Blandview High Musical

51. Transformative

"I'm coming, goddamnit!" Javier shouted. He was busy trying to adjust himself for whoever was on the opposing end of that door. He swung the door open and who should be standing on the other side, but Gill.

The look on Javier's face was complete surprise. "Ms. Demofonte? What are you doing here?" He asked. "Jade gave me your address and we need to talk." I said. He shook his head. "Now really isn't a good time." He said, attempting to shut the door. I took a page out of Jade's book and shoved the door back against him, stepping inside. "It wasn't a question." I said. The inside of the house was a right mess. "Jesus Christ, Javier..." I said, walking into the kitchen. "Like I said, not a good time." He said, shutting the front door. "Well, Jade wanted me to talk to you for her." He grunted something, pushing around me to get to the fridge. "And why are you here? She can't talk to me herself?" He asked. I leaned against the messy counter. "She says you won't let her!" I bit back.

He sighed. "Okay, you know what. What happened between Jade and I is over. I don't have time to play these little games." He said. "Then tell me what happened." I said. He slammed the beer can down on the table. "Life is what happened. I can't be with her and protect her at the same time. There's a lot of things you don't know and I'm not going to waste time explaining them." He started away and I followed him. "You really broke her heart. You don't feel sorry that you did that?" I asked. "Oh I'm sure she's found dozens of guys to fill that hole." I reached up, slapping him across the face. He stood there, motionless for a moment. "Don't talk about her like that. She loves you." I said. He flopped down on the couch.

"I know she does." He said, following it with a sigh. "So then what's the issue?" I asked. "The issue is that I don't ever know if I can be enough for her. She lives this rich tasting life. She does what she wants, when she wants and with who she wants. And I'm...I'm just like her father. I'm a bad guy who's running from some bad guys. It puts her at risk. I don't want that." "Well, I think you have to ask yourself who you're letting control the situation." He looked over at me. "The bad guys that you're running from or yourself?" He shrugged. "I think the situation is too far gone for that even." I smiled. "You've missed a lot and most of it has to do with you. Jade's fucking miserable. No one's ever going to live up to your standards in her eyes." I said. "You mean that?" he asked. "I don't have to mean it. It's what Jade's said before." "Why didn't she say that on Christmas then?" I shrugged. "She was probably going to say something and you ruined it by telling her you didn't want to see her again." I said.

We sat there for a moment in silence. "God, this place is a wreck, Javi." I said. "I know, I was cleaning up and then I got distracted." He said. "You need to stop doing drugs. This shit is going to ruin you." I said, flipping the lid open on the silver container. "Well, I was going to get rid of that." He said. "If you promise to get rid of it, I'll help you clean up around here." I said. "You don't have to do that." I frowned. "Let's face it, you'll never get it done alone." I said. I patted his bare knee, getting up from the couch.

Together we cleaned the house up. We threw out all the bottles and cans. Javier washed all of his laundry. I sat in the bedroom and folded it for him while he mopped and swept the kitchen. He washed all the dishes and put them away. I cleaned the bathroom. And then there was just one thing left to do...get rid of his drugs. We were both standing in the bathroom and looking down at the toilet. "Go on." I said, looking over at him. He opened the silver box and poured the powder into the toilet water. He had taken the little LSD tablets out first. He flushed the toilet. He sighed. "Feel better?" I asked. "I know I'm supposed to, but it might take a little while." He said as we were standing there. "You'll feel better after the withdrawals stop." I said. We walked back into the kitchen together. I was going to leave. "Gill, I really want to thank you for coming over here." He said. I smiled. "Of course. I don't mind." He reached out and grabbed me by the arm. "Listen, do you think...you might wanna stay with me for a little bit?" He asked. "Oh, I—" "It's okay if you don't. I just...I haven't had company in a while and it does get a little bit lonely." He said. I looked at him. "I'll make dinner." He said, giving me a smile.