Not What it Seems

Chapter Twelve

~Jane~

I saw Alex's car idling outside my house, and I silently crept from my window, calmly crawling down the roof and hooking my fingers onto the ledge as my feet grasped for the porch railing. In a matter of seconds I was on the lawn and rushing towards Alex's car.

"Sneak out often?" he asked, and eyebrow raised as I situated myself into his car.

"Shut up and drive, please."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" he asked, and I noticed that we weren't pulling out onto the main roads. In fact, we remained in my neighborhood.

"Wasn't planning on it." He looked at me with those stupid green eyes and puffed out his bottom lip.

"Please?"

"Alex, you don't want to know about my fucked up life, I promise." He laughed, turning down Crothers Lane.

"Jane, my Dad's in jail, and Mom is a prostitute, okay? You're problems aren't as bad as mine, and if they are, then I guarantee I can help. Cash isn't the only one that's your friend, okay?"

I sucked in a breath, and looked over at his grim face.

"My Mom... drinks a lot," I said, speaking slowly, willing the words to form, and forcing myself not to crumble into a sobbing mess. "And... she sleeps around."

"How often?" he asked, and I looked out the window.

"Every night."

"It makes sex seem... worthless, right?" he asked, pulling up at a stop sign. "It makes you wonder whether it's really as intimate as it seems, or whether it's just something... physical."

I nodded, pulling my feet up onto the seat.

"Is love-making even a thing?" He shrugged.

"I haven't encountered it yet. I'm not a love child, that's for sure." He gave a bitter laugh, and I wondered if there were perfect people in this world, or if everyone was fucked up like us.

"This is it," he sighed, and when I looked over, I jumped. We'd pulled up in front of a ramshackle apartment building, the sides covered in mold, and the windows faded and dirty. The front lawn was dead and muddy, and only a few of the windows had lights in them.

"Are you sure this is-"

"Cash was my best friend," he said, looking coldly at me. "I know where he lives, Jane. Its F11."

I looked up at the building and then stepped out of the car.

Here goes nothing.

~Cash~

Being with Jane made me feel safe, and alive, and...whole. I knew how cheesy that sounded - I normally didn't believe in the whole soul-mate-you're-my-other-half bull, but I guess you didn't know a piece of you was missing until you found it.

I stirred the pot of canned noodle soup and watched as my Mom sank down into the couch.

"How was school today?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"It was fine."

"What did you do after school? Hang out with your friends?" My mind flicked to Jane, her skin beneath my lips, her hands in my hair, and found myself out of breath.

"Uh, yeah, sort of..."

"What?" she said, smiling at me suspiciously, pulling her hair tie out, letting her brown curls fall around her shoulders. "Did you have a date?"