Chapter 8
“Wait,”he said,“you watched me for hours?”
Shit.That’s not what I meant to say.“No,of course not.”
“But that’s what you said,”he teased,his eyes twinkling.“I must really look great tonight!”
If he only knew how great.“Ass,”I shot back before I grinned.“But you weresmiling all evening.”
He shrugged.“Guess I’m in a good mood.”
Oh.My.God.It hit me all at once.“You’re in love!”
His eyes widened and he leaned toward the driver side door.“What?”he asked,his face going ashen.
“Admit it.That’s why you have such a goofy grin and are in such a good mood.I am such an idiot!That’s what you wanted to talk about tonight,right?”
Jeff’s eyes rounded as he pressed his lips together.“Umm,well…no,that…I mean…”
I smirked.“Admit it,man.I figured you out.Now you haveto tell me who it is!”
He fidgeted in his seat before starting the truck and pulling out of the parking lot.
“Well?”
“Yes,I guess…crap…I don’t know how to say this.”Even in the dark I could see his face turning beet red.He obviously hadn’t expected me to figure it out.
“Hey,Jeff.That’s great,”I said,trying to help him out.“You deserve to be happy.I was just teasing.If you don’t want to tell me her name yet,it’s okay.”
“It’s not that…it’s just…that wasn’t exactly what I was going to tell you.”He raked a hand through his hair,then fiddled with the radio,keeping his eyes on the road.
I was so relieved he hadn’t figured out mysecret that I didn’t notice his hands shaking until we neared my house.
“Jeff?Seriously,did I really freak you out?I didn’t mean to cross a line and make you uncomfortable.”My voice stayed quiet in the dark cab.He still wouldn’t look at me.“I guess I got over-excited.I mean,it ismonumental,but I didn’t mean to tease you so much or make you upset.Besides,it’s just me.You can tell me anything,man.”
Jeff brought the truck to a pause at the four-way stop just up the road from my house.One more turn and we’d be on my street.But he idled there.Shit.I didn’t know what else to say.Except to remind him to drive.
“Uh,there aren’t any other cars,Jeff.You can go…”
The truck stayed put.He seemed to be mulling over something and I decided it was probably best to wait him out.Maybe I had ruined his big reveal.When his eyes finally found mine,I felt a jolt of desire.I took a deep breath and waited for him to speak again—to say anything.
And waited.
His eyes,intense and dark,searched mine.A shiver ran through me.Straight to my dick.WTF?Will this evening get any weirder?God,we can usually tell each other anything.Anything.Well,okay,almost anything.I had my own secrets.
“Will you stop that?”he cried,his hands flying into the air.At least he’d finally spoken.
“Stop what?”
“Biting your lower lip.It’s…distracting.”He slammed his hand onto the steering wheel.
My eyes widened and I immediately let go of my lip.Crap,he wasbeing weird.I hadn’t even known I was doing it.Why would it piss him off?Is this what love did to you?
Jeff finally let out a long sigh and turned the corner.“Still want to jump your car when we get there?”
Okay…so,the weird act was over?“Yeah.That is,if you don’t mind…”
“Of course,I don’t mind.You’re my best friend,Aaron.”
I nodded.Clearly,Jeff was getting back to himself.“Thanks.I’m hoping it’s just the battery,but you never know.”
“Not with that piece-of-shit car.”
“Hey!”
He chuckled,and the queasiness in my stomach began to fade.We were going to be okay.
By the time we pulled into my driveway,I was so glad things were back to normal,I brushed away the feeling that something seemed off at the house.Nothing looked out of place,so I simply shrugged it off as paranoia from my weird day and we got to work setting up the jumper cables.
I should have listened to my instincts.
One instant we were concentrating on the car,the next we were shielding ourselves from flying glass.
Instinctively,we both crouched behind my Saturn.Jeff yanked me toward him,wrapping his arms around me and tucking my head against his chest,effectively sheltering me with his own body.Stunned,I leaned into him,fisting his shirt in my hand and holding on tight.We stayed huddled like that while tiny shards of glass cut into our skin.Jeff cussed at the pain,taking the brunt of it.
It was over in seconds.I nudged Jeff with my elbow and let go of his shirt as he slowly pulled away his arms.My heart pounded in my ears,and as we both rose from our positions,a wave of nausea rolled over me.My body began to sway,and Jeff pressed his hand against my lower back,steadying me as we took in the devastation.
A large gaping hole was at the center of the large front window.Corner pieces of glass that had managed to hang on were cracked and shattered.What was left of our flat screen television lay scattered in pieces across the yard.I stood frozen in place.It seemed like one of those highway accidents from which you couldn’t look away.
“Damn,”hissed Jeff.
Damn,indeed.
“Fucking bitch!Get back here!Look what you made me do!”
I cringed as my dad bellowed into the darkness.He was clearly on a bender.The realization my mom was in serious danger pulled me from my stupor and,without a word,I ran toward the door.
“Hey,”Jeff called to me.“Shouldn’t we phone the police?”
I glanced at him still standing on the other side of my car,the light from the streetlamp washing him in brightness.It was finally time to reveal one of my secrets.Shit,I don’t have time to explain anything.I ran my hands through my hair.I looked him in the eye and took a deep breath.“No.Sometimes I can get him to calm down.”
He looked at me incredulously for a moment,then moved to join me.I wanted to tell him to stay back,but I heard my mom scream and knew I didn’t have time to waste.
I burst through the door and scanned the living room,shocked at the level of destruction.My mother’s treasured large antique mirror lay on the floor,the glass cracked,the frame broken and twisted.Our old brown leather recliner was almost upside down,and I briefly wondered if my mom had been in it when my dad had shoved it over.Everything on the mantel had been swept to the floor.Shattered glass,torn pictures,and broken frames littered the carpet.Family photos had been ripped from the walls and destroyed.Candles lay broken in two,and bits of fried eggs rested everywhere.
When he was really drunk,my dad always wanted breakfast for dinner,so the eggs didn’t surprise me.The amount of damage,however,did—this was more than his usual rage.
I heard Pamela crying down the hall,and I maneuvered through the ruined living room as quickly as possible,making my way toward the far end of our house,Jeff close behind me.
When I turned the corner into my parent’s bedroom,my heart dropped to my stomach when I saw my mom on the floor in a fetal position,desperately trying to cover her head with her arms,while my dad repeatedly kicked her.Blood had pooled under her,seeping through her floral nightgown.