Текст книги "One and Done"
Автор книги: S. Briones Lim
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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 16 страниц)
Chapter 11
It was worth it.
Who knew learning how to cook could change your life so dramatically? It wasn’t just the food that I loved (though getting to taste test was a highlight of the activity) but more so the ability to make something so beautiful out of scratch. It was probably the same reason Rocky loved drawing so much.
Rocky.
Not a day went by when I didn’t think of her, and though I wanted to deny Dad’s advice, he really did have a point. We truly brought out the worse in each other, at least at this point in our lives we did. As much as it pained me, I knew I had to bite the bullet. We had to give each other space. It wasn’t long before our phone calls and texts began to waste away, but it wasn’t Rocky who grew distant—it was me.
Time flew by, and before I knew it a whole year had passed since I first moved to Charleston. In this one year I found myself changing, but I wasn’t sure if it was for the better. Sure, I felt older and wiser, but I also felt complacent and empty. There was a void inside of me, but I wasn’t sure how to fill it.
“How do I look?” Dad yanked at his stupid little bow tie and blotted away a bead of sweat that threatened to spill off his forehead. He was dressed to the nines in a tailored tuxedo and newly shined shoes, but something seemed a bit off about his ensemble. It was probably his swollen face, which had broken out in nervous hives just minutes before.
“You look fine,” I lied, fidgeting in my own monkey suit. I groaned and yanked at my collar. “Why’d you have to get married on the hottest day of the year?”
Ignoring me, he smoothed out his cuffs and cocked his head in curiosity. “So, I forgot to ask…”
“What?” I sighed.
“How do you feel about finally seeing Jason today? It’s not every day you get a new brother.”
Ah, Jason—my infamous stepbrother to be. I’d heard his name spoken but never exactly met him. It wasn’t as if he were in a hurry to see me either.
I grimaced and turned away. “Whatever.”
Before he could respond, Dad suddenly spun around and grinned toward the door. “Ah, speak of the devil. How are you?”
I turned to see a blond haired, grey-eyed man walk into the room. I knew he was only a year older than me, a sophomore in college, but this was ridiculous. He looked as if he were skirting twenty-four. He was also a lot bulkier than I was, looking as if he juiced up every morning. His muscles threatened to split his tight jacket open at any moment. Luckily my height made up for our total difference in muscle mass. I towered over him. No way I’d play little brother to his steroid pumped ass.
“Hey, Richard,” he replied blandly.
“Richard?” I snorted. Didn’t know my dad was okay being called on a first name basis. He nearly had a cow when my Stepford wife looking stepmom-to-be told me to call her Teresa.
He shrugged me off and brought Jason in for an awkward hug. Once my dad released his grip, Jason practically jumped three feet away. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was even doing in the room if he hated my dad so much.
Tugging at his too-tight suit, Jason looked up and caught my eye. “Hey, are you Jesse?”
“Yup,” I answered with a pop of the P.
“Oh! Forgive me for being rude. I’m sorry for not introducing you two. Jason, this is Jesse. Jesse, Jason.” My father’s gaze bounced between us. “Wow, both J’s! You two already have so much in common.”
Dad’s poor attempt at a joke made me cringe. I extended my hand and was surprised when Jason reached out to shake it. Up until that point I had already written him off as a douche.
“Guess this means we’re brothers? Bro?” His eyes hardened. Something in the way he looked at me made my skin feel as if it were on fire.
Not wanting to show my discomfort, I lifted my chin and threw him a fake smile. “Guess so, bro.”
His lips twitched in amusement. “Welcome to the family.”
***
Open bar almost always spells catastrophe. It’s even worse when the bartenders are completely lax about checking IDs. I’m not sure exactly how Jason pulled it off, but somehow our bartender had been shoveling top shelf liquor to Jason and his friends all night long. It wasn’t even an hour into the reception before everyone in his entourage was completely hammered.
Choosing to sit out, I remained seated in a far table near the exit. I watched enviously as my father danced with his new bride. They looked…
“Perfect,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Hey, you!” A glass of amber looking liquid was slammed down on the table in front of me, splattering the brew against my face. The familiar stench of alcohol was both disgusting and comforting. Feeling uneasy, I pushed the glass away from me.
“Really? I’m stuck with a pussy for a stepbrother?” Jason slid the drink back toward me. “Don’t tell me you’ve never drank before.”
I could have told him that I grew up with an alcoholic mother and had my first drink at seven when I mistook her beer for apple juice. I could have told him a lot of things, but the meathead standing in front of me wasn’t worth my time.
“Really? You mute now too?” His colossal body loomed over me, permeating a nausea inducing stench of whiskey, body odor and cheap aftershave.
BZZZ.
Fighting an urge to dry heave, I ignored Jason’s drunken bewilderment and grabbed my phone.
Haven’t heard from you in a while…are you okay?
“Rocky?” Jason swiped for my phone, but I was too quick for his drunken ass. He lurched forward a bit and slurred, “Are you gay?”
“Seriously?” I grunted, slipping the phone back into the front pocket of my blazer.
“Hey, nothing against your orientation. It’s cool, man.”
“It’s a nickname for Raquel, dipshit.”
Jason broke out into laughter. “Oh, okay. I mean I have no problem if you swung that way, but geez, what a way to get to know your new brother, you know?”
“We’re not brothers.”
“Not yet.” Jason narrowed his eyes and once again nudged the glass toward me. He nodded toward my pocket. “Are you whipped? Is that why you don’t drink?”
Rocky’s face flashed in my mind, and once again I was reminded of all the reasons why I could never be whipped with her. The familiar weight in my stomach returned, churning at my intestines, further souring my already bad mood. “Just leave me the fuck alone, man.”
Jason stared at me quietly for a few moments and finally broke out into a shrug. “See you around.”
I snorted and flicked against the cool glass, watching a bead of condensation roll down its surface. I glanced up and spotted my dad looking as if he were having the time of his life. As happy as I was for him, I couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated. Why did he have the right to start his life over and win whereas I felt as if I were still in a losing race? He told me Charleston would make me into a better person, but why did I feel as if something was still missing?
It’s because you’re losing Rocky. You’ve already lost her.
“But it’s for the better, right? It’s the best for both of us,” I whispered to no one in particular. I eyed the fizzing glass of beer, tempted to chug it down, but thought better of it. Plucking it from the table, I held it out to a red-faced man dancing with a tie wrapped around his head. “Here. I don’t want it.”
Grinning, he scooped it right out of my hand and tipped it down his throat. I shook my head in disgust and continued to watch my dad and his new wife with both jealousy and sadness.
The reception carried on painfully, and just when I thought I couldn’t take the bullshit any longer, I heard a soft, “You alone?” in my ear. Startled to find a Rocky look-alike smiling down at me, I immediately pushed away.
“Whoa, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She shot me a sincere smile and placed her hand on my shoulder. My gaze fell down to her hot pink nails, following the length of her arm before finally resting on her face. She wore a dress that was a bit inappropriate for a wedding, but paid no mind that her nipples were on the verge of jumping out. I forced my gaze from her breasts and caught a knowing look in her eyes.
“You alone?” she repeated, brushing her other hand through her hair. It was the same color as Rocky’s mane, but not quite as beautiful. In fact, though this girl could easily pass as her sister, something was off about her.
It’s because she isn’t Rocky.
I merely shrugged and didn’t answer, eliciting a slight pout on her face. Seemingly not one to give up too easily, she gripped my hand tighter. “Well, I’m alone and was looking for some company myself. I was hoping I could sit with you?”
These girls were a dime a dozen—tipsy, lonely, and just looking to get laid. I didn’t know what it was about me that continuously attracted these types, but I really wasn’t in the right state of mind to deal with her that night. I was just about to tell her to take a hike when my jacket pocket vibrated again, my phone’s screen illuminating against the thin linen material. I’d grown accustomed to ignoring Rocky’s texts, but doing so still gnawed at my insides.
The strange girl glanced down and smiled quizzically. “You gonna answer that?”
I swallowed the bitter taste in my mouth and sighed. “What’s the point? It’s not going to change anything.”
As if coming to an epiphany, the girl’s face broke out into relief. “I take it you’re in the middle of a break-up?” And just like that she grabbed the chair beside me as if receiving an invitation to pounce.
I shrugged again. “No…yes…what does it matter? It’s never going to work out.”
A sly grin spread across the girl’s face, making her look like the Cheshire cat. “Sometimes things fall apart so that better things come together.”
I cocked my head to the side and raised my eyebrows. Now I really did not know how to respond to that.
***
“Come on! Faster! Faster!” Sloan—as I later found out as I was ripping off her bright red bra—moaned into my ear. Though her breathy sighs were a big stroke to my ego, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was faking her enjoyment somehow. Her face curled almost comically in a frozen mask of ecstasy.
Now, I’ve messed around before. Had a girl’s lips wrapped around my cock, sliding up and down my shaft with slathered spit as makeshift lube. I’ve groped, licked, and sucked my way up and down a girl’s body, tasting their sweat, saliva and well, other things. However, despite what all my classmates back at home thought about me, I’d never actually done it—never gone all the way. Not that I never had my chances to. In fact, I often wondered why no girl ever accused me as being a premature ejaculating tease. Yet, as horrible as it sounds, there just wasn’t a single girl I wanted to give it up to who wouldn’t make me feel cheapened afterwards. After always being given the bottom of the barrel, I wanted my first time to be meaningful and…well, for once I wanted the best.
And now look at me…Jesse Tyler fucking up once again.
I could blame it on the wedding, the envy, and even loneliness brewing inside my soul, but that just wouldn’t be the case. The truth was that I finally realized that I’d never get the best. ‘The Best’ was up in Bethel Falls waiting for her best friend to text her back. Unfortunately, her best friend was a scared, insecure boy who feared that he’d remain the scum everyone expected him to be. As much as I wanted her I could never have her without being that boy again. She had always been my safety net, a reason never to make myself better. It took moving away to realize that I deserved more—she deserved more. So here I was, fucking a generic, second rate look-alike version of her instead.
Sloan’s dramatic cries softened into a hushed whimper. Our skin slapped together as I thrusted ‘harder’ and ‘faster.’ I tried to get into the moment, but it was no use, and slowly—painfully—I felt my dick going limp inside of her. This…this wasn’t how I wanted it to be. It was all wrong, but I was too far gone to turn back.
A trickle of sweat slid down my nose, dropping onto Sloan’s wrinkled forehead. Her eyes flung open as she grabbed the back of my neck, digging her fake nails into the base of my spine. “I’m gonna come! Let’s come together.”
No way was that gonna happen. I wasn’t even close.
Sloan’s soft sighs suddenly turned into loud screams. I cringed, glancing at the door, worried that somebody could barge into the empty conference room at any moment. Her vagina pulsated, throbbing against my dick, but sadly it did nothing for me.
Crap, I have to come now or she’ll think I’m some tool.
I shut my eyes and tried to remove myself from the situation, allowing my mind to wander to my deepest subconscious. Yes, I was nit-picking for anything to help me out at the moment, but nothing was working. Feeling frustrated, my eyes pried open and I looked down below me. As my gaze traveled up Sloan’s jiggling breasts, onto her glistening neck and to her face, something happened. The dark hair, dark eyes…it was no longer Sloan beneath me, but Rocky. The blood rushed to my dick and whatever block I was feeling was somehow lifted.
“Rocky,” I whispered, caressing the side of her face.
“Rocky?” Sloan screeched, snapping me out of my hallucination. Her perplexed expression changed into one of amusement. “Eh, if boxers are your fetish I can live with it.”
And just like that any hope of coming was thrown out the window.
***
A familiar tune echoed from the dance hall. It took me a few seconds to realize it was the same song that played during homecoming, right before Rocky and I were torn apart.
Tap, tap, tap.
I groaned, trying my best to tune the melody out, and walked further down the hotel parking lot. The stupid song was just another grim reminder of everything wrong in my life, and it was quite fitting it’d be the soundtrack to my personal walk of shame.
“What are you doing out here, my man? I thought you’d be gloating.” Jason’s flushed face came to focus as he staggered in my direction. A voice inside my head told me to keep on walking, but as usual I ignored all warning signs and came to a halt. Beer bottle in hand, Jason came up beside me and looked me up and down. His liquor tinged breath was a bit hard to choke down and I found myself almost dry heaving. “Thought you’d be gloating.”
“What are you talking about?”
He snorted, taking a swig of beer. “Sloan? Figures you’d shag her on the first night.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head and shoved something small into my hand. “Here.”
“What is it?” I asked, never taking my eyes off my new brother. His grey eyes seemed cold, calculating almost, but I chalked it up to inebriation.
“So you really are a pussy, aren’t you? Of course my mom would marry a lame ass dude with an even lamer son.”
“Feeling’s mutual, bro,” I snapped angrily.
His lips straightened before giving way to a smirk. “You ever smoke before?”
My gaze flitted down, knowing perfectly well the kind of ‘smoke’ he was talking about. As expected, a perfectly wrapped brown blunt sat on my palm. “Of course I have.”
“Good. Consider it a welcoming present.” Jason’s eyes blazed almost as if there was a fire lit behind them. Tossing me a lighter, he turned back toward the building.
“Wait, I don’t want this.”
“Stop being a pussy and just smoke it,” he hissed, not bothering to look back at me. “Trust me, this will be a night you won’t ever forget.”
Warning signs as bright as neon lights flashed before my eyes, but when have I ever paid them mind?
***
“Jesse! Wake up! Wake up!”
I felt a distinct slap on my face, yet it wasn’t enough to lift me from whatever dark ocean I was floating in. My skin sizzled, burning as the hand lifted away.
“Fuck!” Dad’s voice growled.
“Should we call 911?” Teresa screeched in horror.
Dad? Teresa? Wait, where was I?
My eyes slowly opened, blinking as if I had just awoken from a deep sleep. My head was pounding and my lungs felt constricted, tightening with every gasp of air. “W-what happened to me?”
“Oh, thank God!” Dad sighed and gently lifted me up so that I was propped up against a hard surface. Cool air blew across my face, a far cry from the night’s humidity.
Wait, how’d I get back inside?
“What were you thinking doing drugs?” Dad’s voice was a combination of anger and relief. He pressed a wet towel against my forehead and for the first time I noticed how cold I felt. An iciness worked its way through me, chilling my core.
“S-stop,” I stammered, teeth chattering. “I-I’m cold.”
“You ruined my wedding!” Teresa screamed, interrupting me. Guess her earlier worry had faded away. “Do you know how embarrassed I was to have to help drag you down here? I had to tell my family that you passed out from the heat! Not that any of them bought it.”
My vision cleared and I watched as my dad motioned for his new wife to shut her hole. Catching me looking, he quickly stared back at me with a sneer. “You’re lucky I didn’t call the cops on you. Then again, maybe a night in jail would finally wake you up.”
“Might as well, it’s not like my life could get any worse.” Defeat is a funny thing. Once it takes its reins on you, there’s nothing left but giving up.
Dad blinked wildly. “Jesse, what happened to you? I thought things were getting better.”
I couldn’t answer even if I wanted to. Feeling bile working its way up my esophagus, I began convulsing, shivering as I tried my hardest to keep my food down. I must have been a horrible sight because Teresa once again insisted on calling 911.
“Why?” I coughed, tasting sour acid on my tongue. “So you can turn your son in?”
Her face paled. “Jason would never…”
“Who do you think gave me that blunt?” If I didn’t quit talking I’d surely throw up. Pressing my eyelids together, I took a few deep breaths, trying to keep the vomit down.
“Are you kidding me?” Her voice was shrill, almost hysterical. “Jason would never do something so atrocious. You may only be my stepson, but I’ll have you know I won’t stand for this kind of bullshit.”
“Teresa,” Dad cut her off, using his most soothing voice. “Go back out to the party and have some fun. I’ll take care of this.”
“And how do you expect me to do that?” she snapped.
With an exasperated sigh, Dad coaxed, “Just go. Please.”
Surprisingly, Teresa stomped away without a fight. Had it been my mom, there would have been more broken items and screaming involved.
Maybe Dad finally picked a good one this time.
Dad waited until Teresa disappeared behind a set of double doors before turning back toward me. His anger seemed to have subsided and was replaced with something worse—worry.
“What the hell were you thinking? I…I thought you were better than this.”
“When I have ever been ‘better’?” I griped. “That’s why you left me, remember? Because Mom and I were never good enough?”
Dad’s face paled, his lips turning a weird shade of blue. “Where is this coming from? I thought—”
“That I liked it here?” And just like that, reality set in and the unexplainable void was finally understood. “Why am I pretending to be someone different? Why are you? Don’t you see? We’re always going to be the same scum from Bethel Hills! You can marry your Stepford wife and I can drown myself in Charleston, but I will always be that screw up and so will you. We just need to stop faking it. I am meant to be miserable all my life. I can never have what I want. What’s the point of going on with this charade if I’m never meant to be happy?”
He sighed and raked his hands through his gelled hair, casing the perfectly quaffed hairdo to tangle. “What happened, Jesse? Is it the wedding? Do you miss your mom?”
“When have I ever missed Mom?” My laugh was strained, made raspy from the acid.
“Is this about that girl? Rocky.”
I blinked. Was it?
I shook my head, though I didn’t know. “This is about me! I’ll always be a screw up even if I try my hardest not to be. Why not just embrace who the whole world thinks I am?”
Dad remained quiet for a few moments. “Because deep down I know you’re better…and I think that you know you’re better too.”
Chapter 12
I couldn’t prove that Jason had purposely laced my blunt, but I didn’t need tangible evidence to know he was a dick. Luckily, I knew his type, and I was more than prepared to deal with him. However, that didn’t make living with him any easier. Good thing it was only temporary. Once break was over he’d be leaving to go back to school up north and I was counting down the days until he did.
“Hear from Sloan?” Jason entered the kitchen, yawning and scratching at his balls. His bare feet dragged across the linoleum, making high-pitched screeching noises similar to nails on a chalkboard. Good God, how I wanted to sock him in the face.
I dumped about two tablespoons of sugar into my coffee and ignored him.
“Hey, I’m talking to you,” he snapped.
Stirring my brew, I hardly glanced over, which further fueled his irritation. “Didn’t realize you were so obsessed with my dick. Thanks for caring, I guess.”
Well, that shooed away any remnants of his sleep. In a blink of an eye he barreled toward me, shaking his fist. “You’re lucky I haven’t killed you yet. You have no idea how much I just want to pound your face.”
I chose not to pay attention to him and merely kept sipping my hot ass coffee. Not wanting to show my weakness, I swallowed back the bitter liquid though it felt as if I was chugging lava.
Surprisingly, he lowered his fist, though judging by his flushed face I was not in the clear as of yet. In a cold tone he ground out, “Did she call you?”
I placed my mug down and shook my head with a laugh. “Seriously, what is your obsession with her? Do you like her or something?”
All at once the cocky smile left his face. “Or something.”
Something in his face made my gut twist uncomfortably. “Jason…is there something you need to tell me?”
At this point his jaw was clenched so tightly that a vein in his forehead had popped out. His hand trembled, fists clenching and unclenching. “What? Are we really doing a brother to brother chat now?”
I threw my hands in the air and groaned in exasperation. “What is your deal? If you have something to say, just do it instead of this cryptic bullshit.”
He paused. Like the calm before the storm the kitchen took on an eerie silence. “Sloan is…was my girlfriend.”
Ah, there it was.
My mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Was she…how? But…”
Jason’s teeth ground against each other in a way that was almost painful to watch. “We got into a fight after the ceremony. She thought I messed around with one of her friends and broke it off with me.”
“Did you?” My eyes were wide with shock.
“No! Of course not!” In one quick motion he raised his fist and punched a hole through the kitchen cabinet. Jarred pieces of stained wood crackled and fell to the ground, reminding me of ashes from a cigarette. I jumped back, both startled and impressed by his strength. “Did you really think she wanted you? Did you really think she would have gone for a guy like you?”
“A guy like me?” I repeated with a snort. It was my life’s theme, wasn’t it? A guy like me.
“She only did it to get back at me,” he replied matter-of-factly. “What better revenge than to sleep with my new brother?” He eyed me with distaste. “How does it feel to get sloppy seconds?”
My eyes clouded over as I felt the familiar rush of adrenaline. “You sure you fucked her before? She felt brand new to me. Maybe your dick just wasn’t big enough to do the job right—”
I didn’t have a chance to finish my thought before Jason’s fist came crashing down against my nose. The telltale pop and gush of blood were the only signs of a broken nose since, oddly enough, I felt no pain. In fact, the tingling sensation actually felt sort of good. I needed more of it.
“I have no idea what my mom sees in your dad. He’s nothing but a fucking pansy!” Jason yelled, lunging toward me again.
“Like I didn’t know that.”
Sidestepping him, I laughed and landed my own punch to his temple. He wavered a bit, but somehow straightened himself quickly before he fell to the floor. That punch would have knocked anybody else out, but Jason must have trained in some level of fighting before. Awestruck, I watched as he effortlessly spun around on his heel and threw another hit to my face. It landed with a sickening THUD, but once again I didn’t feel it. It was then I realized that I was too numb to feel anything. A year’s worth of denying everything that meant a lot to me had finally taken its toll.
Obviously perturbed at my lack of reaction, Jason began trembling with rage. He took a step forward as if to throw another punch, but leaned toward a nearby counter instead. To my horror he picked up my phone and threw me a wicked smile. “Who’s that girl you were texting? Balboa?”
I gritted my teeth, feeling the numbness finally give way to anger. “Give it back—now.”
“Oh, yeah, her name was Rocky, right?” Bleached teeth flashing, Jason made a show of swiping through my phone.
Fuck! I knew I should have made a passcode!
“What do you say I tell your little girlfriend back home that you were screwing around with some other girls? You think she’d like that? Will she still be your little bitch then?”
Just like that I snapped.
POW!
Jason crumpled to the ground, letting a groan escape his lips. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, which was swelling by the second. My phone clattered to the floor, but before I could reach for it, he grabbed my ankle, yanking hard until I fell beside him. I gasped for breath, but the impact had knocked the wind out of me. Jason took advantage of my momentary incoherence to climb on top of me and proceeded to throw quick jabs.
“How…punch…could you…punch…sleep with my fucking girlfriend?” he screeched.
Somehow mustering strength, I pushed him off of me, catapulting him toward the wall. I sprung to my feet and jumped on top of him, delivering my own blows.
Now, I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow due to our ruckus, the damaged cupboard broke further, causing dishes to fall to the ground. Our kitchen was now a warzone complete with shattered glass and other weaponry.
Our eyes simultaneously landed on a jagged piece of porcelain. Hesitantly, we glanced at each other. It wasn’t in me to call truce, but I drew that line at permanently maiming and perhaps murdering another person. Fortunately, Jason seemed to feel the same way.
Wiping the blood from his nose, he spat out red tinted saliva. “Fuck it. You’re not even worth it.”
My chest heaved with ragged breaths. Fists clenched, I took another step forward. “Come on! Let’s keep this going then.”
Jason’s bloody face broke out into a grin. “What’s the point? You’re not worth my time.”
I gestured toward an opened wound on his eyebrow, which continuously oozed blood. “Judging by that gash, I am worth something.”
Without answering, he stuck out his tongue and licked at a drop of blood on his cheek. Smacking his mouth together in show, he grinned again. “You’re just a piece of shit, Jesse. You, your dad, and your mom.”
I blinked in surprise.
“You don’t think I did research about your family before my mom agreed to marry your worthless dad? Of course she didn’t care, so maybe she is meant for stupidity.” Like a lion stalking its prey, he walked around me, scrutinizing me. “You’re nothing but shit, Jesse. Who’d care about you? Not your own parents, not me, and probably not that whore from Bethel Hills. You’re better left alone.”
Without another word, Jason turned and left me alone, standing in the shattered mess of what used to be our kitchen. I glanced around and cringed, for the first time noticing my favorite dishes and holders broken on the floor.
“Maybe he’s right. Maybe I am better off alone.”
***
I felt a splash of iciness against my body that caused me to hurl forward. Blinking away drops of water from my face, I gazed around, allowing my vision to clear. I was in the bathroom—on the shaggy lavender rug to be exact—twisted in a very uncomfortable position. My dad’s concerned face towered over me, twisted into a combination of anger and relief.
“What the hell were you doing?” he demanded. “Did you take drugs again?”
I shook my head, laughing weakly as my fuzzy memories began to clear. I did take drugs, but not of the illegal kind. Once Jason left, I remembered feeling the adrenaline leave my body. All at once the pain of my broken nose, countless bruises, and numerous gashes hit me. Struggling not to heave over, I practically crawled toward my dad’s bathroom to grab his pain medicine. Popping one pill didn’t seem enough, nor did two or three. Before I knew it I had downed almost half of the bottle. I was surprised I was even alive.
Groaning, I tried to sit up, only to feel my hand push against something slimy. “What the hell?”
“It’s your vomit, Jesse,” Dad replied in disgust. “You’re lucky you passed out on your side, otherwise you could have choked yourself to death.”
Succumbing to my weakness, I allowed my body to crash back down onto the ground. “Lucky, eh? Says who?”
Dad’s color left his face. “Did you…did you try to kill yourself on purpose?”
I chuckled weakly. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
Dad lowered himself, squatting beside me and dragged his fingers through his thinning hair. He shot me a pained look. “What the hell, Jesse? I thought you were doing well! I thought you—we were doing well.”
I closed my eyes, ignoring the stench of acid that filled my nose. Focusing instead on the cool surface of the bathroom tiles, I whispered my reply. “Denying your feelings isn’t getting better. It just makes everything worse.”
“What is so bad about Charleston that would lead you to do something so despicable?” he demanded.
“It’s not about the place, Dad. It’s about me…”
The front door suddenly burst open to an influx of uniformed men. My eyes flashed wildly as they rushed toward me.
“Did you call the cops on me?” I screeched in a panic.
“The paramedics, but maybe I should have called the cops,” he replied in a grim tone.
Confusion set in as I was poked and prodded repeatedly. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled away on a stretcher. Dad stood by the door, talking to whom I assumed to be the captain of the squad.
“Rehab…”
“Counseling.”
“…alcoholic mother…”
“Dad! You can’t let them take me,” I yelped. “I’m perfectly fine! I just got into a little spat with Jason.”
