486Moon Child
By HiTanner85
Chapter 2: The New Road
The night smelled like fire and cut grass. It was so normal to hold Jared's hand that it didn't feel special. The bonfire swept up through the air like a massive wall separating the party goers with its heat. I glanced around the familiar faces, in search for my other best friend. They all wore the gentle glow of intoxication, grins stretched out along their tanned skin, midsections and calloused fingers. I squeezed Jared's hand, nodding over toward a group of guys, in which Jordan laughed comfortably. Jared looked mischievous, throwing me a charming smile, before dragging me off toward the music.
"We're not going to get him?" I asked, nervous. I hated when Jared made me dance. I felt clumsy and big in my own skin. He tugged me close, his fingers comfortably tight against my lower back.
"He's fine," he replied confident. "I know you love this song." We were moving back and forth by then, or at least that's what he was trying to get me to do. It was shifting to music, one of the few things I could pull off. There was a large patch of dirt under our feet, the grass stomped out from nights just like this one, dances danced a thousand times over.
"I don't love to dance to it," yet I still didn't fight him from hanging my arms around his neck. He moved his hands on my hips and laughed when I rolled my eyes at him. He had no sense of polite space, that boy. I didn't always mind it. He smelled nice, like the air just before a rain storm and faintly of the cologne he used to drench himself in as a boy. He had gotten better at putting it on. It was faint now, oddly comforting, familiar. I swayed a bit more, not comfortable enough to actually dance.
"Don't act like you don't love rubbing up against me, Bails." I laughed at that, shaking my head and pinching his shoulder. He pretended it hurt. I knew it didn't on account of the constant grin he wore. I couldn't hurt him if I tried and I liked that. I spent most of my youth horse playing with him, pinning him to the ground on the spare chance he let me. Years ago, he'd slept with one of my only real female friends. It had ended badly, of course it had. I punched him square in the stomach for it and the boy didn't even wince. He'd just took my hands and placed them around his neck. "Hug me, Bails," he'd said to me that night under a thick patch of fog, and like a mindless puppet I had. "There we go. We can't fight. We're the three muskateers." It seemed to make it all better. I remember not fighting it when he pulled me flush against him. Jordan never hugged me like that, not quite anyway. There was something desperate in that embrace. I even remember wondering why in the world I even tried to be mad in the first place. It wasn't natural to be mad at Jared, Jordan either for that matter.
"I'm tired," I told him, waking up from my memories. He smiled big, leaning down and pressing his lips firmly to my forehead. He tugged me closer, allowing my head to rest on his chest.
"You're not tired, Bails. You're sad." I didn't reply to that one, finding it truer than I wished it to be. Inside, my body ached. My heart felt heavy and full, not quite broken though. I'd be fine. I had to be. Jared wanted to be the one to put my life back to normal. He was a hero at heart. I was scared he might not be able to distract me enough this time, scared that I might have to face that shit alone.
The music seemed too faint to dance to. The quiet chuckles of friends in the distance took up most of my ears. Jordan laughed histerically at something one of those random boys said. I glanced at him, face an easy confident.
"Hold on tight," and sudden I was spinning around quick enough to jar my sporadic thoughts. I laughed, clinging to his arms, and making a face as my near fall caused my chin to slide down his chest. It wasn't very graceful. I could never be perfect.
"Very nice, Jared"
"And you said you couldn't dance," he chuckled, tugging me up straighter. I was the one to embrace him tight this time, pleased to have him on my side. Who needed Dustin anyway?
"I can't dance."
"You're doing fine," he laughed and I knew right then I wasn't. Jared always smiled when he lied, always.
He allowed me to straighten up a tad, but kept his hands in a possessive lock around my waist. I took one more look around, not caring for the tightening feeling in my chest. I would either cry or laugh hysterically, neither of which sounded too great then. And just like that, at the most inopportune moment, Dustin Mckenzie came waltzing up around the fire as if he owned the field. His face took on the gentle glow of the flames. It made him look like the demon he was.
I shook in my hands, looking back toward Jared, the picture of calm. As if sensing my unease, Jared tilted his head at me, but didn't move to look around. I prayed he wouldn't see him.
"Let's go somewhere," Jared smiled mischievously. I glanced back. Jordan was talking to Dustin, calmly leading him back around the fire, to safety. Dustin seemed deliberate in his actions, looking right into my eyes, grinning at my discomfort. He even winked. I managed to throw an answer back without stuttering. My lack of quick reply often gave my mistruths away.
"Just cause I'm single doesn't mean I'm desperate for the likes of you," I teased. Jared laughed out loud at that one, knowing full well anyone would be lucky to tie him down. He shook his head, eyeing me like he'd never seen me before. I didn't have too much time to think of what that look meant because it was gone just as fast as it had appeared in those deep brown eyes.
"No I just mean let's get out of here,"
"Where to?" I was ready to leave just as much as he was, but felt necessary to give him a hard time. If I didn't, he would sense something was up. The more I fought, the more fun he found our outings to be.
"Where to?" Jared grinned. "Where you want to go?"
"I don't care." I shrugged.
"Let's go get something to drink, hang out by the river?"
I eyed him before my smile broke wide.
"Alright. I'll go get Jordan," I pulled away only to have him tug me right back away. His hold was never too tight. I knew he'd never hurt me, not because he couldn't, because he wouldn't. His hand around my wrist sent nothing but pleasant shivers up and down my arm. I ignored them. The night was weird, I told myself quickly. The night was weird and I was suddenly all alone. It was normal to be this way.
"Let's go just us." He nodded. "Jordan won't give a shit."
"Why?" I eyed him wearily. I needed to talk to Jordan. I needed to make sure that Dustin was gone and that nothing too harsh has been said.
"Cause it's been a while since we just hung out, Bails." He tugged his chin up, a mocking gesture of a cocky teen that he'd picked up in high school. "Besides, I need to keep my mind off that exboyfriend of yours."
I made a face, glancing over at happy Jared. I had lost contact with him, I noticed softly. His hand was no longer incircling my wrist. I glanced down, bringing both of my sweaty palms to perch on my hips. I wiped them on my jean shorts.
"What's going on in that head of yours?" I asked curiously. He shrugged grinning, holding his hand out to me waiting. I didn't bother to hesitate.
"Well let's tell him at least,"
And he was right, Jordan didn't care and had successfully convinced Dustin to keep a low profile, at least for a while. I could tell by the way he looked at me, he didn't approve of the ass hole I had been dating. I could tell by the way he glanced over toward Jared, that he would be talking with him later, and I would be the subject of that conversation. I used to hate that look. It made my arms break out in unpleasant goose bumps. When that look came, so did a lecture, or an intervention of sorts. That look meant trouble... for me.
"He wants to go hang out," I shrugged. "Just us, but you know you can go if you want."
"Nah," Jordan grinned, reaching forward and patting me affectionately on the head. "You two have fun."
"We always do," I made a face at his tone, ignoring the funny grin he threw me toward the end of it all.
And I ignored the fact that he laughed as I walked away. I didn't bother with all that thinking then. I went and dragged Jared away from the fire. The only sound behind the gentle thrum of music and laughter was our footsteps. We took off in their old truck, going ninety down a dark road. I wasn't scared. I was almost too used to risking my life with my boys. The truck was old but well made. The shocks were right shit and if it hadn't been for seat belts I'd have a thousand bruises on the top of my head. I knew this because with every bump on those old roads that circled our town, I felt tension along my lap and chest. On this night I was trying to adjust the radio. The knob was loose under my fingers. Jared took over and found one with three flicks of his wrist. I rolled my eyes at his cocky grin.
"Where we going?"
"Care to get into some trouble?" he wiggled his eyebrows at my bored expression. I laughed out loud at that. It wasn't two seconds after his offer that the blue lights lit up the entirety of the truck. Sirens. I grinned, shaking my head, and turning around to figure out which cop in particular was getting the bate and run this fine evening.
"Guess that was a rhetorical question..."
"It's Nevel," Jared let out a heart felt "yeehaw", pounding the top of the truck with an open palm. The metallic noise it brought on, only furthered the adrenaline rush I was feeling. I loved running from our cops. I loved sitting next to Jared when he took off in one of his rowdy spells. I loved the smell of our town on a saturday night and the way the blue lights flashed across our faces. I loved all these things in a different way than I ever thought I loved Dustin.
"It's our lucky night, Bails."
"Jared," I sighed, sitting up just a bit straighter in my seat, too calm for comfort. I glanced back a few more times. He was gaining on us, easily. But I knew that it was all part of the game. Jared would almost get caught then slam it into fourth gear. "You know every cop in this city knows your truck and Nevels dumb ass probably called you in before he even saw us." Jared sped up even faster, the skin on my legs went up in chills. The air whipped through the open windows and molested our ears. Jared turned up the radio, raising his eyebrows at my faux annoyance. I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips.
"They love it as much as I do, Bails" he leant over and pressed a sloppy kiss to my cheek. "But not nearly as much as I love you."
"I hope you don't get us thrown in jail, Jared." I warned, serious enough for that. "I'm in no mood to be teased by our towns finest tonight."
"No problem, sweet thing," he shrugged. "I don't plan on giving you up just yet."
I looked back once more, to see the old cop just far enough to give us a way out. The world flashed by in bits of blue. A deer on the side of the road missed us by an inch. I winced, sitting up just a bit straighter in my seat. The trees turned into a dark brown mass of speed. I tingled all over.
"Nevels's backing off," I didn't like the look of it. "You better do something. You know what that means." It meant that he was most definitely calling for back up.
"I have a plan." The radio was lower now. "Found a new road a couple nights ago."
"A new road?" I looked at him, disbelieving. "A new road after twenty-three years of knowing everything to do with our town, inside, out, up, and down?" I mocked him, deepening my voice to tease him. Jared laughed, rolling his eyes and leaning in a bit closer. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was flirting with me, maybe even about to kiss me. Jared wouldn't kiss me though. He never kissed me. He looked me in the eye, his breath his my lips.
"Well not a road exactly," and before I had time to move my eyes down to that dangerous mouth of his, we jerked to the right.
Cornstalks dyed green by the night slapped against the windshield. I pushed back hard in my seat, suddenly nervous. The moon bobbed above us like a silver dollar. Jared smirked at my rigid posture. "What's the matter Bails?" I reached over and slapped his arm, looking around at the corn field we were flying through. The ground was full of bumps and holes. It jarred me in my own skin. In some sick way, I loved it.
"Jared," I warned. "We're going to get caught and this... what if you hit something?"
"I won't," Jared grinned.
"There could be anything. I know you can't see. Are you sure you know where you're going?" I was growing shrill, and hated it more than he did. Jared found humor in my freak out spells. He found humor in almost anything. "Oh my god!" I screamed, covering my eyes and gasping loud as a gun shot fired through the air.
"It's alright, Bails." Jared cooed, reaching over to rub a hand down my thigh. I ignored his flirtatious gesture, eyes wide and disbelieving. "Haven't heard you scream in a while... Not a totally unpleasant thing."
"Who's shooting?" I ignored his perverted statement, looking frantically for the source of the shots.
"It's just the old man. He's a good mile and a half away." He had turned the radio down. "Just a warning shot. We've got plenty of time."
"Plenty of time for what..." I was almost hysterical then, in between screaming and laughing. Jared's hand slowly moved away from my leg. I convinced myself I didn't care if he was touching me. The sirens were getting less and less intrusive. All I could hear was the tiny bits of stalk as they popped against the window, and the steady crunch under our tires. The air smelled different here, like wheat and dirt. Jared slammed on his gas. The engine roared, we lurched forward. He jeered to the right and switched off his lights. He parked there, turned the truck off, and waited. It grew too quiet fast. I leant forward, staring off into the sea of stalks, shaking in my limbs. I allowed my hands to rest on the dashboard.
And then the sirens were faint, but there. The blue took over everything, slashing hard against my eyes and ears. They were so close I could taste them, metal and asphalt. My heart sped up. My fingers dug into the dark blue plastic. Jared leant forward too, staring out and watching four of them speed by. It felt like forever before I let myself breathe. And when I did finally inhale, my face burst with smiles. We had done it. We had gotten away, again, and damn did it feel good.
"Well shit," Jared shook his head, his smile wide and white. "I'll never stop loving that. It's better than sex." I rolled my eyes at him, reaching over and giving his right shoulder three taps. He leant back heavily against the seat, breathing hard.
"You could've killed us." I smirked.
"Nah," Jared shrugged. "But the night's still young...There's always time for near death experiences."
Ten more seconds and we were out, shooting through the clearing so fast I could've sworn we'd gone air born for a second. I caught myself smiling, fingers gripping the door handle so tight my fingers turned paper white. Jared laughed out loud. The sirens were completely gone then, even the flashing lights a fading memory. Jared reached out and tugged a piece of my hair.
"So lets get that alcohol, Jared. You did make me a promise."
The night was black above us, sprinkled with stars. We were parked at the river, a thousand feet of dirty sand and crab grass. The dark black of the Mississippi looked like oil, thick and smooth. It was deserted, most of our small town still at the party we'd just left. Apart from a few random campers parked near the north of the strip, we were completely alone.
"And this darlin, is for you." Jared handed me a watermelon flavored liquor, before popping open and beer of his own.
"Thanks, sweet heart." I mocked, taking a sip. "Delicious.'
"Don't you ever get sick of that sweet shit?" He asked, eyeing my girly drink. I made a face. "It's gotta make your stomach hurt."
"Do you ever get sick of that?" I motioned toward his brown bottle.
"Not enough to stop drinking it."
We both laughed. Jared stared out at the river, his eyes the perfect shade of leather. I watched him until I caught myself doing so. I chugged the rest of my drink, tossing the bottle somewhere behind me, to join the dozens of others left by party goers long before.
"So when can I hurt him?" I grinned over at him, shaking my head and replying with a quiet, 'never'.
"We'll all get over it, Jared."
"Don't think it's that simple, Bails." He tipped his bottle at me. "In fact, I know its not."
"How so?"
"I figure he messed with one of us..." He chugged the remainder of his bottle, and popped open another one. "He's gonna get what's coming to him."
I rolled my eyes and started my second fruity liquor. Jared would be drunk before the end of the night, and harder to handle. He'd be bent set on beating the living life out of my ex boyfriend and I'd have to bring him all the way back to his house, tuck him into bed, and convince his mother that he wasn't an alcoholic. Not to mention that I'd have to drive that monster sized truck of his. I hated driving that damn truck.
"So what's up with all this?" I gave him a curious look. "...not wanting Jordan to come I mean."
"Well how the hell am I gonna put the moves on you with my brother breathing down our necks?" He grinned and I didn't even try to fight the blush that spread out over my body.
"Bullshit," I took another calming sip of my drink. "You're moves are only effective on the weak minded."
"You think so?" Jared's brow contorted to a serious arch. I nodded, pretending I didn't notice him leaning closer to my face. I clamped my lips around the bottle, staring off across the river, fingers nervous as I'd been when seeing Dustin's evil face around the bonfire.
"I hear I'm pretty good at it," he whispered. I forced myself to make eye contact. I spent at least a good thirty seconds just looking him in the eye. I understood why women loved that boy. He was absolutely intoxicating, especially when you had his full attention. It was as if, you were the most important thing in the world, as if you were special.
"Well I hear I'm pretty bad at it," I replied grinning. "We'd just cancel each other out."
Jared gave a breathy chuckle, shrugging it off, and taking a sexy sip of his beer. I breathed a sigh of relief at his retreating. The night was weird, I mentioned inwardly again, that's all these butterflies were. There were cars in the distance, our peers looking for the same spot we occupied. We'd be overrun with friends in a while. It would be impossible to hear each other talk.
"So really," I sighed. "Why?"
"Just needed to talk to you." He replied dully. "Let you in on some things."
"What kinds of things?"
"Like how-" he paused, smiling and shaking his head. He was changing his mind mid-sentence. I knew it. I knew him enough to know it. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
I had always been able to tell when Jared was lying, and these were one of those times. Because every time that boy decided the truth wasn't enough, he'd sigh, grin, and scratch the back of his head with his right hand. I made a face at him.
"I'm alright," I mumbled.
"No you're not," he leant forward, bringing my face upright with a gentle pinch on my chin. "You've got that look in your eyes... like you're about to cry."
"Go away, Jared." I tutted, swatting his hands away. "I'm fine. I swear."
"I call bullshit," Jared's face was of utmost serious now, the look of a man with a purpose. I shrugged, fighting the tears that suddenly danced along the rims of my eyes. "I call it, Bails. That means you have to tell me. I've got five more before I'm all up."
Jared spoke of the promise we'd all made to each other as kids. We each had ten Bullshit cards to use throughout the year. These were to be used under utmost circumstances, when someone was obviously lying and wouldn't give up the info. Before then, these so called truth cards were silly and ridiculous. This felt heavy. I couldn't breathe. This was for real.
"Jared, don't..."
"Bullshit."
And then I felt the first of many tears start to stream down my face. I hiccuped and sobbed until my body trembled. Jared, at one point, pulled me under the comforting weight of his arm. He whispered that things would be alright, and to start from the very beginning, where it all started to fall apart.
"I didn't love him," I felt my face. It was hot and tear stained. I wiped furiously at my cheeks, shaking my head at the thought of loving that stupid boy. "Not once did I really feel like I loved it. I was obsessed. I always get obsessed with everything remotely good."
"It's not a bad thing, Bails. I love that about you..."
"Yes it is," I interrupted him, placing one shaky palm on his forearm. "It's horrible. I get so intoxicated by everything new and I wanted him to want me so bad that I overlooked all the shit that he put me through. I let him get away with all kinds of things, Jared. I let him forget my birthday and leave me at a party once when he got too drunk to realize. I told myself I wouldn't ever let a man treat me that way."
And I was done being sad. I was suddenly mad and there is nothing like a woman scorned.
"I did though, and it's my deal. I've learned my lesson." I nodded in affirmation. "The next boy will be better."
"The next one?" Jared looked disturbed. "Can't you be alone for a second?"
"I didn't mean today or anything..." I had stopped crying now, and it was replaced by a smirk.
"No like I mean for a year or some shit, maybe even more..." Jared finished off his beer. He looked off into the distance, before chucking the empty bottle into the water. "For shits sake, Bails. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I laughed.
"Just don't get why you have to have a boyfriend so fast. Can't you just sit back and shoot some shit with Jordan and me. We've missed you these last few years."
"Missed me?" I grinned. "I've spent every single day with you boys since junior high."
"Right,"
"I am right. Dustin took up half the time that I spend with yall. You idiots are my life."
"All I'm saying is, we can take care of you. Just sit back and relax."
"Fine," I shook my head laughing. "You're off your rocker, you know that though right?"
"No I'm not. I just wish you'd slow down."
"I'm going at a turtles pace, Jared. I've slept with one boy and he's pretty much ruined me for someone else, at least for a couple months." I smirked at Jared's eyes narrowing. "Jared don't start..." I rolled my eyes good natured like.
"He didn't ruin you."
"Yes he did. I can't imagine sleeping with someone else and having them say the same thing." I reached forward, stretching my arms and back simultaneously. My heart slammed into my chest. It hurt to be hurt, go figure.
"It won't happen again, Bailey." Jared spoke sincerely. So much in fact, that I caught myself not breathing. I nodded, refusing to let the tears rush down my face.
"You don't know that. And you really gotta stop being so sweet, Jared." I wiped at my face. "You're making me cry."
"I just want to make things easy for you, Bails." He whispered, shaking his head and watching me like he had since I was a young girl. "I feel like I have to keep you happy."
"Gee thanks..."
"No," Jared interrupted, stern. "I don't mean it like that. I mean that I feel I have to." And he nodded after the words, like they meant something different, though they were exactly the same. He begged me nonverbally to understand, to take what he was saying and decipher it. What was happening lately? He had to or he had to. It all meant the same thing in the end, didn't it? I wanted to ask him how it had changed. Was it the tone, his eyes, his soft pleading smile. No, It was something else.
I never got the chance. We were interrupted by a pair of headlights and an uncomfortably loud horn. We left after that, back to an uncomfortable silence inside the truck. I didn't want to go home, and Jared didn't want to take me there. So we went to his house to sit on the porch. We didn't talk about Dustin anymore. From what I guessed, Jared was all talked out when it came to that stupid boy. He had, after all, been hearing about the good, bad, and the ugly for four years.
Jared tugged me close, his arm resting comfortably around my shoulders. I leant into him, staring out at the dozen or so acres surrounding their house. The air always smelled so sweet at their home, like peaches and spring. My heart swelled with the familiar ache of being young and in love. I brought my knees to my chest, letting my chin rest there.
"You know we stayed at that party less than an hour," I grinned, turning to wink at my best friend. He smirked right back, shrugging and laying a comforting hand on my back. He tugged at my ponytail, before allowing his hand to rest back against the old swing.
"Wonder where Jordan is," I mumbled.
"He'll be home soon," Jared replied, as if he could tell the future. "He's probably off getting shit faced somewhere."
"Without you?" I scoffed.
"Sure, baby. Why not?"
I didn't feel the need to answer that. Jordan wasn't the independent one. If he was getting drunk somewhere, it's because Jared dogged him into doing it. If he was slamming his fist into someone's face, it was because Jared had provoked a reaction.
"What did you mean before?" I asked Jared quietly, not daring to look into his eyes. "When you said you feel like you have to keep me happy?"
Jared sighed and I knew instantly he didn't want to answer that question. I snuck a peak at him, his eyes were glued to the porch floor. "Would you accept a 'I don't know' on this one?" I shrugged it off, because I thought, maybe... just maybe, I didn't really want to know... at least not yet.
It happened so fast I had missed it by a blink. Jared jumped up faster than I could succumb to a reaction, ordering me to go inside, yelling at me when I didn't rush at his command. There was nothing different. The air was still thick and sweet. The only difference was, Jordan was there.
I couldn't take my eyes off my soft spoken friend. I couldn't make my legs work. Jordan wasn't himself. He wasn't even awake it seemed. He was staggering, gripping their old truck with bare white knuckles. One might even think he was drunk. He looked drunk... had it not been for the gaping wounds across his neck and chest, I might've even believed that myself. The blood leaked out like ink, dark and purple. Was it purple? I moved forward. Jared warned me against it. Jordan looked past Jared, right at me. His eyes were white, no color at all. I felt frantic. My hands shook. He fell to his knees, face down into the dirt that made up their driveway. His body shook uncontrollably.
"Jared what's going on?" I shrieked.
"Go inside, Bailey. Go to my room and lock the door. I'll be right up, baby." He turned to me with the last bit. "I promise." And like a zombie I turned. Inside the house it was dark and smelled of vanilla candles. Their parents weren't home, neither was their sister. I couldn't remember where he'd said they'd gone. My footsteps echoed through the halls, up the dozen or so steps toward the second floor.
I was rambling inside my own mind. I didn't even find it strange then, that he hadn't ordered me to call for an ambulance. My mind was on other things, like the striped wallpaper in their hall, the empty vase on the coffee table.
His room. His room was up the stairs, second to the left. The lock would work, he had three of them, one on the actual knob, one at the top, and a chain at the bottom. I would be safe there, but safe from what? The floors were bare wood, a funny looking rug placed right by his bed. The dresser, half opened, t-shirts spilling out from the inside. There was a picture taped to his mirror, a picture of him, Jordan and me. We were so young then, fresh out of eight grade. My eyes were closed, my mouth hanging open with laughter. Jared was half holding me up, my knees giving out from whatever had just happened. Jordan was looking over at us with a look of supreme happiness on his face, one hand clamped tight over his grinning lips.
"It was the light on the porch," I mumbled, sitting down on the edge or Jared's double, tapping the plaid comforter nervously. I liked his room. It was dark blue and smelled of the cologne he often wore. "The light on the porch made his eyes white like that. He's fine. Someone just probably beat the shit out of him. Jared will handle it. Jared can handle it..." I shook my head, denying the sight of Jordan's battered face pulsing in my mind. I could look out the window but at the same time, I couldn't. I didn't move. I didn't make a sound. I merely jumped at a very light knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Baby, it's me." Jared's soft voice pushed through the wood. I jumped up and threw open the door. Jordan wasn't behind him, I noted wearily. "It's alright, Bails. Some people just jumped him outside of Porgies." He wiped a tear off my cheek. I hadn't even realized I'd been crying. "He'll be all right by morning."
"But I saw those marks, Jared. He needs to go to the hospital."
"No ma'am," Jared smiled, pulling me forward to wrap his arms around my neck. I let out a sigh of relief. Things felt as if they'd be better. "He's been beat worse before. He'll be all right."
"If you're sure," I wanted to believe him, I did. Deep down I knew better than to ignore the bruises, the blood, the eyes. I knew better than to ignore the fact that he had appeared out of thin air. "Can I see him?"
"Not right now, Bails." Jared walked me back into his room, and shut the door behind him. "He looks like shit. It would just rile you up."
"Where is he?"
"Sleeping it off on the couch," he grinned. "Now lets do the same."
"Jared I really want to see him. It would make me feel better."
"No, Bailey" Jared's tone was serious, forceful. I crossed my arms over my chest, defiant. "He's really messed up right now. Give it till the morning. Please." I watched him carefully. He really wanted me to listen and for once, I did without question.
"And I want you to stay here tonight," he mumbled, pulling his shirt over his head and disappearing inside a closet. I heard him rummaging around. There was blood on his shirt, dark purple smears. I didn't say anything, just watched the space where he'd occupied before.
"I mean... I can bring you home if you want but I'd rather you stay here tonight. It's safer that way." I didn't bother asking what he meant, I just figured it was something about the random guys that beat up Jordan. My mind wasn't there, I acknowledged later, otherwise there would've been a lot more questions asked.
"So you staying?"
I nodded, only truly waking from my stupor when Jared tossed me a large t-shirt and pair of boxers to sleep in. I wondered into the adjoining bathroom. I caught my reflection in the mirror. I looked ragged, even after my lame attempt at smoothing down the frizz that was my hair. I pulled on his old clothes and left mine in a pile on the floor. Back in his bedroom, Jared was already nodding off. He was clad in a pair of loose pajama pants and bare chested as usual. I climbed into bed with him, under the covers, my back against his side. He moved to pull me flush against him, and this time, there were no jokes accompanying his nearness.
"You sure he'll be all right?" I whispered. Jared's voice was tired, as if he'd been asleep for hours.
"He'll be good as new by morning, Bails."
"He looked real bad though, Jared." I felt my voice shake.
"I promise on my own life, Bailey." Jared kissed the back of my head. "He'll be fine."
Authors Note:
Hello there! I'm not moving to Live Journal, as you might have realized after this post. After I got responses from others about copyrighting, I feel safe enough to stay here. Plus, I'm not so much a fan of live journal and don't really want to start all over again (fan base wise). I will be posting here, but it seems to be taking me forever. Don't give up. I will finish every story listed below.
1. Lucian Boom: WILL DEF be finished and within the next few months. There aren't many more chapters left. That story is just close to my heart, for some odd reason, and I'm trying to make it the best I can.
Kill a problem: Will be updated soon. I have started the second chapter. I had even gone so far as to finish it and erase most of the end. I also feel rather attached to that story, on account of writing it in high school and it being the first story I'd ever actually finished. REALLY finished anyway.
Child: Will be updated, hopefully quicker than it has been in the past.
QUESTIONS:
they werewolves?
-Nope! I know it seems that way but it's got a bit more of a twist than that. I hope to shock you all!
there be a love triangle between Bailey and the two brothers?
-Definitely NOT. I'm not a fan of that and will not force you to read through the unnecessary drama that comes with siblings fighting over their only female friend.
's behavior seems a bit more erotic than friendly. Did you do that on purpose?
-Yes, and it is. He's overly flirtatious with her, always has been.
QUESTION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MOON CHILD! You said you planned on writing another romance high school type story... are you going to?
-I already have some of those just written on my computer, so I'll get around to putting one of them up some time soon.
Thank you all so much for being patient.
brittanyterese.