My Secret Childhood Protector Returned

For six months, I had been secretly dating my older brothers best friend. I just hadnt found the right moment to break the news to my brother.

Then came the afternoon Tyler dragged me to the park out of nowhere, claiming we were going on a sting operation to catch Jackson on a date.

I finally caught the bastard, Tyler said, practically vibrating with excitement. "He actually brought his new girl out in public."

Before my brain could even process the words, Tyler shoved me forward, right into the middle of the walking path.

When my eyes focused on the couple standing in front of me, my vision blurred. The world tilted on its axis. My throat tightened so violently I could barely breathe, let alone speak. All I could manage to force past my trembling lips was a pathetic, broken whisper.

"Hey, Jackson. Nice to meet you... both."

Jacksons eyes locked onto mine, and the color completely drained from his face.

1.

I stared at the man I knew better than my own reflection, the phone trembling in my grip.

Tyler didnt notice my world collapsing. He was too busy wearing a shit-eating grin. "Jackson, that sly son of a bitch. I knew if I trailed him long enough, Id catch him on a private date." He nudged my shoulder. "Mia, call him. Lets see what he says."

I didnt say a word. I just numbly pulled up the familiar contact and pressed dial.

Fifty feet away, the young man strolling down the path pulled his phone from his pocket. He looked annoyed for a fraction of a second before answering. When he spoke, his voice was that same soft, familiar cadence I fell asleep to every night.

"Hey. Im tied up with something right now. Can we talk later?"

I wanted to scream. I wanted to ask him if tied up with something meant holding another womans hand. But my throat was a desert. Nothing came out.

Jackson glanced at his screen, his tone dropping an octave. "I have to go."

The line went dead. At that exact moment, a heavy hand shoved my back. My feet stumbled forward on autopilot until I was standing dead center in front of the golden couple.

Looking at their intertwined fingers, a burning, acidic ache flooded my eyes. I clawed together every ounce of dignity I had left, pasted on a hollow smile, and offered my greetings.

Jackson looked like he had seen a ghost.

2.

"What are you doing here?" Jackson demanded, his voice tight. "Are you following me?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Tyler leaped out from the bushes, waving his phonewhich was currently broadcasting a FaceTime call to their college group chatright in Jackson's face.

"Gentlemen! What did I tell you?" Tyler hollered. "Our boy is officially off the market! Who says he doesnt owe us a steak dinner for holding out on us?"

Seeing my brother suddenly materialize, the hostility vanished from Jacksons face. The sharp, defensive edge he had directed at me instantly dissolved.

"Dinner? Yeah, sure," Jackson stammered, pulling the girl closer to his side. "Gia and I will treat you guys next time."

The pure, unfiltered adoration in his eyes as he looked down at her felt like a physical blow. There was nowhere to look, nowhere to hide from it.

I suddenly realized I was staring at a total stranger.

Only last night, this same man was on the phone with me, mapping out our future. We had spent an hour strategizing the perfect, seamless way to tell Tyler that we were in love.

How does a mans entire reality shift overnight?

My phone buzzed in my palm. I looked down. It was a text from Jackson.

Keep your mouth shut. Let me explain later.

By the time I looked back up, Jackson had slipped his phone away and was laughing with my brother. The girl beside him smiled warmly at Tyler, then turned her gentle, doe-like eyes toward me.

"And who is this?" she asked.

Jackson didn't miss a beat. "Oh, her? Thats the little sister I told you about."

Sensing Gia's subtle hesitation, he quickly added, "Shes a total crybaby. Super clingy. Tyler and I used to do the dumbest things just to ditch her when we were kids."

Gias face lit up with understanding. She covered her mouth, giggling softly. "Youre so mean. You literally caused her to develop a stutter back then, and you still have the nerve to complain about her?"

3.

For the longest time, I had only ever viewed Jackson as an older brother figure.

Especially after the incident when we were kidswhen he played a cruel prank on me just to get rid of me, traumatizing me so badly I developed a psychological stutter. After that, I kept my distance. Even when I ended up attending the same university he did, my boundaries remained firmly in place.

But Jackson, apparently, had other plans.

He started forcing Tyler to bring me along to their hangouts. Hed buy me iced lattes, pastries, designer bags. Hed drop them off without asking. I rejected them every single time, but his persistence was relentless.

The turning point happened at a roommate's birthday party. I had too much to drink, and Tyler, stuck at work, asked Jackson to pick me up.

When Jackson tried to grab my arm, I shoved him away. I could barely walk straight, but my instinct to keep my distance was ironclad. I stumbled toward the curb to hail a cab, but he caught my waist and pulled me flush against his chest.

He let out a heavy sigh. "You really hold a grudge, don't you, kid?"

He ruffled my hair, his tone suddenly dropping into something thick and indulgent. "Be my girlfriend, Mia. Ill let you take your revenge on me for the rest of our lives."

The alcohol fog in my brain parted for a split second. Sensing my hesitation, Jackson cupped my face in his large, warm hands.

"Youve rejected my gifts a hundred times," he murmured. "You cant reject me tonight."

I was dizzy. Flustered. And, stupidly, I nodded.

After that, he was the perfect boyfriend. He sat with me through evening lectures. He stayed at the library until midnight. When I had bad cramps, hed show up with a hot water bottle and ginger tea.

Tyler used to complain to me about it. "I swear to God, Mia, Jackson is hiding a girl. You have no idea how much he sneaks off campus lately. If I find out who it is... man, we swore wed stay bachelors together, and he broke the pact."

Whenever Tyler said that, my heart would race. My cheeks would burn, and Id look away.

Later those nights, Id text Jackson, asking how we were going to break the news to Tyler.

Hed send voice memos, sounding dramatically aggrieved. Man, I can already picture the day your brother breaks both my legs. Then, his voice would soften into a raspy whisper. But its fine. I stole his most precious treasure. Its a price Im more than willing to pay.

I am not a treasure, idiot, Id text back, smiling into the dark. I had felt so incredibly lucky.

And now, here I was. Watching the man who said he was willing to pay the price casually eat half-eaten fries off another womans plate.

4.

Bile rose in the back of my throat.

Tyler had bought a bunch of street food, but I hadn't touched a single bite. Tyler happily devoured my portion, completely oblivious to my nausea, and kept teasing his best friend.

"I knew you were too polished to be single for three years," Tyler joked. "You turned down all those girls on campus. You were just waiting for the right one, huh?"

Gia smiled brightly, tilting her head at Jackson. "Wait, didn't you tell me no one ever had a crush on you?"

Tylers eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. He threw his arm around Jacksons neck in a headlock. "Alright, spill it, man. How did you trick this gorgeous girl into dating you? I need to take notes."

I stood perfectly still, watching. Jackson purposefully avoided looking in my direction. Gia, clearly finding the dynamic endearing, let her eyes crinkle with laughter.

"Honestly? He chased me for almost a year," she said.

Jackson looked away, the tips of his ears flushing red. Gia reached out and affectionately poked his cheek before continuing.

"Hed ask me out every single day. Coffee, movies, dinner. But hes so popular, and I have terrible trust issues. I didn't feel secure, so I kept saying no. Until..."

She went on to describe a night she had terrible stomach flu. How Jackson drove through a torrential downpour to get to her apartment. How he stayed up all night nursing her. How he gave her full access to his location and his schedule, proving his loyalty.

Every single detail, every sweeping romantic gesture... it was exactly what he had done for me.

"But the real kicker," Gia said, her voice dripping with affection, "was that he truly understood what I cared about. Im a massive Coldplay fan. He sat at his computer for three days straight, refreshing the page, just to score me a VIP ticket to their sold-out stadium tour."

"The March 1st show?" I asked. My voice sounded hollow, like it was coming from someone else.

"Yeah, that exact one," Gia nodded, sighing. "Because it was right near the college, it was impossible to get tickets. I would have been heartbroken if Jackson hadnt pulled it off."

5.

I had wanted to go to that concert. I had wanted to go with him.

I was the one who sat in front of my laptop for three days. I was the one who fought the digital queues and finally managed to snag two VIP tickets. I remember trembling with excitement when I showed them to Jackson.

But we never went.

He told me his frat brother was desperately trying to impress a girl who loved Coldplay, and begged him for the tickets. Jackson asked if we could give them up. He transferred double the ticket price into my bank account to make up for it.

I had been crushed, but I figured there would be other concerts. If his friend was begging him, it felt petty to say no.

Looking back now, I realized there was no frat brother. He took the tickets I fought for and used them to woo another woman.

I had literally paid the price of admission for someone elses love story.

I mentally checked out. For the rest of the conversation, I stared at my phone, pretending I couldn't hear Jackson awkwardly trying to rope me into the banter.

A text popped up from a former senior at my college, someone I now worked with. It was regarding some outsourced project code that needed debugging. I threw myself into the chat, asking for specifics, burying my brain in data until the physical world faded away.

When the chatter around me finally died down, I looked up. Tyler was staring at me, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Earth to Mia. Ive been calling your name for two minutes. Are you hiding a secret boyfriend or something?"

I opened my mouth to brush it off, but before I could speak, Jackson broke into a violent coughing fit. He pounded his chest, pretending he choked on a chili flake.

Suddenly, I was completely out of fucks to give.

"Actually, yeah. I am seeing someone."

The expressions on Tyler and Jacksons faces were identical shades of thunderous black.

Tyler practically launched himself off the park bench, looking like he was ready to commit a felony. "Mia! Call that son of a bitch right now! I am going to shatter his kneecaps!"

"I guard you night and day, and some absolute degenerate still slips past the gates?!" Tyler yelled, pacing. "I want to see exactly who has the balls to lay a hand on my little sister."

I stared at him. You didn't guard me very well from the guy standing right next to you, I thought.

I could feel Jacksons eyes burning holes into my skin. Even without looking at him, the sheer panic rolling off him was palpable.

Why the panic, Jackson? Did you think I was texting you? Or did you think I was about to blow up your life right here, right now, and shatter Gias illusion of you?

"Mia, you just started your internship," Jackson said, his voice forced into a calm, authoritative older-brother tone. "You don't know how to judge character yet. You need to let Tyler screen this guy for you."

I smiled sweetly. "You're absolutely right. Id love for both my big brothers to screen him."

Jackson stared at my phone as I raised it to my ear.

The line picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Evan. Can we meet up?"

Evans deep, soothing voice crackled through the speaker. "Send me the pin. Its getting lateare you hungry? Ill take you out."

"Just come here," I said softly. "You can eat with us."