A Condemned Haven

Chapter 2

*Hey everyone thanks for sticking with it.*****

Jack dragged himself out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. He was too tired to even see what color shirt he put on. Today was a Monday and he hated them. They were only a reminder that the weekend had been wasted. Running his hands through his hair a couple of times to wake up more, he looked at the book sitting on his desk. That damn book. What a shitty thing to leave a son. Running down the stairs, he saw his mom putting pop-tarts on a plate for him. Jack loved his mom, she worked two jobs to give him everything he could ever need and still managed to make time for him. She still looked really young for her age. She had had him when she was in high school, then his parents got married. His mom managed to raise him and graduate high school and college with a 4.0. She was nothing short of a hero.

"Hey mom."

She was sitting at the table with a medical file open. She worked at a hospital and a nursing home, always pulling doubles. Her brown hair was pulled into a neat bun and she was already in her scrubs. He was taller than his mom, barely. Both of his parents were pretty short, so he followed the tradition, standing at five ten. Most kids at his school were like six feet these days.

"Hey J why don't you take a seat and eat before the bus comes. You have about five minutes so eat fast."

His mom wasn't a gourmet cook, but she made sure to have meals in the freezer ready to go, and things she could stick in the toaster. He did most of the cooking. She tried her best and that was all that mattered to him. Not to mention it was kind of a health hazard for her to cook.

"Hey, do you know when we can get a chance to go get that car that uncle Jim is gonna give to me?"

"I work a shift at the hospital and then a shift at the nursing home tonight and pretty much all week, but we will see about this weekend okay?"

"Okay thanks mom," he mumbled, stuffing the pop tart into his mouth. He always hated when it got stuck in his teeth.

His uncle had promised to give him his old car and Jack had been waiting to pick it up for about a month. His uncle had gotten a new car and had no need for the old one. Not to mention he was rich, so it wasn't like he needed to sell the car for the money. Jack understood that his mom was busy, but it was really crappy being a junior and still riding the bus to school every morning. Everyone was stuffed together, and all of the freshman were loud and obnoxious, still acting like middle schoolers. Not to mention walking everywhere was inconvenient, even if Summerville was a small town.

"What are you reading? His mom still had her head stuffed into the file she had been reading when he had come out.

"I'm looking at what medication the nursing home has Mrs. Keystone on."

"James' grandma?"

"Yeah they asked me to take a look at it. Alright I gotta go to work have a good day at school." His mom gave him a kiss on his cheek before running out the door. She was always in a rush.

Jack ate the rest of his pop-tarts quickly and raced to the bus stop. On his way he was distracted when he saw Clarke Holden getting into her car. Since when did she get out of juvie? She looked leaner than when he last saw her, and she was wearing what looked to be a band tee and jeans. Her brown hair was put up in a half bun, like she'd been too lazy to do anything with it this morning, but it still looked good. He hated to say that he was staring, but so would everyone at school today. She was pretty with her slender frame and cute nose.

Clarke's eyes flicked to him. He was about her age, standing across the street staring at her. He was cute with brown hair and his hands stuffed in his pockets. He seemed pretty fit, maybe a runner. He shyly looked away as he continued walking.