My eyes widened the more she kept talking. Yeah, I had tried to pretend the whole thing didn’t happen while I was at home, but I probably didn’t do a good enough job of it. Not that it was a surprise my family could read me so well.
“It was why we let you leave so readily when you brought it up,” she continued. “We would have rather you stuck closer to home, but we made sure you had the money you needed to leave town.” Then she smiled sadly. “We never expected you would stay away so much, though. Barely visiting…”
“I called often,” I murmured guiltily.
“Calling was never enough, though.” She pursed her lips, seeing how her words were affecting me. As they should, because everything she said was the truth. I chose to run away and it wasn’t fair, but then she changed the subject. “Anyway, what have you and Ross talked about? You know, to get rid of the bad blood between the two of you, you need to talk things out properly, right?”
“I can't say we’ve talked all that much about anything important,” I said with a twist of my lips that mimicked a smile. “I guess you could say I just realized it.”
She smiled, that knowing look back again. “Because of Sophia, right?”
I nodded. “He’s so good with her. He’s a good dad, though I never thought of him ever having children back when we were teenagers, and so young.”
“Ever since her mother left, he’s been everything to that little girl.”
“I know. She’s a very bright girl and good in school. I used to think it was just natural talent, or she was good at listening in class. But it turns out, he closes work to pick her up and spend the afternoon with her. And sometimes he helps her with her homework and teaches her ahead of the class. And because he prefers to pick Sophia up and spend time with her, I’m pretty sure he’s losing out on some work that would make him earn more from his garage.”
Not to mention how long he’d been working on my car. I hadn't passed by since I dropped it off to see just what he was doing with it that it took so long. No matter how cheaply he valued his work, I knew it would be much more than what he claimed.
“He’s working on your car, isn’t he?” my mom asked, like she could read my mind.
I sighed. “Yeah, he is. It’s a terrible car. I can't tell you how many times it’s broken down, but he said he could fix it for me.”
“And have you gone to the garage to look it over?”
She said it suggestively, and I took it to mean that, if I hadn't, I should. I didn’t think I could, though, not that quickly. After all, I’d only been truly nice to him for the first time today. I would feel too embarrassed to suddenly show up at his garage.
If he invited me again, however…
I needed to do something about our relationship, though. It wasn’t the best at the moment; though he was obviously more than willing to be nice, I just had to meet him half way.
“Hey, Mom?”
“Hmm?” she looked up at me.
“Can I take you to the diner early tomorrow, before I have to get to school? I’d like to pick something up for breakfast.”
I didn’t have to say out loud that it wasn’t for me, and she smiled again as she nodded.
Chapter 5
Jessica
I sat in the diner waiting for my mom to warm up something for me. I’d offered to help, it was still early though we weren’t the only early risers in town, it seemed. Mom refused the offer, though. I had about half an hour to get to the school and, even then, I would be early, so I could do what I usually did and wait for my kids to arrive.
I stood by the counter talking to one of the workers. She was usually behind the cash register whenever I came by, and I knew it was because my mom trusted her in the position. She went to the same high school I had, but she must have joined after I left, and I’d been so relieved when I first heard that.
It might be ridiculous, but I was pretty much avoiding anyone I’d known well. Mary was different, because she and I had been friends before I decided to isolate myself, and, in any case, with work, it wasn’t like I could run from her.
“You know, I still can't believe he’s doing that shit to himself.”
“Yeah. If he had to stick around, fine, but Ross would be making more cash if he was at least smart about it.”
There was a laugh, then; “You say that as if you’ve ever left this town.”
“I did!”
“No way! Living in between this town and the next doesn’t mean you left town, you’re just a little further out than before.”
I hadn't meant to eavesdrop. There was a lull in my conversation with the girl at the cash register, and they weren’t that far behind me, so I heard them. I would have done the polite thing and tuned them out, but they mentioned Ross and I couldn’t help myself. Especially considering what the subject was about.
“How long has he been working on that car, anyway,” one of them said.
That made my ears perk up, as I immediately thought about my car, the one he’d been sitting on and supposedly working on for a whole month. I knew, even as I tried to kid myself that it couldn’t possibly be my car they were talking about.
“You mean that old piece of shit that he’s been working on for a month? The thing was a trash heap. I don’t know if he’s fixing it up for himself, or what, it would be a miracle if he got to restore that thing, but if he doesn’t get a mini-fortune for it, he’s a fucking idiot.”
My back stiffened in irritation. It was true that my car was a piece of shit, though. Every time it broke down and I managed to get it to a mechanic, they always told me the same thing: that I was lucky the thing was still running, and I needed to turn it in to some junkyard before it fell apart on me while I was driving and I got hurt.
I hadn't entirely trusted that Ross could fix it, either, with how messed up it was, even though he’d invited me plenty of times to check on its progress and I refused every time. Now, I kinda regretted not going at least once.
“If he wanted to make money being a mechanic, he should have considered moving shop, though,” one of the guys went on. “I brought it up to him before, but he said he didn’t want to move too far away from home.”
“It’s because of his daughter, isn’t it? His ex ran out on him and he needs his mom’s help raising the kid.”
The other guy snorted. “If he isn’t ready to raise a kid, he might as well leave her with his mom permanently. Besides, he has a car. There’s a garage for sale about an hour away. If he moved there, made more hours, got the right customers…”
“Yeah. He could make enough to live comfortably on in a year, and maybe think of expanding.” He paused and laughed. “Still needs to get rid of the trash heap, though. He’s already used up way too much time and resources on it. Even then, it’d be a miracle if it worked—”
“Here you go, honey.”
I jumped at the interruption. I was staring off into space as I listened to the conversation going on behind me. I’d glanced at them discreetly, and I was pretty sure I didn’t recognize them from high school, but they were probably Ross’s friends. My mom’s voice suddenly cutting in startled me, and when I looked up to meet her eyes, she was giving me a confused look.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, sounding a little worried.
But I shook my head quickly and tried to smile.
“I’m just fine, Mom,” I said, feeling guilty about lying to her.
I reached across the counter for the bag, but she held it away from me, frowning. I lost the smile and frowned stubbornly back. After a moment of us staring at each other, she sighed and held the bag out to me. I didn’t leave immediately, though, giving her a more natural-looking smile. It wasn’t her fault that I was mad at that idiot, again.
“Thank you for the breakfast, Mom. I appreciate it.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Yeah. Let’s hope he does as well, hmm?”
I rolled my eyes at my mother, even though she must have realized something. Ross wasn’t going t
o taste my mom’s pastries; I might as well just hand them over to Mary when I made it to the school. And that was exactly what I was going to do.
I turned away from my mother and caught the gaze of one of the guys I’d been eavesdropping on. But seeing him and his friend, who also turned to look at me, just reminded me of their conversation and the information I got from it. I stomped out of the diner in anger, hearing my mom call me out on it, but I ignored her.
“Fucking cheap, my ass,” I growled under my breath as I started a rapid walk down the street.
Every time he mentioned my car, I asked about the price, and I imagine the longer he had it, the more I should pay for it. Hell, some of the mechanics I’d taken the old car to had cost me double what he did for an afternoon’s work.
So why the fuck was Ross charging me next to nothing?
I froze in the middle of the sidewalk as my mind pushed through the scenarios and possibilities. Maybe he was trying for sex? Using it as an apology? I huffed and rolled my eyes, just remembering. I started walking again, but slower, with a scowl on my face. I wanted to fold my arms over my chest, but I couldn’t with the hot brown bag in my hand.
Was the bastard making a fool of me? I thought to myself with a gasp.
There couldn’t be any other possibility. I had thought we’d both matured, but, if he was still the shitty kid from back then, I was going to call him out on it. Then I was going to wait until we could get some privacy away from his daughter and the kids at my school, and I was going to tell him what I thought about him back then after what he did to me.
Chapter 6
Ross
I stopped the car in the school parking lot and let Sophia and myself out. I held her hand as we crossed the road, and, as usual, Jessica was there waiting. As soon as we were on the other side of the street, Sophia ran to Jessica and hugged her and they chatted a bit. Then Sophia ran inside.
But then Jessica turned to me with a look that was colder than usual.
I knew, instinctively, that something had happened. What or when, I had no idea, but it had something to do with me, and I wondered how I’d managed to annoy her this time.
“Jessica, what is it?” I asked, my voice low with worry.
Anger suddenly crossed her face, and it was strong enough to make me take a step back, but just mostly because it was anger aimed at me. It was a look that brought back memories nearly a decade old and confused me at the same time. Why couldn't she fucking forget it? It was a long time ago, and she was still acting as if it was the other day.
“Okay, seriously, what’s wrong?” I grew impatient and just wanted to get straight to the point.
She opened her mouth to speak, only to pause and look around. There were still children arriving and running around. She snapped her mouth shut and shot me another glare. I was tempted to back off, maybe let her cool off a bit. Her being angry at me reminded me of how I’d felt back then after what I did to her. I’d hurt her emotionally and ended up hurting myself in the process. I was dumb enough to back off then, and, in the end, we never got to talk before she left town.
I had been hoping things would get better between us, that we could be friends, at least, and hopefully more someday. So, whatever she was mad at me for now, we needed to resolve it before I left, or she’d stop talking to me again.
“Okay, look,” she finally said, and it was obvious she was having a hard time keeping her voice down and civil. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Ross. I would say I don’t care, but that is a self-evident lie. I will tell you right now to back the fuck off, though, if you think I’m going to let you play me again.”
I could feel my face morph into shock. I already knew she was mad and it made something in my chest shrivel up. But I forced myself to stand my ground. I reminded myself that I wasn’t an insecure teenager anymore, I was a man, and I was going to prove it to both of us.
“You’re going to have to explain something to me, Jessica,” I said after calming myself down a little, and I took a couple of steps closer. She stiffened and glanced around, but didn’t move away from me. I breathed a silent sigh of relief at that. “I don’t know why you’re suddenly so mad, or exactly what I did this time to get you to blow up at me, so explain it to me.”
“There's nothing to fucking explain,” she hissed with a glare.
“Uh, yeah, there is,” I protested, my voice lowering to match hers. “Even if nothing ever happens between us, there’s still my daughter, who happens to be in your class. You and I are going to have to get along, if for no other reason.”
I saw her grimace as she realized I was right, and I wondered what made her so mad that she’d allowed herself to forget in the first place.
She opened her mouth to say something, but someone else calling her name interrupted. It was another parent in her class, bringing her son. She was still across the road but coming quickly, and I turned to Jessica before she could let herself get distracted.
“I’m not going to leave until you tell me what the hell is going on, Jessica,” I said slowly while trying to tread delicately. There was one part of me that was so fucking mad; as soon as I think that she's put the past behind her, she proves to me once again that she hasn’t, at all.
Her face twisted as she tried not to glare at me again, now that she knew we had an audience.
“We can't talk about this here...” she hissed out, but I cut her off.
“There’s no other choice, where else would we meet, besides here? I don’t plan on making a scene, but I won’t leave until you talk to me.”
We stared at each other in stony silence, until her name was called again, only now nearer than before. So I turned away and headed back to my car. I could practically feel her gaze burning into my back, and it was all I could do to ignore it. I made it to my car, but, instead of getting inside and driving away, I leaned back against it. Jessica was still looking my way, and though she was too far for our gazes to meet, I hoped she at least realized I meant to keep my word.
I stayed there and watched as she greeted and talked to all the other parents and their kids as they came in. I felt a little disappointed that I didn’t get special treatment, but then, she wouldn’t be such a good teacher if she was preferential to Sophia and me over her other students.
After what felt like forever to me, but was probably less than ten minutes, the bell rang.
I waited, anxious, as last-minute parents and guardians waved goodbye to their kids, and the teachers led the few remaining students inside. When Jessica turned away and walked inside, I sighed and turned around to brace my arm against the car. If she was going to walk away, I didn’t want to see. Because I knew if she did, then it would take quite a while before things could go back to being smooth between the two of us, and it was just so fucking frustrating.
“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath, though it sounded more tired than anything.
“Ross?”
My eyes widened as I whirled around, surprised to see her coming back and crossing the road to stand in front of me. I glanced around and wondered just how long I’d been standing there feeling sorry for myself, because the street was pretty much empty again. Then my eyes strayed back to Jessica, and she seemed to read the look on my face.
“Don’t worry; I’m not running away from this.” She folded her arms over her chest as she scowled up at me, but it lacked the fierceness from before. “I know that’s where I made a mistake, back in school.”
I blinked at her a couple of times, then felt an unsure smile curve my lips. “Uh, I kinda wasn’t expecting… don’t you have class now?”
She arched an eyebrow. “You know I do, but you still waited for me, didn’t you?”
I scratched the back of my head, feeling a little sheepish. But then I dropped my arm and sighed, my expression becoming serious.
“I was just hoping you’d come and talk to me before the bell rang.”
Her head was shaking before I finished speaking
. “I’m not about to break my routine, not even for you, Ross. The only reason I came back out here and didn’t just leave you to rot is that I managed to get someone else to cover for me for a while. But not for very long.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “I’m sorry, I guess I should have thought things through. I swear I didn’t mean to inconvenience you.”
She sighed, though the scowl remained. “No, you had a reason for reacting as you did, and I have to thank you. I’d just heard something that left me irritated, and letting it out on you without giving you a chance to at least defend yourself was hardly fair. You did something unforgivable to me before, but neither of us is a teenager anymore, and I’m more than willing to be mature about this. Just give me a fucking reason to trust you right now, Ross.”
My expression cleared, only for me to frown again as she spoke, because I still wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Did I do something to annoy you at some point between yesterday and this morning?” I asked, beginning to feel frustrated. “If I did, tell me what it was and I’ll apologize for it.”
Instead of answering immediately, though, she pursed her lips as she regarded me. The scrutiny made me feel a little self-conscious, like she was trying to see through me. After a moment, when I could no longer take the charged silence, I opened my mouth to speak, ask again what the problem was and hope she would answer this time, when she beat me to it.
“How’s my car coming along? And how much am I paying for all the work you’re doing?”
I only frowned harder. Why was she asking me about the damn car now?
“The car’s fine,” I said dismissively. “And the pay is the same it always has been, unless you want a discount...” I cut off when she growled at me, feeling my eyes widen in surprise again. “Okay, Jessica, seriously now, what?”
Why was she back to looking angry, like I’d run over her cat or something?
“That right there is my problem, Ross,” she said, continuing when I only gave her a confused look. “My car. You’ve spent all this time on it, are making all sorts of changes to it. You’re spending time, effort, and I’m sure money to acquire some parts or using parts you already have that you might need later. I know you’d cost differently from a mechanic in the city, but, even so, the price is too fucking low.”
One More Turn: A Second Chance Romance Page 4