Page 191 of Incompatible

A moment of silence. I can only hear his breathing.

"Oh. Oh! Right, yeah, of course." I hear this tiny bit of confusion in his voice, embarrassment lingering. "I just, you know, I wanted to tell you that things in my life have changed a little."

"I hope for the better, Jared. I’ve been worried about you this past year…"

"Yeah, for the better. This last year was really—" he swallows loudly and obviously searches for words, "—really hard for me. Those people I told you about back then, they were… they were rotten to the core. Sure, they helped me with my career, and I got a lot of modeling gigs, but… I had to pay them back."

"Jared, I’m so sorry. I really am."

"It’s okay now. And I’m sorry too, if I made you stress about it. You were right about everything. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with them. Luckily… something changed."

A wave of relief moves through me. "You managed to get out of it?"

"Yes. At one of the parties they dragged me to, there were some outside guests too, young businessmen with growing companies. I was supposed to, um, act as a kind of host. One of the guys was really rough and pushy, tried to pull me into a corner. But another guest stepped in. Mark Ferguson. He took me aside and talked to me for a while. I was shaking so badly… Mark asked what was going on with me, why I was even there, and I told him the truth. That I’d gotten stuck with these bad people and didn’t know how to break free. Mark promised he’d help me."

"And did he?"

"Yes. He knew somebody in the mafia. The guy helped with it in exchange for a… favor. He basically bought me out of that circle."

"For a favor?" Something flashes through my mind. "Was his name Ennio Ferro?"

"That’s what Mark told me. You know him?"

This is clearly not the moment to talk about it, so I only mutter, "I know of him, not him."

"Yeah. He handled everything so they’d leave me alone. And Mark took me to his place afterward… we got closer. I like him."

"I’m glad you met a man like that. But the fact that he was there too, originally… isn’t that a red flag? That he moved in those circles?"

"He’s really desperate to grow his company and needs sponsors, so he had to get close to… let’s say questionable people. But he’s a hardworking, solid guy, completely focused on his business. He asked me to marry him."

I blink in shock.

"Wait. Marry you? Jared, you can’t be serious, you’re only nineteen!"

"I know, but…" his voice cracks, "you know, it’s something I’ve secretly always wanted. A stable relationship and a family."

"That’s understandable and it’s great that you want that, but…"

"He wants that too. He wants a child, a husband. And he even promised to help me build my modeling career, legally, without any extra ‘services’. Not empty words, but actually securing big brands’ contracts for me."

I let out a huff; it sounds a bit too good to be true.

"Jared… are you sure? You know you can’t always have everything at once. He sounds like a great guy, but please be careful. Not everything that shines is gold."

"I know, Alex," he whispers. "But I really don’t have anything in my life. I don’t have a profession, I don’t have a well-connected family who can help me. I have nothing except my looks. And he’s a rich man who can give me a stable life."

"I’m afraid you might get disappointed…"

"Alex… I really want a family. I want kids."

A moment of silence. Can’t lie, I want the same things: a family, children, love, and stability. I was never the type of guy who cared about a big career or endless partying and fucking around, I can easily understand him.

So, I fall silent for a moment, torn between warning him and painting more dark scenarios, or… saying something supportive. If I push him away completely, by bashing his fiancé, he might never call me again. And if he ever really needs help? I want him to know he can come to me. So I take a deeper breath and say,

"Jared, I’m glad your life is getting better. I’m glad you have a chance at stability, and I hope everything goes well. Come overin a few days when my heat is over, we’ll talk. I promise I won’t lecture you. I want to believe you made a good choice."

Jared exhales, and there’s relief in his voice, which paradoxically makes me more uneasy. Why would he feel relieved unless he has doubts himself?