BREATHE [✔]

9.Orange ?

Conrad

"What were you thinking?" Jen said looking at me like I was out of my mind.

"It was for a good course...Jen."

"You are sitting in a flipping jail cell !" She said raising her voice.

"If It makes you feel better I imagined this whole day going differently in my head," I said looking at her with a small smile.

"I have half a mind to leave you here till tomorrow morning! I have to hold my breath every time you hang out with him." She said looking pointedly at the boy standing behind me.

"Okay, Conrad, I am going to tell you something because I care. "

I looked at Jen expecting some big revelation.

"You my friend have a saviour complex and its so big that it's unhealthy."

I blinked furiously before answering "I don't see how saving people is bad?"

"It's these 'gifts' you come home with that are a problem," she said using air quotes.

"Gifts?"

"Yes Darling." she said dragging the last four letters "three broken ribs, a bloody nose a concussion and a mugshot? "

"Things escalated. I promise we did not plan on getting caught." I answered pouting.

"Of course you didn't, Because who in their right mind trespasses onto a property that belongs to a maniac? You like like you lost a fight to a garbage truck," she answered sarcastically. "Do I look dumb to you."

"Wait you can tell I lost?"

"Not the point here," Jen whispers now remembering I was still in the prison cell.

"You could help me by getting me out of here."

"Yeah, no I am not." She said crossing her arms.

"Hey hey? Jen is it? Please get me out of here." Chester whispered from behind me " I don't think that drunk mean-looking dude is as friendly as he assumes."

"Is he the one who did that to you?" Jen said pointing at my many bruises on my face.

"Yeah! I was bored." I responded vaguely.

"You look like you fought three hundred battles and lost all of them. " she laughed.

"But I thought I looked like a winner, Chester said I looked like a winner."

"How would he know he can't even move any muscles on his face," she responded.

Chester had tried to help me and the fight had escalated but he wasn't complaining if anything he had smiled after as if the pain was a welcome relief to him. I still did not understand that.

Jen finally signalled the guard and he came and unlocked the cell to let us out. It was a simple act of freedom but it made me feel happy. For a man who has been in a cell many nights, this night felt different. After Chester had gone off with his girlfriend who was frantic about what had happened  Jen and I walked back to her car so I could go back and pick up my brother's motorcycle.

"Don't worry he's fine, his girlfriend is here for him," Jen said as she started the car's engine.

"Yeah right," I responded wondering why she didn't notice he was sad.

"Oh No, no you don't do that Nah huh. You honestly can't be serious."

"What?"

Jen looked more freaked out than she was when she thought I was dying. In fact, she kinda looked like she wanted to chuck me in an early grave now.  She drummed her fingers furiously on the steering wheel as if that would help calm her down. She Blinked rapidly as if trying to unsee whatever images were in her mind.

"You know I should have realised this sooner," she said as she sat in the driver's chair.

"I mean the signs were all there. Hack they were screaming at me." she shifted around weirdly.

"How could I be this stupid." she leaned on the window.

"Of all the times you had to chose now. "She fiddled with the gear shift as if fixing it.

"And of course you are the last one to realise. ." she said really looking at me forgetting for a moment she was driving. 

"Can you just tell me what you are screaming about," I said.

" You are in too deep Cee. You love him and you haven't even realised it yet?"

I didn't respond because I did not know the answer to that I knew it wasn't a no and it was a yes either.

"And you know what the worst part is you are both bad for each other you are like fire and explosives. The aftermath is never good. He's literally a walking trigger the more you hang out with him the more likely you are to have an episode and yet you still hang out with him."

"He needs someone I can't just leave him alone. " I said feeling my heart squeeze at the thought of leaving him to his demons.

" It's like a sex addict escorting their stripper friend to work every day? How do you think that will end. This, whatever it is, is not wise. "  she exclaimed.

"From the moment I saw him get that vacant look in his eyes, I knew what was wrong. I also knew that he would never admit it. At least not now anyway. I had to help I had to do something. His friends did not look like they would understand if I told them. " I said

But also maybe I was using this opportunity to get close to him. He was interesting. He looked like a mystery waiting to be unravelled and boy was I curious. I thought to myself leaving that part out.

"I don't know what I had expected when I hugged him but the reaction he gave me was definitely not the options I expected. But then who was I to judge he probably did not know yet what was going on. And this is why I had taken it upon my self to talk to him. Can't you see Jen if someone was lying on the floor bleeding wouldn't you help them? Then why shouldn't it be the same with a mental health issue?"

I turned to see Jen staring at me as if I had called her out.

"This was the reason why I loved you Cee."

"Too bad Asa was always the first choice huh?"I responded with a hint of bitterness.

"You know very well how I feel about what happened." She answered sadly.

"I know sorry it's just a touchy subject is all." And with that, we drove in silence as I watched the thunderstorm roll out.

Written[03.03.19]

Edited [24.02.20]