Boys and Girls, Part IV: Why I Love to Hate You

Chapter 16 – California Girls

“I can’t believe my mom showed you my album!” Tristan cried out in disbelief.

Jacy rolled her eyes. She had told him on the flight back to LA, but Tristan was still in denial. Jacy had received instant delight in telling him that she saw his potty-training pictures.

Tristan pulled their luggage from the back of his car before closing his trunk. They had finally arrived at Jacy’s home. Frankly, Jacy was a little nervous. Her home was nothing like Tristan’s. Hers was modest, and her family wasn’t exactly as warm and inviting as his had been.

Tristan seemed to have noticed Jacy’s anxiety. “Hey…” he began, playfully chucking her under her chin, “…it’s your family. You’re not supposed to be nervous about anything. Don’t worry…”
he grinned, “…they’re going to love me.”

Jacy rolled her eyes again before pushing her doorbell. After a few minutes, the font door opened. It was Paige.

“Hey,” Jacy said.

Apparently, Paige hadn’t been listening because she didn’t immediately respond to her older sister. It was clear that Paige had been immediately drawn to the blonde god standing next to Jacy.

“Holy shit,” Paige began slowly. “You’re dating him? How the freak did that happen?”

Leave it to her sisters to point out the painfully obvious. Jacy slowly turned her head to look at Tristan.

The jerk was grinning.

****

“Two brothers?” Roxanne shrieked with excitement. “Oh my God, Jacy. You’ve got to take us the next time you go to Texas.”

Jacy looked over her shoulder from where she was cooking at the stove. “Forget it.”

Roxanne frowned. “Don’t’ be selfish.”

“Yeah,” Paige added in agreement.

“Only one of Tristan’s brothers is your age, idiots,” Jacy pointed out.

“How old is the other one?” Paige asked.

“Eighteen.”

Paige screamed with excitement this time. “That’s even better! I looove older guys.”

Jacy rolled her eyes. She looked over her shoulder again and noticed that Tristan was regarding the entire conversation with amusement. She was about to scold him when she heard the front door open.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mom,” Jacy called out. Within seconds, Jacy’s mother immediately appeared in the kitchen doorway.

“What smells so great?”

“My cooking,” Jacy beamed.

Jacy’s mother ran a hand through her short, brown hair when she noticed Tristan. He immediately got to his feet and made his way over to her.

“Tristan Carter, ma’am,” he said, extending his hand.

Jacy’s mother shook hands with Tristan, but her eyes stayed glued to his face. She looked just as stunned as Jacy’s sisters had when they had met Tristan for the first time. “Call me Julia,” she finally said.

Jacy scoffed at her mother’s reaction. “God, Tristan. Would you please turn it off?” He merely smirked in response.

Tristan pulled a seat out for Jacy’s mother. She seemed surprised by the gesture. It warmed Jacy’s heart to know that Tristan had good old-fashioned manners for the most part. She knew her mother wasn’t used to gentlemanly gestures - especially not after having been married to her father for sixteen years.

Both twins seemed to swoon at Tristan’s gesture. Jacy finally remembered that this was Tristan Carter and understood that her family was already so in love with him because they’d only been exposed to his good side, so far.

Jacy ladled penne pasta into five separate plates and called on her sisters for help setting up the table. Both reluctantly agreed to it, not wanting to appear like evil sisters in front of their new Prince Charming. When her mother rose to her feet to help out, Jacy pushed her back down.

“I’m not an invalid, Jacy. I just worked for eight hours, you know.”

“Exactly,” Jacy replied, ladling homemade marinara sauce onto everyone’s plates of pasta. “You’ve worked all day. You don’t need to be doing extra work.”

Her mother rolled her eyes but smiled. “You worry too much, daughter.”

Jacy smiled in response. “You’re much too important to me, mother.”

From somewhere behind her, Jacy heard one of her sisters snort. She didn’t care. It was true.

****

Tristan loved Jacy more than ever at that very moment. She could’ve been hamming it up just for him, but Tristan knew deep in his heart that his Jacy was being sincere. This was a girl who clearly loved and appreciated her mother. Tristan couldn’t think of anything sexier.

Feeling like a total caveman, Tristan eventually offered to set glasses for everyone. Mother and sisters swooned again, which Tristan found ridiculous but still enjoyed. Jacy set down a basket of French bread that she had sliced earlier.

As they sat down to eat, Tristan was surprised to find that the normally gabby group of females remained mostly quiet during their meals. He didn’t want to interrupt a possible family tradition, so he kept his mouth shut, as well.

“How was your day, Mom?”

Julia looked up at her oldest daughter and smiled. “Fine, dear.”

Jacy nodded and went back to her meal.

Tristan hid his confusion. What a weird family dynamic. It didn’t make sense that a girl as talkative as Jacy would let the conversation die so quickly.

“Josh Bronson asked me out to the prom,” Paige said. She turned toward Tristan. “He’s the most popular boy in school, and he’s a senior.”

Tristan nodded and looked impressed. He noticed that Roxanne was scowling. Apparently, Jacy noticed too.

“What’s up, Rox?” Jacy asked.

“Nothing,” the other twin grumbled.

Paige smirked. “She’s just mad because he asked me out.”

“Shut up.”

“Girls,” Julia warned her daughters. “Not now.” She regarded Tristan sympathetically. “Sorry.”

“That’s all right. I’m used to it,” he responded good-naturedly. “So…” he began, addressing Roxanne “you must have gotten asked to the dance by someone, right?”

Roxanne shrugged. “I got asked by a few guys but not anyone like Josh.”

“So pick one, and go with him,” Jacy suggested.

Roxanne frowned. “I want to go with a senior.”

“Why?” her mother asked.

Roxanne stabbed at her pasta. “I dunno.”

Tristan began feeling sorry for Roxanne. He sensed that both sisters were popular, but he had a feeling that Paige might have been a little more so. That disadvantage reminded him so much of his Jacy, and his heart went out to Roxanne.

“How’d you like it if my brother, Gareth, took you?” he found himself saying, all of a sudden.

Everyone’s fork dropped in unison, except Tristan’s.

“Are you serious?” Roxanne asked.

“What?” Paige demanded hotly.

“Tristan…” Jacy warned. Only Julia remained quiet.

Tristan went on. “It wouldn’t be a problem. He’s done with school first week of May, and he owes me a favor anyway.”

Roxanne still looked stunned. “Could you really…arrange that?”

“Sure.”

Julia cleared her throat. “Tristan…that’s very sweet of you, but –

“Mom!” Roxanne protested.

“Roxy, I don’t think you should be going to the prom with a college boy.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Jacy added.

Tristan frowned. “Julia, I assure you…my brother’s even more of a gentleman than I am.”

Julia looked sympathetic. “Oh, it’s not that at all, Tristan. But –”

“Mom, that’s so unfair!” Roxanne interrupted. Even Paige looked a little upset.

“I’m sorry, honey, but you’re –

“Why are you embarrassing me!” she demanded, rising from her seat.

“Sit down!” Jacy demanded. “Listen to her! She’s your mother for Christ’s sakes!”

Instead, Roxanne ran from the kitchen, on the verge of tears. The sound of her bedroom door slamming echoed throughout the rest of the house. Tristan couldn’t have felt worse. He thought that he had been doing a nice thing, but obviously his one nice gesture had blown up in everyone’s faces.

Paige abruptly rose from the table and gave both her mother and sister a scowl before heading in the same direction. Tristan heard another door slam close. Silence passed awkwardly for a full minute.

“This is delicious, Jacy,” Julia finally said, as if the previous calamity had not occurred.

Jacy nodded. “Thanks, Mom.”

The rest of the meal passed by just as silently.

****

“Jesus, I’m so sorry about that, baby,” Tristan said as Jacy changed into her pajamas.

“Don’t worry,” Jacy answered. “My sisters have a flair for the dramatic. Roxanne will be up and about tomorrow morning.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” he continued, shaking his head in disgust.

“You were trying to be nice, that’s all.”

She walked over to the bed and climbed in under the covers next to Tristan. She stroked his hair to ease him, but he still looked so troubled.

“Tristan, come on,” she reassured him. “You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”

“I don’t want to fuck up your family’s relationship because I couldn’t keep my stupid mouth shut.”

“Uh, in case you haven’t noticed,” Jacy began, “my family’s relationship was pretty fucked up before you arrived here.” She kissed his cheek. “You didn’t break us, Tristan.”

His blue eyes glistened with apology. “I wanted to make things better, baby.”

“I know you did,” she said, kissing him on the lips this time, “but not all family’s are destined to be like the Carters of Trinity Falls.”

Tristan smiled. “My family’s not that great.”

“Are you kidding? They may as well put your family in a Norman Rockwell painting.”

Tristan chuckled. “Your family’s not exactly dysfunctional, Jacy.”

“Yeah, but we’re talking four women with no male influence whatsoever. That’s a whole lotta PMS.”

Tristan regarded her curiously. “Yet, you don’t seem as hostile around your family.”

Jacy shrugged. “They’re my flesh and blood.”

“You care for your Mom a lot, don’t you?”

“I love her. She’s probably the only person in my family that I love unconditionally.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s none of my father in her,” Jacy admitted. “I mean…I love my sisters, but every now and then…I see my father in them.”

“Do you hate him?” Tristan finally asked.

Jacy felt extremely sad at that moment. The truth was that she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about her father, and for some reason, that seemed worse than just outright hating him.

“I guess I’m indifferent when it comes to my dad,” she finally said. “I mean, I know he doesn’t hate his daughters, but the fact that he hasn’t bothered to call us up in five years shows how much he cares about us.”

“Why did your parents split?”

“My mom was tired of being taken advantage of. My dad never hit her, but he always battered her emotionally. She had fallen for his charms, and they married young. My dad continued seeing other women. My mom knew, but she thought that she could help my dad work past his vices. She was wrong.” Jacy shifted in her bed and averted her eyes from Tristan as she continued her story. “My mom started eating more and more because she got depressed. I ate more and more too. Dad finally told Mom that she had better lose weight or he was going to leave her.” Jacy realized that she was choking up at the memory of how her mother had suffered at the hands of her father.

Just then, Jacy felt Tristan’s strong arms wrapping around her. “I’m so sorry, Jacy.”

The tears began to fall, and before she knew it, Jacy was pushing Tristan away. She hated being so exposed and open to him like this. She hated when she was so weak in front of him. He lowered his head and forced his mouth over hers.

“I’m never leaving you, sweetheart.”

Jacy laughed ironically. “Yeah right…until I gain all that weight back.”

“Don’t joke,” he demanded. “I don’t give a fuck if you gain a hundred pounds between now and tomorrow. There’ll just be more of you to love.”

“You’re so full of it.”

He brushed his lips against hers again. “I am so in love with you, darlin’. It doesn’t matter if you want to or not. You’re not getting rid of me.”

A hand flew to Jacy’s forehead, and she laughed. “God, you’re stubborn!”

“You don’t win if you stop trying, babe.”

She felt his fingers fall to the hem of her long t-shirt and lift it up.

“What are you doing?” Jacy asked, arching her eyebrow.

“Trying to make love to you,” he answered, without an ounce of shame in his voice.

She felt him push her panties away from her crotch. “And what makes you think you’ll succeed?”

He smirked. “I always win when it comes to this.”

****

Tristan was a little tired from the festivities of the previous evening, but he was a man on a mission and could not be deterred. When everyone but Roxanne had decided to go shopping, Tristan asked to stay behind, as well.

After washing up, he walked out into the living room. Roxanne was seated on the living room sofa, calmly watching television. She had a disgruntled look on her pretty face.

“Roxanne?”

She turned to Tristan’s voice and attempted a smile. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he answered. “Can I talk to you?”

“Sure,” she responded. She immediately turned the television off, and Tristan used that time to walk over and take a seat next to her on the couch. She faced him, looking so eager to please.

“What’s up?”

Tristan smiled. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she answered. Even though she was smiling, Tristan could tell that she was lying.

“You sure?”

Roxanne sighed. “No…not really.”

“Are you mad at your mom?”

“No…not really.”

That response surprised Tristan. “No?”

She shrugged. “Okay…a little bit…but not for the reasons you think.”

“Care to share?” he ventured.

Roxanne sighed again. “I’m mad…that my mom doesn’t trust me.”

Tristan blinked. “Huh?”

“Mom basically doesn’t think that I’ll make the best decisions if left alone with an attractive guy.”

Oh, now he knew what she meant.

“I’m not stupid about these things,” she grumbled. “It’s not like I want to get knocked up at sixteen or anything. But…Mom doesn’t trust me like Jacy. You know…she told Jacy that she could have a boyfriend when she was fifteen.”

“And it makes you mad that your Mom trusts Jacy but doesn’t trust you?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I may not be the straight-A student that Jacy was, but I’m not exactly stupid.”

“I’m sure your mother doesn’t think that. She’s just looking out for you and Paige.”

Roxanne looked skeptical. “I wish she’d just trust me a little more.”

“Then show her you can be trusted,” Tristan responded.

Roxanne’s eyebrows arched in question. “How?”

“You gotta listen to her. Do what she tells you, and don’t argue.”

Roxanne looked as if that suggestion didn’t really appeal to her. “But what if I don’t agree with her?”

“She’s your mother, Roxanne. She’ll always be thinking about you first and foremost. You may not agree with her now…but you’ll thank her one day. And what’s more…I guarantee she’ll trust you more if you stop questioning why she says what she says and why she does what she does.”

Roxanne appeared reluctant, but eventually, it appeared that she was ready to come around. “Okay,” she answered. She extended her hand to shake on their ultimatum, but instead, Tristan pulled her in for a hug.

As Tristan hugged Roxanne, he thought how easy it had been to talk to Jacy’s younger sister. He’d never had such success with his brothers and suddenly wished that he’d had a younger sister growing up, as well. Perhaps Jacy was a lot luckier than she’d ever care to admit.

****