Where Is Jared

Where is Jared Chapter 7

Chapter 7- JESSIE

"What? He left an hour ago?? Where is he then??" I asked frantically, trying not to cry. I'd thought he stood me up. My Jared would never do that...I had known that. But now I was so worried. I really needed to know where he was. "I'll call the police if he doesn't show in a few hours...'kay Jessie? See you..." Jared's mother hung up.

I worried about him all night, and he starred in my dreams. I thought they were dreams, but they turned into nightmares. I woke up at least four times, covered in sweat, and finally at three in the morning, I just had to go take a shower. It relieved me, but I still had that worry in the back of my mind, that same prickly 'where is Jared?' stabbing every other thought. There was no sense in worrying so much about him. He was my boyfriend, but he wasn't the only person in my life. Even if it felt that way.

I settled down finally, after tossing and turning, but I probably only had an hour of sleep when my mom woke me. "Um..." she was crying. Oh, no, I thought. Not good. "I have some bad news." She took my hand, leading me to sit on the couch, just on the edge, and sighed. "Baby, Jared was found dead on the side of the road. Honey, I'm sorry. The police are doing an investigation right now, as we speak. They originally thought it was an accident, but then they found a hammer, and a lot of blood, and...his injuries were too bad compared to what happened to the car. I'm so, very, very sorry, sweetie. I know how much he meant to you."

I thought my limbs were just going to drop off. I thought all of me was on fire. It was a panging, raging fire, a fire that would never be put out. I wailed and slung myself around my mother. I was going to die. If I didn't think my mom needed me, I would kill myself. I just can't function without Jared Richardson. My mom was the only important person in my life now.

My heart was broken, not just broken, but shattered. Shattered into a million jillion pieces. Never, not ever, could it be put back together. I endured Sunday, Monday, Tuesday....

On Wednesday, Katie and Tim were fed up, so they said. No one could ever be as fed up as me. My heart had died. I was surprised to even be breathing.

"Okay, Jessica Stover." Wow. My full name. Katie never called my by my full name. She must be mad. "You know the whole school was broken up about Jared. Even James, though he's in the hospital. But you can't just be this way, it's not right. You're like, lifeless." She mumbled something unintelligible. Yea, lifeless, that's what I was. Deprived of life, because my Jared had left. I hope he was happy in heaven; it was all I could ask for. "What? James is in the hospital?" I asked.

"Oh, come on!! He was put there the same night that Jared died. If you can't follow that.... Ugh, Jessie. I just don't know where you've been. It's like you're not here. Maybe you should see someone..." she trailed off, with a sad expression o her face. "I do NOT need a shrink." I knew what she was getting at. I was depressed, that's for sure, but I didn't need another person to tell all of my life to, not when my life was ending. "What happened to James?" I said, trying to start up a conversation. I wasn't really interested, but I tried to look that way.

"Well, my poor James wrecked his motorcycle. In the dead of night, he went out riding, got a broken arm and leg, a big bash in the head, and a rumor's goin' around that he has amnesia. But I'm almost positive he doesn't. I went to the hospital, and he knew me, so that's not likely, even if he had partial amnesia. They say that's worse for the patient, you know, because they get stressed out trying to remember everything..." She went on and on, and I nodded to keep her going. I didn't want her to insist on a doctor for me anymore.

Tim, too, criticized me when I saw him at lunch, the only time I ever see him. "You can't just....not....I don't know, Jessie, it's like you're not here." Wow. 'Lifeless', and then 'not here'. What a great way for my friends to describe me. Sadly, I didn't care; I just wanted them off my case. "Will you please?!!" I almost yelled, and received a few stares in the process.