by Bradon Nave
“No…that dude drinks more Coke and eats more cereal than any person I know,” I confirmed.
“What’s he doing tonight?” my dad asked.
“Probably hanging out with Lily,” I replied.
“They’re both welcome to come over,” my dad said as he struck a match.
“I’ll text him,” I replied as I pulled my phone from my pocket.
***
Duke was quick to accept the invitation as he and Lily hadn’t made supper plans prior to the call. My father had a tendency to over-prepare. Some meals left me with the impression he was still cooking for both Cory and I. Although he made sarcastic comments occasionally, I believed my father enjoyed cooking and entertaining for groups larger than just the two of us. I personally enjoyed the noise in the dining room. Nothing is lonelier than silence.
“Kacey, did you see what Tamara was wearing today?” Lily asked. It appeared as though her lips were attempting not to curl into a smile.
“I did,” Kacey replied solemnly as she took a sip from her tea while we sat around the dining room table. Her smile was revealed as the glass left her mouth.
“She certainly has an interesting style, doesn’t she?” Lily continued as she shared a grin with Kacey.
Clearing her throat, Kacey was quick to shake her head. “I’m not sure if interesting is the word I’d choose. She looked like she was on a mission to contract as many sexually transmitted infections as possible.”
My dad covered his mouth as he choked on the drink he was about to swallow. “Oh…wow, Kacey. That was a little brutal.”
“No, Joe. She’s a crab factory,” Lily followed up.
“That’s mean,” Duke protested, smiling at his girlfriend’s rude comment. “Tamara’s a nice girl.”
“I know all about you and Tamara…I can only imagine why you think she’s so nice,” Lily replied.
“Ew. Lily, I really hope you got that boy tested before you two started dating,” Kacey said as an involuntary laugh hastily left my mouth.
“Right? So gross,” Lily said as a look of disgust fell across her face.
“I’m right here,” Duke said as my father looked completely at a loss for words.
“You girls are vicious tonight,” I said as I looked to Kacey, trying my hardest not to smile.
“Duke…you know I’m only half-serious,” she said as her fork lifted to her mouth.
“So…my feelings are only half-hurt,” he replied, shaking his head at Lily with a smile.
“Even if Tamara wasn’t so friendly, I still can’t stand her,” Lily said as she reached for her tea. “She’s always had it out for Sarah.”
“Why?” I asked, my curiosity mounting in my throat.
“I dunno, a boy,” she said, avoiding eye contact. I instantly imagined either Cory had relations with that Tamara girl, or she had wanted him to.
“Well, I don’t know what boy in his right mind would mess with Tamara if he could be hanging around with Sarah,” Kacey said.
“So…in other news, Kacey and Lily are the two new high school bullies. They’re both surprisingly good at it,” Duke said, his scowl firm as he cut into his food.
“I’m just messing with you,” Lily said as her head rested on his shoulder.
“Yeah, Duke…me too.”
“So, Duke, your mom is getting married, I hear?” My father seemed anxious to change the subject as quickly as possible.
“Yes, sir, she is. He’ll be moving in pretty soon too.”
“Jessie says that’s good news,” my father continued.
“It’s great news,” Duke replied, his fork lifting a bite of meat to his mouth. “I really like Larry, and my mom seems like she’s really happy too.”
“Well, then there you have it,” my dad said.
“You missed out, Dad.” My father looked to me. His expression gave me the impression he was a bit intrigued. “But don’t worry, I think I’m gonna work something out with Larry so I can still swing by on my special Judy night. I’m sure she can squeeze you in,” I said as our guests began laughing, even Duke.
“Okay, then…I really need to start hanging out with people my age. I can’t handle this,” my father said, his smile pointed downward as his eyes diverted from ours.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
“So…what is it about Tamara that you dislike so much? I mean, it’s not like she’s ever done anything to you personally,” I said to Kacey as we cuddled on top of my bed, my door wide open.
“No…she just reminds me of somebody with her long, nasty, and stringy red hair. I hate the way she demands attention. I just don’t like her,” Kacey replied, her tone somewhat defensive.
“Who?” my voice chuckled as I asked.
“Eh…I hate her. Her name was Katie. I hate even saying her name.” Kacey rolled onto her stomach, her cheek pressed into the pillow.
“Why do you hate this Katie person?”
“Long story,” Kacey replied with a sigh. “Katie was one of my mother’s friends. They went to school together or something. Katie worked in a hospital…but mom said she literally slept with every resident doctor and intern because she was a total gold digger and just nasty.”
I couldn’t help but smile, wondering where the story was going to lead.
“So this woman, who was a total narcissist…like, everything was always about her, starts this horrible lie that she has, like, stage three lymphoma one night at some girls’ night out with my mom and her best friend, Andrea.”
“What? She was lying about it?” My stomach contents churned as the disgust for such a horrible human being began mounting within my core.
“Oh yes…it gets worse. So she tells my mom and Andrea this horrible lie and has them in tears while they’re all drinking at Katie’s summer home, which is just an apartment she uses to cheat on her fiancé in. So when my mom calls the next week to see what all she can help with as far as treatment goes, supposedly it was all just a mistake on behalf of the doctors.”
“What? Oh my God. I hate her too!”
“Right? So to top it all off, the week before my dad’s accident, he admits to my mother that Katie tried to come on to him one night during one of their little get-togethers. Mom and Katie had been friends for literally years.”
“Did your mom lose her shit?” I asked.
“She didn’t have to. My mom’s friend, Andrea, beat Katie’s ass. She literally ripped out handfuls of her stringy, nasty, red hair and busted her fake nose. It was fantastic.”
“You saw it?” I asked, a smile creeping across my face.
“Oh, everyone did. It’s on YouTube.”
“Can we watch? Please?” I asked, the anticipation heavy in my voice.
“Of course!” Kacey said happily, producing her phone. “I watch it all the time. Hearing her scream is seriously the tits…I wish it was my ringtone.”
The video was surprisingly saved to Kacey’s home screen. Within seconds, I looked upon a promiscuous-looking woman running from what appeared to be a store. Another woman, apparently pissed off, caught up to her, grabbing her hair; it was stringy and nasty-looking. Within seconds, this Katie woman was screaming from Kacey’s phone as her face was beaten by the other girl in the video, but my attention had been captured by Kacey’s amused smile as she watched the video.
“Wow…you really hate this woman, don’t you?” “I do…but that’s neither here nor there,” Kacey said, holding her phone above us as I watched a woman on her phone screen proudly displaying a fist of freshly yanked hair and a smile to a stunned crowed.
“Is your mom’s friend crazy too? Is that Andrea chick crazy?”
“Um…not bad crazy, but ‘if you try to sleep with her best friend’s husband, she’ll beat you up’ type of crazy. I love her, though. She’s my Aunt Andy. She’d do anything for me.”
“Did your folks drink a lot?”
“Not really…but when they did, it got out of control. They would have theme parties and d
ress up.”
“Did she just kick her in the face?” I asked as we continued watching.
“Indeed she did! Can you hear her screaming?”
“Oh my God…did they go to jail?”
“Nope. I guess Katie licked her wounds and got over it. I hear she ended up banging a few more doctors and other people’s husbands before she got ahold of some poor pediatrician and got her hooks in him,” Kacey said as the video ended.
“Wow…your parents had some interesting social lives.”
“Enough about them. Even the thought of her makes me nauseated. She’s literally the most disgusting fungus on the planet.”
“Yeah…sounds like it.”
“Your dad is so amazing…you’re so lucky to have such a great guy as a father,” Kacey said as she set her phone down.
“Trust me…I know. I love him more than anything on the planet.”
“You can tell. The way the two of you interact with one another…you can tell there’s nothing but love there.”
“What about your mom?”
“What about her?”
“I know you’re close, but are you two pretty tight?” I asked.
“Um…yes and no. We’re not like you and Joe. What you have is different…it’s special.”
“I’m turning in,” we heard Dad announce from the bottom of the stairs.
“Night, Dad…love you.”
“Love you too, Jess.”
Her warm hand traveled under my shirt as her fingers gently prodded around my belly button. “An outtie?” she chuckled.
“Yep,” I replied, yawning.
“You need to wake up,” she whispered as her hot breath on the side of my neck had me instantly smiling and giddy.
“You better stop that,” I said under my breath.
“Nope,” she replied as she reached for my package.
“I thought we said we’d hold off on that for a while,” I lightly protested.
Propping herself on her side, she smiled me. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Jess. We’re adults. We can be responsible about it.”
“Are…are you ready? I really don’t mind waiting.”
“I know you don’t. And yes, I’m ready,” she said as she flung her legs from the bed and walked to the door, closing it lightly. Within seconds her clothing was on the floor with the exception of her panties.
“So…a few rules, okay?” she asked as she looked at me from the door of my bedroom.
“’K,” I choked out.
“Please don’t…please don’t touch me below my waist with your hands. And I want the lights off the entire time.”
“No…no problem. But, um…the entire time? I think you’re giving me a little too much credit,” I said sarcastically.
“You’re such a dork,” she replied, reaching for my bedroom light.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SEVEN
“It’s like I’m in a fog or something. I can’t keep my eyes open.”
“And you’ve been taking the medications I’ve prescribed?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. Dr. Cline’s office was cold and had my hands pale and aching.
“We might need to adjust the levels if you’re still feeling this way in a week or so.”
“Other than that, everything has been perfect,” I said, sharing a smile with Dr. Cline.
“Expand on ‘perfect’ if you don’t mind, Jessie.”
I chuckled. “I mean I haven’t had any issues lately. I think my brain is mellowing out and I’m starting to get it. Like…it’s all coming together, I guess. I don’t know if that makes sense or not,” I said as a sleepy yawn momentarily took over my ability to communicate.
“You feel as though your life is making sense?”
“Yeah…like, now I’m not worrying so much about the other I can focus on the real stuff.”
“Real stuff?”
“Yeah…school, friends, and getting ready for college; stuff like that.”
“So perhaps it’s safe to say at this point the other wasn’t real?”
I thought about the question for a moment. “Not now, but it was then. It was real then.”
“I’m so incredibly impressed with your progress, Jessie.”
“Thank you,” I said as I scratched my neck.
“You look very sleepy,” Dr. Cline said as his gaze set sharply on my neck. Shit.
“What is that on your neck, Jessie?” I instantly felt my face flush as I knew he was talking about the minute hickey Kacey had “accidentally” left behind the night before.
“Um…” I was completely at a loss for words as my gaze remained fixed on my knees.
“You needn’t feel ashamed, Jessie. That wasn’t remotely my intent. I just need you to be careful. Regression at this point would be disappointing to say the least.”
I said nothing. I knew he knew. He could say he wasn’t disappointed all he wanted, but he knew I was sleeping with Kacey—his own niece. He knew my darkest secrets; part of him had to think I was a freak. A freak that was banging his niece.
“I’m really tired. Can we end early?” I said lowly.
“Of course…Jessie, please look at me,” Dr. Cline said kindly.
It almost hurt to force my gaze to set upon his. “I’m not upset with you. I’m actually quite fond of you. Please don’t leave this office feeling defeated or upset in any fashion…that’s the opposite of what we’re attempting to accomplish.”
I nodded at him, giving a halfhearted smile. “I’m really tired.”
“And what else?”
“Bigger…I’m bigger than this.”
***
“Jess, dude,” Duke said, chuckling as he lightly shook my shoulder. “We’re here, man.”
I opened my eyes…wondering where I was. It took me a second to remember I was in Duke’s car. He’d given me a ride home from my appointment. “Dude…it’s almost dark. What took you so long to get to my house?” I asked, blinking my eyes as I looked around.
“Jess…man, you zonked out as soon as you crawled in. I needed some chill time, so I hit some backroads and let you sleep.”
I smiled and shook my head. “I guess, D. Gas is so cheap and everything. What’d you mean you need chill time? You and Lily okay?”
“We’re great…it’s not that.”
His posture and tone told me he needed to talk. My bed was calling my name, but I knew my friend needed to vent. “Come inside.”
With my father at a committee meeting, we were free to sit at the kitchen table and converse without the fear of being overheard.
“What’s going on, D?”
Duke sat back in the chair, looking toward the window. “My…my dad, dude. He’s a total douchekabob.”
“What? What happened now?”
“I called him to talk about Larry…I just wanted…I just wanted him to know it didn’t mean he was taking his place or anything.”
“What did he say?” I asked. Duke’s flushed face had me angered. His father was a douchekabob.
“He said they had to go to some banquet and it really wasn’t appropriate for me to call him with everything he had going on. He said I should just allow him to call me and we could communicate that way or message each other on Facebook.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing my friend say. I had no clue what it was like to be a father, but Duke had to have been a model son. He had excellent grades, he was involved in several extracurricular activities, he was a likeable person and an all-around awesome individual; what father would walk away from that?
“That’s bullshit, D…you know that, right?”
“Nah, just the way it is.”
“This isn’t on you, Duke. You’re hands-down the best person I know. I don’t know what the hell I would have done or where I would be if it weren’t for you. Everyone that knows you knows—”
“And then he blocked me on Facebook,” Duke said abruptly as he looked toward me. The pain in his eyes—finally, a pain I couldn’t re
late to.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
“He don’t want me,” Duke proclaimed, his voice cracked as he turned from me again, crossing his arms as he looked out the window. “How is it that I’m eighteen…I’m finally a man, and I need my dad more now than I ever have in my entire life…and he doesn’t want me anymore?”
“I don’t…I don’t know, D.”
“I did everything right, Jessie,” Duke said as tears pooled in his eyes. “My grades are perfect…and it’s not because I’m the smartest guy in class, it’s because I bust my ass off. I’m an athlete, just like he said I should be. I did everything he wanted me to do, but it wasn’t good enough…I’m not good enough. My own dad doesn’t love me. That doesn’t make sense to me…how does someone’s dad just not want them anymore? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
A few tears etched their way down Duke’s cheeks as the front door my house opened. “Boys, you here? I brought pizza.”
“Dammit,” Duke said as he leaned forward, his lip quivering as he attempted to dry his eyes.
My father appeared in the dining room. As he set the pizza down, Duke’s actions quickly caught his attention.
“What…what’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Duke said as he stood with his back to us.
“Well, clearly it’s something,” my father followed up.
Duke continued to wipe his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. “Duke, what’s the matter with you, boy?” my father asked sharply.
“I know…men don’t cry. I’m out,” Duke said lowly as he began walking from the dining room.
I watched my father, clearly concerned, walk behind Duke and grab his shoulder, stopping him. “Duke, bud, what is going on?” he asked once more.
Duke turned to my dad, pursing his lips as he exhaled forcefully. His gaze remained on the wall. “My dad…my dad’s an asshole,” he muttered. He began crying again.
My father said nothing…to my surprise, he raised his arms and took my friend in a full embrace. This seemed to be all that was needed to send Duke into a full-on meltdown. He began all but wailing onto my father’s shoulder, and my dad wasn’t telling him to stop as he patted his back.