No Turning Back (Rewrite)

Chapter 20

Jayden didn't come to school for a few days. The first day when I walked into eighth period and noticed his empty seat, I nearly lost my mind. I texted him relentlessly throughout the period, begging for a response and confirmation that he was okay. After about twenty text messages, he finally replied. I nearly rolled my eyes at his concise I'm fine. His short message followed with a promise to call me later that night.

I anxiously waited by the phone for the rest of the afternoon, praying Jayden would call me sooner rather than later. Eventually, he did give me a call. He explained he'd drove down to Baltimore to see his brother. After his release from the hospital, his mother and uncle had taken him back to his childhood home. Upon the news, Jayden drove his motorcycle the entire way down. Apparently, his mother and uncle weren't very happy with his decision, but his brother was happy to see him.

"How is he doing?" I asked.

"Fine, I guess," Jayden replied. His voice was laced with exhaustion. "He's been trying to crack jokes with me and talk about the stupid shit we did when we were younger. I think he's trying to avoid the bigger conversation at hand. He knows mom told me what happened, but he won't talk to me about it."

"Have you brought it up to him?"

"I've asked him if he was going to stay home, and he promised he would. He says he's going to go to rehab."

"Do you believe him?"

Silence radiated from his end for a moment. "No."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. Maybe he'll prove me wrong. I'm just not holding my breath."

"When will you be home?"

"My uncle and I are driving back Friday morning."

"Do you want to hang out on Saturday? We could go to the movies and see Doctor Sleep."

"Yeah. We can do that."

A soft knock hammered against my door. "Cool. I've got to go."

"Can you send me a picture of the English notes?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you on Saturday."

"Bye."

"Come in," I yelled to my visitor. A stone fell on my chest as my father's face appeared behind the door. Immediately, I averted my gaze to the piles of homework around me.

"Hey, Daniel," my father spoke softly. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

"I have a lot of homework to do."

"Not enough to deter you from conversing on the phone." He took a seat on my bed. "Who were you talking to?"

"One of my classmates. He was asking about classwork since he's gonna be out for a few days."

My father raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"He's visiting family out of town."

"I guess it is that time of year." He patted the empty space beside him. "Come sit."

Hesitantly, I rose from my seat and joined him on the bed. I glued my eyes to the floor and hid my hands in my lap. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I...I want to apologize for some of the things I said before...when we asked you about your college admissions. You know...you know your mother and I only want the best for you."

"I know."

"We're only pushing so hard for Ivy League because we know you'll excel there. We don't want you to throw away your exceptional abilities at some state school. You're much better than that."