Out of Ruins

by Michele G Miller

  Her cell starts to ring off the hook not three minutes later.

  “Damn it!” Jules fumes, knowing she’s just done something stupid. “No turning back now.”

  Hitting ‘Answer’, she holds the phone up to her ear. She doesn’t even have to speak before her mother’s piercing voice comes through.

  “You get yourself back here right this minute Jules, or seven days will seem like nothing.”

  The threat doesn’t work on Jules the way her mother probably expects it to. She laughs instead.

  “Mom, I see him every day.”

  “What is wrong with you? I asked for one more night, Jules. It’s not the end of the world, you know.”

  “No, I don’t. You don’t get it, do you?” Her voice is shaking now. She hates fighting with her mother, especially after her visit with the Riveras on her birthday. “West is still the only thing that gets me through most days. I’m broken, falling to pieces, and he’s the glue that holds me together. I need to see him.”

  “Sweetie, that’s too much pressure to put on a boy. Why haven’t you told us? Come home and we can talk.”

  “I’ll be home in a few hours,” she says dryly and presses ‘End’ on the phone.

  Her handshakes as she dials West’s number.

  “Hey gorgeous!”

  “Hey, where are you? I've been sprung.” She'd filled him in earlier on her parents’ decision to make her stay home; assuring him it wasn’t anything he did.

  “They changed their minds?”

  “Uh, not exactly, but I'm coming anyway.”

  “Babe! What the hell? They'll be mad at me.”

  “No they won't. I'll make sure they know you had no idea. And don’t cuss at me,” she grumbles defiantly. “It's too late now, I'm already gone.”

  He sighs heavily and she pictures him scrubbing his hand over his face in irritation with her. Voices shout out in laughter in the background, and Jules assumes he's hanging out with some friends. "Okay,” he says, softening his tone now. “Go to my house and I'll head that way."

  “Are you at a party?”

  “Uh, yeah. I figured I'd hang out since I couldn't see you tonight. You told me to go out.”

  “Where?”

  “Jules, just go to my place. We've got a week to make up for.”

  She laughs and her stomach flips. Lord knows she's missed his lips pressing against hers. She misses the feel of his strong arms wrapping her up too, but she probably shouldn't be anywhere her parents might look if they are mad enough to come after her.

  “My mom's pretty ticked at me, so I'd rather not be somewhere she can find me. Plus, I could really use a drink. Where are you?”

  Conceding, he gives her directions to a small house on the outskirts of Rossview. She pulls up behind a beat-up truck she doesn't recognize and debates walking in by herself or calling West. Opening her door, the crisp air causes her eyes to water and her nose feels the cold immediately. She didn’t realize how cold it is, and in her haste to leave home she forgot to grab a coat, gloves or a hat. Way to go, Jules, she sighs at her stupidity.

  A few people loiter in the front yard and the red glow of a joint flickers like a firefly in July as they pass it around. She recognizes Lauren taking a long hit when she gets closer to the group. She never would have figured her for a stoner.

  “Hey princess, want a hit?” one of the guys in the group calls out. Lauren laughs and gives Jules a nod before she holds the joint out and offers it to her.

  “Nah, I’m trying to quit,” she quips. Lauren mumbles ‘Of course you are’ as Jules hurries by. The house is well lit and the windows are open, allowing the deep thumping of bass to pour into the night. People are spilling out the door and the drive is crowded with cars and people sitting on the hoods.

  She spots West’s Jeep pulled in the grass and walks toward it, thinking maybe he’s waiting out here for her to arrive. Pulling her cell from her back pocket, Jules drops it when a hand grabs her upper arm and pulls her up against the house. Pushing her back into the cold brick, a hard body leans into hers and cool hands take possession of her face. It all happens so quickly she doesn’t have a chance to think before a pair of familiar lips crush into hers; settling her terrified mind. His mouth covers hers and his tongue swoops in, teasing her. The taste and scent of beer lingers on his lips.

  “Damn baby girl, I missed the hell out of you,” he murmurs, and one of his hands lowers to the small of her back and presses her into his hips. The evidence of just how much he missed her has proudly risen to the occasion.

  “Is that a banana in your pocket or are you just happy to see me, Spike?” she teases; her fingers tugging at the thick hair just touching his neck.

  He groans at her pitiful, middle school joke. “I’m beyond happy, baby.”

  “So I feel.” His lips connect with hers again and give her a thorough kiss before he steps back. The light shining out of the window next to them illuminates his hungry eyes.

  “You made me drop my phone when you grabbed me, you jerk.”

  “What? Really?” He produces his phone from his pocket and dials her number; taking her hands and looking around on the ground. A moment later they spot the screen lighting up from his call.

  “Sorry,” he offers with a kiss as he picks up and hands her the phone.

  Her acceptance falls off her lips when she sees a missed text sitting there from her dad. Curious, she navigates to his message; taking it in and reading it out loud for West to hear.

  Dad: I’m disappointed that you would walk out of this house like that, but not surprised. Be home by midnight and we’ll talk then.

  “That was your dad?”

  She nods, swipes the dirt from her phone and stuffs it in her pocket. “Beer?”

  He looks like he wants to say something; his mouth opening and then shutting back as his hand reaches for hers. “Sure thing.”

  Jules learns that the house is actually Lauren’s. Her deadbeat dad is locked up for possession, for who knows how many times, and her mom is out with a new boyfriend. The crowd here is different; older, rougher. She spots a few people she knows, but for the most part they are strangers to her. West, on the other hand, knows everyone. She’s not sure if this scares her or not. The pot use is prevalent and whenever someone lights up around them, West steers her in another direction.

  They’re both drinking their second beers, talking to Lauren, when Aubrey walks by them. She’s hanging onto some guy’s arm and Jules is relieved she’s found someone new to chase.

  The muscles in West’s forearm flex under Jules’ fingertips and she glances his way, surprised to see his face a mask of anger.

  “Why is Rick Cunningham here, Lar?”

  Lauren’s eyes go wide and she shakes her head. “I don’t…I didn’t…” she stutters; her face going pale.

  “Go inside and find Ziggy.”

  “He’s beyond fried already.”

  There’s an urgency between them that Jules doesn’t understand. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” Lauren snaps with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I’ll go in and find some guys. What are you going to do?” she asks West; dismissing Jules’ concerns altogether.

  “I’ll get him to leave. Just stay inside, ‘kay?” Lauren leaves with a nod.

  “Make him leave? Make who leave? What’s going on, West?”

  He kisses the top of her head and steps away, but his eyes never leave whoever he has caught in his gaze. “It’s a long story, but I need to get Rick to leave. He shouldn’t be here.” His jaw flexes and he groans; a low string of curses flowing from his mouth. “Just stay back, okay?” He finally looks at Jules and his worried eyes plead with her. “Stay back, but close.”

  He doesn’t leave her time to answer as he steps forward and shouts out, “Rick!”

  To her horror, the guy Aubrey was just hanging on stops and looks their way. He’s Rick, and he’s huge.

  “Rutledge,” he snarls.

  The guy is
built like a linebacker. Tall like West, but stockier. The shoulders under his black leather jacket are significantly wider than West’s, and his thighs under the jeans he wears look huge.

  “You shouldn’t be here, man.”

  Jules drops her jaw. Her hand itches to grab West and pull him to safety.

  “Yeah? Why’s that?” Rick asks; slinging his arm around Aubrey’s shoulder and yanking her forward with him. Jules is pretty sure she sees Aubrey flinch at the weight of his arm, but when she looks up and sees Jules standing there, she plasters on her mean girl smile.

  “Aw, West… why did you have to bring your little whore here with you? Is no place sacred anymore?” she drawls, her words sloppy.

  West’s low voice warns calmly, “Shut up, Aubrey.”

  “Is that pretty thing yours, Rutledge?” Rick asks and Aubrey balks. “A redhead, huh? Is she as hot and fiery as that hair?” he suggests, and Jules feels the need to barf.

  He’s not bad looking, but his face is all sharp angles and wide cheeks. His dark hair is a little longer than West’s and tucked behind his ears, but his eyes and demeanor scream prick. West clenches his fists and Jules holds her breath as she starts to silently chant, No fights, no fights.

  “I’d watch what you say. Remember what happened the last time you opened your big mouth?”

  Rick laughs loudly; throwing his head back and letting out giant guffaws as if West just told the funniest joke in the world.

  “Where’s your back up, Rutledge? I don’t see Austin. You seriously think you can take me all by yourself?”

  “Baby, come on,” Aubrey breaks in and tugs on Rick’s arm. “Let’s go back to your place.” She rubs her ample chest against his arm suggestively.

  “In a minute,” he barks; shaking her off and advancing a step towards West. “Come on, West. Let’s go another round.”

  Jules squeaks and West’s hand waves her back as he moves forward. “Look man, my girl is here. You’ve got Aubrey. Just leave. There’s no need to get into it tonight.”

  “You really think you can tell me to leave? This isn’t your house! Where’s Lauren? Only Lauren tells me to go. Lauren!” he shouts.

  “Dude, you don’t need to see Lauren. You know damn well you shouldn’t even be here. We can call the cops if necessary, but nobody wants that.”

  Cops? What the hell? Jules wonders as Aubrey tugs on Rick’s arm again. Her voice rises to that whiny nasal tone Jules has had the displeasure of hearing at school many times, as she begs him to leave.

  They stand there in a standoff with both West and Rick primed, ready for a fight if necessary, and Jules holds her breath. A crowd has grown, but unfortunately at this point in the night, they’re all well into their buzzes and most likely won’t be of any help.

  “Baby, come on…I want to play.”

  Another urge to vomit hits Jules as Aubrey uses all of her womanly wiles to try and coax her man away.

  Rick nods finally and puts his arm back around Aubrey’s waist before grabbing her rear. “You’re lucky, Rutledge. I have better things to do than waste my time with you tonight.”

  West shrugs arrogantly. “If you say so.”

  Jules gets the overwhelming desire to punch her boyfriend with his attitude.

  “We’ll resume this later.”

  “I’ll look forward to it.”

  The air remains tense as Rick and Aubrey walk away. Aubrey looks back over her shoulder once, although her face doesn’t look quite so victorious or bitchy now, and West drops his head.

  “You’ll look forward to it?” Jules mumbles; creeping up next to him and hugging him from behind. “I’m going to need some explaining on this one, West.”

  “I know.” He rubs his hand over her cold fingers and then looks over his shoulder. Jules follows his gaze to see Lauren standing in the doorway of her house. She offers a small wave and West gives her an almost imperceptible nod before she turns and gets lost in the crowd.

  “Come on, let’s go back to my place. We’ve got a little time left before you need to get home, and I’m pretty damn curious to see if you got any tan lines on your tropical vacation.” His low voice arouses every nerve in her body, even as her mind still screams for answers.

  “Really? No explanation about this huge pissing contest you just had with the freaking Hulk, all because of Lauren?” she shoots out, and West unwraps her arms from his waist to face her.

  “I’m pretty smart, you know. Obviously that was about Lauren, and although I’m not the jealous type, I can’t help but wonder how you could put yourself in a situation like that. I think I deserve an answer, because you just scared the hell out of me.”

  “O, ye of little faith,” he grumbles, and a smirk crosses his face.

  “It’s not a joke, West.”

  She doesn’t crack. She crosses her arms over her chest and turns on her heel, heading towards her car.

  “Where the hell are you going?”

  “We’re leaving right? I’ll meet you at your place and you can explain all of this,” she barks; waving her hands around and gesturing to the party.

  “Um, no! You drank a few beers. You’re not driving.”

  “Are you joking? You drank more.”

  “Yes, but I can handle my alcohol.”

  “Ugh!” Jules blurts and stomps away in disgust.

  West grabs her hips and pulls her back to his warm chest. The air temperature has dropped significantly in the past hour, and her thermal shirt and sweater are no longer keeping her warm. “Baby, please,” he murmurs into her ear; his arms like bands of steel as they wrap around her. “I’m sorry. Let me drive you and I’ll explain everything. Don’t be mad.” His mouth closes on her ear, sending shivers running up and down her spine, and she collapses into him.

  “I’m not mad,” she admits, before weaving her hands into his and leading them up across her chest to hold her tighter. “I’m confused and scared and worried. All vastly different from mad.”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He leans over her from behind and traces the curves of her lobe with his tongue as he grinds into her rear lightly, provocatively. “God, you taste so good.”

  “Take me to your house.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Twenty Two

  They’re just pulling down the street away from Lauren’s house when Jules turns to West and says playfully, “By the way, I did get some tan lines.”

  “You planning on showing me?”

  “You explain the scene back there and I will. They’re pretty tiny though…you know, they match my little string bikini.” She raises her brows suggestively and only laughs when he groans.

  “What the-”

  High beams flash behind them, a horn blares and West slows down; pulling to the side of the road to let the angry driver by.

  “Idiot,” he mutters before looking to the right and seeing the car come up beside him.

  “Is that…?”

  “Rick,” he replies flatly, and slows down to let them pass, but Rick slows too.

  The road they are on is vacant and dark, with only an occasional street lamp and two lanes, and Rick has decided to play ‘Chicken’. He rolls the passenger side window down and West unzips his driver’s side window.

  “Wanna go a round of chicken, asshole?” he shouts across the car. Aubrey clutches the handle above the window and Jules feels a twinge of sympathy for her when she sees her face full of terror.

  “Don’t be stupid, Rick!” West tries to argue. ”Go around me.”

  When West slows, Rick slows. When he speeds up, Rick speeds up. Headlights appear in the distance and Aubrey screams.

  “Would you stop the damn car and get in the right lane before you get us all killed?!”

  Jules sees Rick laughing even though she can’t hear him. West puts on the brakes and pulls the Jeep almost to a stop. Rick races past them and Jules gasps when his car pulls into the left lane just in time to narrowly avoid a head-on collision.

  We
st slams his fist into the steering wheel and speeds up, and Jules lays her hand on his arm.

  “West, slow down! Can we just go another way? I don’t even want to ride on the same road they're on.”

  “He’s going to them killed.”

  “No, you’re his target. Can’t we just goooo!” She finishes the plea in a scream as they top a small ridge and spot Rick’s car. He’s driving as slow as molasses, and West slams on the brakes to keep from ramming them from behind. She presses a hand to her racing chest and sees spots behind her eyelids.

  “There’s no other way back home. I’ll go around and leave them behind. It’s either that or sit behind him and let him play stop-and-go with us.”

  Jules is mildly surprised when Rick lets them go around him. As her passenger side goes past him, he blows her a kiss and she cringes. West pulls back into the left lane and they speed up; reaching almost seventy miles per hour before he starts to slow again. Rick’s lights are just a small glow in the rearview mirror.

  “I want a damn explanation, now. We should call the cops.”

  “Maybe we should,” he agrees; his eyes flicking from the road to the rearview mirror and back constantly. “Lauren and Austin had a thing.”

  “A thing?”

  “Yes, a thing. Rick screwed it up.”

  “How old is the guy?” she asks; looking behind her to make sure they are still at a reasonable distance.

  “He’s a year ahead of Austin; he graduated high school in ‘eleven. He’s just a prick who played ball and was thrown off the team his senior year because of drugs. Lauren was only a freshman.”

  The Jeep accelerates slightly and Jules tugs on her seatbelt out of habit. They are almost out of the country, near a more populated area.

  “Look, essentially Rick screwed with Lauren, got her wasted at some party just to spite Austin and then took advantage of her.”

  Her hand covers her mouth. “Did he rape her?”

  “No, but he wasn’t easy on her, either. Austin didn’t want to see her anymore, but they remained friends. We all did. Rick would come back occasionally just to screw with her. Two years ago she finally decided to stop letting him hurt her. Austin and I just happened to be there.”