Tony
I own nothing...
"No, Dad. I told you. I don't have any money." Jordan, standing in the kitchen of the house he shares with his dad, says to him.
"C'mon, kid. You aint foolin' me," Anthony Catalano slurs. "I know you have some stashed somewhere. You haven't been putting in all those hours at Jimmy's garage for nothin'."
"What do you need money for? The electric bill due again? Or is it the water bill this time?" Jordan looks at his drunk father in disgust. He'd worked until 9:30, even though the garage was closed. He'd come home to his dad turning his bedroom upside down again. He knew his dad didn't find his savings because he'd stop hiding it in his room.
"It doesn't matter why I need it, I just do. I let your sorry ass stay here, so when I ask you to help me out you should just do it." Tony stumbles toward the refrigerator. Pulling it open, he grabs the last beer can from the shelf. "Stupid little fucker."
Jordan watches as Tony pops the top and takes a long drink from it. "Dad, if one of the bills need to be paid, just tell me which one. I'll go pay it myself. But don't expect me to just hand you money. Our lights got turned off last time because you went on a beer run with the money I gave you."
"Damn it, Jordan. I've looked after you all these years. The least you could do is loan your old man a few dollars." Tony tilts the beer back and finishes it. Crushing it in his hand, he tosses it toward the trash, missing it by a mile. "You're an ungrateful little shit. All I asked for was a few bucks. What I should do is make your sorry ass pay rent. Or just kick your ass out. God damn, you're 18 now. I've done what I was supposed to do."
Jordan leans back against the counter and closes his eyes. "Dad, I told you. I don't have the money to give you. If you need me to pay something I will, but I'm not giving you my money to buy beer."
Tony starts to curse and staggers out of the room. Jordan listens as he slams his bedroom door. At least this time Tony had walked away. A lot of times he didn't. He usually kept on until Jordan would get fed up and leave. It was the third night in less than a week that Tony had asked for money.
Jordan really didn't like talking to anyone about his dad. Or his home life in general. He pretty much kept it to himself. Well, except for Shane. Shane knew all about it. He had been there through it all with him.
He found himself really wanting to head over to the Chase house and talk to Angela about it, something he'd never done before. He wanted to shield her from this part of him. Much like he'd tried to shield her from his friends the first time they were together. He hadn't wanted to expose her to the type of things that he and his friends were doing.
It wasn't as if he didn't think she could handle it, knowing about how things were for him. It was because he didn't want her to have to. She had two parents that loved her. That would do anything for her. Tony didn't give a damn about him and hadn't for a long, long time.
Walking over to the phone, he picks it up. Dialing out Shane's number, he listens as it rings. After he asks for Shane, he holds the phone to his ear and waits.
"Hey, Jay. What's up?" Shane sounded concerned. He knew that Jordan wouldn't call him unless he needed him.
"Nothin'. I just need to split for a while. Tony is at me again and I need to get out of here. Wanna head over to the loft with me or something?" He starts biting at his thumb as he waits for Shane to answer.
"Man, it's getting kinda late. And we got school tomorrow. Mom'll get pissed if I head out now. Why don't you just come and crash on the couch? I know she won't care." Shane's house had been a refuge for Jordan many times in the past.
"No, man. It's ok. I didn't realize how late it was. I'll be alright. Maybe I'll just drive around for a while." Jordan says goodbye to Shane and hangs up.
Pulling his keys from his pocket, he heads out the door. Since he'd come straight home, he hadn't even eaten. He'd planned to shower and then eat a bowl of cereal. Having found Tony in his room, he'd done neither. Both would have to wait.
After driving around aimlessly for a while, thinking about everything, he heads to Angela. Seeing her, being near her always made him feel better. Maybe Patty would let him talk to her for a few minutes if she wasn't in bed. Pulling up to the curb, he shuts off the engine.
He makes his way around to the back door. It was almost 11 o'clock, so he didn't want to ring the bell and wake Dani if she was already in bed. Seeing that the kitchen light was on, he rapped lightly against the glass.
It only took a few seconds for Patty to come to the door. She took one look at him, still in his greasy work clothes and ushered him inside. Other than hello, she didn't say anything to him. She went to the fridge and got the stuff to make him a sandwich. After placing it in front of him, she watched as he ate.
When he was finished, she took the plate from him and put it in the dishwasher. Only then did she say, "Jordan, honey, you know you can always come here if you need to, don't you? No matter what."
He looks up at Patty before he looks away. Uncomfortable with her mothering, her instant understanding, he says, "I know. I didn't come here for food, but thanks." He thinks if he pretends to not know what she meant that she'll let it go.
Watching him shift, not meeting her eyes, Patty walks over and puts her hand on his arm. Giving it a squeeze, she says, "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I'm here for you if you need me."
"Thanks, Patty," he says, looking over at her.
"Angela's up in her room. I'm not sure if she's sleeping. I'll send her down, but you know Graham will be here soon and it is a school night." She leans over and kisses him on the forehead. "Good night, honey."
He waits until Patty is out of the room before lowering his head. It's all he can do to keep the tears at bay. He isn't used to having anyone offer him that kind of support. He was used to dealing with it on his own.
He walks over to the sink and pours himself a glass of water. As he leans against the counter drinking, he hears Angela coming down the stairs. He keeps his back to the door just long enough to take a deep breath and regain his composure.
Turning toward Angela, he tries to control his emotions. He pastes a smile on his face and says, " Hey, Red. " It comes out sounding strained. He immediately clears his throat.
He takes in her disheveled appearance as she walks toward him. She looks as if she'd just woke up. She's wearing his t shirt, the one she'd worn a home a few weeks ago, and a pair of sweat pants. Her hair is tangled and there's a red mark on her cheek as if she'd fallen asleep with her hand under her face or something. To him, she looked adorable. Just seeing her this way helped to lighten his mood just a little.
Standing in front of him, she searches his face. Reaching up to him, she slips her arms around his neck. She draws him down to her and hugs him tight. He wraps his arms around her waist and buries his face in her hair. Without him saying a word, she had picked up on his mood. For several long moments they stood that way.
She leans back in his embrace just enough so that she could see his face. "What's wrong, Jordan?"
"Nothing. I just needed to see you. " He tries to school his features into that blank expression that's always worked before. It didn't work with Angela, though.
When he tries to duck his head, she cups his cheek and moves his eyes back up to hers. "Is it Tony? What did he do?" She feels him try to shut down. His body tenses and he starts to withdraw from their shared embrace. She holds on tight. "It's ok. You don't have to tell me. "
He leans back against the sink and pulls her with him. Moving his hands up to her shoulders, he says, "I'm sorry. It's just hard, you know? I wanna talk to you about it, about him, but," he sighs, "I just don't want you to worry about it. I shouldn't have come here." He looks away from her probing stare.
"Yes, you should have. And you know you can talk to me about anything. I'm not as innocent as you think. I know that he treats you like crap. I know that he isn't there for you". When he refuses to look at her, she says, "Do you think knowing is going to change how I feel? Make me think less of you?"
"No, that's not it. It's just different for you. You've got Patty and Graham. Compared to Tony, they're like parents of the year." He drops his hands to his sides. "You don't know what it's like for me."
"So tell me what it's like. I'll listen. Let me be there for you." Angela lets her hands travel down to his chest. When he still won't look at her, just continues to stand in silence, she backs up to the island and climbs onto the counter to sit in front of him. Losing her patience, she snaps, "Why did you even come over here? Just to wake me up? Because obviously you don't want to talk to me."
Throwing his hands up, he says, "I told you. I just wanted to see you. I'm sorry I woke you up or whatever. Why don't you run on back to bed? I'll just go drive around in my car or something." He pushes off from the counter and heads to the door.
Angela jumps down, turning her back to him. She hears the backdoor open and then close again. Pushing her hands through her tangled hair, she growls in frustration. She hadn't meant to get mad at him. She could tell that he was having a difficult time and she knew it had to do with Tony. She just wished that he would open up to her about it.
She turns to leave the kitchen. She walks to the door, reaches for the doorknob and turns it. Pulling it open, she finds Jordan sitting on the steps. His head is down, his hands pushing through his hair. He doesn't even look up at her. She pulls the door closed as she steps out. "Angela, just go back in, ok? Your dad will be here soon and I don't want you to get in trouble." He drops his hands down to rest on his knees.
She nudges him over and sits on the step beside him. "He won't be here for a while yet. They have to close up. When I left, there was some type of private party going on and there's no telling what time it will clear out." She takes one of his hands in hers and sits quietly with him for a few minutes.
He finally turns to her, looking at her sideways. "I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to stay there. With him, you know, always on my case." He leans his head back to look toward the sky, blowing out a breath. "This time, it's because I won't give him money. I came home and he was tossing my room looking for my stash. It's always worse when he works days."
She doesn't say anything. She doesn't want to interrupt him because it's the most he's ever said to her about Tony Catalano. Laying her head against his shoulder, she waits, hoping that he'll continue, but fearing he won't.
Leaning his head against hers, he says, "I keep telling myself that I can put up with it until June, but I dunno if I can. I mean, I can't afford my own apartment, not even if Uncle Jimmy lets me stay over the garage for free. I still need food and gas and stuff. Well, I could afford it if I stopped putting all my money away." Realizing what he said, he clams up again. He wasn't ready to talk to her about his plans to leave Three Rivers after graduation.
For several long minutes they sit in silence. "Are you going home tonight? Is it ok for you to go there?" She plays with the leather strap tied around his wrist.
"Yeah. He should be asleep by the time I get back. I just needed to get away from him for a while." Jordan stands up and turns to face her. Taking her by the hands, he pulls her up with him. "I'm sorry I woke you up. I was driving around and I ended up here."
"I'm glad you came by. I hadn't been asleep long." With her standing on the top step and him on the ground, they were eye to eye. She tugs on his hands to bring him closer and wraps her arms around him again. "It is getting late. You still have to get home and shower. Do you want me to ride the bus in the morning? So you can sleep in?"
He lifts his hands to rest on her hips. Laying his forehead against hers, he says, "Nah, I'd rather pick you up instead. It's the only time we get to be alone anymore."
"When does Tony go back on night shift? Soon?" She lets her hand drop down to his jeans and slips them inside his back pockets. "Then we can be alone. In your bedroom. All by ourselves."
Since their first time together, they'd only been together twice more. Besides the fact that they were never alone, Jordan didn't want her to feel pressured or anything. And when they were alone, just the two of them, it was in his car. They'd met in the boiler room a few times, but by mutual agreement, that wasn't an option.
He chuckles, knowing exactly what she's getting at. "He goes back on Monday night. And I've never been more ready. I won't have to see him at all. Then I won't have to listen to his crap."
She squeezes his butt through his jeans. "Uh. What about, you know? You aren't ready for that? Gosh, it's been like weeks."
"Dang, girl. Is that all you think about anymore? You mention it at least once a day." He pretends to be put out by here questions, but it makes him happy just knowing that she wants to be with him as much as he want to be with her.
"Fine. If it bothers you that I want to, we don't ever have to do it again." she says, cheekily.
"Oh, I didn't say I was bothered by it. I kinda like knowing that you can't wait to get me alone." He leans in and presses his lips to hers. Lingering for a few seconds before he pulls back. "Get inside before Graham comes home to find us out here." He hugs her tight before letting her go. "I'll see you in the morning."
Angela watches him walk around the side of the house before turning and going back inside.