We Meet Again (JanTom AU)

Chapter 14

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They rode in silence, looking straight ahead. They were both tired and out of it but Janna knew that at least where they were going would get him relaxed.

She laid her head on the passenger window, feeling the vibration of the road underneath. Looking over with her peripheral vision, she saw that Tom was tightly gripping the steering wheel with one hand and rapidly tapping the arm rest with the other.

She found it funny how he still had the same tight-lipped smile and furrowed brows plastered on his face like before. Nothing had changed. She accidentally chortled, catching his attention. He gave her a side glance, softening his previously hard expression.

"What?" he softly smiled.

She brought her eyes back to the front. "Nothing, focus on the road dingus."

They ended up at a small hill where Janna insisted they stop and walk the rest of the way. It wasn't far, just a few rocks and a turn up ahead.

"So what are we doing at a...junkyard?"

She didn't answer him, instead focused on scanning the yard to find what she was looking for. She followed her eyes to an object poking out from under a cardboard box.

Walking over to it, she dragged it out of its hiding place, picking it up. She examined it, looking at its condition while Tom, looking like a lost dog, peeked from behind her.

"What are you doing with a bat? Are you going to beat me with it?" he joked.

She tried to ignore his unsteady breathing down the nape of her neck. A shiver ran down her spine. She convinced herself it was just the cold wind.

Should've worn a thicker sweater.

"No," she stepped out of the way and faced an old broken down car, probably from the early 2000's. "You are going to beat this with it."

"Janna, no offense but I don't see how this is going to help my problem," he sulked.

"I never said it was but....you need to let off some steam dude. So take it out on this car."

And not on others like some people.

She nudged him with the head of the bat, to grab it which he eventually did. Grabbing the handle with both hands, he trudged toward the car. Not thinking much of it, he swung his first hit.

It barely made a dent.

You've got to be kidding.

"Dude, what was that? My little cousin could hit harder than that." Janna shook her head in shame. "You gotta put some emotion into it, like this." She grabbed the bat and prepared her swing.

"Justin is the definition of a case gone wrong with a brain the size of a nut!" She used all her strength to swing that bat toward the side of the car, leaving a very noticeable dent.

She handed it back to him and stepped back. "Just think about what happened today and go from there. Dig deep or whatever."

Tom took a deep breath, tightly gripping the rugged handle.

"Okay..., when I got that call from my parents, I was hoping that they'd want to spend time with me."

He took his first swing on the side of the car.

"But nooo, it had to be about work...like it always is."

He swung again, causing the same dent as Janna's. She was impressed, those scrawny arms could actually hit.