortable situation.

The rest of lunch was mostly simple questions about life in Florida. The weather, the people, etc. Jason even tried to bring up some light conversations with Lonnie and June.

“So Lonnie, what kind of bike do you have?” He recognized Lonnie from when he first arrived back in town. The small boy had been riding his bike and had stopped to stare at Jason. The small boy’s eyes widened as he was addressed. It almost looked like he wasn’t planning on speaking at all.

“Umm, I got a Huffy for Christmas.” His voice was high pitched and full of shyness. Jason smiled at him though.

“That’s awesome, I remember I got a Mongoose one year. I loved jumping off the curbs with it.”

“O-one time I jumped over Oliver’s skateboard!” Lonnie quickly interjected at the mention of jumps. The two started talking about all the stuff they’d once jumped over on their bikes. Though one of them got him in trouble with his mom after talking about how he landed on his little brother’s plastic dinosaur and broke it.

“Do you go to the local highschool June?” Jason asked curiously. June looked even shyer than Lonnie, but she shook her head.

“We homeschool her mostly, aside from a few tests throughout the year.” Ginny answered for June.

“Oh, that’s cool. I bet she learns a lot more than some of the junk they teach these days.” While June only answered with moving her head yes or no, Ginny or Jillian answered the more complicated questions. He wanted to ask why June didn’t speak, but Jillian gave him a look that said, Don’t ask.

Jillian tried to eat as much as she could, but her stomach refused to take more than half of what she was given.

“Uggh, I’m friggin stuffed,” Jillian groaned slightly, leaning back and placing a hand on her tiny bare stomach, which was slightly distended from the small amount of food she ate. The pasta seemed to fight with the abundance of coffee she had consumed earlier. Jason couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at her, acting like she actually had a gut on her.

“What?! Why are you laughing at me?!” Jillian said with a scowl as she turned to glared at him a bit, her eyes bulging at what she saw. The smile on his face was something else. Had he ever smiled at her like that before?

“Ho-lee shit. . .” Jillian thought to herself as she stared at him with unabashed awe. His teeth looked perfectly white and mostly straight except for a chip in one of his canines, which actually made him even cuter.

“It’s just funny seeing you eat so little and then act like that.” She watched him pluck a piece of chicken from her plate and put it into his mouth. The simple act made her feel like she was melting for some reason. Seeing the cocky look on his face as he chewed.

Ginny could tell her daughter was quickly falling for the handsome boy, at least in her motherly opinion.

“Oh, whatever, not all of us can eat a million pounds of food in one sitting like you do. Some of us are still normal humans. Ugh, I feel like I need to lie down again,” Jillian said, feeling kind of gross.

“Actually, it’s better to exercise after eating. It helps with digestion, and we had some good protein with our carbs for energy, so it would be the perfect time,” Jason said with Ginny quickly agreeing.

“That’s a great idea! Jillian, you and Jason should go for a walk or something.”

Jillian glared at her mother as if she had just betrayed her. She despised exercise and definitely wasn’t in the mood for it, especially now that she felt like she had a food baby.

“Oh, well... I was planning on going for a run in a bit” Jason said as Jillian’s eyes darted back to him, the same betrayed look.

“That’s great. You can go with him, Jillian. Why don’t you go change into something more suitable, and Jason can show you how to get back into shape!” Her mother said, getting a little too excited and leaving Jillian feeling like she’d been thrown under the bus.

“When have I ever been in shape?” She grumbled.

Jillian slowly got up from the table, grumbling as she walked past her mom.

“You’ll pay for this,” she muttered quietly.

Ginny just smiled and whispered back, “You’re welcome.” Her words only confused Jillian as she walked away.

“Well, if you’re gonna change, I guess I should, too.” Jason said, standing up with his plate.

“Thank you, Ginny, it was delicious,” he added as he walked over and put his plate in the sink.

“You’re most welcome, Jason. Don’t be a stranger and come by anytime, sweetheart.” Ginny said with a cheerful wave at the young man.

Jason walked towards the door, passing by the stairs just in time to see Jillian half way up. His eyes were fixated on her butt, which was moving and bouncing with each step she took. The yoga pants she was wearing left little to the imagination as it clung to her body, and his heart started pounding in his chest.

Feeling guilty for staring at her, he blurted out, “I’ll meet you outside.”

Startled, Jillian turned to look down the stairs and saw Jason at the bottom.

“Oh, um, sure, sounds good,” not really sure why she said it so enthusiastically. Running right now sounded like the opposite of good, but the idea of being out there with Jason didn’t sound too bad after all. She expected all this tension between them but, there was barely any now. Far less than any time they met before

“I figured he would be mad…” a smile slowly spread across her face at her thoughts.