Quiet house...
1070 Words
The bell rang and Sterling Prep emptied out like someone pulled the plug.
Jessica stayed behind on purpose. She sat on the stone steps in front of the main gates, backpack in her lap, pretending to look for something. Her hair was still tied up from basketball court duty. There was bleach on her skirt from the buckets.
She wasn’t waiting for anyone.
Okay. Maybe she was.
Cars pulled up. Drivers in black suits. Girls in the back seats laughing on their phones. Boys tossing basketballs into trunks.
No Zach.
Of course not. Guys like Zach Sterling didn’t wait on steps. People waited for them.
“Miss Conwood..”
She looked up. Their driver, Mr. Daniels, was standing by the black SUV with the door open.
Jessica stood, brushed off her skirt, and slid in. The car smelled like leather and lemon cleaner. Quiet. Too quiet.
The gates of Sterling Prep closed behind her.
The ride home was 20 minutes. Sterling Heights wasn’t a neighborhood. It was a zip code with its own security. The houses got bigger the further in they went. Hers was third from the cul-de-sac. Gray stone. Four columns.
It was called a mansion on the listing. Jessica just called it quiet.
Mr. Daniels opened her door. “Dinner’s at seven, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” She grabbed her bag and walked in.
The foyer echoed. Marble floors. A chandelier that cost more than her old school’s year of tuition. And silence.
“Jeremy?” she called.
“Upstairs!” His voice came from down the hall, muffled by the door and the sound of gunshots from his game.
She climbed the stairs. Passed her mom’s home office. Passed the guest rooms no one used. Stopped at Jeremy’s door.
He was 15. Hoodie. Headset on. Feet up on the desk. Three monitors glowing.
“Hey,” she said.
He didn’t turn. “Hey Jess. You alive?”
“Barely. Chemistry killed me.”
“You and Sterling survive?”
She froze. “How do you know his name?”
Jeremy finally paused the game and looked at her. Grinned. “Small school. Big last name. You good?”
“Yeah.” She ruffled his hair. “Don’t stay up too late.”
“Yeah yeah.”
Her room was at the end of the hall.Huge. Bed. Desk. Window that looked over the pool no one swam in.
She dropped her bag. Changed. Navy blazer off. Skirt off. Into sweatpants and an old tee from her last school. The one with the frayed hem.
She fell back on the bed. Stared at the ceiling.
Then she reached for her phone.
First thing: Dad.
She opened the chat. Last message from her, 3 months ago.
`Happy birthday. Miss you. Call me?`
No ticks. No reply. Never any reply.
She typed anyway. Old habit.
`Hey. First week is okay. Jeremy’s good. Mom’s busy. Miss you.`
Send.
The message sat there. Blue. Alone.
She locked the phone and tossed it aside like it burned her.
Then it buzzed.
Unknown number.
`Assigned seats tomorrow. Don’t be late, target.`
Jessica sat up so fast her head spun.
How did he—
She stared at it. Her thumb hovered over delete.
Instead she typed:
`How’d u get my number`
Three dots appeared immediately.
`School directory. I have clearance.`
`Also you wrote it on the lab sheet yesterday.`
She huffed. Not mad. Just... off balance.
`There’s no group project in chem`
`Why are you even texting me`
`Who said it was about chem`
`Just reminding you.`
`Reminding me of what.`
`That you owe me for taking the blame with Vance.`
She laughed. Out loud. In her empty room.
`I didn’t ask you to.`
`I know.`
`Then why.`
`Because you looked like you were gonna cry and I hate that.`
Jessica’s chest did something stupid.
`I don’t cry`
`Liar`
`Prove it`
`Can’t. Not on text.`
The conversation should’ve ended there. It didn’t.
`What are you doing` he asked.
`Laying in bed. Staring at walls.`
`Rich people problems`
`Don’t.`
`Sorry. What walls.`
`White ones. Big ones. Empty ones.`
`Same. Except mine have golf trophies.`
They went like that. Back and forth.
About nothing. About everything.
He asked if she liked coffee. She said only with too much sugar.
He said his dad’s board meetings were longer than most movies.
She told him Jeremy was obsessed with some shooter game and was probably going pro.
He told her he hated basketball but his name was on the court so he had to pretend.
Hours passed. The sky outside went from gold to purple to black.
A knock. Her mom.
“Jess? Dinner.”
“Coming.”
She padded downstairs. Jeremy was already at the table, shoveling pasta. Her mom was in slacks and a blouse, hair up, still on a work call. She mouthed “one sec” and poured wine.
The table was long. Too long. They sat at one end like they were afraid of the empty chairs.
Jessica’s phone was face down beside her plate. It buzzed.
`You still there`
`Yeah`
`Dinner`
`Yeah`
`What are you eating`
`Pasta. You`
`Protein shake. Tragic.`
She smiled into her plate.
“Jessica.”
She looked up. Her mom. “Phone down during dinner. House rule.”
“Oh. Sorry.” She flipped it over.
Her mom ended the call
. “How was school?”
“Fine.”
“Jeremy?”
“Good.”
Silence. The clink of forks.
The phone buzzed again under her hand. She didn’t look.
`You okay`
`Yeah. Dinner.`
`Talk later`
`Yeah`
“Jessica.” Her mom again. Firmer. “Eyes up here.”
She put the phone down. Really down. “Sorry.”
They finished eating. Jeremy disappeared back to his games. Her mom went back to emails.
Jessica went back upstairs.
The house was quiet again.
She picked up her phone.
`Had to go`
`I know. Parents`
`Yeah`
`We can talk tomorrow. In assigned seats.`
`You just want to annoy me in person`
`Maybe.`
`Goodnight, Zach`
`Night, Jessica`
She set the phone down and stared at the ceiling again.
The house was big. And quiet. And for the first time in months, it didn’t feel quite so empty.
Because somewhere across town, in a house full of trophies, a boy who was supposed to be cold was still awake....
Or...standing at a good distance watching her house settle into the night...
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