Yesterday was possibly the best and worst day ever. I had gotten to see Jack play but it brought back some bad memories. Then there was, the kiss. I wasn't to sure what category that fell under. Maybe that was the thing that made it all that odd. He had kissed me., well tried. If Harold hadn't come in it would have been a kiss. I wasn't complaining, or was I? I wasn't sure but last night was rough. It was hard for me to fall asleep and when I did I just woke back up. I barely remember anything that did happen. But today I was feeling better. I had slept the rest of the night. Now I just needed to get my ass out of bed.
I stretched my arms over my head and rolled over to my other side. I let out a squeal when I turned to face Jack.
"I didn't think I was that scary in the morning." he laughed. I sighed and held my hand to my chest.
"I'm sorry. You scared me." I told him. I thought for a moment and looked at him. "Why am I in your bed?" I asked. He grinned and leaned back on his headboard.
"You don't remember?" he asked casually. I felt my heart beat faster and looked around. I was in his room and I felt my clothes on, so hopefully nothing happened. Well, I wouldn't complain if they did. Well, I didn't remember…Oh I need to hush.
"Remember what?" I asked hesitantly. He smiled again and lit a cigarette.
"You came in here last night and said you couldn't sleep. Nothing happened, I promise." he told me inhaling the smoke. I nodded and looked around.
"We fit on this bed comfortably?" I asked noticing how tiny his bed was.
"Actually you slept on me. But I'm not complaining." he winked. I smirked and moved one leg over his body so I was straddling him. He smirked and moved his cigarette.
"I bet." I smiled and finished crawling over him to leave.
"That's not fair, Em." he called out to me. I shut his door and walked out. I laughed to myself and looked right into the face of Bobby. My smiled faded and I swear I saw smoke flowing out his ears.
"What the FUCK?!" he yelled and kicked Jack's door open. I tried to grab his arm and he shrugged me off. "What the hell Jack?! She's 17! You know better. Ma told you to stay away from her!" he bellowed picking Jack up by his throat.
"BOBBY!!" I screamed and hit his back. He pushed me back and I fell on my butt.
"What the hell? Bobby, nothing happened!" Jack screamed. I saw Bobby tighten his grip and I scrambled up and ran into the hall. I banged on Angel's door and he opened it.
"He's gonna kill him!" I yelled. He ran past me into Jack's room and pulled Bobby off Jack. I ran over to Jack on the floor and held him.
"You jackass!" I screamed at Bobby. He glared at me and then Jack.
"He took advantage of you!" he yelled. I stood up and walked over to him. I stared at him for a moment and watched as his face turned into shock when my palm came across his cheek.
"If that's how you see me, then fuck you, Bobby Mercer. And if you think that of Jack, go to hell. I couldn't sleep last night. I kept dreaming of the night my parents died." I jabbed him in the chest with my finger. "I kept seeing the police officers walking down to my teacher. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that night. I needed someone to help me. I came to Jack and he held me while I cried. Nothing like that happened!" I screamed in his face. He swallowed hard and looked away. I felt the tears fall from my eyes and down my cheeks as I glared at him.
"I'm sorry." he whispered. He pulled out of Angel's grasp and looked at me one last time before leaving. Angel wrapped an arm around me and looked down.
"I'm gonna talk to him. Just calm down. I'll get Ma to make you breakfast." he said and walked out. I let out a sob as Jack turned me to face him.
"Calm down." he whispered. I shook my head and looked at him.
"No. He practically called me a slut and accused you of taking advantage of me, Jack!" I yelled. He pulled me back to him and held me tight.
"Calm down, Emilie." he told me firmly. "He was looking out for you." he told me. I sighed and pulled away from him.
"Why? Does he seriously not trust me with you? Why did Evelyn tell you to stay away?" I asked him. He looked away and sighed. "Tell me, Jack." I told him. He sat down and leaned his elbows on his knees.
"If you think Lydia was bad, you don't wanna ask about the others." he said softly. I sat next to him.
"Talk to me." I whispered. He looked over and shook his head.
"You wouldn't look at me the same." he said. I put my finger under his chin and made him look at me.
"Tell me." I ordered again.
"I haven't had the best past." he started. "I got into a bad scene a while ago. Evelyn had a hard time keeping up with me and it got me into some trouble." he told me. I nodded and kept my gaze on him.
"Are you gonna keep being vague or will you tell me the whole truth?" I asked. He looked over at me and smirked.
"Pushy much?" he smiled. I smiled back and nodded.
"Very. Now I spilled my secrets to you. Spill yours to me. You'll still be Jack to me." I told him.
"I started hanging out with these guys in about 10th grade. I was 16, I just got a car. I thought I was the hot shit. And I was for a while. My Mercer last name said it all." he started. "I started doing not so big drugs and after a while it got to bigger drugs." he told me.
"Like really bad ones?" I asked. He sighed and pulled up his sleeves to show my the old needle marks. I held back tears and rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry." I whispered. He pulled them back down and continued.
"I started to skip school and pull away from Evelyn and my brothers. I uh, I started with girls not too long after I turned 17. I went to parties and hooked up with a few and then met some more." he confessed. "I was really messed up one night and a friend of mine handed me a bottle of pills. He said it would make it easier to get the newbie girls, as he called them."
"The virgins?" I asked. He nodded and took a deep breath.
"I started using it and…" he trailed off.
"You drugged them and slept with them?" I clarified. He stood up and walked away.
"Yes. A party got caught one night after I was 18 and I got busted with the pills and an underage girl. She was 17 so I didn't get in much trouble. But I did get a month in juvy and 2 years probation. I got off a year ago." he told me. I nodded and let his words settle. "I'm not that guy anymore, Em." he said walking back over to me.
"I know." I whispered.
"I knew you'd take it this way." he said walking back over to the other side of the room. I stood up and walked over to him.
"Jack, do you do drugs?" I asked.
"No. I smoke and that's it." he told me.
"Do you do any of the thing you use to?" I asked again. He turned to me and shook his head.
"No, none of it. I got better. I wouldn't dare touch that shit again." he said softly. I smiled and grabbed his face.
"Ok then. I have nothing to worry about. Everyone has a past, Jack. Some are better or worse than others. I'm not going to judge you because of your past." I promised him. He nodded and sighed.
"But do you see why Bobby flipped?" he asked. I sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. I guess I should apologize to him." I said. He smiled and nodded.
"Maybe just a little." he said. I nodded and pulled him in for a hug.
"Thank you for telling me." I told him as I pulled away.
"Thank you for not judging me." he said as I walked out. I closed his door and walked downstairs. I saw Angel in the kitchen with Evelyn.
"Where's Bobby?" I asked at the doorway. They looked up and pointed outside. I nodded and walked to the front door. I opened it and saw Bobby sitting on the front porch. He looked up and sighed.
"Come to yell at me more?" he asked. I shook my head and sat next to him.
"No. I came to apologize." I told him. He looked at me and shook his head.
"No. You shouldn't have to. I know Jack's not like that and you aren't that kinda girl." he said putting his cigarette out.
"Jack told me about his past. The girls and the drugs." I told him. He looked shocked for a minute.
"I'm surprised he told you." he said.
"Well, he did. And I'm sorry for going off on you like that. I know now you were worried about me." I told him. He nodded and stood up.
"I'm sorry for jumping too quick. I should have listened first. Maybe I should talk to Jack too." he told me. I nodded and followed him inside.
"Yeah, that might be nice. I think you might have left bruises." I told him. He sighed and walked upstairs. I walked back into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
"So is everything okay?" Evelyn asked setting a plate in front of me. I sighed and looked at it.
"I'm sorry, I can't eat. I've lost my appetite." I told her meekly. She nodded and moved it over to Angel who happily took it. She sat next to me and smiled.
"Did you and Jack talk?" she asked. I nodded and played with my nails.
"Yeah. He told me his past with a few things that are not too nice." I told her. She understood and patted my hand.
"He's changed since then. He's a good boy." she told me. I smiled a little and looked at her.
"I know." I assured her. "It's just hard to picture him like that." I explained.
"I know. I didn't believe it even when he started to get skinny. But he was my baby." she told me. I sighed and looked over at Angel.
"When do you leave?" I asked. He swallowed the food in his mouth after a glare from Evelyn.
"I think three days after your birthday." he told me. I nodded and he grinned. "You gonna miss me?" he asked.
"Of course. You're me savior!" I exclaimed sitting on his lap. "At least you'll be here for my party." I told him. He nodded and finished eating around me.
"I wouldn't miss it. You having a party?" he asked. I shook my head and wrinkled my nose.
"No, I'll be fine without one." I told him. I heard Evelyn gasp and I looked over at her.
"You most definitely have a party. You're 18, we can't let that slide." she told me. I rolled my eyes and looked down at Angel.
"She do this to you?" I asked him.
"Oh yeah. If we dealt with it, so will you." he smiled.
I sighed and got off his lap. I walked out the kitchen and walked up to my room. I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes. I really didn't see Jack as that type of guy. He did drugs, bad drugs. He drugged girls to sleep with them. This was horrible but I still saw him the way he was. I know it surprised him, hell it surprised me. I wasn't some feminist bitch but I didn't like how some men treated women. It horrified me at the things I heard on t.v. and in the papers. Jack was one of those guys, granted not the worst but he was. I knew he wasn't like that anymore. I could see it in his eyes when he talked about it. He knew he made a mistake and it hurt him. Everyone makes mistakes but it takes a real man to own up to them. Jack did and he even served out his time without complaining. I'm still not sure why I didn't see him differently but I wasn't going to let it bother me. Jack was Jack. He was the one that held me through all the dark nights and the one that held me while I cried. He was different now and I was the one to vouch for him.
I had spilled my deepest secret to her. I used to drug and sleep with girls. I shot up and sniffed a bunch of stuff I shouldn't have. I had done a lot of things I'm not proud of but I don't do them anymore. I can say that and it be the honest to God truth. I changed after my short juvy stint and after my probation. I was a good boy while I was on. I stayed in my limits, I didn't even drink. I went to every meeting with my officer and told him everything that I had done. I made sure he knew that I had changed. At first he would be a bitch to me, I didn't blame him. I wanted to kick myself for the things I had done. But after a while of getting to know me he stopped looking at me like a criminal. Yes, I had made a bad choice but I owned it and I didn't complain. It wasn't that I wanted to play nice to get off easier. I wasn't giving them a hard time because I deserved what they threw at me. I deserved that and much more.
"Jack." Angel called from my door. I looked up and saw him holding the phone. I grabbed it and sat back down.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Jack, man it's Troy." Troy said through the line.
"Yeah, what's up?" I asked. I heard a few sounds in the background.
"Listen, dude we're having a get together at the lake. How about you and Emilie come out here and hang with us?" he laughed. I sighed and looked at Emilie's door through my cracked one.
"I dunno about bringing her out there." I told him.
"Paisley's here. They can hang out if they get tired of us." he told me. "Come on, get you and her out the house." he pleaded.
"Let me go ask her. Hold on." I told him. I laid the phone down and walked over to Emilie's room. I knocked and waited for her to answer. I smiled when she swung the door open.
"Hey!" she chirped. I leaned on the frame and looked her up and down. She was still in her pajama's.
"How about you get dressed and grab a bathing suit." I told her. She looked at me confused and crossed her arms.
"Why?" she asked. I laughed and scratched my head.
"Umm why else do you need a bathing suit?" I asked seriously. She rolled her eyes and smiled.
"Well, you can wash the car, go tanning, go swimming or just wear it to make the guys drool." she counted off on her fingers. I smacked her hand away.
"Well, we're going swimming. Troy wants us to come out to the lake and hang out for the afternoon. And yes, Paisley will be there." I told her. She bit her lip and looked away thinking. I laughed when she tapped her lip and scrunched up her face.
"Well, I dunno. I think you'd be quite mean in the water." she said sweetly. I faked hurt and placed my hand over my heart.
"Oww that hurt! I would never be mean." I laughed. She playfully glared at me then smiled.
"Yeah, let me get dressed and we'll go." she said. I nodded and walked back to my room. I picked up the phone and talked to Troy.
"Yeah, we're getting ready now." I told him. I heard him yell and I laughed.
"Kick ass! We'll see you there Jackie boy." he said. We hung up and I walked over to my dresser to get my swimming trunks. I changed into them and slipped a black shirt on. I walked out as Emilie was walking out. I looked at her and smirked. She had on a pair of pale pink shorts with the strings of her bikini bottom hanging over the top and a white tank top over her bikini top. I couldn't tell what her bikini looked like but I knew it was a shade of red or pink.
"Stop staring." she grinned and walked to the hall closet to grab two towels.
"I can't help it. Now if anyone else stares…" I trailed off laughing.
"You gonna go all Mercer on them?" she laughed. I nodded and wrapped an arm around her.
"Hell yeah. Teach them a lesson." I declared.
"About what? Not to look a pretty girl?" she laughed again.
"Exactly. Especially one on my arm." I said proudly. She hugged me and kissed my side.
"You're nice, ya big meanie." she smiled. We walked downstairs and I looked in the living room.
"We're going out. Be back later." I yelled to anyone close by. Ma poked her head out and looked at us.
"Where?" she asked.
"Lake with a few friends. I'm taking the car." I told her and grabbed the keys. She smiled and turned away.
We walked out to the car and made our way to the lake. We talked a little on the way but mostly we sang along with the radio. Well, it was more like yelling or belting but we had fun none the less. It was cute to see her yelling out the words to the Clash with a smile on her face. I couldn't believe she knew half the songs I put on but she kept up with me.
"So this is it?" she asked when we stepped out the car. I grabbed out towels and nodded.
"Yep. This is it. We come here all the time." I told her. I looked around and pointed out a few people.
"You know most of the people here. That red headed guy is Mark, he's an ass. So stay away from him. He likes James's cousin or something. She nodded and looked like she was about to say something when someone yelled for her.
"Emilie!" Paisley yelled from the middle of the lake. "Hurry, the water is great."
"Well, you better hurry." I laughed. She grabbed her towel from me and took off for the lake. I watched her shimmy off her short and strip her top off. She had on a pink and white stripped bikini. It didn't cover much but hey, that's how I like it. Oh I better stop there.
"Jack, Jack, Jack. Quit staring. Your Mama taught you better than that." Troy teased as I walked up to them.
"Shut up. So what's the occasion?" I asked sitting down. James handed me my guitar and smiled.
"Just a little jam session." he told me. I nodded and fiddled with my strings. We played a few songs and chatted about the upcoming weeks.
"So I talked to Jamie and he said whenever we wanted to play, just call." Troy said sipping his beer. Jamie owned this kick ass night club in Detroit. He let all kinds of bands play there. A few even got record deals.
"Well, we need to write a list of songs and get ready." I told them. They nodded and we started to play another song. I was half way through when I felt water falling over me. It wasn't a lot but it was enough. I heard her laughing and looked up at Emilie wringing her hair out over my head.
"Hey, Jackie." she greeted. I bit my lip and slowly stood up. I expected her to move away but she just smiled.
'I told you.' the menacing voice sang in my head. I waited for the other but it never came. 'See even the other one agrees. She wants you.' it sang again.
"What are you gonna do?" she smiled. I smirked and grabbed her waist. She put her hands on my chest and smiled up at me.
"I'm gonna make you pay." I told her. I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. She playfully hit my back and screamed. I heard Troy and James yelling at me.
"Get her, Jackie!!" they yelled. I ran over to the rock on the side of the lake and stood at the top.
"Don't you dare throw me, Jack." she laughed. I let her lid off my shoulder but stopped her when she was at my waist. She wrapped her legs around me and smiled.
"Why not?" I asked taking another step towards the edge.
"'Cause I'll be mad." she said looking over the edge.
"What if I go with you?" I asked. She thought for a minute and shook her head.
"Nope." she said sweetly.
"Well, I wanna throw you over. What can I do to let you let me throw you over?" I asked. She looked at me for a second and smiled.
"Kiss me." she said softly. I smirked and pulled her down to my face. I could still taste the fresh lake water in her lips as I kissed her. She ran her hands up my neck and kissed me back She pulled back and jerked us back. I tried to balance myself but we fell over the edge. I came up and heard everyone cheering. I felt someone jump on my back and felt lips on my ears.
"That was fun." Emilie whispered. I laughed and pulled her off my back. I made her face me and stared at her.
"Why'd you do that?" I asked. She smiled softly and looked away.
"I wanted to." she said softly.
"Emilie, trust me when I say this, it's not that I didn't want to, hell I didn't want to stop but-" I stared but she cut me off with another kiss. I pulled her to my chest and kissed her back. I was about to slip my tongue in when I pulled back.
"But I'm too young." she finished for me softly. I nodded sadly. She bit her lips and pulled away from me.
"Em, come here." I pleaded as she swam away. I sighed and swam to shore. I grabbed my towel and looked at Emilie. She wrapped her towel around herself and looked at me.
"I'm ready to go." she said. I nodded and looked at the group of people behind me.
"Well, I'll se you guys later." I said and walked after Emilie.
We drove home in silence and made sure we didn't look or touch one another. We got home and she went straight to her room. I sighed and walked into the living room. Bobby looked up and gave me a weird look.
"What's wrong with Em?" he asked. I laughed and sat down.
"I'm not sure if I wanna tell you. You would either hit me or not believe me." I told him.
"What happened Jack?" he asked firmly.
"She kissed me. Twice." I told him bluntly. He looked at me and bit his cheek.
"She kissed you?" he asked.
"Well, she asked me to kiss her. So I kissed her and she kissed back. Then I went to tell her that she was too young and she kissed me." I told him.
"And you kissed her back?" he asked again.
"Uh yeah. Why wouldn't I?" I asked confused.
"Well, one she's too young." he told me. I sighed and threw my head back.
"As if this is not new to you, I like her. And I know she's too young but she kissed me." I defended.
"But she's too young." he said again.
"She'll be 18 in like three weeks!" I yelled standing up. He nodded his head and sipped his beer.
"Yes and in three weeks, you can kiss her." he said casually. I rubbed my head and walked away. I walked upstairs and stopped at her door. I heard a faint whimpering and knocked.
"Em? You okay?" I asked. I heard something fall on the floor and opened her door. I looked in and saw Emilie sitting on the floor shaking.
"Jack." she muttered. I walked over to her and picked her up.
"Em, what's wrong?" I asked. She shook her head and I set her on the bed. "Bobby!" I yelled. I heard footsteps and Bobby appeared in no time. He saw her and glared at me.
"Jack!" he seethed.
"I don't know what happened. She was fine when we left." I told him. He felt he head and pulse.
"She's drugged Jack." he whispered. I stood up straight and thought for a minute.
"Mark." I growled. I went to walk away when Emilie grabbed my arm.
"Stay." she whispered. I looked over at Bobby and he nodded.
"Honey, what did you drink?" Bobby asked. Sh swallowed and looked at me.
"That red headed guy gave me a bottle of water." she told us shakily. I nodded and Bobby stood up.
"No, Bobby. Let me take care of this." I pleaded.
"She needs you." he reminded me. I grabbed my phone and dialed Troy's number.
"Then let me get James and Troy." I told him. He nodded and sat next to Emilie. I talked to Troy and told him what happened. He said James was there with him and they knew where Mark was.
"They getting it done?" Bobby asked. I nodded and kneeled in front of Emilie.
"I didn't even notice anything different." I whispered. Bobby laid a hand on my shoulder and sighed.
"It's okay. She just needs to rest and it'll wear off. You didn't let her leave your sight did you?" he asked wondering if Mark had gotten to her.
"No. Not once." I told him. Ya know I've never seen what it does to them." I said wiping a strand of hair off her face.
"What drugged?" Bobby asked. I nodded.
"I was fucked up to so I never saw how it affected them." I sighed. He nodded and looked at the door.
"Well, you stay with her. I'm going to talk to Ma and Angel." he said walking away.
"I don't want you guys to think I had anything to do with this." I said quickly.
"We know, Jack. We know." he told me. I sat back down next to Emilie and rubbed her back.
"Ya know, I don't regret kissing you." she smiled softly. I laughed and laid back next to her.
"At least now I know what possessed you to do it in the first place." I smiled.
"You didn't think I would do it sober?" she asked.
"I don't know. Would you?" I asked. She smiled again and nodded.
"In a heartbeat. But only after I'm 18, ya know." she laughed. I kissed her head and nodded.
"I'm so sorry this happened." I whispered. She patted my chest and looked up at me.
"It's not your fault." she whispered back. "What are James and Troy going to do?" she asked. I sighed and closed my eyes.
"Nothing you need to worry about." I told her. She nodded and laid back down.
I watched her fall asleep and mentally curse myself for letting her be there with Mark. I knew he still had a thing for drugs but I never though he'd do this. I let her get drugged on my watch. At least, Troy and James were taking care of it.