Jennie's POV
Jisoo's text reads 2875 Cornell Rd, which I copy and paste into my maps program, which says the drive is fifteen minutes. What could be going on there that Jisoo could possibly need me?
I'm just as confused when I arrive at the address as I was when I left my room. Kai has called twice, both of which I've ignored; I need the navigation to stay on the screen and, honestly, the confused look on his face when I left him there is haunting me.
The houses on the street are all large and look like mansions. This house in particular is at least three times larger than my mother's. It's an old-fashioned brick house with a sloped yard that makes it appear to be sitting on a hill. Even under the streetlights, it's beautiful. I'm guessing this must be Lisa's father's house, since this doesn't belong to a college kid and it's the only reason why Jisoo would be here as well. I take a deep breath, get out, and walk up the steps from the sidewalk. I knock hard on the dark mahogany door, and it opens within seconds.
"Jennie, thank you for coming. I'm sorry, I know you have company. Is Kai with you?" Jisoo asks and looks out to the car while gesturing me inside.
"No, he's back at the dorms. What's going on? Where's Lisa?"
"The backyard. She is out of control." She sighs.
"And I am here because . . .?" I ask as nicely as I can. What does Lisa being out of control have to do with me?
"I don't know, I know you hate her, but you do talk to her. She''s really drunk, completely belligerent. She showed up here and opened a bottle of her father's scotch. She drank over half the bottle! And then she started breaking things: all my mother's dishes, a glass cabinet, basically everything she could get her hands on."
"What? Why?" Lisa told me she doesn't drink—was that a lie, too?
"Her dad just told her that he and my mother are getting married . . ." "Okay?" I'm still confused. "So Lisa doesn't want them to get married?"
I ask as Jisoo leads me through the large kitchen, where I gasp as I take in the huge mess Lisa has made. Broken dishes are scattered across the floor, and a large wooden cabinet has been knocked over, its glass panels shattered.
"No, but it's a long story. Right after her dad called and told her, they left town for the weekend to celebrate. I think that's why Lisa came here, to confront her dad. She never comes here," she explains and opens the back door.
I see a shadow sitting at a small table on the patio. Lisa.
"I don't know what you think I can do, but I'll try."
Jisoo nods. She leans down and puts her hand on my shoulder.
"She was calling out for you," she tells me quietly, and my heart stops.
I walk toward Lisa and when she looks up at me. Her eyes are bloodshot, and her hair is hidden under a gray beanie. Her eyes go wide, then darken, and I want to step back. She looks almost scary under the dim patio light.
"How did you get here—" Lisa says loudly and stands up.
"Jisoo . . . she . . ." I answer, then wish I hadn't.
"You fucking called her?" she yells toward Jisoo, who for her part walks back inside.
"You leave her alone, Lisa—she is worried about you," I scold.
She sits back down, gesturing for me to take a seat, too. I sit across from her and watch as she grabs the mostly empty bottle of dark liquor and puts it to her mouth. I watch her Adam's apple move as she gulps it down. When she's finished, she slams the bottle down onto the glass of the patio table and it makes me jump, thinking either the bottle or the table or both might break.
"Aww, aren't you two something. You both are so predictable. Poor Lisa is upset, so you gang up on me and try to make me feel bad for breaking some shitty china," she drawls with a sick smirk.
"I thought you don't drink?" I ask her and cross my arms.
"I don't. Until now, I guess. Don't try to patronize me; you're no better than me." She points a finger at me, then grabs the bottle for another swig.
And it's scary, but I can't deny that being near her, even in her drunken state, breathes life into me. I have missed the feeling Lisa gives me.
"I never said I was better than you. I just want to know what made you drink now?"
"What does it matter to you? Where's your boyfriend?" Her eyes blaze into mine and the emotion behind them is so strong that I am forced to look away. If only I knew what that emotion was; hatred, I suppose.
"He's back in my room. I just want to help you, Lisa." I lean a little over the table to reach for her hand, but she recoils from my touch.
"Help me?" she cackles. I want to ask her why she was calling out for me if she is going to continue to be hateful, but I don't want to throw Jisoo under the bus again. "If you want to help me, then leave."
"Why won't you just tell me what's going on?" I look down at my hands and pick at my fingernails.
She sighs and pulls her beanie off and runs her hand through her hair before pulling it back on. "My father decided to tell me just now that he is marrying Karen—and the wedding's next month. He should have told me long ago, and not over the phone. I'm sure perfect little Jisoo's known for a while."
Oh. I hadn't actually expected her to tell me, so I am not sure what to say. "I am sure he had his reasons not to tell you."
"You don't know him; he doesn't give a shit about me. You know how many times I have talked to him in the last year? Maybe ten! All he cares about is his big house, his new soon-to-be wife, and his new, perfect daughter." Lisa slurs and takes another drink. I stay quiet while she continues. "You should see the dump that my mum lives in Thailand. She says she likes it there, but I know she doesn't. It's smaller than my dad's bedroom here! My mum practically forced me to come here for university, to be closer to him—and we see how that worked out!"
With this little bit of information she has given me I feel like I can understand her so much better. Lisa's hurt; that's why she is the way she is.
"How old were you when he left?" I ask her.
She eyes me warily but answers. "Ten. But even before he left, he was never around. He was at a different bar every night. Now he's Mr. Perfect and he has all this shit," Lisa says and waves her hand toward the house.
Lisa's dad left when she was ten, just like mine, and they were both drunks. We have more in common than I thought. This wounded and drunk Lisa seems so much younger, so much more fragile than the powerful person I've known so far.
"I'm sorry that he left you guys, but—"
"No, I don't need your pity," she interrupts.
"It's not pity. I'm just trying to—"
"Trying to what?"
"Help you. Be here for you," I say softly.
And she smiles. It's a beautifully haunting smile, and makes me hopeful that I can help her through this, but I know what is really about to happen.
"You are so pathetic. Don't you see that I don't want you here? I don't want you to be here for me. Just because I messed around with you doesn't mean I want anything to do with you. Yet here you are, leaving your nice boyfriend—who can actually stand to be around you—to come here and try to 'help' me. That, Jennie, is the definition of pathetic," she says, punctuating it with air quotes.
Her voice is full of venom, just like I knew it would be, but I ignore the pain in my chest and look at her. "You don't mean that." I think back to a week ago when she was laughing and tossing me into the water. I can't decide if she is a great actor, or a great liar.
"I do, though; go home," she tells me and raises the bottle to take another drink. Reaching across the table, I snatch it from her and toss it into the yard.
"What the hell?" she yells, but I ignore her and walk toward the back door.
I hear her scramble and then she steps in front of me. "Where are you going?" Her face is inches from mine.
"I am going to help Jisoo clean up the mess you made and then I am going home." My voice comes out much calmer than I feel.
"Why would you help her?" The disgust in her voice is clear.
"Because she, unlike you, deserves for someone to help her," I say and her face falls. I should be saying much more to Lisa. I should scream at her for the hurtful things she just said to me, but I know that is what she wants. This is what she does: she hurts everyone near her and she gets a kick out of the chaos that comes out of that.
Lisa quietly steps out of my way.
When I go inside, I find Jisoo crouched over, pulling the cabinet upright.
"Where's the broom?" I ask when she's done. Jisoo looks at me with a thankful smile.
"Right over there," she says, motioning to the broom. "Thank you for everything."
I nod and begin sweeping up the smashed dishes. There are just so many. I feel terrible that when Jisoo's mom comes back she'll find all of her dishes gone. I hope they didn't have any sentimental value to her.
"Ouch!" I gasp when a small piece of glass digs into my finger. Droplets of blood fall onto the wooden floor, and I jump up to reach the sink.
"Are you okay?" Jisoo asks, worried.
"Yeah, it's just a little piece, I don't know why there is so much blood." It really doesn't hurt that bad. I close my eyes as the cold water runs over my finger, and after a couple of minutes I hear the back door open. I snap my eyes open and turn to see Lisa standing in the doorway.
"Jennie, can I talk to you, please?" she asks.
I know I should say no, but something about the redness around her eyes makes me nod. Her eyes look to my hand and then the blood on the floor.
She walks over to me quickly. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"It's nothing, just a little glass," I tell her.
She reaches for my hand and pulls it out from under the water. And when she touches my arm, I feel the electricity. Looking at my finger, she frowns, then lets it go, walking over to Jisoo. She was just calling me pathetic, now she is acting all concerned about my health? She is going to make me crazy, literally crazy, as in locked in a padded room.
"Where are the Band-Aids?" she practically demands of Jisoo, and Jisoo tells her they're in the bathroom. Within a minute Lisa is back and she grabs my hand again. First she squeezes some antibacterial gel onto my cut, then she wraps a Band-Aid around my finger gently. I stay quiet, as confused by Lisa's actions as Jisoo looks.
"Can I talk to you, please?" she asks again, and thought I know I shouldn't, since when do I do what I should when Lisa is involved?
I nod, and she wraps her fingers around my wrist and leads me outside.