Shattered (7 page)

“You mind explaining just what the hell you were doing last night?” January asked as soon as the waitress left.  I should have known I’d end up getting some kind of lecture today.  I thought I’d missed it by dodging my mother, but apparently, I was wrong.

“Jan, don’t,” Hap tried to intervene.

“Don’t defend her.” She gave him a glaring look. “You almost got in a fight with Dan because of her.”

“Sorry about that Hap,” I apologized, trying to Jan’s question, “thanks for looking out for me.”

“No problem.”  

At least one person was on my side.

“Seriously, Alyssa,” January continued, “that wasn’t like you.”

“Would you lay off,” I leaned back as the waitress placed my soda on the table.  Once she was gone, I leaned forward again and defended myself, “if you haven’t noticed, the past nine months of my life have kinda sucked.  You, of all people, should know that.  I got a little drunk and danced around like an idiot.  So what? I don’t need a goddamn intervention.”

January dropped her reprimanding stare. “I know. I was just worried about you.”

“I appreciate the concern, but really, I’m fine.” I put my hand on hers, letting her know that she was forgiven for being so overprotective.  “I do want to thank you guys for getting me home last night.”  I turned my attention to Hap, “Thanks for carrying me out of there and getting my car home.”

He looked a little confused. “About that…” he started to speak, but hesitated.

“I did drive your car home, but Hap didn’t carry you out of there last night, Lyss.” January added.

I pursed my lips, trying to remember what happened.  “Please tell me you didn’t let Dan take me home.”  As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew that they would have never let me leave with him. Then, I remembered my flirtation with Collin, he must have volunteered to take care of me. “I guess Collin’s isn’t as big of asshole as everyone thinks.”  

“Nope. Not him.” Hap blurted out.

“Hmm…”  I sat back as the waitress placed the heaven sent burger and fries down in front of me.  “Well then… who?”

The look that was shared between January and Hap at that moment told me that whatever they were about to say was unbelievable.   Just then, their eyes lifted as the bell above the entrance chimed.  I turned to see what had stolen their attention and focused in on one set of very familiar evergreen-colored eyes.

Jesse

I spotted her at that party a mile away.  How could I not?  Her hair was hanging down in a long, silky ponytail across her bare back.  I wanted to drag my fingers across her soft skin and lean in to whisper inappropriate things into her ear.  It made me uncomfortable to think about the other guys looking her in that shirt the way I was.  She looked sexy as hell.  I tried not let myself think about the way her jeans hugged her just right, the denim stretched taut over that perfect little ass.  I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of there.

I played it cool, kept my distance from the crowd, not letting but a few people know I was there.  I watched her bounce around the backyard, January following her every move.  When she and Hap started playing beer pong, I was grateful that she was by his side.  I knew that Jan had been looking out for her, but it made me feel better to know there was a guy to keep the crowd of horny bastards that were lined up to talk to her at bay.  I’d hung out with Hap a few times over the years and we’d played basketball together since junior high school.  He was a good guy and funny as hell.  I saw the girls stalk off toward the house.  I could tell by the tilted sway in Alyssa step that she’d passed her drinking limit a while ago.  She always was a lightweight.  I smiled thinking about the night of her sixteenth birthday.

“Are you ready yet!?” Garrett yelled up the stairs.  That girl had been getting ready for the better part of the afternoon.  We’d told her that we’d pick her up at 7:00 p.m., giving her four hours to get ready.  What could she possibly be doing that was taking so long?  This was the problem with having a girl as a friend.  We were always waiting around on her to primp or tease or pluck or whatever else girls do.  It took her half an hour to pick out the perfect pair of shoes to wear to the damn grocery store.

“What are you doing up there?” I hollered, as I paced the floor in frustration, crossing paths with Garrett.

‘I’ll be down in a minute!” she yelled. “Slow your roll!”  That girl’s smart mouth drove me crazy.  She was only person I knew that could push all of my buttons at the same time.  Her stubbornness was infuriating.  Garrett always said that we were equally stubborn, but I knew she was way worse than me.

“Seriously, Alyssa…” I started to call up, but stopped short when I saw her on the landing.  There were no words to describe how amazing she looked. I’d seen her in jeans, shorts, prom dresses and swimsuits, but there was something about the way that strapless green sundress clung to her body that took my breath away.  I knew she’d been up there getting ready all afternoon, but she made it look effortless.  When she wrinkled up her cute little nose and smiled big, showing the dimple in her left cheek I wanted to stop everything and tell her exactly how I felt about her.

“I’m ready.” She put her arms out at her sides and offered up and an exaggerated curtsey requesting ooohs and aaahs.

“Ya look great,” Garrett commented shortly. “Now can we go?”  He was in a rush to get to the partying portion of the evening.  While she’d been getting ready for her birthday celebration, we’d been carefully planning a surprise for her that would go down in the books.  He was anxious and so was I, but for very different reasons.

“Yeah,” she dropped her shoulders when she didn’t get the confirmation of her hard work from Garrett and sulked down the stairs.

“Great!” He was out the door before she hit the last step.   I placed my hand on the small of her back and ushered her out the front door.  She was close enough that I could smell the coconut scent of her shampoo in her soft, loose curls.  I quietly let it sink in to my senses.

“You look beautiful, birthday girl,” I whispered as she walked past me and through the door.  When she turned her eyes back to meet mine, I was pleased to see that the dimple had returned.  The gaze that we held almost convinced me that she felt the same way I did.  She leaned in and I thought that she might actually kiss me.  I felt my breath catch as I anticipated her movement.

“Thanks.” She smiled sweetly, batting her big brown eyes at me.  “Can I drive? You know I have my license now.”  

I exhaled, part disappointment, part relief.  As much as I wanted something to happen between us, I was nervous about what it would do to the dynamic of our group.  I looked over and saw Garrett grinning ear to ear, taping his finger on his imaginary wristwatch, unsure if he was referring to getting the activities of the evening underway or me wasting time by not making a play for Alyssa.  Since the first day we started hanging out, he’d been convinced that I was denying my feelings for her.  Maybe I had been, but I remembered the look on her face when January ditched her for Hap and I didn’t want to do the same thing to my best friend, no matter how hard he pushed me to be with her.  It had always been the three of us.  I’d been alone with her a few times and she never did or said anything to make me believe that she was wrestling with her feelings.  I smiled back at her and pulled the keys from my pocket, dangling them in front of her wide eyes.

“Not a chance, sweetheart.”  I might have loved that girl, but I loved my Jeep too.

That night we took her to her favorite restaurant in the city and had a field party.  I think the entire school was there to celebrate, but she stuck close to Garrett and me all night.  A six pack in and she was three sheets to the wind, dancing and laughing without a care in the world.  I was so happy that I’d helped give her such an awesome night.  When she started to get that sway in her step, we knew it was time to get her home, but first we had one more stop.

“I love you guys so much,” she slurred as we helped her back to the Jeep. “This is the best birthday ever.”

“It’s gonna get even better,” Garrett laughed as we drove to the edge of town.  When we pulled up to the gate that surrounded the town’s water tower and pulled out the cans of pink spray paint, she suddenly sobered up.

“What are you doing?” She frantically asked as we scaled the fence.

“You’ll see.” I smiled.  It took a good five minutes to climb up that ladder and with every rung, I questioned the plan that Garrett and I had.  Alyssa looked like a little speck pacing the ground below.  When we finally reached the top and tagged the silver tank with our birthday greeting, we could see her smile beaming in the moonlight and I knew it was totally worth it.

“Jess?” A familiar voice caught my attention. “Well, shit, I better call the Herald and get them out here to a write story.  Jesse Vaughn has returned!”  I turned to see Hapley Wilson, wearing a shit-eating grin, standing a few feet from me.

“Hey,” I chuckled as I walked toward him, extending my hand for his and pulling him in, bumping our shoulders together, “how are you?”

He raised his eyebrow and smiled, “Me?  How the hell are you?”  

“I’m good,” I lied, hiding it with a forced smile and nod.

“It’s been a while.  Where’d you go, man?”  He took a swig of his beer.

“I had to get away after, you know.  Been down in Florida at my uncle’s place.”

“Yeah.” His smile was understanding, “I get it.”

“Yeah.”  I looked over his shoulder when I saw her come back outside.  Hap knew my attention had been pulled from him.

“She know you’re back?” He turned to face Alyssa just as January was saying something to her that she didn’t really like.  We watched as she stomped her foot and balled her fists at her side.  Even when she was throwing a temper tantrum she was cute.

“No,” I sighed, “haven’t talked to her yet.  Not sure if I’m ready.” I couldn’t take my eyes off her.  Something was definitely up with her tonight. “How is she?”

“Well, it’s up and down.  Tonight, she’s a rock star but yesterday, a train wreck.”

I watched her storm away from January and walk straight over to Collin Smolder.  I felt my body tense when I saw her talking to that dirt bag.  Sure, he threw a great party but he was a grade-A dick.  “Rock star?  Really, Hap?”

“Yeah,” he pulled his mouth to the side, rethinking his description.  “She’s had a little too much to drink.”

“You think?” I watched as she practically threw herself on him.  I was ready to go over there and punch him the face for just looking at her.  She might not have technically been my girl, but I was damn sure not going to let her hang out with him.  I thought about all the girls he’d been with, not one of them had a nice thing to say about him.  I wasn’t an angel, but I least I treated the girls I’d been with respectably.  I was just about to storm across that yard, when Hap grabbed my arm pulling me back.

“I’ll get her.  Let’s not give the press any scandal to work with. ” He smiled as he jogged over to meet her and January.  She squealed in delight after January whispered something in her ear that pleased her.  Hap turned his attention back to me and shrugged his shoulders.  He let January know that I was back in town, I could tell by the way she squinted into the darkness trying to see where I was standing. Alyssa traipsed her ass up on the picnic table and began dancing around like the slutty girls she’d always made fun of.  I was beyond pissed.  What happened to the girl I knew?  She would never let herself act this way.  It was bad enough that she was flirting with Collin, but then she goes on to shake her ass in his face. I watched as January tried to pull her down and Hap defended her from Dan’s catcalls and suggestive dollar waving.  Dan’s really lucky I had tunnel vision as I walked over to that table.  I wouldn’t have been near as nice as Hap was.  Just as I reached the table’s edge, she yanked her hand from January’s and tumbled off the back.  I wasn’t sure if she’d knocked herself out or passed out.  It wasn’t until I was carrying her back to my Jeep that I knew she was just passed out from the booze.  She picked up her head enough to nuzzle into my chest.

“Jess,” she mumbled with a smile, never opening her eyes.

“I gotcha, princess,” I whispered into her hair as I sat her down in the passenger seat and pulled the seat belt over her.  Her hair still smelled of coconut shampoo.  I was glad one thing I loved about her hadn’t changed. The smile remained on her lips and my heart melted.  She might not have been thinking about me that night at the party, but at least I had her dreams.

January and Hap followed us in Alyssa’s car.  We turned off our lights and crept up the driveway as slow as possible, careful not to wake Alyssa’s parents. Thank God people in this town didn’t lock their front doors.  I managed to sneak her into her upstairs bedroom undetected.  I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I knew if her parents found me in her room they’d call the cops before I could explain what was going on.  Plus, as pissed as I was about her behavior, I didn’t want to get her in any trouble.  I tucked her in and brushed the hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face.  I couldn’t stop myself from placing a kiss on her forehead before leaving.  I decided on the drive home, after I dropped January and Hap back off at the party, that tomorrow I’d let her know I was back. Apparently, we had a lot to talk about.

Alyssa

Jesse Vaughn was back.  

Was he the one who took me home from the party last night?  Why didn’t I remember?  How drunk was I?

 
It had been nine long months since I’d last seen him, or even heard from him for that matter.  I turned back to face January and Hap in utter disbelief.  
 

“Yep.” Hap nodded with a confirming smile.  January’s expression matched her boyfriend’s.  They were excited about the possible reunion of Jesse and me.  January knew everything that almost happened, so it went without saying that Hap was clued in. I hated to break it to them, but this wasn’t going to be the happily ever after that they’d hoped for. As much as I wanted to run up, wrap my arms around his neck and tell him how much I’d missed him, I couldn’t fight the dormant anger that I’d let be suppressed by the sadness and guilt.  He left me.  It was bad enough that Garrett was gone, but that wasn’t his choice.  Jesse had left because he wanted to.  I brought my hands up and covered my face, hoping he would walk back out the door before I had to face him.