Weak

Chapter Thirteen

I spent the rest of that day in my room. Mom came home with many shopping bags and dinner for everyone. Mom and I sat at the kitchen island eating our dinner. Leslie claimed she was not hungry but Mom left her food outside of her door in case she decided to eat.

After finishing my meal I decided to explore the house a little bit. I go outside around the back of the house. There's a metal staircase there. I wonder if it leads to the roof. I go up the stairs. It surely did lead to a roof—and much more. Jay has a pool on his roof. The roof is flat and the pool is just sunken right in the middle of it. The water is ice blue and the reflection sort of lights up the rooftop. There's a sunken hot tub towards the end of the pool. I run my hands through the warm water. Jay has really put some work into the house. I sit down next to the pool and take it all in. Being up here is really calming. There's a light breeze and an occasional car passes by.

I sit on the roof for a good half an hour before I decide it's time to go in and call it a night. When I stand up to dust myself off I see a car parked across the street start up. I can't really tell what kind of car it is, but it's black. The car speeds off and then I hear the garage door open. I look down from the roof and moments later Jay's Lamborghini appears in the driveway. He pulls into the garage and I run to the other side of the roof and down the staircase. As my feet touch the pavement at the end of the stairs I hear Jay close the door to the garage.

“I see you've found my secret spot.” He says, swinging his keys around his finger.

“Yeah, it's really nice up there.” I look down at my watch. It's close to midnight. “You've been gone a pretty long time.”

“Just taking care of business.”

“Work?”

“Something like that. I don't have a job per say.”

“So how could you afford to have this awesome house and the flashy car and--”

“People look out for me. I do favors for them and they treat me well.”

“Favors?”

“Yes, favors.”

“What kind of favors.” Jay smiles.

“Let's just say that you and I are a lot alike, Chase.” He walks inside the house. He holds the door open, “Are you coming in?” I nod and go inside.

On my way to my room I notice that Leslie still hadn't eaten the food Mom had left for her. I knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Chase.” She's silent. “Okay, I know you're mad at me, but you have to eat.”

“I don't have to do anything. I also believe that you have no right telling someone what they should do. You make horrible decisions.”

“Leslie, do it for,” I lower my voice. “The baby.”

Leslie comes to the door and give me an angry look. She picks the food off the floor before slamming the door in my face. I stand there for a moment and then I hear Mom's door open.

“Is everything okay?” She asks.

“Everything's fine.” She sighs.

“Okay, then.” She goes back into her room.

Before going to bed I shower. When I get into my bed I immediately enter a deep sleep. The sleep didn't last long though.

“Chase, wake up.” It's Jay. “I have to talk to you about something.

“What?” I groan.

“I've been talking to a few of my friends about your situation...”

“What situation?”