Out of Ruins Page 6

  He holds her close and whispers in her ear so only she can hear him. “Sorry it took me so long, Buffy. Got caught up in some drama.”

  “Were you gone long?” Her hand curves up around his neck to help her maintain her balance and he pulls back slightly, studying her face carefully.

  “I guess not, if you didn’t miss me.”

  West twists her around so he can take a seat and pulls her down onto his lap. His hands play along her waist as she situates herself on his leg.

  “Get a room,” Aubrey growls sarcastically.

  The simple comment sets Jules’ temper off. Moving to spin towards Aubrey, she forgets she’s sitting on West’s thigh. She slips sideways as her body moves faster than West can react, which causes her to plop to the grass in front of the log. The movement doesn’t faze her as she gives Aubrey a look.

  “Shut up! What is your problem with me, anyway? I don’t want your guy, I don’t want your position and I don’t want your turf. I’m just trying to get by, here,” she hisses as West tries to grab her arms to help her up. “Stop!” she snaps at him and tugs away from his hands. She manages to get into a crawling position as West’s hands go up in surrender. Scrambling to her knees, she places her hand on Carter’s knee and stands awkwardly. Aubrey lowers her head and bumps her shoulder into Carter as if she expects him to do something, but he sits still with his mouth open wide, much like everyone else's around them.

  “Seriously, you think this is fun for me? To be the victim of your catty looks and snide remarks?”

  “Maybe you should leave then — go find your own friends.”

  “Hey!” West stands, angry now, but Jules holds her hand out; effectively telling him to stop.

  “My friends? Which friends should I find? The ones that were forced to go to other schools? The one that drank herself into a stupor tonight because she couldn’t deal with all of the memories of being at a stupid football game yet?” she shouts; drawing the attention of the crowd as her arms wave around crazily. “I know! Let me go to the cemetery and hang out with my best friend. I mean, she’s dead in the ground, but she’d still be better company than you and your little gang!”

  Aubrey feigns a yawn. “West, you ought to put a leash on your girl,” she suggests. A twittering of laughter from her and her groupies fills the air.

  “I’m going to kick your ass,” Jules threatens; lunging forward.

  “Ohhh hell,” West mutters, and locks his arms around Jules’ waist. He hauls her back as Carter laughs and raises his arm to block Aubrey, who yelps and slips off the back of the log; landing on her rear with her feet sticking straight up in the air.

  “We’re leaving,” West growls into Jules’ ear; pushing her forward with his arms still holding her tightly. Jules cranes her neck around to see Aubrey flailing about, and her screechy yells for help are music to her ears. She doesn’t fight West as he steers her through the crowd without a word.

  “Wow, you are damn feisty when you’re drunk, my little Buffy.” West laughs when they reach the car. Jules groans as he opens the door for her, helps her climb up into the seat and reaches across her shoulder to click her seatbelt into place.

  She rests her head against the plastic window as West walks around the vehicle. He stops and turns and Jules sees Jess jogging up. She hands him the water bottles he gave her earlier and says something Jules can’t hear. They separate after a short exchange and she waves at Jules through the windshield before turning back to the party.

  Jules stares out the window until the interior lights go out and West’s key slides into the ignition. The blue glow of the dashboard lights illuminates his face as she turns to him. He sits still; resting his hands on the steering wheel and peering out the windshield.

  “Will your parents be waiting up for you?”

  “Waiting up for me?” She glances at the clock and realizes her curfew is almost up. “Oh. I doubt it. They don’t typically wait up for me anymore.”

  “If I bring you home wasted they’re going to hate me,” West muses. His forearm muscles leap as he grips the wheel.

  She doesn’t know how to reply.

  The ride is quiet as they drive through downtown Tyler. It’s dark and mostly deserted, since most of the late night establishments were damaged in the storm. Staring out the window, Jules thinks about what she said to Aubrey and tears roll down her cheeks. When her breathing shakes and she sniffles, West breaks his silence.

  His hand slips across the middle of the Jeep to touch her knee briefly. “You okay?

  She suppresses the desire to break down and maintains her gaze at the scenery before replying in a broken whisper, “Yeah.”

  The Jeep slows as West turns into her neighborhood and pulls to a stop in front of a house right inside the entrance. He shifts in his seat and she turns her body towards the door; trying to hide the tears from him, hide her pain.

  “We agreed to be honest with each other, remember?” He reaches across and tugs her arm away from where she grips her stomach. He lifts her hand and sandwiches it between both of his as he leans forward. “Jules?”

  Her free hand goes to her mouth and she starts to sob. Not cry, but sob. A sloppy, drunken, whiny cry.

  “You’re mad at me now, aren’t you?” she chokes out; slouching over. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to go back! I hate them all, I hate this…why didn’t we just die?”

  “Noooo,” he says breathily; moving for her. “Jules?”

  Her body stiffens when he moves his hand behind her neck and pulls sideways. Bringing her head towards him, he rests his forehead on her temple as she hiccups and blubbers on and on about mindless things.

  “Look at me, West. The freaking wind scares me. The wind! I miss Tanya, I miss Hillsdale and my life before…I wish I could cheer again, I wish my brother would stop being scared of rain…I wish, I wish…” She swipes at her face and coughs. “And you know what? All the girls…they, they watch you like they want to eat you.” She turns her head and bumps noses with West; her eyes locking on his as their foreheads press together. “You’re like a damn chocolate bar they can’t say no to. It pisses me off…I’m not sharing!” she growls and clutches the fabric of his shirt in her fist. “I don’t share.”

  The heavy scent of alcohol lingers between them and West smiles at her words. “Babe, I’m nobody’s chocolate.”

  “You’re my chocolate. Unless,” she pulls back and her lip quivers as she studies his face. “Unless you really are mad at me. Oh God, I’m sorry. She just made me so mad! I don’t know why, but I…”

  Her eyes go wide as West covers her mouth with his hand. “Shush,” he orders. “I’m not mad at you and I couldn’t care less about Aubrey and her little minions.”

  His eyes flick over to the dashboard clock and hers follow, noting the time. Eleven fifty-three. Pulling her forward with a light curse, he lowers his hand and kisses the tip of her nose.

  “We can talk about all of this tomorrow. For now, I need to get you home.” West keeps her hand in his as he drives through the neighborhood. “Deep breaths,” he reminds her; getting out and coming around the vehicle when they reach her house.

  With the exception of the front porch and the small foyer light shining through the glass on either side of the front door, the house is dark. They walk to the door and West waits for Jules to produce a key. Realizing she isn’t carrying a purse, he looks at the lock, seeing the keyless entry pad and nudges Jules to enter her code.

  The pad beeps as she enters the four digit code and he opens the door silently, walking her into the foyer. He sighs with visible relief as they take in the silent house.

  “Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe?” Jules asks; falling into his chest.

  He gives her a squeeze. “I will, but I’m pretty sure you will be asleep in about five minutes.”

  “No, I can’t sleep anymore,” she admits and his mouth turns under. Jules presses a kiss to his frown.

  “Babe, you taste like beer and JD�
�it’s kinda sexy,” he teases; kissing her again.

  “The crying, shouting maniac isn’t so sexy, though,” she mutters and his hands run down her arms, winding around her fingers.

  “The shouting, feisty girl is totally hot. The crying one makes me want to hold you and fix everything. No worries, I’m attached to these magic hands and your blue eyes, Jules Blacklin.” He places soft kisses on her knuckles. “One night of drunken antics won’t run me off.”

  Seven

  “That was it. The first time I drank without thinking, I drank to forget. Obviously, judging by my little meltdown, I didn’t actually forget anything. But for a moment, however brief it was, I let it all go.”

  Jules shakes her head and purses her lips as she looks at the screen, imagining the people who might watch this one day. “I really didn’t go into that night with any thoughts or plan of what might happen, but there were several positive outcomes. One of which I noticed the moment I woke up the next morning…”

  * * *

  Music pulls her from a sound sleep. Jules stretches and pulls a pillow over her head.

  “Errrargh,” she growls, and her hand shoots out from the covers to slap at her alarm clock. The song keeps playing. Peeking out of her dark cocoon, her eyes blink rapidly; frantically trying to adjust to the bright light. She surveys her surroundings and her brain registers her room, her bed and the blinds she left open when she fell into her bed last night. That explains the bright light. It takes her another moment before she recognizes the incessant ringing of her cell phone. Rolling to the edge of the bed, she sees her discarded dress and boots on the floor in a pile. Hanging over the edge, her hand gropes around blindly for the phone as the electronic pop beat of her ring tone stops.

  “Of course.”

  Throwing her dress to the side, she finds the cell and rolls over to her back, looking at her missed calls. ‘1 missed call - Spike’ the screen reads, and Jules looks at the time. It’s after eleven in the morning.

  Eleven, and she slept through the night!

  She is completely ecstatic she didn’t have a nightmare about Tanya or the twister. It’s the first time she’s slept through the night without a dream of the event since it happened. Smiling and only half awake, she hits the call back button; closing her eyes as her head pounds in protest of her night. Her antics from the bonfire rush into her mind, and the happiness over her lack of nightmares disappears and makes room for embarrassment.

  “Hey gorgeous, did I wake you?” West answers automatically on the second ring.

  Her mouth feels like it’s stuffed with cotton as she tries to talk. “Hey, noooo, I’m awake.”

  “Liar.” He laughs and her lips twitch. “How are you feeling this morning?”

  “I’ll be okay. Nothing a few aspirin can’t help, right?”

  “Right.”

  “I owe you an apology, though. I’m so sorry I embarrassed you in front of your friends.” Jules scoots down under the covers as she apologizes and curls herself into a ball.

  “Jules, they aren’t my friends — not really. I party with them but that’s it. I don’t care what they think. I’m sorry I woke you, though. I wanted to see how you’re feeling and make sure our date is still on for tonight.”

  “You mean you’re still willing to go out with me? You’re brave.”

  “Last night was nothing. I’ve seen and dealt with a lot worse as far as drunken rampages go. You were adorable.”

  “Adorable, huh?”

  He chuckles and something occurs to her. “Oh gosh, I called you my chocolate, didn’t I?” her voice squeaks.

  His sharp bark of laughter brings all the blood rushing to her face. “Yes, you certainly did. Why do you sound like you’re in a tunnel?”

  “I’m still in bed, under my covers,” she admits.

  “Mmmm, really?” West drawls, his voice dropping low. “And what are you wearing?”

  Jules laughs and the sound causes her to groan as the pain in her head hammers louder. “Ugh, don’t make me laugh!” she complains.

  “Alright. Why don’t you get some rest and I’ll pick you up around six tonight. Is that okay?”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  Jules climbs out of bed to use the restroom and take something for her hangover. She cups water into her palm and swallows two Advil, then takes a quick glance at herself in the mirror and cringes at what she sees. Her hair is a knotted mess, her eyes have large, dark circles under them and smeared mascara is caked to her lashes. Yet, as bad as she looks and feels, there is a calm within her. The absence of nightmares brings such relief, she wonders Maybe they’re over? Maybe she can move on now. She smiles at herself as she washes up, brushes her teeth and throws on some clothes before heading downstairs.

  Spotting her dad at the table, she plasters on a smile as she walks into the kitchen with a cheerful, “Good morning.”

  “Good afternoon, sleepyhead,” he counters; looking at his watch meaningfully. “How was the game last night?”

  “Different,” Jules admits; pulling the fridge open and looking for something to eat. She glances over her shoulder to see her dad eating a sandwich and she sighs. She’s hungry, but a sandwich doesn’t sound appealing at all. Her stomach grumbles in protest and she quits entertaining the thought of eating anything for lunch. She pours a glass of orange juice instead, all the while feeling his eyes burn holes into her back.

  “I watched the prep sports update last night; saw you won. A few of the boys were mentioned.”

  “Oh?” What else was she supposed to say?

  “They showed highlights from Houston too. Stuart played his first game.” He was looking at the iPad in front of him as he spoke, trying to seem nonchalant, but Jules knew he was up to something. “He was brilliant, from what they said. Almost perfect completion rate.”

  She smiles, genuinely happy for Stuart. “Of course he was.” She should have wished him luck before the game, sent him a text or called, and a pang of guilt hits her.

  “Did you talk to him this week?”

  “Stuart? No.” He frowns and takes a bite of his sandwich.

  Jules decides to set him straight. “I’m with West now.”

  “Honey, I don’t want to interfere in your dating life, but are you sure? I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but…”

  “But what, daddy? He’s not going to be a football star?” He raises his brows at her snippy comment and she turns away from him. “I’m sure, okay?”

  The chair legs scrape across the kitchen floor when he stands and she peers out the window. Beyond her backyard the sky is black. Her father’s reflection pops into view in the glass as he comes up behind her and she braces herself.

  “I want you to be happy, that’s all. If West is the boy you want to date then I’m fine with that, but I just want you to be sure. You’ve been through a lot of change.” He speaks softly and rests his hands on her shoulders. She spins and throws herself into her father’s chest; giving him a tight hug before she can think better of it. He gives her a tight squeeze and places a kiss to the top of her head.

  “I’m going to see if I can coax your brother into throwing a ball around before it rains.”

  “It’s supposed to storm today?” Jules asks, worried for Jason’s sake. “Where’s mom?”

  “Your mother went to the grocery store and yes, we are in for some serious storms later this afternoon and tonight. I’ve tried to keep him away from electronics this morning so he wouldn’t get overly worked up about it.”

  “Maybe he should talk to a counselor about his fears?”

  “We’ve talked about it. It’s a pretty normal fear to have after something so traumatic happens. He’ll come around, but if he doesn’t we will see someone.”

  He starts to leave the kitchen when Jules thinks to tell him about her date.

  “Oh hey, West asked me out on an official date for tonight. Six o’clock…okay?” He nods his approval, although without much excitement, and makes his way out of the kit
chen. He stops at the last moment and peeks around the wall; looking at her again.

  “If I were you, I’d take a shower and get rid of that beer smell before your mother gets home.”

  He levels his gaze on her in a silent warning before leaving without another word. Placing her glass in the dishwasher, she pulls her hair to her face and sniffs; smelling nothing. Hurrying to her room, Jules wonders how her dad knew and why he didn’t say anything more. She takes a long, hot shower, shampoos her hair twice and lets the heat soothe her neck and back muscles as she thinks about the bonfire. She decides to spend the afternoon doing some homework, taking a nap and searching the web. She gets more of the latter done; watching You Tube videos and pinning outfits on Pinterest as the day moves along slowly. Her phone goes off around four and she finds a green-faced emoji staring at her.

  Katie: You were right - it was the kiss of death ;x

  Jules: Oh no! Rough day?

  Katie: Never drinking again!

  Jules: <3 I have a date tonight with West. What are you doing?

  Katie: Watching football at Jeff’s, his parents invited mom and me over

  Jules: That’s sweet of them

  Katie: How was the bonfire?

  Jules: :/

  Katie: That bad :(

  Jules: Calling you

  Jules explains everything from the previous night to Katie, who in turn proceeds to laugh at all of her drunken antics.

  “I guess neither one of us were ready for last night, huh?” Katie suggests, and Jules knows what she means right away. They’d fooled themselves into thinking it would be easy to attend a game as a spectator for the first time in six years. Thinking they could cheer on a team that wasn’t their team anymore and see the cheerleaders, or hear the crowd and it wouldn’t affect them.

  “It’ll get easier now. First time is always the hardest, isn’t that what they say?”

  “Sure, whoever ‘they’ are,” Katie quips; making Jules laugh.