Revive Me

by Ferrell, Charity

  “Maybe he’s changed,” I said hurriedly. “He says he hasn’t met a girl like me before.”

  He snorted, his dark eyes blinking. “I hope you’re smarter than that.”

  “I don’t know what I am anymore,” I grumbled.

  We pulled up to my house, and he turned in his seat to look at me. “Look, take my advice, don’t take my advice, it’s up to you. If you feel like Reese can help you get away from whatever you’re going through, then fine, whatever. Just be careful and don’t tread so deep you drown.” His phone beeped, and a black truck pulled up behind us. “That’s my ride. Be careful, and I hope you find what you’re looking for. I hope you get happy before you let my brother ruin you.” He swiftly jumped out of my car and got into the truck.

  I sighed, tossing my head back against the headrest. I didn’t understand anything anymore. Everyone was warning me away from Reese like he was some boogeyman creeping under my bed at night, but he made me feel so safe. It hurt me to think about what it would feel like losing him, losing the way he made me feel, and the attention he was giving me. A single tear fell down my cheek. I was different. That’s what he said, and I believed him until it hit me when I was walking through my front door. And I felt like such an idiot when it did. Reese had his lips and hands everywhere on my body, but not once did he kiss me on the lips.

  “Get up!” A voice yelled, startling me, and I quickly jumped from my bed. The room was dark, and I shook my head to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. I winced, when the light was suddenly turned on, my eyes burning and sensitive to the bright light now shining above me. I noticed my mom standing in my doorway, looked at my alarm clock, and fell back down on my bed.

  “It’s four in the morning,” I said, raising my arm up to block the light from my eyes “Go back to bed.” She had to be drunk. What a good combination we were. I was hung over and she was drunk.

  “Your father’s in jail,” she spat, and I moved my arm away to see if she was kidding.

  “What?” I asked, still in shock from her words. My dad, the professional, well-respected lawyer, was in jail? I moved my hand to look up at her. She was in her pajamas. Her hair was a mess on top of her head. I remembered the woman I’d once admired, the woman who helped me with my homework and with my hair before school dances. That woman was gone. She’d died alongside Tanner.

  “Your dad got arrested,” she spat. “Now, get up.”

  “Dad’s in jail? Are you sure?” She’d drunk too much. There was no way.

  “Yes, your friend’s piece of shit father arrested him for drunk driving. Years of friendship with those people, and he pulls this shit on us. After everything!” She threw her hands up in the air.

  This wasn’t good. Daisy’s dad was the sheriff in our town. My parents had been friends with Daisy’s since they were in grade school. They’d all grown up together. My parents had been in their wedding and vice versa. We vacationed together, and we celebrated birthdays together. Every great memory I had, Daisy and her parents were always included. But her dad couldn’t be blamed. My dad was the one who got behind the wheel drunk. Daisy’s was just doing his job.

  “Let me get dressed, and I’ll go with you to bond him out,” I told her, wanting her to calm down, so I could diffuse the situation. She couldn’t go into the jail screaming like a manic.

  Tears trailed down her face. “Thank you, sweetie. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said softly. “I’ll go get dressed and meet you downstairs.” I swallowed the large lump in my throat. Seeing my mom like this was heartbreaking.

  I jumped up from my bed, threw on some yoga pants, and raced down the stairs to find my mom waiting on me.

  “You should probably let me drive,” I suggested, holding my hand out for the keys dangling from her finger, when I smelled her breath. The last thing I needed was for both of my parents to be in the drunk tank tonight. I’d slept my alcohol off, but I could still smell hers.

  She set the keys in my palm and followed me into the garage. I got into the driver’s side of her SUV, and she jumped into the passenger seat. I opened the garage door and geared the car into drive.

  “Do we need to go to a bail bondsman or to the jail?” I asked, pulling onto our street. I’d heard stories about people getting DUIs before when I’d been at Daisy’s, but I wasn’t sure how the process worked.

  “Let’s try the station first,” she said. I looked over at her to find her shaky hands clasped together in her lap.

  “You know they can’t just let him go.” I didn’t want her to get her hopes up.

  “There’s no way David is going to make him stay overnight. No way,” she said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than anything.

  “Okay,” I drew out, still not sure it was a good idea. There was no way, friend or not, David was going to let him walk out there, still intoxicated, with no repercussions. He was a good man and a friend to our family, but he was no pushover and never broke the law for people. Even if it was people he loved.

  “You want to talk about why you quit your job?” I asked, taking advantage of the situation. I’d gotten a phone call from a co-worker of hers asking if she was okay. When I’d asked why, she told me she hadn’t shown up for the past week. No call, no show. If one more shift went uncovered, she’d be fired.

  “Now is not the time, Tessa,” she declared, rummaging through her purse and popping a breath mint.

  “It’s never a good time,” I grumbled. “You got fired from your job, Dad’s been arrested, and our family doesn’t even talk to each other. What’s going to happen next? We go broke, lose the house, and have nowhere to go? Because that’s what our future is looking like right now.”

  “I didn’t get fired, I quit. I told Millie I couldn’t handle it anymore.” Mille was the owner of the pharmacy she worked at. “She understands.”

  I turned right into the police station and parked in an open spot. “So are you going to be looking for another job?”

  “Not at the moment. We have plenty in our savings account, your father is still working to make money, and I need a break. Eventually, I’ll get back into the work force. I just need time.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. I was beginning to resent my own mother. “It’s been months. I’m back at school, and so is Derrick. I know what you’re going through, what we’re all going through,” I corrected, she wasn’t the only person dealing with this. “It’s hard, but you can’t break down and not live. You can’t die, too.”

  A tear trickled down her cheek. “Don’t try to talk logic to me. You’ll never know the hurt of losing a child until you’re a mother. I miss him every single second of the day. When you two were born, I prayed to God I’d never have to bury one of my babies. But he didn’t listen. He only gave me seventeen years before he took him away. Seventeen years! That’s nothing.” She slammed her hand against the glove compartment and cried out in agony.

  I fidgeted in my seat and undid my seatbelt. If it were in the past, I’d lean over, wrap her in my arms, and console her like she’d done for me so many times. But now? I had no idea what to do with this stranger. She continued to cry, and I finally patted her arm a few times.

  “Can you please go see if they’ll release him?” She sniffled. “I can’t go in there like this.”

  I knew this was going to happen. “I don’t think they’ll release him to a minor.”

  “Just do it!” she shrieked, and my hand shot away from her.

  “Fine,” I snapped. I should’ve been more sensitive to her emotions, but she was selfish. She only cared about the fact that she was hurting. I was seventeen and heading into the police station at four in the morning to try to persuade an officer to release my drunk driving dad from his cell because she “couldn’t take it.”

  “This isn’t going to go well,” I whispered to myself, grabbing the door handle to the glass door and walking into the station’s lobby.

  “Tessa,” David said, moving around the front desk in his
uniform, a phone in his hand, and a worried expression on his face. It’d been months since I’d seen him. “Please tell me you’re not here for your dad.”

  “I am,” I said, embarrassed.

  “I’m sorry honey,” he said, his tone gentle, “but I can’t release him.” He looked past me. “Where’s your mom?”

  I swallowed hard and clutched my arms to my chest. “She’s out in the car.”

  “Maybe you should ask her to come in.”

  “Yeah, she’s heaving a breakdown at the moment.”

  “Shit,” he hissed under his breath. “I’m sure she’s angry at me. Look, I can’t let him go. I could lose my badge, and I won’t risk the safety of our town. He has to stay in there for the rest of the night. When he’s sobered up, your mom can post bail.” Great, my mom wasn’t going to be happy about this news.

  “Can we please bail him out tonight? I’m driving, I’ll put him in bed, and no one will get hurt,” I asked, hopefully.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t let him go anywhere tonight.” He paused for a moment. “And it’s too late for you to be out. Do you want me to take you guys back?”

  “I’m good, thanks.” If my mom saw him, she’d probably scratch his eyeballs out.

  “I want you to text me when you get home to assure me you’ve made it home safely. Tell your mom to call me in the morning, and I’ll let her know when he can be released. You don’t need to be worrying about this stuff.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered, turning around and heading back outside.

  “And Tessa?”

  I twisted around to look at him. “Yeah?”

  “If you or Derrick need anything, and I mean anything, don’t hesitate to call Janis or me. We’re all still family.”

  “I know.” I opened up the door and headed out into the dusk, staying in line with the parking lot lights overhead, until I made it back to the car.

  The car was still running when I got back in. “Where is he?” she asked. I looked over at her, blinking a few times, before I realized she was serious. She’d actually believed they were going to let him walk out free.

  “He’s in the drunk tank. They won’t release him until tomorrow.”

  “That goddamn asshole!” She threw her door open. “I’m going to tell that little prick what a piece of shit he is! No one would do that to a friend. No one!”

  I jumped out of my seat and chased after her, which was easy because she was stumbling around, and unable to walk in a straight line. I grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the car. “If you go in there and yell at him, it isn’t going to do anything but make things worse,” I told her, shoving her into the car. “Unless you want to be sharing a cell with Dad.”

  She kicked the open passenger door. “They can’t arrest me! I’ve done nothing wrong!”

  I scoffed “If you go in there and threaten a police officer, whether or not you know him, it’s against the law. Especially right in the police station where there are other officers and cameras.”

  “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms and falling back into the seat. “But you stay away from them. All of them, and that means Daisy.” A deep pit formed in my stomach. She didn’t even know about Daisy leaving.

  I took a deep breath. “Okay, just calm down, and we’ll bail dad out tomorrow.”

  “Just take me home, please.” She held her shaking hands in her lap and sobbed the rest of the way home.

  “Hey babe,” Reese said, hopping into the seat next to me. The first thing I noticed were his blood shot eyes, which had become a usual occurrence, and caused a sour taste in my mouth.

  “What do you want?” I grumbled. A few days had passed, and we hadn’t talked since I’d left his brother’s house.

  He slapped his hand over his heart. “Awe babe, you’re really mad at me? You’re the one who took off with my brother. And I had to find out the guy who picked you up from that party was that fucking douche bag? How do you think that makes me feel? I’m not hanging out with any other girls,” he leaned forward, swiping a piece of hair behind my ear, “and you’re having other guys take you home.”

  “You were acting like a maniac,” I argued, playing with the wrapper around my water bottle and not looking at him.

  “We were both drunk and high. Did you forget how you were acting?”

  I squinted my eyes, thinking back to that night, but things were still blurry. “I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

  “Look, we were both in the wrong. Now, let me make it right.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “My dad is going out of town this weekend for a fishing trip. That means I have the house to myself. You’re coming over, and we won’t have to worry about my asshole brother coming in and spewing bullshit.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Actually, I knew that wasn’t a good idea.

  “Babe, give me a chance. You’ve never fully given me a chance, plus, I think you owe me for leaving parties twice with that guy.” God, was I ever going to hear the end of it? Reese would apologize and immediately expect me to forget about it. But he liked to drag it out for days if someone wronged him. He pressed his hands together. “Please,” he begged.

  “Fine,” I replied.

  “You’re amazing.” He kissed my cheek. “Be sure to bring an overnight bag or you can wear something of mine.” He winked, my back straightening as he studied me, waiting for my reaction. We’d never spent the night together. It wouldn’t be any different than us being at a party, except we’d be alone all night, which was actually a pretty big difference.

  “I’m going to make you dinner, try to be all romantic and shit.”

  “Romantic and shit? You’ve already made it sound that way.”

  His hands moved from the table and rested on my thighs. “You’re my girl, Tessa, and I need to start acting like it. I know I’m a dumbass sometimes, but you need to know my feelings for you are real. I don’t want to lose you. For as long as I can remember, my life has been one screwed up cluster fuck. I’ve had plenty of girls,” I gave him a look and he ran his hand over his face. “Shit, wrong thing to say, but it helps make my point. I’ve never treated any of them like I have treated you. I’ve never invited them to my house or made them dinner. I actually enjoy spending time with you.” His shoulder hit mine playfully. “Even when we’re clothed.”

  “Okay, that last part could’ve been left out,” I grumbled “But the rest of it was sweet, thank you.” I paused, hesitant about bringing it up. “What about Alexa?”

  His brother’s words had been haunting me since that night. Did Reese really ruin her? Did he cheat on her and then try to hit her? I was too afraid to ask. I knew Reese had his flaws, but nothing that horrifying. I was afraid to see his reaction. I was afraid to find out the truth. If I did, it would be expected for me to leave him. I would rather be left in the dark then left alone.

  Reese groaned in frustration and ran his hands through his thick hair. “Alexa and I, there’s nothing. We’ve known each other since we were kids. Our dads are friends. We tried something, years ago, but it could not and will never work between us. We butt heads. We’re too much alike. We decided that a long time ago.”

  “Oh, okay.” I wanted to ask him more questions, but I could tell he was done with that subject. “When do you want me to come over?

  Dawson

  I ignored the lunch on my tray as I focused my attention on Reese sitting with Tessa. I grinded my teeth, watching him scoot her chair closer to him, and grab her hand before kissing her full on the mouth. I couldn’t believe she’d forgiven him for how he’d treated her at the bonfire. The guy was a fucking idiot, and she believed every word that came out of his lying mouth. I knew she would fall apart when he’d drop her faster than one of his cigarettes. She wouldn’t be able handle it.

  “He’s going to fuck her, ya know?” A feminine voice said from out of nowhere. I looked up to find a girl pulling out the chair next to me and plopping her ass dow
n onto it. She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and waited for my reaction.

  She was hot. I couldn’t argue that. I was positive no guy in the room would argue with me. Her long, dark hair was curled and fell to each side of her large breasts in the low-cut top she was wearing. Large gold bracelets dangled from her wrists as big as the hoops around her earlobes. Her face was done perfectly, smokiness around her eyes, and her lips were the color of a juicy, bright apple.

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  She pointed over to where I’d been staring. “Your little crush over there. He’s going to fuck her and then leave her.”

  Who the fuck was this chick? “Shut the hell up,” I said, sharply, my throat stinging as her words sunk in. I wanted to deny it, but I knew better. I knew it would happen, and I knew I couldn’t stop it.

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just warning you. Reese, he loves the game. He loves the challenge.”

  “She’s not a challenge.”

  She laughed sarcastically. “Oh, she is. I’ve seen it happen too many times. He finds the cute but broken and insecure girls. He gives them attention, showers them with compliments, and makes them feel wanted. He gives them life.” My jaw set. I wanted to stop her, but I also wanted to hear what she had to say. “There are so many girls here who will rip their panties off and bend over for him with the snap of his fingers. No questions asked. Something about having the bad guy, you know?” I stared at her without answering. “He gets bored with that. He likes the chase. He likes to be innocent girls’ firsts and brag about it. He was the man who convinced them to give it up. And then he cuts the cord.”

  “Maybe he’s changed,” I argued, feeling like a damn idiot. “Maybe he actually likes her and wants to be with her.” I hated myself for what I was doing. But Tessa had told me to let her make her own decisions, and as much as it killed me doing so, I was going to make her happy. At least I’d been trying to convince myself to.