Sophomore Year || Parenthood Series, Book One || WATTYS 2018

Chapter Twelve

SOUNDTRACK: "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns N Roses

Jared stifled a yawn as he pulled onto Kate's street in the dim light. It was early the next morning and he hadn't slept much the night beforehand. When three o'clock rolled around, he figured he could get a jump on the drive and just head down to San Diego. He could see the sun's light just barely starting to peek over top of the horizon.  Ryan's car wasn't in the driveway and Jared was reminded of the other man's words the night before. Shaking his head, he parked in the driveway and got out, pulling the house key from his pocket on his way to the front door.

He looked through the front window to try to see if Vedder was awake before he unlocked the door. The alarm system let out a high pitched noise until he punched in the code to disarm it. He put his keys on the table in the entryway and slid his shoes off near the door. He flicked on the hall light and quietly walked up the stairs. There was no sign of Vedder and he figured the dog must be in Kate's room.

Jared walked into the kitchen and flipped on the light, his stomach grumbling loudly. Under normal circumstances, he considered it rude to go into someone else's home and raid their fridge. However, given the way Ryan behaved and what he was forcing on him, Jared didn't think stealing his veggie pizza at five AM was too out of line. He chomped down two pieces, grateful to put something into his stomach.

As he sat at the island, he was reminded of the first time he had come to the house. He forced back a chuckle as he thought about Ryan having all this money and job. And it turned out, Ryan only worked as much as he did to keep from having to interact with Kate. Everyone had their secrets, he supposed. He had plenty himself. And quite a few of them were going to be much harder to keep with a fifteen year old in his house.

He sighed and looked around the kitchen. A graded test was pinned to a bulletin board near the back door. He took it off the board and looked at it. 100% on an Algebra test. He shook his head and put it back on the board. He didn't even remember chemistry from high school. In fact, most of his high school experience was a distant memory. A slight panic rose in his chest as the realization hit him that he was going to have to find a way to relate to Kate somehow.

A piece of paper on the other end of the counter caught his attention and Jared picked it up. It was a note from Ryan.

Kate,

I'm sorry, but I had to go away for work for a while. Be good.

R.

Jared shook his head in frustration and balled the note up, shooting it into the trash can. If Ryan wanted to talk to Kate, he was gonna have to go through him from now on. As far as he was concerned, Ryan was persona non grata to Jared. The sunrise started to peek through the windows and he walked out into the living room. Several pieces of art were featured on the walls and he knew they had to be Rachel's. He admired the brush work and the color selections and wondered about the story behind each piece.

These will definitely be coming with us, he thought. He knew the perfect place for them at the Compound.

A jingle of tags hit his ears and he saw Vedder appear on the stairs, licking his lips and blinking as he woke up. Jared's eyes widened and he prayed the dog wouldn't maul him. The Great Dane's eyes fixed on him and Jared's heart started racing, pounding in his ears. For a brief moment, it seemed like the dog might jump on him and go right for the jugular and Jared prepared himself for death. But Vedder surprised him by trotting over to him and sniffing him thoroughly. He held his breath until Vedder sat down next to him, satisfied with his inspection.

"Hi," Jared said awkwardly to the dog. He reached out a hand to touch the dog's giant head and sighed when he didn't turn around and try to bite it off. The dog leaned into Jared's touch, enjoying the scratch behind the ear. "Good boy."