by K. D Clark
He pulled his car into his assigned parking space of the brick apartment building. It wasn’t anything special but it was his place. It was clean and he could afford the rent and that’s all he cared about at the moment. Once he became made he planned to upgrade to something better. He had dreams of a penthouse in New York but in order to get there he had to start at the bottom like everyone else. He left the duffle bags in the car and trudged up the stairs into his apartment. He had minimal furniture, just a couch, coffee table and a TV sitting on a sorry excuse for a TV stand in the living room.
He sat down on the couch and pulled out all the money he had been stuffing in his pockets all night. He dumped the crumpled and folded up dollars on the coffee table and started to count. At the end of the day, it barely mattered what he made, most of it got kicked up to Lucas anyway. Looking at the clock, he figured he could at least get a few hours of sleep in before he needed to get back to Albert to start breaking some more of the coke down. There was a small party tonight at Luke’s house. That was one benefit of having a best friend who had rich parents that were always out of town. He doubted he would sell as much as he had last night considering most people had gotten their fill. He just hoped he didn’t run into Sabrina again. He figured he’d stop by her house before going to Albert’s to check on her. After stripping off his clothes, he took a quick shower and got into bed. He set his alarm to go off in three hours. That was all the sleep he could afford to get before he had to be up again.
Sabrina
When Sabrina woke up, her head felt stuffy. She rolled over in bed and her leg hit skin. She let out a yelp before realizing it was Wendy. Wendy moaned and covered her head with a pillow.
“Why did you make that noise?” she said, turning away from Sabrina.
She looked around her room trying to figure out how she’d gotten here. She stared off into space while the memories slowly started to come back to her. She vaguely remembered Jayce talking to Wendy at the party and another memory of them getting out of his car and walking toward her house. She shook her head to try to clear it. Which was a big mistake as her head throbbed in protest. She looked around her messy room where there were still a couple of boxes of books she hadn’t unpacked yet laying on the floor. Clothes littered the floor from the struggle she’d had trying to find an outfit for the football game—the outfit that she was still wearing. Stepping onto the cold hardwood floor, she grabbed a pair of socks from the floor and creeped down the stairs to the kitchen. Her mouth was extremely dry and her body cried for water. She grabbed a cup from the cabinet, filled it with water and chugged it down. She reached for the faucet to fill it up again.
“Oh hey, how was the game last night?” her mom asked in the midst of a yawn as she walked into the kitchen dressed in PJs. Sabrina quickly rubbed her eyes, trying to seem less hungover then she was.
“It was good, we won,” she said as she filled up the cup.
Her mom lifted an eyebrow, and Sabrina knew her mom was aware that she hadn’t come straight home after the game. She would never know how her mom seemed to know everything despite all the time she spent working and sleeping. Sabrina decided to go ahead and tell her the truth since she knew anyways.
Sabrina sighed. “I went to a friend’s get-together afterwards.”
Her mom crossed her arms waiting for Sabrina to continue.
“Ok, I got home kind of late.”
Her mom crossed the room and took a seat at the table. “I need you to call me if you’re not going to be home when you tell me you are. It’s already bad enough I have to work nights, but while I’m thinking you’re at home safe you’re out at a party.”
Sabrina didn’t have a reason for not texting her mom and letting her know she was going to be out later. It just hadn’t really crossed her mind.
“The neighbor boy came over this morning to check on you.”
Sabrina coughed. “Jayce?”
“Yea, cute kid. You guys were always playing together when you were younger, riding bikes and playing in the mud. I guess you two reconnected?”
“Mhmm,” she said not giving anything else away.
Her mom crossed her arms on the table, eyes focused on Sabrina. “He’s been driving you to school?”
The conversation was getting awkward and she wasn’t ready for her mom to start asking questions about a guy who’d driven her home when she’d been apparently very drunk last night.
“Yep. I’m going back to bed. Love you.” She quickly chugged down the rest of her water then climbed the stairs back up to her bedroom. She shut the door and when she turned around Wendy was sitting up in bed. Her normal sleek brown hair was sticking up in all places and her makeup was smeared across her face. Sabrina could only imagine how she looked. Wendy rubbed a hand over her face.
“I’m guessing you drank more than me last night?” Sabrina asked, making her way back into the bed and snuggling down under the covers.
Wendy groaned. “I feel like shit.”
Sabrina laughed. “Now I know who will not be my designated driver next time.”
“Jayce drove us here?”
“Yea, my mom said he came by this morning to check on us.”
Wendy waved her finger. “No no, he came to check on you. If anything he’s probably pissed at me for getting so drunk and leaving you without a ride.”
Sabrina shrugged. “Maybe.”
She was tired of talking about Jayce, it was obvious he could have anyone at the school he wanted. She wasn’t going to get her hopes up about him. He’d just been being nice last night—that was just the way Jayce had always been.
*****
Wendy had Alyssa pick her up so she could go back to get her car. After she’d left, Sabrina spent the rest of the day unpacking her last few boxes of books and putting them on her overflowing bookshelf. She decided that she needed to find what bookstores were in Falcon Haven. Once she was done, she scrolled through her phone. Facebook was filled with photos of her old friends and how much fun they were having enjoying their last year. She missed the familiarity of her old school and friends. It had seemed a little silly at the time to move one year before she graduated but she was starting to get comfortable with Falcon Haven sooner than she’d thought. She wondered if any of these friendships she was making would last past this year. She figured everyone would drift apart once they went off to college.
On Sunday she stayed in her room and caught up on homework. When the sun started to go down she figured she should probably get out of the house. Her phone vibrated and a text from Wendy flashed across the screen.
Come by the diner i’m dying of boredom.
It was only a 30 minute walk from the house and she figured she needed the exercise. The diner was on the older side of town. Small brick shops lined the strip along with an old movie theatre that only showed movies that were already out on DVD. The houses were smaller on this side of town but they were also charming with large porches on the front and bright-colored shutters. A small neon sign hung above the brick building indicating she was in the right place. As she walked in the door it dinged and the smell of fresh bacon hit her in the face, making her stomach rumble. The diner was small—only three booths lined the wall and there was also a counter where two older gentlemen were sitting, one of them smoking a cigarette. Smoking had been banned almost everywhere but it was obvious this place wasn’t one to follow rules. Wendy popped her head up from behind the counter—her long brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she wore a plain black T-shirt.
“Hey! You made it. Come sit.” She waved at a stool in front of the counter.
Once Sabrina had sat down, Wendy leaned on the counter. “It is so slow in here tonight I thought I was going to die of boredom.”
Sabrina laughed. “I doubt that.”
“No seriously these two.” She tilted her head towards the guys at the other end of the counter. “Ordered two hours ago and haven’t gotten anything else since.”
“I’m guessin
g you got your car?”
Wendy pushed herself off the counter and grabbed a couple glasses from underneath. “Yea, Alyssa had some art show she was going to so she dropped me off on the way,” Wendy said as she filled both glasses with Coke and set one in front of Sabrina. She took a sip, letting the bubbles burn her throat.
“You hungry?” Wendy asked.
“Starving.”
“I don’t usually cook but I’m trying to learn. Is breakfast ok?” she asked as she pulled out some ingredients. The cooktop was right behind the counter so Sabrina could watch as Wendy prepared the food. Sabrina looked around the small diner.
“Who usually cooks when people order?” she asked, not seeing any other staff members.
“Tonight it’s George—he’s the owner of this place, but he stepped out a while ago once he saw how dead this place was. We also have another cook—Jose but he doesn’t work tonight.”
Wendy finished making a breakfast platter of eggs, bacon and a couple pancakes. An older couple came in a few minutes later and Wendy got to work as Sabrina ate her food. An older gentlemen with a mustache and very little hair on his head came back just in time to make their order.. Once the couple was settled with drinks and their food on the stove, Wendy hopped onto the stool next to her.
“George this is Sabrina. Sabrina, George.”
George wiped his hands on his apron and stuck one out for her to shake. “Nice to meet you, Sabrina. I guess this one took you under her wing?”
She smiled. “Yea, I guess so,” she said, taking his hand and shaking it.
He tilted his head. “You look familiar. What’s your last name?”
“Wilson.”
“Any relation to Arthur Wilson” he asked.
She should have known he would know her grandpa.
“Yea he was my grandpa.”
A smile spread across the old man’s face highlighting the creases around his eyes. “Arthur used to come in here all the time, every Sunday morning. I’m sorry for your loss, your grandpa was a hoot.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
“Hey! You need a job? It’s the least I could do.”
Sabrina looked to Wendy for help but she just shrugged. “If you’re planning to get a job I would get it here. George is a pretty laidback boss and believe it or not it does get busy enough that you can make decent tips,” Wendy said.
Sabrina didn’t really need a job there wasn’t anything major she needed to save up for but it would be nice to have something to do after school instead of staying hoarded up in her bedroom. It didn’t seem very stressful and she was sure her mom wouldn’t mind. Her mom would probably be happy she had some sort of ‘extra-curricular’.
“Ok, yea that sounds good,” she said, deciding not to overthink it.
“Great! How’s Tuesday sound? I’ll have Wendy train you.”
She looked over at Wendy who had a big smile on her face. “Sounds good, is there a uniform?”
George waved it off going back to stove. “Nah, jeans and a T-shirt will do.”
She had to admit she was really excited to start her first job. She wasn’t interested in sports or any of the clubs at her old school but she thought this could be fun. Wendy offered to give her a ride home so she waited at the diner until she was finished with her shift.
“Oh I forgot to tell you the gossip,” Wendy said once they were in her car and headed towards Sabrina's house.
“What gossip?” Sabrina asked
“So yesterday at Luke’s house he had some people over again. I guess his parents are gone for the entire weekend and people came to swim in the pool.”
“There was a pool there?” She didn’t remember seeing one in the backyard but she also didn’t remember much at all from the other night.
“Its inside. Crazy right? Anyway, when Alyssa took me to get my car we went inside to see what all the commotion was about. We came at the perfect time because this girl from Lakeside was all over Jayce and you could tell he was definitely into it.”
Sabrina ignored the tight feeling in her stomach as Wendy continued.
“Well the girl went off to I guess go to the bathroom or something I don’t know. Then when she came back she was acting all funny and said she needed to leave. Alison had cornered her in the bathroom! And told her that she needed to stay away from Jayce and that the girl was desperate, blah blah blah. So you know what Jayce did?”
“Huh?”
“He went completely off on Alison in front of everyone and told her that she needed to get it through her head that they are not together and they will never be together. Alison was so embarrassed and stormed off. It was crazy!”
They had pulled up to her house and speak of the devil, Jayce’s Camaro was in his driveway.
“That’s crazy,” she said, not really sure how to respond to the story Wendy had just told.
“Jayce was so mean I kind of felt sorry for Alison but it’s what she needed. Hey, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Wendy asked.
Sabrina started to get out of the car. “Yea I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Once Wendy had driven away, Sabrina walked up the steps to the porch when she heard the front door of the neighbor’s house slam shut. Jayce walked towards his car in gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt. It looked like he had just gotten out of the shower and he was pissed. He caught her eye but didn’t say anything as he got in the Camaro and sped off. She shook her head and headed into the house.
Jayce
Jayce tried to visit his dad as often as he could. He felt bad that his dad was all alone in the house. Since his mom had left, the house had been much quieter. His dad spent most of his time working, and Jayce was sure that it was because he didn’t want to come home to the emptiness. For years after his mom had left, Jayce wished his dad would find someone to make him happy. Maybe a nice lady that worked at a bank, or maybe he would fall in love with a co-worker. Jayce hadn’t wanted to move out of his childhood home and into the apartment but he’d felt like he hadn’t had a choice. His dad had known something was up once Jayce had started to hang around Mason and had bought a Camaro with no job. It was only a matter of time before the old man would have kicked him out. His dad wasn’t one to stand for his son selling drugs and hanging out with sketchy people. Jayce had gone to have dinner with him. He’d picked up KFC on the way to the house but it hadn’t been long before his dad had brought up the fact that Jayce needed to clean himself up and figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life. Then, Jayce had been storming out of the house. He’d seen Sabrina getting out of Wendy’s car and he wanted to ask her where she had been. He found himself wanting to know more and more about her but that was a stupid idea. He needed to keep his distance as much as he could. She was a good girl and he was nothing but trouble. He needed to go back to the apartment and get some sleep. That would be the smart thing to do but he was so amped up from the argument with his dad he ended up driving around for a while to clear his head. His phone vibrated in the console with a text from Camilla.
You busy?
He knew what Camilla wanted and that’s exactly what he needed. Something to calm him down and get his mind off the girl that he wouldn’t let himself have. He needed no strings attached. He stopped at a stop light and send her a quick text back:
Nah i’ll pick u up from the restaurant.
*****
Sabrina sat on the front porch, bouncing a basketball. Grandpa told her to go outside and play but Jayce wasn’t home yet. His dad said he had to go visit his aunt at the hospital. She didn’t know when he would be back so she bounced the basketball and waited. When it started to get dark outside, her grandpa yelled from the kitchen window that it was time for dinner. Grandpa had made her favorite; mac n cheese. He always made it when her mom was going to be at school for a while. Grandpa said her mom was studying for a good job. Sometimes she would stay up late and wait for her to get home. Someone knocked at the door and she jumped up from the kitchen table to answer it.
Jayce looked sad so she sat on the porch with him.
“Mom said Aunt Helen is sick,” he said.
“I was sick once too.” She remembered being at the doctor. He looked in her ears and hit her shin with a hammer. “The doctor gave me medicine that tasted like bubble gum.”
Jayce shook his head. “It’s not that kind of sick.”
She stopped talking after that. They just sat there until Grandpa said she had to go back inside to finish her food. She told Jayce she would see him tomorrow but she didn’t for a couple days and when she knocked on their door to see if he could come out his mom was crying and said he couldn’t play right then. Grandpa told her they had to make casserole.
Chapter Four
Sabrina
The next morning she waited for Jayce on her front porch. Memories of their childhood came back to her, she used to wait for him just like this so they could play basketball or ride their bikes. Today she was dressed in dark skinny jeans and she’d switched her Converse for black boots and an oversized sweater. It was starting to get cold in Falcon Haven. Jayce pulled up to the front of her house wearing the same T-shirt he’d had on last night—obviously the cold wasn’t bothering him much. He tilted his head as if to say, come on. She slung her book bag over one shoulder and hopped into the Camaro. The car was dirtier than usual with a couple bags of fast food, Gatorade and water bottles all over the floorboard.
“Fun weekend?” she asked
He laughed. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? I’m pretty sure I had to drive you and your friend home.”
“Yea thanks for that. I don’t normally go to parties,” she said feeling slightly embarrassed about the whole thing. She still had holes in her memory and she just hoped she hadn’t said anything stupid.
“Just be careful. There’s some creepy guys at some of those parties.”
