Page 81 of Breaking
Troy didn't answer.
Dylan let out a harsh laugh, shaking his head "Never mind."
Troy's face remained unreadable. He unlocked the car without a word, and the three of them drove home in silence, tension radiating in every direction.
The next morning, Troy arrived unannounced again, this time finding Dylan alone in the living room rummaging for the TV remote. He had asked if he could skip school for just one day and though Jenna always felt it was best to deal with your problems directly unlike what she did for years, she gave in. Jenna overheard Troy quietly saying, "Mind if we talk for a minute?"
Dylan folded his arms. "Whatever."
In the foyer, Jenna hesitated, eavesdropping from around the corner. Troy spoke softly. "I'm sorry about everything you've gone through-Sasha passing away, the foster system, the new environment. I know you have no reason to like me, but... I understand losing someone you love."
"Don't compare me to you," Dylan mumbled. "You had money, privilege. Sasha said so."
Troy's tone remained steady. "Maybe. But pain is pain. And it was Sasha, right, who insisted I'd... I'd break Jenna's heart?" He paused. "Iwas scared. Scared Sasha would convince Jenna to leave me for good. She almost did once, a long time ago."
Dylan huffed. "She was just looking out for Jenna."
"I know," Troy said, voice thick. "But I panicked, and I kept Sasha at a distance. I regret that now. I wish I'd come to the funeral, but Jenna didn't seem to want me there. I was trying to respect that."
Dylan's voice shook with anger. "You should've fought harder. Sasha wanted Jenna happy. Maybe you were never good enough, and she knew it."
A moment of silence. Then Troy sighed. "You might be right. But I'm trying. I'm not giving up on Jenna. Nor on you or Dani, if you'll let me try."
Jenna's breath caught. She pressed a hand to her chest, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. Hearing him lay out his vulnerabilities in front of Dylan made her heart twist.
She heard Dylan mutter, "Whatever," but it lacked its usual hostility. Footsteps pounded up the stairs. Then Troy stepped into the hallway, spotting Jenna. He froze, guilt and uncertainty playing across his face.
She stared back, unsure what to say or feel.
In that charged moment, a fragile possibility shimmered between them: an acknowledgement that, behind all the anger and hurt, something worth fighting for might still remain.
Chapter 62
Jenna
Jenna stood in the dimly lit hallway, her arms folded as she looked at Troy. He was still in the sitting room when Dylan had walked off, his mind tangled in the tension of the boy's anger. But when he turned and met Jenna's gaze, something cold settled in his stomach. He knew she had overheard the conversation.
"I think it's time we had that talk," she said.
Troy exhaled slowly, pressing his thumb against his temple. He felt the weight of her words, the finality in her tone. A tight, uneasy silence settled between them before Jenna spoke again.
"I haven't been acting very mature recently, have I?" Her voice was softer now, almost reflective. "And I just realized... Dylan is following my lead. Dani, though... she's on your side."
She hesitated, then sighed. " I am allowing Dylan to treat you the same way Max and Lilly have treated me. And I don't like who I've been becoming."
Troy didn't know how to respond to that. He rubbed a hand down his face, trying to force clarity into his thoughts, but before he could say anything, Jenna tilted her head, watching him carefully.
"Why didn't you come to Sasha's funeral?" she asked, "Why were you always against her?"
Troy let out a slow breath and walked past her, settling onto the couch. He clasped his hands together, leaning forward as he tried togather his thoughts. For a long time, he had never spoken about it-not to Jenna, not even to himself.
"I was never against her," he said finally. "Not at first. When I met you, Jenna... for the first time in my life, everything felt quiet. Being with you was effortless. It was like my mind, which was always running a thousand calculations, finally found a pause button. And I didn't want to share that. I didn't want to taint it with the world I came from. You were the brightest star in my sky, and I never wanted anything to dim that. Though I never told you, you were my first lover-just as I was yours.""
Jenna gaped, completely taken aback by his confession. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came. She stared at him, searching his face as if trying to reconcile his words with the man she had known for so long. He continued before she could interrupt.
"I didn't have any money, not at that time. And I had only just graduated. I knew my parents wouldn't approve of you. It wasn't because of who you were-it was because they disapproved of anyone who wasn't handpicked by them." He scoffed, shaking his head. "I should've told you. I should've been honest about why I kept you separate. But Grant-he was my adviser back then. And he kept giving me advice: 'Play it cool." "Act like she's not the only option.”. I did not know what I was doing."
Jenna's breath caught. "That's why you said your father wanted you to marry Lila."
