Thomas and James: The Move

 “You’re seriously going to move in with him?” Vanessa asked, pouting in the corner.

“I’m seriously going to move in with him,” James said with a grin. “Aren’t you supposed to be happy for me?”

“Sure, whatever,” she mumbled.

He knew this was hard on her. They hadn’t lived apart their entire lives. To everyone else, Vanessa was crass, abrasive, and bossy, but he knew her better than that. She could be all those things, but she was so much more. He just wished everyone else could see it.

“We’ve been a couple for three years now, V,” he said softly. “Don’t you think it’s time?”

“I don’t understand why he doesn’t just move in here. There’s plenty of room.”

James sighed internally before walking over to her and opening his arms. She only hesitated for a second before standing up and stepping into him. He kissed her cheek.

“You know that isn’t really an option.”

“I don’t hate him anymore!” she argued. “I will even be nicer to him.”

“V…”

“I know…” she said with a sigh, holding him tighter.

He knew she was afraid. She was afraid of what she would do being completely alone. She was afraid of him being out there on his own, where she couldn’t protect him. He was pretty sure what she was most afraid of was losing him to Thomas. He knew there was very little he could say to reassure her. It would just take time.

He could tell she was hiding tears when she stepped back and turned around. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Vanessa and Thomas didn’t fight all the time anymore, but he could still see their jealousy of each other. Another thing only time could heal.

“I guess your new neighborhood is nice,” Vanessa grumbled.

“It is,” James said softly.

“And you’re going to have a yard now.”

“I will.”

“Maybe I could buy you a grill,” she said, trying to sound happy.

“I’m sure Thomas would appreciate it,” he said as he rested his hand on her shoulder.

“Ok! I’m back,” Thomas called as he came in the front door. “I got you some more boxes.”

“Thank you,” James said. “We’re definitely going to need them.”

“You haven’t gotten very far,” Thomas scoffed as he came into the bedroom.

He took one look at Vanessa standing off to the side, looking out the window, and rolled his eyes. Thomas had not been handling Vanessa’s moodiness through this whole process well. He hadn’t said anything about it directly to Vanessa, he knew better than that, but James had spent a lot of time trying to help Thomas understand.

 

Thomas just couldn’t deal with Vanessa. He really had no idea how James could tolerate it. She was judgmental, bossy, and dramatic. He decided to step out to the living room and work on some of the stuff there. Vanessa had gone through and put stickers on all the stuff that was James’s so it would be easier for Thomas to help pack. He wasn’t sure if that was a kindness or if it was to avoid talking to him as much as possible. Either way, he didn’t care. He was ready to have more time with James without Vanessa.

“Do you remember when we got to Kadence?” he heard Vanessa ask James.

Her voice was shaky. He had never heard her sound anything less than confident and bossy. He was pretty sure Vanessa thought he had left again. Even though he knew he shouldn’t intrude, he moved closer to the door to hear.

“We had no idea what we were doing,” James said.

“We dragged Casey all around looking for somewhere decent to stay,” Vanessa said. “She was so tired, you ended up carrying her.”

Vanessa sounded so soft and gentle. He was taken aback by it. He wished he had been able to see this side of her before.

“That small house we found was a godssend,” James said. “I still can’t believe it was just sitting there empty.”

“I know. I kept expecting someone to show up and kick us out,” Vanessa laughed. It sounded light and genuine.

“You made that place a home for her, V. She was able to strike out on her own and make a name for herself because you gave her a home.”

“It was a joint effort,” she said. “I just can’t stop thinking about all of it.” Her voice softened as the quiver returned. “I know I need to be nicer to him. I know you love him. I just… I feel like I’m losing you to him. He just can’t wait to pull you away from me every chance he gets.”

“Vanessa, honey, you know you will never lose me. I know that you know that.”

“I know it sounds ridiculous,” she said, barely audible.

“We have been living together for 26 years. I don’t know that we have ever spent more than one night apart at a time. It will be hard for me too, V. It’s going to be a change, but we will adjust.”

“I don’t like changes.”

“You’ll survive, and I’ll be right there to help you.”

“It’d be easier if you were still living here…” she grumbled.

“Do you remember what you told Casey when she moved out as we moved here?”

“No…”

“I know you remember. You just don’t want to say it.”

“Fine,” she sighed. “It wasn’t goodbye, and she was always welcome to wherever we were.”

“And?”

“And that she didn’t need to be afraid anymore,” she grumbled. “We are safe here.”

“Exactly,” James said softly. “You don’t need to worry about me. We are safe in Kadence. You will be ok here on your own too. I promise.”

“You sound so confident everything will just be fine.”

“Because I am.”

“I guess Thomas is ok,” she said. “I like seeing you happy.”

Thomas felt guilty listening. Neither of them talked much about the times before Kadence. He knew it had been hard on them, but he didn’t know they had lived together for basically their whole life. He wanted to know why Vanessa was worried about being safe. They ran a successful business, and they could afford three of these houses all at the same time. He planned to look into it when he was able to. He knew he shouldn’t pry, but he just had to know.

He crept over to the front door and opened it before closing it loudly. He walked back to the bedroom. James was hugging Vanessa, and Thomas could see her face in profile. It looked like there were tears in her eyes. As he stepped into the room, Vanessa stepped away from James and turned her back, looking out the window again.

“Hey,” Thomas said. “I decided I wanted to paint the whole inside of the house before we move in. It’ll probably take a week or so.”

“You just want to make more work for me,” Vanessa said without turning around. Her usual arrogance slipped right back into her voice.

“Yes, everything is about you,” Thomas answered. He tried to push the same indignation into his tone that he always had, but he missed the mark. James raised his eyebrow at him.

“Might be nice to paint,” James said slowly. “It’d be easier without all our stuff in it.”

“I’m going to get coffee,” Vanessa said.

She turned on her heel and stalked toward the door. Thomas didn’t say anything or look directly at her as she passed. He didn’t want her to know he had overheard them. The shift in her tone when she thought it was just her and James was what did it for Thomas. It was the first time he saw what James did. He also knew better than to tell her he had overheard.

“How much did you hear?” James asked as soon as he heard the front door close.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You went from demanding to be away from her as fast as possible to pushing it out a week to paint.”

“I’m sorry,” Thomas sighed. “I was starting to work on the living room when I heard her. I know I shouldn’t have listened, but I never thought I’d hear Vanessa sound… afraid.”

The muscle in James’s jaw tightened. Thomas could almost feel James pulling his emotions together. He wasn’t sure what to do, so he decided to just wait.

“Vanessa and I have a history that’s complicated. We have been through a lot, and none of it is a happy story. We don’t talk about it except to each other. We don’t want sympathy, and we don’t particularly want to remember it.”

“James, I am sorry. It won’t happen again,” Thomas said quickly.

“I’m not mad. I don’t know how to explain what I am feeling right now.”