Where Is Jared

Where is Jared Chapter 8

Chapter 8- JESSIE

"Mom, I'm going to Katie's house, I'll be back later!" I yelled as I walked out to my car. What I had said wasn't entirely a lie, just not the truth. My mom would be really peed off if she knew the truth.

I arrived at Katie's. There were several cars outside that I recognized, but I didn't know who owned them.

"OMG! Jessie!" James ran up to the door and hugged me. He handed me a beer. "You know, you're going to have fun. You can forget about that Tim person."

I was kind of set off that he said 'that Tim person' when Tim was like a brother to me, but I quickly forgot that after my very first beer...

I did have fun. We were dancing and partying. Everyone I knew, except Tim, and a few other people who never drink, was there. I found it easy to be....aloof...when I was with James, and of course, I'd never thought that before. Whatever happened to James after...the thing (I still couldn't think of it as Jared's death), was really confusing me. Maybe it was just the alcohol in my system...

After the party, around eleven, I got into Brandon's car. He was the only one who hadn't drunk anything, so he had to drive me home. I was almost sure that some of them (Ahem, James) were going to drive themselves home, but I was already in over my head. Besides, Brandon had offered, and that was kind of his job at these parties...staying sober...

I got home okay, and despite not saying hardly anything to Brandon during the whole ride, I thanked him while getting out. He smiled and drove away. I tried to sneak in, so I wouldn't have to face my mom, because the last thing she needed was to find me drunk. I made it upstairs, yelled "Goodnight mom!" as loud and as correctly as I could, and crawled into bed...

I woke up in the morning, obviously sick, but luckily my mom was already at work...so I skipped school for the day, though I obviously had a good reason.

I laid in the bathroom, all day, every light hurting my head, every sound hurting my ears.

TIM-

Thursday, I saw Katie in the cafeteria at school. I knew that she would be in a tight mood. But I approached her anyway. "I heard Jessie was at your house the other night, and ya'll weren't at school yesterday..." I trailed off.

"Um... we had a party... it was pretty freaky. I don't think you wanna know, considering you don't drink." She looked dead, so dead. I thought she would at least be in a better mood than that. Then I knew what she was getting at.

"Wait! WHAT?!! Jessie...Beer?!! You had a party!!?" I was yelling now.

"Yea, I mean we had a great time... I thought you knew we drank..."

"I knew you did, but not Jessie." I snapped.

"Oh." It seemed like she knew she had made a big mistake. "James said... he said she told him she had drunk before. But I thought she hadn't... I just trusted his word." She said apologetically. I wasn't mad...at her. I knew that Jessie had never touched a beer before. I had never been so sure of anything. James... That's who I was angry with.

As if on cue, James, sitting across the café, smiled devilishly straight at me. That was it!

I stomped all the way across the cafeteria, hitting many people along the way. I got right up in his face. The voice in the back of my head cried out. "What are you doing? You can't fight him!!? He's bigger, stronger...Besides, Jessie is still mad as hell at you...it shouldn't matter what happens to her..."

And I told that voice to shut up.

JAMES

Who did this kid think he was? He stood several inches shorter than me. Staring me straight in the eye, he snarled, "How could you do that to her? How the hell could you let her get drunk? Although, I would expect that, from a druggie like you."

The hate was obvious in his eyes. Hate, for me, but love.....

For Jessie?!

I didn't get it. "Hey, look, man. It's not what it seems like. I care about her. I mean, she was having a rough time getting over that Jared freak... and I helped her out." I said. That brought a smile to my lips, and I saw in his eyes, that flash of hatred in return.

Then he lunged.

TIM

I punched that freak, punched him square in the face. It felt good, too. Normally, I wouldn't let myself do that kind of thing, but I did. And I loved it.

The whole cafeteria stared. And then I realized that he hadn't punched me back yet. I looked down. My hand was still clenched into a tight fist. The principal came into the room, saw me, and swayed a little. I knew he was just as surprised as everyone else. I had to be pretty mad to punch a guy out like that.

JESSIE

I saw the fight, saw Tim punch James out, but how? Why? I have no clue. I've never known Tim to do anything instantly like that. Never. I asked Katie what had happened. She just shrugged. "I told him about the party, and he just marched over there, said something, and then punched him." She said.

"Oh, no." I knew what was going on..... I knew exactly what was going on.

I wasn't going to let Tim run my life. Even if I did love him, even if he was just like family, I wasn't letting him tell me how to live.