He was bluffing and we both knew it. He had nothing on me. Unfortunately, as bad timing went, Jesse chose that moment to show up again.
“Wait!”
“Shit,” I muttered.
Mr. Elliott turned. Once he saw Jesse, an almost evil smile stretched across his face. “Mr. Tyler, you are breaking the statutes of your suspension by being on campus.”
“Rocky didn’t do anything!”
I pulled back my mouth and narrowed my eyes, trying to signal for him to stop talking.
Jesse either couldn’t see me, or chose not to care. “She was only here because of me.”
“Shut up, Jesse,” I snapped.
Mr. Elliott lifted an eyebrow but dropped his hold on me. “Oh? And why is that?”
“I got this, Jesse. Stop talking,” I interjected.
The vice principal threw me an annoyed glance. “Let Mr. Tyler speak.”
It was painfully obvious to everyone that Mr. Elliott didn’t care much for Jesse. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to finally rid Bethel Falls High of him.
“The flask is mine,” my friend announced.
What an idiot!
Not wanting to see the look of glory on Mr. Elliott’s face, I focused on the way the field lights reflected off his balding head instead. His footsteps sounded squishy against the dewy grass and were interrupted by the loud thumps of Jesse’s boots as he scuffled towards me.
“You two in my office, now!” he growled while he turned back toward the main campus.
“Why does Rocky have to go?” Jesse asked with alarm.
“I think her parents would like to know exactly who she spends time with.”
As we marched through the school, I couldn’t help but feel as if we were walking toward the gallows. Elbowing Jesse, I hissed, “Why did you fess up? They had nothing on me! I would have walked away.”
“I’m not dragging you down with me anymore.”
“Jesse—”
“If the shit hits the fan, I will never let you get punished for it.”
***
Jesse did not return to the bedroom, but I figured he wouldn’t. In fact, had it not been for the slight soreness of my vag and the telltale condom wrapper on the nightstand, I would have thought I had been dreaming again.
I entered the bathroom and took a good look at the mirror, half-expecting to see the acne faced girl from yesteryear. With a slight shake of my head, I turned on the faucet and began washing up, preparing myself to face the day. I took my time yet again and when I finally entered the bedroom to look for my clothes, I was surprised to find Jesse sitting on the bed.
“Oh!” I was still naked as the day I was born and scrambled to cover myself up, which was stupid, given what we did the night before.
He smiled, raising his hands to cover his eyes. “Your clothes are on top of my dresser.”
My lips tightened as I dropped my arms and walked across the room. It wasn’t until I grabbed my clothes that I noticed Jesse had lowered his hands and was watching me.
“You look beautiful. You have always looked beautiful,” he said tenderly.
I pressed my lips into a smile as I quickly put on underwear and jumped into my jeans.
Jesse frowned. “Are you mad at me?”
I sighed. “I thought you left…again.”
He bowed his head and nodded. “I guess I deserve that.”
“Yeah, you do.” I arched an eyebrow. “Where’d you go, anyway?”
“I was just watching TV. You seemed so peaceful and I tend to wake up early.”
That explained his superior punctuality. “Oh.”
“They said the roads are as clear as they’re going to get. Did you want to start heading up?”
I really didn’t want to go. It felt great feeling tucked away with Jesse, but I knew we couldn’t stall any longer.
“Sure.”
Even saying the words felt like a twist to heart.
***
Jesse and I piled into the car with a bunch of snacks and drinks. You would have thought we were preparing for a cross country trip or even the end of the world by the stack of chips, cookies, and energy bars on my lap.
As Charleston flew by us, I couldn’t help but feel as if I wasn’t only saying goodbye to the city, but to Jesse as well. There was a question that needed to be asked, but neither of us wanted to address it. To make matters worse, traffic became unbelievably slow the farther we traveled north. It only gave us even more time to dance around the topic.
“So….is Rossi’s closed today?” Jesse asked after a few moments of silence.
“Yeah, I told Justin to make the call. Sounds like it should be.”
“Well, that’s good. Gives us time to get you back.”
“Yeah…”
More silence.
Jesse reached out and turned the volume up on the radio, trying everything to avoid the big talk.
It sucked.
A small part of me thought after what we did the night before we’d be holding hands. We’d be talking and laughing and planning our lives in Bethel Falls. However, sleeping with him and expressing our feelings did not change the fact he had a business in Charleston. He had a whole new life far away from the one I established. He was going to leave me again whether I liked it or not.
One hour passed. Two hours passed. Then three. Once we were finally nearing the home stretch, I knew it had to be said.
“Are you still moving back to Charleston?” I blurted out.
Jesse blinked, snapping the radio off. “I’m surprised this conversation took almost four hours to come up.”
“Goes both ways,” I said quietly.
He took a deep breath. “You know the answer to that.”
I nodded slowly and looked out the window. I was afraid if I looked at his face I’d burst out crying. “So you’re going to leave me again. Wonderful.”
“You can come with me, you know.”
My eyes bugged out. I didn’t see that one coming. “What?”
“You can move to Charleston. Start painting again. There’s a gallery close to my apartment. I didn’t get a chance to show you yesterday, but I think it would be good—”
“Why would I move?” I cut him off a bit rudely, I’ll admit.
“Well, I mean, I thought…” His voice trailed off.
“I have a job, I’m near my family. It’s stable.”
“But not as stable as me,” he concluded.
I shut my eyes and sighed. “When you brought me to Charleston I realized how much I didn’t know about you.”
“But that’s why—”
“No, let me finish.” I shook my head. “How can I pack up and move to an unfamiliar city with a guy that I’m just starting to figure out all over again?”
“Funny, we seemed to know each other last night.”
I shot him a look.
He snorted. “Okay, fine. Sorry. But you know it’s true.”
“And because you said it, it has to be.” My tone oozed sarcasm.
Jesse snorted. “And you know what else is true? The reason why you’re worried about leaving is because you don’t want to grow up.”
“Excuse me?” I was aghast.
“Think about it. You left for college only to come back to work at Rossi’s Novelties.”
“It’s a family business. Of course I’d come back to it.”
“Emily didn’t seem to care,” he shot back.
I rolled my eyes. “She’s the black sheep. If you haven’t noticed, the rest of family is still there. Stephanie is too! I don’t see you accusing her of Peter Panning.”
“Stephanie is different,” he replied. “You always wanted to get out of Bethel Falls.”
“That was before…”
“The gallery debacle?” He nodded his head proudly as if he had just cracked a puzzle. “Artists get criticized all the time. Actors get bashed and authors get one-star reviews. It’s a part of life. You either grow from the criticism or you stay
stagnant. You, my friend, are stagnant.”
Did he really just call me a friend?
I felt my temper flaring. “Just because I don’t want to go with you I’m suddenly afraid of growing up?”
“No, just because you’re still hiding in comfort means you’re afraid to grow up. Is that why you let your mom push Ethan in your face? Is that why you were afraid to fess up to that kiss? Is that why—”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
He inhaled deeply. “I want you to see that you have a choice. You don’t need to follow anybody around. Not even me. You decide what you want to do and only you.”
Chapter 25
“Why did you do that?” I hissed.
“I couldn’t let you get in trouble. Why would you take the blame?”
Jesse and I sat side by side in the vice principal’s office waiting for our parents to come. Well, my parents. Jesse’s mom wouldn’t show up unless there was a promise of an open bar and cigarettes.
I bounced my leg nervously. “My record is cleaner than yours. I could take the blame and walk but you—”
“Will be expelled?”
I nodded.
“Figures,” he snorted.
“Raquel!”
I winced when I heard my dad’s furious tone and Mom’s sharp sobs. I quickly jumped to my feet. “Dad. Mom.”
“You!” Dad stomped over to Jesse, who merely looked up with a somber expression on his face. My dad wagged his finger at him, trembling frighteningly. “You’re lucky you’re a minor or—”
“Or what, Dad?” I quickly flew between them. “Are you going to hit him?”
“Rocky!” my mom hissed. “Since when did you become so disrespectful?”
“I’ll tell you when. It’s ever since she’s been spending time with this trash!” Dad shouted.
“Dad! Stop that right now!” I screamed, glancing over at Jesse.
“He’s right,” Jesse said quietly. “You know my parents; you’ve seen my house. Of course I’m trash.”
“No! You’re not!” I argued.
“We’re going home.” Dad’s face matched the color of my dress. He was furious and I knew I was going to be grounded for life.
“What about Jesse?” I asked meekly.
Mr. Elliott chose that moment to make himself be known. “We’ll wait for his mother.”
“What if she doesn’t come?” I cried out.
Jesse flinched, obviously knowing it was a big possibility.
Mr. Elliott cleared his throat. “I’ve already spoken to her and his father. They’ll be here shortly.”
“Wait, my father’s coming? How’s that possible? He’s in Charleston.” The blood drained from Jesse’s face.
For the first time all night, Mr. Elliott’s face softened. “He’ll be in tomorrow.”
“For what?” he demanded.
“I think you’ll need to discuss that with your mother.”
***
I’ve made plenty of decisions before, none of which I believed to be the result of fear. I was even ready to take the blame for Jesse time and time again. Was I scared back then? Nope.
Still, I couldn’t help but accept that he was right about me. Somewhere in my life I somehow turned stagnant. When did I become so afraid to take risks?
Maybe Stephanie was right. There was something about Jesse that woke up that risk taking part of my brain.
After almost five hours on the road, we pulled up to Rossi’s Novelties a little after one. I was pleased to find that Justin had kept his word and hired someone to plow the lot, allowing Jesse and I to roll up seamlessly in front of the store.
When the car slowed to a stop we both sat there, unsure of what to do next. Was Jesse going in with me? Was he going to turn around and drive straight back? Was he going to see his mom?
“Jesse, I—”
“Rocky!” a voice yelled, interrupting me. I turned to my right and found a very angry looking Ethan standing outside the car, staring into the passenger side window.
“Looks like your boyfriend is waiting for you.” Jesse’s cold tone perfectly complemented the furrow of his eyebrow and downward slope of his mouth.
“He’s not—”
“Just go,” Jesse said, cutting me off.
“What are you going to do? Where are you going? You can’t just leave me.” My bottom lip trembled. “Not again.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he assured me.
I gripped the door handle and paused before stepping out of the car. “For what it’s worth, Ethan has never been my boyfriend.”
“I’d hope not, considering what we did last night.”
“Jesse—”
“Just go.”
Without bothering to glance back, I stepped out of the car to an impatient Ethan. As soon as I slammed the door behind me, Jesse peeled off as fast as he could with all the slush on the ground. I stared after him, watching as he once again left me behind.
“I heard you were sick.” Ethan’s jaw clenched as if he were trying hard to bite back words he really wanted to say.
“I was.” I pushed past him and walked into the store. Though we were closed that day, Justin and his girlfriend were perched by the cash wrap eating sandwiches. Justin sat at the edge of the counter kicking his large snow boots against the wood looking as if he were a little kid. Once he saw me the smile on his face immediately washed off.
“Rocky!” He flew forward and motioned for his girlfriend to jump off as well. When she landed on her feet, she lifted an eyebrow, giving me a once over.
Not in the mood for your shit.
“Sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to ruin your day off.” I shot his girlfriend a smile and for a while I didn’t know if she was buying it. However, as soon as Ethan stepped up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder her face quickly softened.
“Oh, it was fun, actually.” Justin snuck a glance at the blonde beauty and together they shared a conspiratorial wink.
I knew the look they shared well. It was the same look Jesse and I had after sex the night before. It was the look of content we shared after we made love.
I glanced at Ethan guiltily and knew I had to end it now. He was a good guy and didn’t deserve what I was giving to him.
Justin motioned towards Ethan. “He came here looking for you. Said he couldn’t reach you last night and came here first thing this morning.”
“You weren’t answering your doorbell either, or your phone.” By the tightness of his eyes and clenching of his jaw, it was easy to see that Ethan was definitely not amused.
I couldn’t remember my phone ringing once the night before. Then again, I never really checked it after we got back to Jesse’s apartment.
I scratched at my throat and let out a half-hearted chuckle. “Yeah, I was in my room all day. Sick.”
“Sick, huh?” It was obvious Ethan didn’t believe me.
Justin’s eyes bounced between us. “Um, your parents called too.”
“My parents?” I squeaked. “What did they want?”
“They didn’t say. Just told me to tell you to call them.”
Crap.
Thanking Justin and his girlfriend, I walked towards the back office. Ethan was at my heel, never letting me out of my sight. When I made it to the door, I spun around, feeling completely claustrophobic.
“Ethan, if you want to say something, then just say it.” I was feeling emotionally drained and really had no time for him. Besides the fact that Jesse went bipolar again, my parents were calling. Definitely not good.
I felt my face fall when I noticed the slight tremble of his lips. “I just wanted to tell you that I shoveled the walkway.”
“What?” I asked in surprise.
“Didn’t you see the shovel in my hand when we were outside? Oh, no, that’s right—you were busy staring at Jesse,” he shot back flatly.
I stopped moving.
“Yeah, that’s right. I saw you. I’m not as thick as you think I am.”
“I don’t think you’re thick.”
He waved his hand over my face. “No, let me finish. I had a feeling something might have gone on between you two. The way you acted any time he walked in the room and the way he stared me down as if he wanted to punch me…then you told me you were old best friends and I chalked it up to big brother syndrome.”
I looked down at my feet, unable to look anywhere else.
“I convinced myself that I had nothing to worry about. I mean, we had such a good time that night—the night I saw him parked in front of your house.”
I gasped and looked back up.
He nodded. “I still didn’t want to believe it, but then I heard you.”
“Heard me?” I had no idea what he was getting at.
“You butt dialed me or something, which I didn’t even know was possible on a smartphone. I heard him talking about taking you back to his apartment.”
My brain turned over, trying to figure out how I accidentally called him from a smart phone. Realizing I must have failed to lock my phone after I had spoken to Justin, I sagged my shoulders in defeat. “Sorry.”
He bit his lip and nodded. “He lived out of town, right? Were you even sick?”
I shook my head. It was time for the truth. I was sick of all the lies.
He grumbled. “Of course not.”
I brought my finger up to my mouth and began biting at my cuticles. “If…if you knew this why did you shovel the walkway for us?”
Really, out of all the things I could have said?
He let out a stale laugh. “What can I say? I’m a sucker. I’m a good guy and we all know that the good guy never wins.”
Before I could say anything more he spun around and walked towards the double doors.
“Ethan!”
“Goodbye, Rocky. Tell your parents there’ll be someone else working on their account. Of course you’ll have to wait to tell them until after you explain why there are about a million customer complaints.”
I blinked. “What are you talking?”
He either didn’t hear me or chose to ignore me. Regardless, I found myself staring at the back of his olive green parka and crisp new beanie as he walked out the door. I stayed frozen even after the ring of the bells silenced.
Two Outta Three (Two Outta Three #1) Page 19