"Simon… she just got clothes, what's the big deal!? Ah, lay off man, I didn't do it on purpose… I'd never hurt her on purpose! You know that… don't be a dick, kid…" he shook his head, rolling his eyes. "If you can't even trust her enough to let her go out to get breakfast with me than maybe you ought to break up." He snapped and hung up the phone.
"Jackson!" I cried, snatching my cell phone away from him.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"Why would you say that?"
When Wyette left I used the alone time to seriously consider breaking up with Simon. Sure, things really sucked between us at the moment, but there were times when we were really great together. I'd had this same conversation with myself countless times. Maybe he was just going through a phase. I mean, he loved me, right? Dammit, guys were so fucking stupid! Things would get better if I didn't hang around Jackson, but that was easier said than done. A lot of times he treated me so well that I found him irresistible. Why did I have to be the one girl he actually liked?My mother came up to my room at around two. She looked hellish, and hung over. She gave me a slight smile, but her face clouded when she saw my bruise."What happened to your jaw?" She asked.I shrugged. "I got in a fight.""What!? Where?""At Jackson's p
I drew in a deep breath. "I want you to be happy.""I don't if I can be happy either way. It's a lose/lose situation.""I understand," I murmured. "Do whatever you feel is best."He looked at me for a long time. "I think I need therapy," he said. "These mood swings drive me crazy, too. I don't mean to yell at you like I do. It just kind of happens. I don't think.""You serious about therapy?"He shook his head. "I am serious about the mood swings, though."I reached for his hand, and he let me take it. "We're really messed up.""Yeah. We are. I love you, though." He kissed my hair. "I love you."He hated me. He loved me. I was a slut. I was his girlfriend. He wanted to break up. He didn't want to break up. What in the hell was going
By the time Simon and I got to the café, Wyette and Brent already had a table. They looked good together, the way two nice looking people always did.We sat down at the table and Brent offered me his hand."I've seen you around, but we've never met. I'm Brent Cooler. You are Sophie Charm. Simon and I already know each other. We played baseball together like a thousand years ago.""It's a pleasure to meet you. I had no idea you were gay." The words escaped me before I had the chance to give them any thought. Wyette kicked me under the table."Oh my gosh! I'm really, really sorry!" My cheeks were burning.He smiled blithely. "It's no big deal. It's not like I'm hiding it.""You'll have to excuse her; she's got a big mouth," Simon said, smiling affectionately."Seriousl
When I recovered from my little breakdown, I went into Simon's room. He was sitting on the bed, watching Asia's Next Top Model."I worry about you," I murmured."Yeah, well, same to you. You've been crying.""No I haven't," I lied. He saw right through it."Sophie, Jackson shouldn't have said that.""You know what pisses me off even more? He doesn't deserve Brenda. He treats her like his little bitch and I hate it. He knows that she won't leave him and so he just pushes her to see how far she'll go, and then he comes crawling back to her. That's not fair.""I know, babe.""I'm going to go talk to him about this. I don't want things to be awkward. You okay with that?"He nodded, kissing me quickly. "Yeah. Let me know if you want me to beat his ass."
I blew my hair dry after the shower, so it wouldn't look suspicious when Simon's mom came home. I'd just gotten off of her bad side, and I didn't want to give her any new reason to dislike me. We were sitting on Simon's bed watching TV when she opened the door."Hey guys," she said. "Sorry to interrupt. Simon, do you know what's wrong with your brother?""He's just going through one of his little mood-swings, I'm sure. Why?""His bedroom door is locked, and he won't let me in. I can smell cigarette smoke, and your father's last two beers are gone. Which is not going to make him happy, by the way.""That's unlikely him," Simon said. "He's an ass to me all of the time, but he's never an ass to you.""I'm worried," she murmured. "He's been so unstable. Maybe he needs to go back to the doctor. Have you noticed his moods, S
When she'd recovered enough to sit up, I brought her a cup of water."I'm sorry… I know it's Christmas Eve and your family probably doesn't appreciate my being here—""We're not real big on the togetherness thing. They're at a party with their friends.""I just feel like this is the only place I could really go… you're the most real person I know, Sophie. You're not like my other friends, they're all so… superficial. If I told them… of course they'd feel sorry for me… but it'd be all of school as soon as we got off break."I nodded in understanding. "Do you want to tell me exactly what happened?""I went to Scott's, he was having a small party. I didn't come with Jackson, because I didn't think he'd want to go. You know how reclusive he's been lately." She drew in a deep breath.
A tiny, stupid part of me wondered if I was the person that he was referring to. I wanted to reach out to him, to make him feel better…but I couldn't. The strong side of me decided he didn't deserve my comfort. So I let him sit there on the sofa, alone in his misery. Finally, after about five minutes of awkward silence, Jackson spoke again."What can I do Sophie? What can I do to make you forgive me?""It shouldn't be my forgiveness you want.""But it is. Brenda will never be okay with what I did, and I accept that. Maybe we'll be friends again, but never like we were… I need you to tell me we're okay…" He gave me a pleading look. "Sophie, you're the only one that matters anymore."I felt like I was going to throw up. I was the only one that mattered!? I couldn't deal with that type of pressure!"I
The minute I set foot outside, I shivered. It was freezing. Jackson put a protective arm around me and we walked towards his car in comfortable silence. We stood at the drivers side, just kinda staring at each other."Goodnight," I said finally.He pulled me to him and kissed me roughly. He tasted of cigarettes and alcohol and peppermint gum. When the kiss ended, he held me for a while."I'm so fucking sorry," he whispered, his voice tight with emotion.I hugged him as hard as I could. "Shh…" I kissed his cheek. "Go home and get some sleep. Good night, Jackson."He nuzzled my neck and got into the car. "Take good care of Brenda.""I will," I promised.I came back inside and went up to my room. Brenda was sitting on the bed, watching TV."