Confessions of a Queen Bee

24

Jackson used to be pretty renowned for getting into fights but there haven't been any rumours about any in ages. It was more when he was like fifteen to sixteen ish I think.

 I guess that is when he was drinking the most.

He just chuckles darkly at my concern and looks down to look away from me, his eyes trained in shame, I think, on the pavement. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know where else to go. I can't go home like this... the kids will still be up and I don't want to scare them." He looks up. "And you did say whenever I wanted to drink to come to you... Ives I want to drink."

Without a beat, I try and reasure him. "No of course. Come in."

"But I don't want your parents- "

"They aren't here right now, they should be home soon though. But it's fine just come in for goodness sake." I interrupt him.

As we walk through my house there was a heavy silence. Jackson was quieter than normal and I hated that I didn't know what to say. I wanted to know what happened. How he had gotten into this state.

I hate violence, even before the whole Layton thing, I couldn't ever stand it. The boys as a whole were terrible, they would always get into fights. Jayden would constantly climb through my window and expect me to take care of him. I had a first aid box for him but I refused to clean him up. He got himself into this mess, he can get himself out of it. The same rule applies to Jackson.

"Ivy I'm sorry that I came here." He says from behind me.

"Oh, shush, you can always come here. Just don't expect me to clean up your mess. Come on, follow me." I say as we walk into my room and I lead him to my bathroom.

"How hurt are you?" I ask.

"It's mainly superficial." He mumbles. 

"There's a first aid kit under there." I point to my cabinets under the sink. "There should be everything you need."

He half-smiles at me in thanks and crouches down to reach for it. I see him wince in pain and I cringe a little. I've never seen Jackson covered in bruises before. Not up close anyway. 

I never used to pay him much attention.

 I walk over to the toilet and sit down on the closed lid. Watching as he sifts through all my emergency kit.

"Why do you have all this?" He asks.

"It was for Jay."

He immediately looks uncomfortable and says a quiet "Oh.".

Why did he look so uneasy when I said his name? I brought it all, it all belonged to me. Unless...

"Oh my god, you didn't fight with Jay, did you?"

His eyes, cold, flick up to mine.  "No Ivy, I don't fight my friends." 

He starts using an antiseptic wipe to clean around his split lip, wincing slightly as I just watch. My face screwed up. 

"Then what happened?"

He huffs a sigh and looks at me in annoyance. What? I think I have a right to know. He is leaning over my sink looking into my mirror in my bathroom in my house.

"Just some prick wanting to get a round two of a fight we had a while ago. Like I didn't even fight back at first because I swore to my mum I would stop. But then I just couldn't let him get hits in and not even defend myself."

I just shrug at him, I don't get violence. It hurts my brain.

"Where were you?" I ask.

"Just out and about." He replies vaguely.