The Night He Saved Me

by Sarah Stevens

  About an hour into my nap, I wake myself up with the nightmare that won't go away. I didn't even realize I was crying. Sleep at this point is pointless so I get up and snatch my backpack off the floor. Guess I'll start my homework until dinner time.

  Next thing I know, my homework is all done and Mom is calling me for dinner.

  “I'll be right there,” I shout back then head toward the bathroom to take a look at myself. Yeah, bad idea there; I look like shit. My eyes have lost some life to them, and my face is blank, like I feel nothing. I'm numb. Time to use some acting skills I learned in drama class and put on a happy face for Mom.

  I head off to the kitchen to see what's for dinner, and Mom looks at me, a weird look crossing her face for a moment. Can she tell something is wrong with me? Spread out on the table is my favorite meal: Shepherd’s pie made the traditional way with biscuits on the side. I'm almost afraid to ask what is going on here. She never makes this meal unless something serious is going on. The last few times she’s made it was to tell me we were leaving our home in New Hampshire that I grew up in, and then to tell me she and Kyle were getting married. What is going on now? I better not have to move from this house; I was just starting to love it here.

  It doesn't take long for her to open her mouth. “Sweetie, I have to tell you something.”

  “I knew something was going on when you made this,” I tell her, pointing to my plate.

  “Well, sweetie, Kyle and I will be married soon, and we have decided what we are going to do about living arrangements after we are married.”

  “I knew it. I refuse to move again, Mom.”

  “I'm sorry,” she says. “This house isn't big enough for us all.”

  “I'm not moving.” A bit immature, but it is how I feel.

  “You don't have a choice; the decision has been made,” she fires back at me.

  “Yeah, and without me, thanks a lot. I get it, and I'm done with it all.”

  Pushing back from the table, I run to my room and call Bren and ask her to come get me. I can't deal with everything. I need to do something. I need to feel nothing. Bren will help me there.

  Bren shows up in a matter of twenty minutes and I'm out the door. Bren takes one look at me, and that is all it takes; she knows I am about to explode, and I do.

  “She is moving me out of my house and into his. I can't go; I won't go. I fuckin’ hate this shit. Am I being immature? Yeah, probably, but damn, they want me to live in the boonies. I don't have a license or a car and I'll never see my friends outside of school. I just can't do it. Oh, and I most likely won't be able to go to my school, either, where all my friends are.”

  She looks over at me once we stop at the light, smirks at me, and lights up a joint.

  “Try this, Kat, I think it might help.”

  I take it from her, take a drag, hold it in, and release. Yeah, this will work; I knew Bren would help me out.

  “Feel better, Kat?” she asks with a knowing look on her face.

  “Yeah, I do, thanks. I needed that.”

  “Great party last night huh?” she asks me.

  I once again have that panicked feeling and toss on my fake smile before I say, “Yeah, it was. Where are you taking me?”

  “Some place you will have fun at, I promise.”

  “Sounds great.”

  We pull up to this building, once again a place I've never been to, and we get out, walk up three flights of stairs and into a new apartment filled with people, drinks, and weed. Just a little weed, I tell myself. Nothing else. As the hours go by, I'm high and feel nothing, then I see him. He is standing there with a smirk on his face looking right at me. He knows what he did to me, and I can’t be around him anymore—my nightmare is staring at me from across the room. I panic and find Bren.

  “Hey, girl, I gotta get going; it's getting late. Are you cool to drive?” I feel a presence behind me, and I fear the worse. Please don't let it be him. I slowly turn around and see it thankfully isn't him, but one of the other guys—one of the nice guys we were with last night; I think his name is Jayce. He offers to take me home, says he is straight and can drive. Bren has a look of gratitude on her face and tells me bye and then goes back to the boy she was with. I look at Jayce, a little hesitant to go with him, but it is the only way to get home.

  “You ready to get out of here?” he asks

  “Sure, let's go.”

  We get to his Honda which looks like it has seen better days, and I direct him toward my home, the one for now.

  “I really appreciate the ride, Jayce. Thank you.”

  “I really don’t mind. I wanted to get out of there anyway. I have to work tomorrow at The Java in the Old Port. You should come check it out sometime,” he says with a wink

  “I will next time I am down there. So, how old are you, anyway? Seems like the crowd tonight was older then what Bren usually takes me to.”

  “I’m eighteen, almost nineteen.”

  “Not too much older. Hey, turn here and please park right there. My mom won’t like me being dropped off in a different car than I was picked up in.”

  “No problem.” Jayce parks the car along the curb, puts it in park, then looks over at me.

  He has this hungry look in his eyes. I know he wants to kiss me, and that is when he starts to lean in my direction. He makes contact with my lips; his lips are soft, the kiss isn't hard and rushed. It’s nice, but I don't feel it.

  Pulling back, I say, “I'm sorry. I can't do this. You're nice, but I just don't feel it.”

  He has a look of disappointment on his face as he says, “It’s okay. I thought I'd at least try. You're beautiful and sweet. I like you.”

  “I just can't, I'm sorry, I've got to go.” I get out and head for my door hoping Mom isn't awake. Yeah, no such luck.

  “Where have you been?” she hollers in my direction.

  “Out with Bren, we hung out at a friend’s house.”

  “You reek of pot, Kat, have you been smoking?”

  “So what if I have? You don't seem to care what I think.”

  “How dare you, young lady!” Her palm flies across my face.

  “I'm done; I'm going to my room.”

  “Get back here,” she shouts after me.

  Not caring what she thinks, I slam my bedroom door and crash on my bed.

  Worst day ever.

  James

  Another day and no sign of her. Where is she? Is she okay? Why am I even asking myself these questions? I have seen her friend, the tall one with dark hair, but no sign of her. Do I dare ask her about her friend? What is wrong with me?

  It has been over a week, and I don’t even know why I care. Seriously, she must be too young for me. As a matter of fact, I know she is because she is still in high school; she was wearing a school uniform the first time I saw her. I've seen her at least once a week over the past month here, but this week … nothing. I head back to The Java and am greeted by Jayce and my afternoon latte.

  “Hey, Jayce, how goes it today?”

  “It’s going great; business is good today.”

  “Awesome, I’m headed to my office if you need me for anything.”

  “Got it, boss.”

  Turning toward my office, I am overwhelmed with a feeling I’m not used to. When I hear the door open behind me and I hear her voice, my body hums with anger. An emotion I shouldn’t have, considering I don’t even know this girl. But there is something about her that I can’t get out of my head, and hearing her call after Jayce sets my hair on end.

  “Hey, Jayce, how are ya? Since you told me about this place, I had to grab Bren and come check it out.”

  “Hey, Kat, what are you doing in town today? Bren told me you were having some trouble with the parental unit.”

  “Yeah, life has totally sucked at home. Mom didn’t like the fact I took off and it was you, or at least not Bren, that brought me home. Not to mention she didn’t appreciate my smelling like weed.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m glad
to see your pretty face again. Sorry if I made things worse bringing you home the other night.”

  “Yeah, about that, are we good? I like you, but I just can’t right now.”

  “We’re fine. I figured I would take a shot when I had the chance to, it didn’t go as I planned, but at least I got to kiss you.”

  Bren pipes in, “He kissed you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Kat ignores Bren and continues, “Yeah, that was nice, Jayce, but I’d rather be friends right now while I have some shit going on.”

  “It is all good, Kat, what can I get you and Bren? I got this one for you both.”

  “Caramel macchiato would hit the spot,” says Bren

  “I guess the same for me too,” Kat says.

  “You got it!”

  Hiding in my own place to hear a conversation between the girl that has me crazy and the guy who works for me, I instantly feel like a total creep. I don’t like what I am hearing. It has my blood boiling, but why? She isn’t mine, and she doesn't even know me or that I exist. So I do what I shouldn't do and turn toward the counter and give Jayce a hard time.

  “Jayce, you giving away my drinks now?”

  “Hey, boss,” replies Jayce. “Yeah, just this once to this girl who won’t say yes to me. And one for her friend.”

  “Ah, I see. You're trying to woo the girl.”

  “Dude, who says woo anymore?”

  “Eh, it sounded good. Who are your friends?”

  “James, this is my friend, Kat, and her friend, Bren. Kat and Bren, this is the boss, James.”

  I look at her, directly into her eyes, and hold my hand out. “Nice to meet you, Kat.”

  She looks at me, frozen for a second. I caught it, but I don’t think anyone else did. “Hi, nice to meet you, James.” Her complexion flushes a red so bright you would think she had spent hours in the sun as she shakes my hand.

  “Well, ladies, it was nice to meet you, but I have to get back to the office in the back. Enjoy your latte, and have a great day.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” Kat says. With a quick nod of my head, I turn on my heel and head back toward the office once more. At least I don’t feel like such a creep anymore, considering I clearly have affected this beautiful girl much the same way that she has me.

  Today was a good day.

  Katarina

  I met him. Oh, my God, I met him. His eyes are so much better up close, and that smile, or should I say smirk—perfection.

  After Bren and I left The Java we went back to the park to catch up to our friends. I have been MIA for over a week now, and I missed some of them; not all, but some. I give hugs to the ones I want to and just say hi to the ones that I think are all right, then I see him and I freeze. He is staring right at me again like he did at the party the other night.

  I look over at Bren and let her know that my time is up here. Ever since I left the house without a word to my mother, I have been on a short leash; I’m lucky I was even allowed to “go to the library” at all this week.

  I head up the street to the library and make it within minutes of my mom’s arrival to pick me up. I really am not interested in going home, but alas, I have to. Prom is coming up in a few weeks, and even though I don’t have a date, I still want to go. Bren and her date are going to come pick me up on their way. I have the perfect dress picked out—a beautiful, deep-purple, strapless top with a flowing, tulle bottom, Jovani dress and these amazing, matching, strappy shoes with rhinestone accents. I am so excited for this night to come, and everything is planned, I just have to follow the rules for a few more weeks until then. Unfortunately, by following the rules, it also means I have to help my mom pack on the weekends for the big move after her honeymoon. Prom is three weeks away, and the wedding five. Oh, what joy. At least I have one amazing thing to look forward to, though having a date would make it so much better.

  The weeks fly by. In that time, I have managed to go the library twice, and that also means I have been able to see James in those two visits as well as Jayce. I feel bad; he is a sweet guy, I just don’t have any romantic feelings for him. The last time I saw Jayce, he asked me about prom and if I had a date. We all know that answer, so I was honest.

  “I sure don’t.”

  “Do you want a date?”

  “It would be nice but not necessary. Bren and her date are planning on picking me up.”

  “Would you like me to be your date, as a friend?”

  I looked over to Bren and saw that look on her face—she set this up. Bren wanted me to have a date, and she wants me to get together with Jayce.

  “Um, do you have a tux?”

  “I can get one if I need one.”

  “Okay. As long as we are going just as friends.”

  I held my hand out to shake on it

  “Friends.”

  Here we go, I have a date now, I was set up I know it, and as much as I am not attracted to him, I am so much more excited because I won’t be a third wheel.

  So for the next five minutes, we nailed down the plans for prom when James walked in. I was embarrassed by the way he made me feel, but that didn’t stop my heart from racing or my face from turning the color of a ripe tomato.

  “Hey, girls, how are you today?”

  “Great,” Bren replied. “Kat just got a date to prom with our boy Jayce here.”

  “Oh, yeah? that’s good.” Something about his tone made me think maybe he didn’t think it was a good idea. I think he even started grinding his teeth.

  “Yeah we are going as friends,” I replied.

  “I tried, she just won’t go for my charm and go on a non-friend date with me.”

  “Sucks to be you! Oh, and get back to work, slacker,” James said.

  Jayce got up, said his goodbyes, and moved behind the counter. I looked at the time and panicked. I had literally two minutes to get to the library for my pick-up, and it usually took a good five minutes to get there on a good day.

  “I gotta go, Bren; I’m late to meet my mom”

  “Crap, I lost track of time too,” she said as she jumped up and we both went bolting out the door.

  Apparently, it was my lucky day; my mom was five minutes late, so when I got there she was nowhere to be seen. I took a seat to catch my breath. When I looked up I saw him—my nightmare seemed to follow me wherever I go. He looked straight into my eyes and held my stare. Why does he keep staring at me and showing up everywhere I go like he is following me? Just then, my mom rolled up and honked the horn to get my attention. I jumped in and was free from him, for the moment.

  James

  Prom, with Jayce? I have a damn problem here. She looked at me straight in the eyes, saw my reaction—my jaw clenching—and quickly made sure that I knew there was nothing going on. Why would she do that? Does she even know what she does to me? She is in my head all day and all night, and I can’t get her out. I need to let this thing go, to let thoughts of her go. She may almost be eighteen to my twenty-two, but she is still in high school and will want to go to college. Kat doesn’t need me in her life, but damn, I wish she was in mine.

  I realize how young she really is when she has to bolt out of my place to meet her mom. I shouldn’t even let myself think the things I think about her.

  “You all right, boss? You’re not looking so hot,” Jayce says.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I reply and start toward my office. I need to get things done and get her out of my head.

  Katarina

  Prom day has finally come. My nails are painted, my makeup flawless, and my hair perfectly curled with no frizz in sight.

  Mom comes into my room with a sparkle in her eye. “Are you excited for tonight, Kat?” she asks, her voice filled with excitement.

  “Yeah, Mom, I’m really excited. Bren will be here in about an hour,” I remind her.

  The afternoon was filled with appointments at two different salons, and I let her know just how long I had to get ready every step of the way.

  “Well, you l
ook beautiful,” she tells me. “Even without the dress on yet.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I think I should have listened to you, though. I have way too long to wait for Bren and I’m all ready to go.”

  “Time will fly. Take a few minutes to breathe, eat a snack, then go put on the dress.”

  Time does fly. I am standing there in the mirror dressed to kill in my purple Jovani dress when the doorbell rings. I jump into action, grab my clutch, apply my lip-gloss, and head toward the front door, hoping it is just Bren at the door. I am so not in the mood for questions from Mom about Jayce and who he is.

  No such luck—all three of them are standing there looking like the beautiful people as I stand there feeling six inches tall.

  My mom looks at me and says, “Come here, Kat, you look stunning. I need to grab the camera and get some pictures before you all take off.”

  Surprisingly enough, she is too excited about prom to ask questions so I escape that as she starts taking pictures and blinding us with her flash.

  “Mom, we need to go, are you done taking pictures now?”

  “Fine, party pooper, I’m done,” she says. As we head out of the door, she yells to us to have fun and be safe.

  Finally free of my house, we are headed off for the night, but before I know it, I have a joint in my face.

  Jayce looks at me with a smirk on his face. “Want some?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  Soon, we are high as kites and stopping at The Java. “Why are we here?”

  “I need a latte, anyone else? Come on, Kat, let’s go in.”

  Both Bren and her date are too busy in the back seat to even notice we stopped. There is no answer from them, so we head on out after we snag a parking spot out front and get a couple lattes. When we walk in, the first thing I notice are those eyes—those bright-blue eyes—behind the counter, and they are staring right back at me.