Right There with You

by R. J. Sable

  “Same, could be worse though.”

  “Probably will be tomorrow,” I frowned.

  “I can't believe they expect us to do it again tomorrow,” Jason sighed in disbelief.

  I had to agree, it was insane. “I don't mind if you don't want to do it, or you want to go stay with Ben and Hannah,” I said honestly, my head against his chest. “I'd understand.”

  “I want to be here with you, Jamie,” Jason reassured me. “Besides, if your brothers want me to prove myself to them then that's just what I'll have to do.”

  “Sorry they're putting you through this,” I murmured, struggling to stay awake.

  “Don't worry about it,” he soothed. “Let's try and get some sleep.”

  ***

  Monday, 10th December 2012

  I awoke alone to the sound of raised voices. I rolled out of bed gingerly. My muscles felt even more tired than they had the night before, if that was even possible. I stumbled down to the kitchen to find out what was going on.

  “I don't give a shit, you're not making her do it!” Jason shouted.

  “Watch your fucking mouth,” I heard Ian shout back. “She'll do whatever the hell I tell her to.”

  “Don't you see how messed up that is?” Jason yelled.

  I saw them facing off at each other in the kitchen as I entered. The twins hovered nervously on either side of them while Matt and Jake looked on with apparent amusement. This does not look good. I saw Ian take a deep breath and relax his shoulders a little. In my experience, a shouting Ian was much less dangerous than a cool and calculating Ian. This really doesn't look good.

  “She does as she's told because she respects us. You could do with learning a bit of respect,” Ian spat.

  “She does as she's told because you all scare her shitless,” Jason replied, his fists clenched at his sides but his voice lowering to match Ian's tone.

  “Please don't fight, guys,” I pleaded, taking a tentative step closer to them.

  Matt pulled me away from them. “Don't get involved, Jelly,” he shook his head at me and I knew he was right. I'd just end up sparking the whole thing off and getting myself hurt as well.

  “You arrogant little prick,” Ian snarled, taking a step closer to Jason.

  Jason didn't flinch, he kept his eyes on Ian's, not even blinking. “Look, Ian, this is between you and me. It has nothing to do with Jamie, or the others. They don't need to be involved,” Jason said calmly.

  I didn't want them to argue, especially not because of me. It was killing me watching the tension between them and waiting for it to snap.

  “Why shouldn't she do it too?” Ian challenged, practically nose-to-nose with Jason.

  “She's underweight, the last thing she needs is to be burning a shit load of calories and wearing herself down to the ground. She could really hurt herself,” Jason said, his voice wavering slightly.

  It almost sounded like he was begging Ian. I scowled; I'm not that underweight. Yes, I'll admit I’d only put a pound back on and I should probably weigh a little more but Jason was making it sound like I was dying.

  “You're willing to do hers as well as yours?” Ian smirked.

  “If that's what it takes,” Jason nodded.

  “Fine,” Ian nodded back, taking a step away from Jason. “Let's go then.”

  I moved away from Matt and followed them to the front door where they were both putting their running shoes on.

  “Please, Jason,” I begged. “You really don't have to do this for me.”

  “I really do, Jamie,” he said, closing his eyes as he cupped my face in his hand.

  He leant forwards and kissed me chastely on the lips and I saw Ian's nostrils flare behind him. They left promptly and I stayed with the others waiting anxiously for them to return.

  “Your boyfriend has a death wish, Jelly,” Matt grunted as I returned to the kitchen with my shoulders sagging.

  “Tell me about it,” I grumbled, taking the stool next to him at the breakfast bar. “At least Ian didn't kick his ass.”

  “You might wish he had done soon,” Matt grinned wickedly.

  I frowned at him. He may have a point. Jason was already tired before leaving for his run with Ian, how was he going to be feeling after finishing up for the day?

  “Pretty solid of him to convince Ian not to drag the rest of us along though,” Rick added.

  “Yeah, I'm slightly less inclined to remove his fingers now,” Danny grinned.

  “Thanks,” I rolled my eyes at him and smiled a little. “Ow!” I cried out as Matt pinched the back of my arm.

  “Don't roll your eyes,” he admonished.

  “Sorry,” I pouted, lowering my gaze.

  I helped myself to a bowl of bran flakes and made some protein smoothies ready for Jason and Ian when they get back.

  I'd done my best to help Jason relax after his run. We were home alone with Jake so we'd just chilled on the sofa and watched television. By the time Ian had gotten back from work, Jason had managed to get in a couple of hours extra sleep and had loaded up on food. I didn't really feel like that made it up to him, but it was all I could do.

  My brothers decided the best way to spend the evening would be to watch Jason run the assault course again and jeer at him at every single obstacle.

  “Cut it out!” I complained as they continued laughing at Jason.

  They ignored me and Danny moved behind me and held me still with one hand and put his other one firmly over my mouth to keep me quiet.

  “Ngh!” I protested against his hand.

  “What was that, Jelly?” Rick teased.

  I scowled and brought my foot down hard against Danny's, crushing his toes.

  “Ow! What the fuck, Jelly?” Danny exclaimed as he released me.

  That may have been a tad stupid. He looked furious and I flicked my eyes to the house, wondering if I could get there before he could. I didn't have chance to make my mind up as he lunged for me, but Rick grabbed him before he reached me.

  “Let it go,” he shook his head.

  I blinked up at Rick appreciatively. Craig and Jake were both staring at me with shocked looks plastered on their faces.

  “Who are you and what have you done with Jelly?” Craig teased.

  “What do you mean?” I frowned.

  “You never fight back,” Craig said. “Ever.”

  “Maybe that's part of the problem,” I grumbled, watching Jason as he did push-ups.

  If I stood up for myself a little more often maybe they wouldn't be treating him like this. On the other hand, I'd get my ass kicked a lot more if I didn't just let everything slide.

  When Jason was finally done, he made his way over to me. He looked dreadful, his face was strained and he winced with every movement. I handed him a protein shake and followed him inside. He was pretty quiet for the rest of the evening. I massaged his sore back and shoulders as we sat on the sofa, trying my best to ease some of his discomfort.

  ***

  Friday, 14th December 2012

  By Friday morning Jason could barely stand. I had to help him out of bed and pull him to his feet. I couldn't believe he was still doing it. He hadn't complained once, despite the fact that Ian and Karl were constantly finding ways to make the routine more and more difficult; adding more repetitions or redirecting the run up the most difficult hills they could find.

  “Jason, you don't have to keep doing this,” I pleaded with him as he pulled his running kit on slowly. We'd had the same discussion every morning and his response was the same every day.

  “It's fine Jamie,” he said, sounding thoroughly exhausted. “If this is what it takes to put an end to the shit your brothers keep throwing at us, then I'll do it.”

  We'd barely touched each other all week and I was missing his skin against mine. He was far too exhausted to do anything other than lie next to me at night and the frequent massages I was giving him were the closest contact we'd had all week. The kisses were few and far between, my brothers pulled u
s apart if we kissed for more than a second and I was really missing his mind-blowing kissing.

  “Jason, you're going to end up dead if this continues,” I pleaded.

  He ignored me and carried on making clumsy attempts at getting dressed. That's it; I can't watch him do this any more. I stormed out of my room and ran down to the kitchen. I found Ian there with everyone else. I'd rather have done this without an audience but I had no other choice. I gathered all my courage, took a deep breath, and prepared to confront him.

  “What's up with you?” He asked, his eyebrows raised as I stood in front of him and squared my shoulders.

  “This has got to stop, Ian,” I said, sounding more confident than I was. “I can't watch you do this to him anymore.”

  “That's not for you to decide, Jelly,” Ian frowned, stepping closer to me.

  I held my ground and forced myself to keep eye contact with him. “Of course it is, this has gone too far!”

  “Jelly,” Ian growled in warning.

  “You'll end up killing him,” I said, my voice wavering a little.

  Ian grabbed my arms and pulled me closer to him, his thumbs and fingers digging painfully into my flesh, but I didn't move to get away.

  “Enough, Jelly,” Ian said, his voice calm but his eyes burning with fury.

  “No!” I exclaimed, lifting my hands and pushing against his chest to put some distance between us. “I swear to God, Ian, if you don't cut this out, I'm going back to Leeds with Jason!”

  Ian looked completely taken aback, he released my arms and looked at me contemplatively. I steeled myself for the anger that was sure to come and waited for him to react. I saw his gaze travel to the door and followed it to see Jason standing there, kitted up and ready to go.

  “Looks like he's ready to go,” Ian smirked, pushing me to the side.

  “Ian! No!” I put myself back in front of him and pushed my hands against his chest in a pathetic attempt to hold him back. “I won't let you do this to him.”

  “Jamie, it's fine,” Jason sighed, coming up behind me and easing me away from Ian.

  “It's not fine, Jason!” I said, taking a step away from him and standing between the two of them. Why aren't either of them listening to me? “Ian, you're my brother and I love you. I would never intentionally do anything to piss you off, but I refuse to stand by and watch you do this to Jason,” I said, hearing how whiny I sounded and hating myself for it. “If Jason hasn't proved himself to you by now, I don't know what else he can do.”

  I finished talking and waited anxiously for Ian to respond.

  “Fine,” he spat, clearly unhappy. He sat down on a stool and opened one of the drawers behind him, taking out a notepad. “Who had Friday?” He asked calmly, looking around at the others.

  “I did,” Craig grinned.

  “Yeah but you said Jason'd cave,” Jake protested.

  What on earth are they talking about? I returned to Jason's side and glared at my brothers, still furious with Ian for what he'd put Jason through.

  “He did,” Craig shrugged.

  “No. Jelly was the one complaining, not Jason,” Danny added.

  “What are you talking about?” I frowned at them.

  They ignored me and carried on their bickering.

  “I said it'd be Jelly that snapped first,” Rick argued.

  “Yeah but you said Thursday night,” Danny said, shoving his twin.

  “Shut up the lot of you!” Ian ordered, looking through his notepad.

  I looked around at them all incredulously. Had they seriously bet on how long it would take Jason to break?

  “Karl had Saturday morning, Craig had Friday morning,” he said to himself as he read through his notes. “Rick said Jelly would be the one to end it, and he was only off by twelve hours.”

  Rick looked victorious and shoved Danny playfully.

  “It's only fair that Craig and Rick split the winnings,” Ian said as he discarded the notepad on the island and pulled out a wad of cash from the draw

  Rick and Craig grinned at each other victoriously as the others groaned.

  “Seventy quid each,” Rick beamed, waving his cash in front of Danny.

  “Lunch is on you today then,” Danny sulked, shoving Rick back.

  I was so furious, I glanced up at Jason and was surprised to see he looked pretty nonplussed. I can't believe they dragged it out this long because of some stupid bet.

  “You guys are such assholes!” I yelled, stomping out of the kitchen and up to my bedroom. I flopped down onto the bed and screamed into my pillow with frustration. I felt bad for leaving Jason alone down there with my brothers but it seemed they were done torturing him for now.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and rolled over to see Ian. He sat down next to me and I sat up and refused to look at him.

  “I'm an asshole?” He asked, his face alight with humour.

  “At least your admitting it,” I mumbled.

  “I should kick your ass for that,” he said calmly.

  I glanced up at him, worried he was serious but he was still smiling.

  “Jelly, you wanted me to be okay with you having a boyfriend, right?” He said, his voice gentle.

  I nodded and shifted so I was facing him.

  “I'm not going to be okay with you being with just any guy, I need to know you're with somebody who'll do anything to look after you, to be there for you in the same way we are.”

  I knew it was difficult for Ian to open up like this and I would have thought it was quite sweet if he hadn't just tried to kill Jason slowly and painfully.

  “You don't think you took it a bit far?” I frowned.

  “Maybe a little,” he admitted. “But he's still breathing, isn't he?” He grinned at me and I couldn't help smiling a little.

  I like Ian when he's like this; just a normal big brother. “You couldn't have just arm wrestled or something?” I pouted, my resolve to be mad at him wavering a little.

  “Then he'd have lost and I'd have had to send him packing,” he grinned.

  I nudged him playfully with my shoulder and he chuckled and kissed the top of my head as he wrapped his arm round me.

  “What'd you bet on by the way?” I asked, unable to suppress my curiosity.

  “Tonight,” he grinned, shaking his head with mock exasperation. “So he let me down either way.”

  “He'd have kept going until he could no longer walk if I hadn't spoken up,” I frowned. “I bet he's annoyed at me for stepping in.”

  “Let's go find out,” he smiled, picking me up under his arm.

  “Put me down!” I protested. “I'm definitely too old for this.”

  Ian laughed but set me down again and walked back downstairs with me. Jason was sprawled out on the sofa in the lounge with the others.

  “Don't you guys have work?” I frowned at them.

  “Slave driver,” Danny mumbled as he got up from the sofa and dragged Rick out of the room with him.

  They both kissed me on the head as they left and I sat down next to Jason on the sofa. I settled into the warmth of his side and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

  “I'm sorry,” I whispered up at him.

  “I could have kept going,” he mumbled grumpily.

  “Told you,” I grinned at Ian.

  “But you didn't,” Ian smirked. “No hard feelings though.” Ian stuck his hand out to Jason who shook it without hesitation.

  “That's it?” I asked incredulously. “Ian almost kills you and a handshake makes it all okay?”

  They both shrugged and I shook my head at them in exasperation. Men. I doubted Jason really was okay with it but I'm sure he didn't want to admit it in front of them.

  I tried to make sure Jason got plenty of chance to relax but, come evening time, I could see he was exhausted. I got up from the sofa and stretched my arms above my head. I tugged on Jason's arm, wanting him to follow. “I'm going to go to bed, you coming?” I asked him.

  “Hold up!” Ian protested.<
br />
  “What?” I frowned at him.

  “Jason can sleep in Karl's old room,” Ian answered.

  What the hell? Why would he suddenly change his mind about Jason and I sleeping in the same bed?

  “Why?” I asked, resisting the urge to roll my eyes at him.

  “Because I said so,” he frowned.

  I glanced around the room, Jake and the twins were suddenly very interested in the television.

  “But he's slept in my room all week,” I said, furrowing my brow.

  Ian looked awkward for a second and didn't seem to know how to respond.

  “I'm guessing that's because he assumed I'd be too worn out,” Jason chuckled.

  Ian looked at me, his face expressionless, but I knew Jason had hit the nail on the head.

  “What do you mean assumed?” Danny scowled, suddenly not so interested in the television.

  Jason didn't answer and I knew I was blushing, despite the fact that Ian had been totally right in his assumptions. I pointedly ignored Danny and addressed Ian.

  “Ian, I thought we put this behind us,” I sighed. “Jason's my boyfriend.”

  I felt Jason tense behind me and braced myself for yet another showdown.

  “Jelly, I-” Ian began.

  “Ian, please, I don't want to argue about this,” I said, feeling brave. Well, brave or stupid, I wasn't sure which.

  Ian scowled at me and I knew he was annoyed I'd cut him off but I wasn't willing to compromise here and I knew Jason wasn't either.

  “Fine,” he growled, catching me completely off guard. “But if hear a single sound coming from your room I won't be held responsible for my actions.”

  I wrapped my arms around him. I knew it was hard for him to adjust. I think he still saw me as the little girl he’d raised and I really appreciated him making an effort.

  “Thank you,” I whispered so I wouldn't embarrass him in front of the others.

  He grunted in reply and gave Jason a stare that could curdle milk. Jason shut the bedroom door behind us and I heard him sigh deeply. “That went better than I thought it would,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.

  “Yeah, I think he's really trying,” I smiled. “How are you feeling?”