Him

His Parents

I barley slept last night. All I could think about was Eli. What could that guy have brought him? And then that text from Maya. She can't talk to me because of what's going on?

What is going on? And why do I have no idea? It seems that they all, my 'friends' included, know something that I don't.

I just wish things with Hazel went differently. She is one of my best friends and I totally lost it. Maybe I can apologize to her Monday. I don't want to lose her or the twins as friends. I don't know what I'll do if they can't forgive me. I know that Johnny, Jimmy, and Riley are probably all mad also. I mean, why wouldn't they go along with their girlfriends. Well not Hazel and Johnny. They aren't dating. But that's not the point. I don't want to lose all my friends. Not when senior year is only halfway finished.

At least today shouldn't be too stressful. Jake is home now. I can't wait to see him. I have missed him and I hope he really has changed.

Slowly is get out of bed. Looking around my room I see it is messy. Clothes are in a pile and I have books and papers scattered. I make a mental note to myself to clean it all up.

I reach my bathroom and turn on the shower. After I select some music on my iPod I undress and step in. The water feels so good. I hadn't even realized I was this stressed until I feel my muscles start to relax.

After washing my hair with my new strawberry shampoo I just stand there. I am fighting to keep all my thoughts out of my head for at least today. I don’t want to be zoning out. I want to spend all my time with Jake.

Finishing my shower I step out. I shiver as cold air hits my body. Quickly I grab a towel and wrap it around me.

I open my closet door and look at all my clothes. It was chilly out so I decided on wearing a white v-neck shirt with a blue jacket over it. I pick out some nice black jeans and black boots.

When I am all dressed I blow-dry my hair and let my natural curls fall down my back. I paint my nails black with a small blue heart on each thumb nail.

After my nails dry I move on to my makeup. I spread blue eye shadow on my lids and then place a black wing next to my eye lash line. I finish up my makeup by putting mascara on my upper and lower lashes.

Feeling satisfied with my outfit, hair, and makeup I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. After I am done, I exit my room. It is eight in the morning and everything is quiet.

I close my door quietly and go down the stairs. I grab a notepad and write a note to my parents telling them where I am going.

I turn around and jump as I scream. My heart is racing.

"Eli what the hell? Why would you sneak up on me like that?" I ask.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"Jake is home. I'm going to see him."

"Oh," He then turns around and walks up the stairs. Each step he takes I feel my heart break a bit.

He used to be so funny, and joke around with me about things like relationships. Now he barely talks to me and is gone all the time.

I push the thoughts of Eli away and grab my keys. I just need to see Jake and everything will hopefully be better. I drive straight to the park. Looking around slowly, I spot Jake.

My heart swells up with happiness as I make eye contact with him. He smiles and starts walking towards me. I do the same. Each step becomes faster until I am running. I jump up and wrap my arms around his neck and hug him. I wrap my legs around his waist and pull back to kiss him.

He let my legs drop and wraps his arms around my waist.

I pull away from him and look at him. He actually looks a lot better than the last time I saw him. His eyes were shining bright and there are no bags under his eyes. It also looks like he got a hair trim. Not too much, but still a little noticeable.

“So did you miss me?” He asks.

“Like crazy. I love you Jake.”

“I love you too.”

Jake takes my hand in his and we start walking. Everything is going smoothly. Nothing seemed to be off with him and I am so happy. I’m really glad he is back and that it obviously helped him. He is all I have right now and I don’t know what I would do without him here.

“What are you thinking about?” Jake asks as we walk down a shaded path.

“Nothing, I’m just so glad you’re back,” I lie. I didn’t want to talk about all my problems when he just got back. That would not be fair to him. I especially don’t want to bring up Eli. That would not go over well. Last time my dad and Jake talked, my dad told Jake to watch out for Eli. So if Jake heard about what was going on, he’d sure say something.

Speaking of my dad, I’ve never met Jake’s parents. I wonder why he hasn’t let me meet them yet. Maybe he is waiting for a while.

The path we are walking on isn’t very wide. The trees look weird though. The trees have lost most of their leaves. So it’s kind of bare.

“Jake.”

“Yeah?”

“Um, I was wondering something.”

“What is it?” He asks. We stop walking and he looks at me.

“Why haven’t I met your parents?”

He avoids my eyes for a minute and then asks, “Would you like to meet them?”

“If it’s okay with you, yes. I really would like to meet them.”

----------------

I was following Jake to his house. I wanted to know how to get there on my own so I didn’t ride with him. So far all I have been thinking about is whether they will like me or not. I think I’m pretty likeable. Or at least I was. I guess not so much now. Seeing as I have two friends left. Marisol and Jake. And I can’t even talk to Marisol at school.

Jake turns left into a small neighborhood. It is a little scary actually. The houses all look a little worn out. It almost seems like it should all just be bull dozed down. I shouldn’t be saying this. I’m excited to see where Jake lives. Even if it is a bit scary.

A minute or two goes by and Jake parks in a driveway. I pull to the side and look out my window. His house is…well. It definitely isn’t what I had imagined. The shutters are almost falling off the windows. Which by the way, are crooked. I can see shattered glass on the porch under a smashed window. The porch looks like a splinter waiting to happen. I start to feel a bit bad for him. I know he won’t want any sympathy, but this house is not in the best shape.

I finally step out of my car and walk towards Jake. He has his head down. He almost looks ashamed.

“I know my house isn’t the best but, its better on the inside,” He says while scratching the back of his neck.

“Well then let me see the inside,” I insist.

“Okay, just be careful on the second step. It wobbles a bit.”

I follow Jake up the steps. He takes a deep breath before opening the front door. I squint my eyes a bit as we walk in. Right away I notice a staircase. It looks to be in decent shape. There is a window directly across from the front door. It looks like it’s above a sink. I’m guessing it’s the kitchen. To my left there is a bedroom. The broken window outside must be in there. And to my right is a small living room. Only two chairs and a small television.

“Well as you can see it does look a bit better in here.” Jake says grabbing my hand and leading me into the kitchen.

“It’s nice, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to impress me. You know that right?” I ask.

“You really are amazing.”

I smile. We have finally reached the kitchen. The counters are piled with dishes and the floor is cracked in a few spots.

“Wow, I’m sorry about the mess. Danni was supposed to do the dishes.”

“Who is Danni?” I ask curiously.

“Oh she’s just my mom. I wonder she and my dad are,” Jake says walking around. “Danni? Dad? Where are you?”

So he calls his mom by her first name. Maybe she’s his stepmom and doesn’t like to refer to her as ‘mom’ yet. I mean that would be an acceptable reason.

“Stop your yelling Jake! I heard you come inside. What do you think I’m deaf or something?” A deep male voice yells.

The voice is followed by loud footsteps coming from the bedroom I saw when I came in. I wait nervously to meet his dad. As soon as he walks in, I back up towards Jake. The man that walked in is honestly a very scary man. He is wearing a white, well partially white tank up. It has stains all around it. His jeans have holes everywhere. He has a very noticeable beer belly. The hair on his head seems to be balding. With a beer in his hand, he walks all the way into the kitchen.

Following him is a small brown headed women. She seems to be the size of a fifteen year old. Her eyes are big and blue. There is a scar under her eye. She has on a long sweatshirt over a pair of light denim jeans. I’m guessing that is Danni.

“Who the hell is this?” His dads voice booms, causing me to flinch.

“This is Katie. My girlfriend. I told you about her remember?” Jake ask.

“Oh yeah. Well Danni look at that. Jake’s got himself a new girlfriend. And she’s so pretty,” His dad laughs.

“Nice to meet---“

“Danni, what are you doing? Get her a drink or something. No need to chit chat,” His dad demands.

Danni immediately walks to the cabinets and grabs a clean cup. She then opens the refrigerator and asks me what I want to drink. I just ask for water and she hands me my cup. Her hands are shaking and I can see bruising where her sleeve slips down.

“Thank you,” I say taking a sip.

“So Jake, why didn’t you tell me how pretty your girl was. I mean look at her,” His dad winks at me.

I was becoming very uncomfortable. His dad may be nice to him, or may not be, I’m not sure yet, but he was scaring me. The way he talks to his wife is just awful and I feel bad for her. I hold onto Jakes arm tighter.

“Dad please don’t scare her off,” Jake says.

“What was that Jake?”

“Nothing,” Jake mumbles.

His dad sets down his beer bottle and moves towards Jake. Jake pushes me gently to the side. I am starting to get scared. His dad has this look in his eyes that was just… I don’t even know how to explain it. It is just terrifying.

“So now I’m scary? You stupid kid. I’m trying to be polite to the girl, and you think I’m going to scare her?” His dad asks.

“I didn’t mean…”

Jake’s dad raises his fist up and it collides with Jake’s face. I cover my eyes and turn away. Jake’s dad hit him. And I was hoping the feeling I got from his dad was just that, a feeling. I slowly gather my courage and turn back around. Jake is holding his eye and his dad has backed away.

He reaches for his beer and heads to the living room. Danni follows him out quickly. I am about to say something to Jake but am stopped. Danni has been pushed out of the living room and into the side of the stairs. She stands up and holds onto her side.

“Go clean the kitchen up! We have a guest here,” His dad yells.

I swallow hard as she comes into the kitchen. A small tear falls from her eye. Jake pats her back and then reaches for my hand. He leads me up the stairs and into his room. I sit on his bed while he closes the door. I feel my eyes tear up.

Jake’s life is a mess. What am I supposed to say to him? Jake moves away from the door and sits on the bed next to me. He puts my hands in his.

“Hey, why are you crying?”

“Are… are you okay? Is Danni?” I manage to ask.

He falls back onto the bed and covers his eyes with his arm. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.”

I crawl up and put my head on his chest. He wraps an arm around me. “I’m sorry that happened to you, and to Danni.”

“I shouldn’t have smarted off, and she should have done the dishes.”

I lift myself up to look at him. He is looking away from me. I can see a bruise forming around his eye. “It’s not your fault Jake. It’s not Danni’s either.”

“Can we just drop it, please?” He pleads.

I place my head back on his chest and nod. I shouldn’t try and push him into this. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. It’s probably best to not say anything. I don’t want him to somehow get into more trouble because of me.

I look up at him again, and his eyes are shut. I shut my eyes too and lay back down.