Chapter Two
In August of 1999, my parents messy divorced was finally set in stone. They had been going to court for the past couple of months and my mom was court ordered to check herself into a rehab facility. It was hard on us all, although my mom had been an alcoholic since I could remember. It was sad to see someone's life be over-taken by alcohol like my mom's had. My mother was beautiful, she just lived an unfortunate life. She was a graduate from the University of West Virginia where she met my father and later became a writer in the local paper. They married a few years later and had my sister, Ashleigh whom was 19 at the time of their divorce. After I was born, my mom lost her job when they told her that they would be hiring a new, younger girl to work her music column. She couldn't find work anywhere and it was discouraging to her. She started drinking heavily and my father relied on my sister and I to take care of her and things around the house. We would get home from school around 2:30 in the afternoon and find her passed out on the couch with an open Bud Light and a half-empty bottle of Jameson on the coffee table in front of her. Those days were the easiest. It was the days that she would get a late start on drinking that were the toughest. She would be half in the bag when we came home demanding that we did this and that. She would take a lot of her anger out on my sister and myself and latched out in violence most of the time. I loved her, but by no means should a mother put her hands on her 10 and 8 year old. She checked herself into rehab and began attending AA classes after receiving her first DUI. She spent three years in prison and was clean when she came out. After learning that my dad was thinking about leaving her the first time, she turned back to the bottle and thought that he might be able to help her. She had refused it a thousand times and finally, one day he threw divorce papers in front of her. She agreed and full custody was granted to my father. He wanted to get us out of West Virginia and offered to buy my grandparents house that summer. They agreed and moved to a small condo in Brecksville, about 25 minutes away from Mince. Mince was smaller than Mount Elias, WV which was where we were living before. It was right outside of Cuyahoga Falls and had about 560 or so people living there. My dad swore up and down that we were going to love the place, but I honestly didn't know how to feel. Moving before your senior year in high school isn't ideal for most people. I was a very shy and timid person to begin with and having to make friends all over again wasn't something that I was completely interested in.
The first day that we arrived was pretty hectic. My grandparents let my dad keep most of the furniture that was in the house, but we brought a lot of our old stuff, too. I was finishing up unpacking boxes when my sister came into my room. It was rare. Ashleigh and I were two completely different people: it's always been like that. For her to even come in my room was weird.
"You doing okay?" she asked me as she stood in my doorway.
"Yep," I replied.
"Do you have any plans tonight?"
"Just finishing up unpacking. Probably going to take a shower and lay down. I have school orientation in the morning, apparently,"
"On a Thursday?" she asked.
"I guess. That's what the counselor told dad. I have to pick my classes and stuff,"
"Oh, okay," Ashleigh replied. She was attending Kent State in a few weeks. The school was pretty close to Mince, so my dad told her that she couldn't stay in the dorms her first year and advised her to just commute.
"Why?"
"Well, when I was at the gas station earlier I passed this bar. I guess they have a 16 and over night tonight and line dance lessons. Would you want to go? I think it'll be fun,"
"I'll pass," I replied.
"Come on Aubs. I think it'll be a good idea to get out for awhile. After all of this shit that's been going on the past few months it'll be good to let some steam off,"
"I don't know Ash. I'm really not up for it. I just want to stay in,"
"Like always," she said to me, crossing her arms over her chest.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You never want to do anything. You're always in your room by yourself. It's not healthy. You're a teenager. You should want to go out and have fun. Come on. Please. I'm begging. I really want to go and I don't want to go by myself,"
I thought about it for a moment. One night out before school started really wouldn't hurt, right? "Ugh, fine. I'll go," I told her. "I don't know how to dance though,"
"So? That doesn't matter. They offer lessons, plus I can't dance either. We'll learn together," she paused for a moment. "Get dressed and meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes,"
I kept my outfit choice simple that night while Ashleigh chose to get dolled up. In no time, we had arrived at the bar called "Whiskey River". It was packed with people from wall to wall, and even more on the dance floor it seemed like. Music was blaring through the speakers. There were no tables left, so Ash and I stood awkwardly for about 10 minutes before deciding to join in on the dancing. It had been a long time since either of us had line danced, but we figured we had to have some skill left in us. We were soon proven wrong. Most of these teenagers were probably regulars and damn, they were good. The song changed over to Mark Chestnutt's "Bubba Shot the Jukebox" and the place went wild! We decided to stay in the very back and just observe. Ashleigh had quickly caught on by the second verse which discouraged me a little bit. I had given up all hope though when I felt my entire backside land on the wooden floor.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" I heard a gentleman tell me.
"You should be, asshole! Did you not see us right here?!" Ashleigh exclaimed over the music.
"It was an accident, I am so sorry," he said.
I grabbed onto Ash's hand as she pulled me up onto my feet. After re-gaining my balance I turned around to the guy that had bumped into me. I knew that it was an accident, but of course, Ashleigh had to make a bigger deal out of it than necessary.
"Do you want some ice or something?" I heard him ask me. All of a sudden, my brain turned to mush. He was cute and had these deep, blue, magnetic eyes that you could feel yourself get lost in. He stood about 5'll and had a slim figure with short brunette hair.
"I'm okay, I promise. I know it was an accident. It's okay," I replied after a moment of awkward silence.
"I feel horrible,"
"Don't. I'm a klutz. It was bound to happen anyway," I replied. This was weird. I was actually talking to a guy. This was different. This has never happened before.
"I really do feel bad. I probably ruined your night,"
"You didn't," I exclaimed over the music.
"I'm Jackson! What's your name?" he asked.
"I'm Aubrey. This is Ashleigh," I told him.
"It's nice to meet y'all. You guys want a drink or something? We have a table over there,"
"Yeah, sure," Ashleigh said, flashing a smile in his direction. We began to follow Jackson over to the table that was tucked away in the far corner of the bar.
"What can I get y'all to drink? My treat," he said.
"Water's good," I told him.
"Same," Ashleigh replied.
Jackson chuckled. "You guys must not be from around here. They really don't check IDs once you wash the black X's off of your hands," "I can get you a beer if you want,"
"Nope, water's good for the both of us," Ashleigh told him. Jackson shrugged and began making his way to the bar. "Aubs, he's cute," she told me in a sing-song voice as soon as he was out of sight.
"Ashleigh!" I exclaimed.
"What? I'm not saying you have to marry the kid. Just maybe fool around a little bit," she joked.
"You're horrible," I told her, as I focused my gaze back on the dance floor. I was in so much pain right now, but I wasn't going to let her know that. I could feel a bruise forming on my backside and on my ass, but I wasn't going to ruin my sister's night. Jackson made his way back in no time and set the drinks down in front of us.
"Thank you," Ashleigh replied.
"Yeah, no problem," he said, taking a sip out of his Budweiser. We sat in silence for a few more minutes until three other guys began to make their way over to the table.
"Dude, we have been looking for you everywhere," the blonde said.
"I've been here. Had a little mishap on the dance floor but its okay now,"
"Whose this?" the shorter brunette asked.
"This was my little mishap on the dance floor. I accidentally knocked Aubrey over. And this is her friend Ashleigh,"
"Sister, actually," Ashleigh said, flashing a flirtatious smile their way.
"See, Jax this is why I can't take you anywhere," the blonde replied. "I'm Trenton. I'm his older brother. If he keeps misbehaving, tell me," he joked.
"Fucking hilarious dude," Jax said. One of the other guys punched him on his shoulder and cleared his throat. "Calm your pants, dude. These are my two friends Caleb and Nick,"
"Best friends," the shorter brunette chimed in and put his arm around Jax.
"Nice to meet y'all," I replied. The song changed in rotation and the guys soon asked us if we wanted to dance. Jax and I declined, so Caleb whisked Ashleigh off to the dance floor. "Don't let me ruin your good time," I told him.
"You're not," he smiled. "I'm not much of a dancer. I just come to get out of the house,"
"Yeah, same," I told him. More awkward silence.
"Wanna go outside for a minute? I could use a cig," he told me. I nodded in reply and we made our way onto the deck. Despite it being muggy, it was still a nice night. The stars were out and the sky was clear. It was pretty quiet out here, too compared to inside. A few other people were taking breaks, too so the outdoor bar was in full use. It was peaceful.
"Smoke?" Jax asked me, as he pulled his Marlboros out of his back pocket.
"No thanks," I told him.
He lit his cigarette and took a long drag. "So, where are you from?" he began after a moment of silence.
"Mount Elias, West Virginia. It's about a half an hour or so out of Charleston. It's a nice, quaint small town," I explained.
"So not much of a change for you moving here, right?"
"Not that I can tell," I chuckled.
"That's good. That's gotta be hard though, moving right before your senior year of high school,"
"It is, but there's nothing I can do it about it in all honesty," I told him. "My dad wanted to move so we couldn't say no,"
"Why the move all of a sudden?" he asked me.
"What is this, 20 questions?" I chuckled.
"I'm just trying to get to know you," he replied. "That's all. Just trying to figure you out. You're easy to read,"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
He took another drag off of his cigarette. "It means that you wear your heart on your sleeve. You show your emotions. You show when you're nervous, when you're happy. You show it all, Aubrey,"
"You barely know me," I replied.
"So? I'd like to get to know you. I think you're beautiful and you seem like a great girl. I'll bet we have a lot in common,"
I was blushing by this point. It was rare that guys ever talked to me, yet flirted with me. I was definitely feeling his vibe. I think. Jackson was a lot harder to read than I was, apparently. "Well, thank you," I began. "But how do you know we have a lot in common?"
"Please. Both from small towns. Clearly like country music. Older siblings dragged us here on a Wednesday night. Pretty good start if you ask me," he put his cigarette out and took a seat next to me at the other wooden deck chair.
"Well, yeah," I chuckled. "The obvious things,"
He laughed, too. "What do you want to do after you graduate high school?"
"I'm actually going to Vanderbilt for music. Or, at least I plan to that is. If I get in,"
"That's awesome. What all do you do music wise?"
"I sing and I write. Dabble in guitar a little bit,"
"Thats pretty amazing," Jackson began.
"What about you?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure, actually. I have a couple of ideas in mind..."
"Like?" I asked him.
"Music, too. I'm thinking about high tailing it to Nashville when schools over"
"That's fantastic," I told him. After that, all of the awkwardness just seemed to disappear. We had began to talk about some of our dreams and aspirations of music and just life, in general. I couldn't believe how long we had been sitting there for. Jax was the easiest guy to talk to, however. I just couldn't stop sharing parts of my life with him.
"You ready to go?" Ashleigh asked me. "I'm beat, and you have school tomorrow," she laughed.
It hadn't crossed my mind that we were out here talking for nearly three hours until Ash asked if I was ready to go. "Yeah, that's fine," I told her.
"Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," Jax told me.
I nodded and smiled at him. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you then," I said, disappointment lingering in my every word. The entire ride home, I was silent. For once, I couldn't get my mind off of a boy.