The Boy in the Woods (2014 Wattys Winner, Wattpad Version)

Chapter 36 - Come Go With Me

That Monday morning, there was a tense silence in the car while Jess and Doug waited for James to unlock the gate.  After Jess had told him she was too busy to talk on Saturday evening, Doug hadn't attempted to bring it up again, and Jess had decided she wasn't going to either.  After all, he was the one who'd done something wrong. 

Once the gate was open and Doug drove through, Jess kept her head turned towards the passenger window, looking at the passing scenery while she fumed.  When they'd almost reached the school, Doug cleared his throat.

"Jess, I'm sorry about what happened on Friday."

"You should be," she replied tightly to the window, and Doug sighed.

"I know how important it was for you.  I feel bad you didn't have a good time because of me," he admitted, pulling into the school parking lot. 

He sounded sincere, and she could feel her anger slipping away.  Doug wasn't a bad person.  She knew whatever had happened between Annie and Mr. Dwyer's son must have been pretty bad for him to react so strongly.  He'd only done it because of how much he loved Annie.  If Jess had been in Doug's position, it was likely she might have done the same thing. 

When Doug turned off the ignition, Jess went to open the car door, but he put his hand on her arm, saying, "Please don't go."  For the first time, she looked at him fully, noticing the dark circles under his sad blue eyes, and the last of her anger left. 

"I want to make it up to you.  I'll take you into town on Friday night, okay?"

"No, thank you," Jess said firmly. 

"Why not?" he asked with surprise.

"Because I'm not interested in hanging out with your friends, that's why," she snapped, irritated he didn't understand what should be obvious.

"No, that's not what I meant," he said with a frown.  "It'll just be the two of us."  Even though he sounded sincere, there was something in his eyes that made her hesitate.  He seemed troubled and Jess wondered if he really did want to take her out.  He'd always balked when his father suggested it in the past. 

"Until you said it, I never thought about how you're cooped up at home all the time," he explained when she didn't reply, unable to meet her eyes.  "I don't want you to be stuck just because you don't have a car.  I just thought maybe – I could –."  He sighed again, and then lifted his eyes.  "I'm trying to help you." 

While Jess examined him, it suddenly became clear what was going on.  He was ashamed of the way his dad was treating her.  Even though he was trying to hide it, she could see the shame in his eyes, and her heart melted.  He was once again stepping into the big brother role of protecting her.

"Sure, Doug.  That would be real nice," she said, smiling broadly. 

"Swell," he replied, his body relaxing with relief.

Once she was out of the car, she spotted Louise on the sidewalk, and hurried to catch up with her.

"Have a good birthday with your family?" she asked when she reached her.

"Yes!" Louise replied happily.  "I got some clothes and a bottle of perfume."

"That's nice," Jess said, seeing Marty.  He was leaning against the trunk of a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, watching her and trying not to smile.

"How about your weekend?" Louise asked, just as he gave Jess a slight nod. 

"My weekend was really swell!" Jess said with a laugh, turning her attention back to Louise.