The Anything Friend

by Michela DiMarco

CHAPTER 12

 

  “The way the world is; how seldom it is that you meet that one person who just gets you. It’s so rare.” Chasing Amy

  “I don’t understand how you can be grounded and get grounded on top of the original grounding?” Kate said confused. “Aren’t you just still grounded?”

  “We’re going to the football game tonight,” declared Elizabeth.

  “Yes, because suddenly grounded doesn’t mean grounded in your family so now we are doing things we’ve never done before,” Kate said sarcastically.

  “Why are we going to a football game again?” asked Angela not even concerned about the grounding.

  “Because, every game determines Jack’s future.” Kate and Angela looked at each other confused. “What?”

  “When did you start doing anything because of Jack Bennett?” asked Kate.

  “Since we’re studying Calculus together.”

  “Oh,” said Angela. “What does studying together have to do with cheering him on at a football game?”

 

  “It’s not like I’m going to paint his number on my face and make a huge ‘GO JACK’ sign. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “Then why are we going?” Kate was starting to get annoyed.

  “It’s important to me, okay? We always do things when it’s important to one of us.”

  “O.M.G.!” said Angela grinning. “You like him!”

  “I do not,” defended Elizabeth.

  “Yes, you totally are crushing on him!”

  “No, I’m not,” defended Elizabeth. “He just…he gets things. He asked me to go and I’m going whether you two clowns are coming with me or not.”

  “You know we’re in,” said Kate. “Is it like a date, though? Do you stand with the rest of the girlfriends and meet him after the game? Hilarious! This is going to be epic. After thirteen years, I say hi to him and all of a sudden you guys are buddy, buddy? Did you make out yet?”

  “You guys suck.”

  Elizabeth didn’t go home after school. Her mom warned her the minute she got home from school there was going to be another family talk. She was sick of the family talks. Why couldn’t her mom just leave her alone? Afraid that her mom would file a missing persons report or call all of the Planned Parenthood clinics in Charlotte when she didn’t come home, she called her mom to tell her she was safe, she was going to a school event, and would be home by ten thirty. Her mom started yelling, so Elizabeth eventually hung up the phone. She was in a good mood and didn’t want anything to ruin it.

  After hanging out at Angela’s house after school, the girls went to dinner at their favorite cheeseburger restaurant before the game. Cheeseburgers and football seemed to go together. They were excited about their first football game, Angela and Kate wanted to scope for boys on the opposing team. The game was more crowded than any of them anticipated.

  “I didn’t realize football was such a big deal,” admitted Elizabeth. “More than half the school is here.”

  The girls found a great spot along the fence where they could see the action up close instead of climbing the bleachers to sit in the student section.

  “Which one is he?” asked Angela.

  Elizabeth scanned the field. “Right there,” she pointed. “He’s number twenty-six.” Her friends looked at her and laughed. “What? I only remember his number because it’s one of my favorite numbers.”

  “Or it became your favorite number because it’s his number,” joked Angela.

  “That’s not true. You guys just don’t understand.”

  “Mmhm,” nodded Kate. “Explain it.”

  “Forget it,” she answered. She didn’t want to explain how much Jack knew and had seen. Kate and Angela were her best friends. The last thing she wanted them to feel was jealous that Jack knew more about her problems than she was willing to admit to them. It wasn’t that she trusted him over them, but he didn’t have a long history with Elizabeth. She was more embarrassed about Angela and Kate knowing than Jack.

  The Charlotte Academy Titans won the big football game 24-10. Elizabeth was excited for Jack. He ran in two touchdowns and caught one touchdown pass. He had an amazing game and she was sure that anyone watching would be impressed with his performance. It was worth not coming home. It was worth the wrath that would surely fall down on her again.

  “Are you on drugs?” Leighton asked pacing around the family room. “Tell us!”

  “No, mom, I’m not on drugs. It kind of sounds like a good idea,” Elizabeth smirked.

  “Elizabeth,” said Robert. “Just answer your mother.”

  “I did. No, I’m not on drugs.”

  “I don’t even recognize you anymore, Beth. First the sick things you do to yourself and now you’re not coming home after school and making jokes about drugs. Where were you tonight?”

  “At the football game,” she answered calmly.

  “You don’t go to football games!” her mom shouted.

  “Elizabeth, just tell us where you were,” her father said sternly. Elizabeth sensed he was more upset than usual. Her mother had probably yelled and cried to him about her not coming home.

  “I was at the football game. We won. The score was 24 to 10. I was with Angela and Kate. I went to Angela’s after school, we had cheeseburgers for dinner at Firebirds and then we went to the game. I came home straight after. You can call both of them and ask them if you don’t believe me.”

  “Like your friends are going to tell us the truth,” snapped Leighton. “Especially that little smoker, Kate.”

  “Mom?” asked Elizabeth. This was the perfect time to tell the truth torture her mother a little more. “I’ve started smoking, too.” Leighton’s eyes widened. “Since you and dad won’t let me cut anymore, I needed something new to occupy my hands and cut down on the stress. Well, good, I’m glad we’re getting things out in the open.”

  “Robert, say something!”

  He turned to his wife. “You used to smoke until you got pregnant with Olivia.”

  “Not to me! To your daughter!”

  “Elizabeth, you’re still grounded.” She rolled her eyes expecting he was going to say that. “And…no smoking in the house.”

  Elizabeth chuckled. “Thanks dad,” she hugged up and kissed him on the cheek. “Mom, I’m going outside to sit on the front porch. Since it’s still the house, I’ll assume it’s okay with my grounding. Did you want to strip search me before I go outside?”

  Leighton shook her head and pointed for Elizabeth to get out of the room.

  She grabbed her purse and walked out the front door. It was another cloudless night. Elizabeth felt great and wanted to celebrate her mini victory. Her mom would call this just another classic case of her daughter’s teenage rebellion, but it was just the opposite. Elizabeth had been controlled by her mother’s actions for so long that she was just trying to develop her own identity. Maybe they forgot was it was like to be a teenager. Learning her mother used to smoke when she was Elizabeth’s age was just a bonus.

  Elizabeth noticed the Roger Bennett’s black BMW 550i sedan pulling their driveway. She eagerly anticipated running over to give Jack a huge hug after his amazing performance but to her dismay, Jack wasn’t in the car.

  “Get over here girl,” Mrs. Bennett called. Elizabeth smiled and met her on the porch.

  “I’ll be inside dear,” Roger said to his wife.

  “I’ll be out here with your son’s tutor because you won’t let me smoke in the house,” she answered back at her husband. He walked inside the house without answering her.

  “He played a great game,” said Elizabeth. She didn’t know anything about football, except that touchdowns were very good.

  Latasha clasped her hands together. “My baby played the best game of his life! I
actually was thinking about reversing his grounding but I think one more week until his Calculus test is fair, don’t you?”

  Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. She had never been grounded for grades before so it was hard for her to understand why he had been grounded in the first place. It wasn’t like Jack was failing Calculus and in jeopardy of not graduating. His future was

  in his hands. He had the tools to make his dreams come true and he wasn’t going to fail. Elizabeth was sure of that.

  Jack’s Jeep came to a halt in front of his house. He grabbed his bag off the back seat and started walking up his driveway. He looked a little surprised to see his mom and Elizabeth sitting on the porch together.

  “What are ya’ll doing out here?”

  “Waiting to congratulate you,” Latasha said excited.

  Elizabeth stood up suddenly embarrassed. She didn’t come over to wait for Jack. The last thing she wanted was to give him the wrong impression. This was the second day in a row he saw her hanging out with his mom. Elizabeth walked down the stairs. “Congratulations Jack,” she smiled. “You played great.”

  “Where are you going?” Mrs. Bennett asked. “You just got here.”

  “Yeah,” she sighed, “but my mom might get…” she paused. Jack was smiling at her. “What?”

  “You came to my game,” he said smiling.

  “I promised I would,” she answered.

  “Even though you’re grounded?” he dropped his football bag and took a step towards her.

  “You’re grounded, too?” Latasha asked Elizabeth confused. “Is that how ya’ll started talking after thirteen years?”

  “Yeah, well now I’m more grounded.”

  “You came for me. You came to support me.” He was still beaming.

  “I said I would,” she laughed. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Jack charged at Elizabeth. Not knowing why he was running at her or what to do, she started screaming. He grabbed her legs, threw her over his shoulder and took off running towards his backyard. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his stomach to keep from flopping around. All she could see was grass and her dark hair.

  “I got Elizabeth Benson to come to her first high school game!” he shouted as he ran.

  “And, my last!” she shouted.

  Jack got to the front of the house and spun Elizabeth in circles. She let go of his stomach, arched her back and reached out her arms. She was flying. It felt amazing.

  “I’m getting dizzy,” he finally admitted stumbling. He started to pull her off his shoulders and lost his balance. They both fell to the ground. “I’m so sorry!” Elizabeth was too busy laughing to care that someone twice her weight had just fallen on top of her. Jack was impulsive and he was fun. He filled a deep void in her life that she had never before realized was even there. He held her tight. “Thank you so much for coming. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

  Elizabeth smiled. “You’re welcome,” she answered. “It was worth it. You’re worth it.” Jack brushed a strand of dark hair away from her green eyes. Their eyes locked again, just like before but it was different this time. Was it attraction? Was it fate?

  “Alright,” Latasha said still sitting on the porch.

  “Mom!” Jack yelled immediately leaping up. “What are you still doing out here?”

  “The question is, Jack, what are you doing out here? You’re still grounded, remember?”

  “Five minutes?” he begged.

  “I should go anyway,” mumbled Elizabeth. She wasn’t sure if Jack was going to start fighting with his mom in front of her and the last thing she wanted was to be the reason they were fighting.

  “Jack,” Latasha said, “Go in and shower. You can come back out for another hour.”

  He looked at Elizabeth. “Don’t leave.”

  She sat down on the porch next to Mrs. Bennett once again. This time she took out a cigarette. Elizabeth wasn’t sure what happened. Maybe they had both gotten over excited and lost control of reality. What if what she was feeling inside wasn’t over excitement? What if she was starting to fall for Jack Bennett? It was impossible.

  “Do teenagers hate their parents for grounding them?”

  Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sure most do. The most important thing to us is our freedom and we don’t like it very much when that gets taken away from us. But, my mom is kind of strict anyway, so I’ve really never had as much freedom as most kids.”

  “Well, I never cared if my older kids got mad at me. If they were wrong they were going to get punished. That’s how it

  works. It’s a little different with Jack. He’s the baby of the family. I fight with him more but I question my decisions with him more, as well. His sister, ohhhhh, she was a trip! You practice tough love on an emotional girl and she’s just gonna break down. I couldn’t handle that. Her father always had to deal with her.”

  Jack came back outside in navy sweat pants and a navy t-shirt. “Thanks mom,” he said. “You can go in now.”

  “I’m not done smoking,” she said.

  “Fine,” he answered annoyed. “We’re going to Elizabeth’s porch then.”

  “I can still see you two over there,” she threatened.

  “Yeah, but you can’t hear us.” Jack grabbed her hand and led her towards her house. Elizabeth turned around and waved good-bye to Mrs. Bennett.

  “I like your mom,” she said. “We could have just hung out with her.”

  “No, we couldn’t. You don’t understand her. They took seats on the top step in the dark. “You can smoke. I want to take a drag.”

  Elizabeth lit a cigarette. “What do you mean I don’t understand her?”

  “Look, I’m close with her but I’m not close with her if you get what I mean. I don’t agree with how she does things. She runs the family. It’s not like your mom, it’s different.”

  “She started telling me about her tough love philosophy,” said Elizabeth.

  “That basically means you can never show weakness. Even hugging is a sign of weakness. My brother, sister and I got together one day and figured out what a hug was. We consciously taught ourselves to hug each other. My mom was livid.”

  Elizabeth’s front door opened. Leighton stepped outside. “We’re going to bed,” she said quietly. “I guess then you can do what you’re going to do anyway.” Elizabeth could see her mother eying Jack. “Are you at least going to introduce me to the boy you’re dating or sleeping with?”

  “Mom!” shouted Elizabeth mortified.

  “What’s that? What happened?” Latasha Bennett came running over.

  “Mom!” shouted Jack embarrassed that his mother had just come racing over to his rescue. “Everything is fine. Go back home.”

  “No, everything is not fine,” said Leighton pushing past the kids to talk to Latasha. “Do you know…” she turned to look at her daughter and began whispering. “Do you know what is going on with our children?”

  Latasha looked at them sitting next to each other on the steps. Elizabeth had her head buried in her hands and Jack had his arm around her trying his best to console her. “Yes, your daughter is tutoring my son.”

  “That’s pretty naïve to think that’s the only thing they’re doing,” Leighton said disgusted.

  “I believe there’s more. I believe that after thirteen years God has given them to each other for a purpose to help them through a difficult time. I think they are discovering that each of them is not what the other one thought. I think they are developing an amazing friendship. I think they believe in each other and I think that there is a slight possibility that one day they might admit they would make a pretty amazing couple. You should be lucky to have my son in your daughter’s life. Rumor is you’re pretty hard on her and t
hat her problems are caused by you.”

  “What?” Leighton was confused and angry. “My daughter doesn’t have problems and if she does they are none of your business and certainly no fault of mine.”

  “Here,” said Latasha handing Leighton a cigarette. “Try this. It helps.”

  Leighton pushed past the kids once more, this time heading in the house. She slammed the front door behind her. Latasha walked back to her house and went inside without saying another word.

  “Your mom really hates me,” said Jack.

  “No, she doesn’t. She just doesn’t understand anything in my life right now. She knows that she causes me a lot of pain but she won’t admit it or change anything so she’s constantly looking for other explanations.”

  “So she doesn’t really think I got you pregnant, she’s just saying that?”

  “Honestly, I’m sorry that she’s a bitch to you, Jack. You don’t deserve it and I have no idea what she really believes. Olivia called last night because my mom was so bent out of shape about you and me, even though there is no you and me.”

  “What would you do if you were pregnant?”

  Elizabeth scratched her head. She hadn’t thought about that question in a long time. “I’m not sure. I guess it would depend on the circumstances. What about you?”

  “Yeah, I guess it would depend. I had a…” he stopped talking.

  “You had a what?”

  “Never mind,” he said. “Give me a cigarette.”

  Elizabeth obliged. “You know you can tell me anything. I would never tell anyone.”

  “I know. It’s not that. It just was a long time ago.” He inhaled the cigarette and exhaled slowly. “You’re right. You do get a buzz.” He said a minute later.

  “I should probably go in,” suggested Elizabeth after they both finished their cigarettes. Jack got up and started slowly walking to his house. Elizabeth turned the handle to the front door. Her mom had locked her out. Her keys and cell phone were sitting on the table in the foyer. “Open the door!” she shouted pounding on the glass.

  “Did she lock you out because of me?” Jack called.

  “Jack, it’s not because of you, it’s because of me.”

  “Well you can’t stay out here all night. You’re staying with me.”

  “No, I’ll get in trouble. Besides, they’ll wake up eventually if I keep pounding on the door.”

  “Or, you could just piss her off more by not. You know she’s not sleeping. She’s lying in bed listening for you. She’s going to freak when you don’t try to get in the house. She’ll know you’re with me.” Elizabeth saw a smile suddenly overcome his face. “Come on.”

  “What about your mom?”

  “Kill two birds with one stone?”

  Jack pulled a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt out of his dresser. He found a new toothbrush in the bathroom. Elizabeth brushed her teeth and washed her face. She sat on the edge of his bed and looked around his room. There were football posters of players, coaches, and quotes all around his room. Not to mention numerous autographs. It was the most motivating room she had ever been in.

  He pulled down his striped comforter and she slowly got in bed facing away from him. This was the first time Elizabeth was sharing a bed with a boy. She tucked both arms under the pillow. She could feel her heart beat a little faster. She told herself to relax, that Jack was just a friend.

  “Do you have an extra blanket?” she asked before he got in bed.

  He handed her a maroon fleece blanket. “Is that okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it’s perfect.” She threw the pillow off the bed and rearranged the blanket into a makeshift pillow.

  “What is that?” he asked curious.

  “It’s my mold. I’ve been doing it since I was little. I never liked pillows. I like how I can change my mold whenever I want.”

  “Hey,” he said. “Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Anything,” she said.

  He put his arm around her. Elizabeth froze. “Is that weird?”

  “Kind of,” she answered honestly.

  “I’ve always wondered what it was like. How do you know if you’re a good bed sharer?”

  “I don’t know,” she said now wondering the same thing. “I guess you practice.”

  “With someone you trust, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  Elizabeth paused. She trusted him. It was her she didn’t trust. “Of course I do.”

  “You’re cold,” he whispered. He moved his feet against hers. “Okay, your feet are freezing! Do you want socks?”

  She laughed. “That’s being a good bed sharer.”

  Jack got up and threw a pair of white tube socks at her. “Good thing my mom does my laundry. I hate laundry.”

  “I love doing laundry. It’s relaxing.”

  “Ironing is relaxing,” he said jumping back into bed.

  “You iron?” she asked surprised.

  “If you tell anyone at school….” he was suddenly against her body again wrapping his right arm around her; slowly he moved his hand until it was lightly resting against her stomach. His left arm was above her head. His body was warm and strong. She had no idea being so close to someone like this could feel so good. It was no longer awkward or uncomfortable. Elizabeth was glad he talked her out of going home. For the second time tonight, making a decision for Jack Bennett that risked major punishment was worth it.