One and Done (Two Outta Three #2) (6 page)

When the door finally opened, I immediately jumped to my feet. Though all three adults stared at me with daggers of disdain, I didn’t notice any of them. My attention was solely on Rocky and her puffy, tear-stained face.

I did that to her.

“You!” Mr. Rossi stomped over to me, beer belly jiggling. Despite being almost a foot shorter, somehow he towered over me. “You better be ashamed of yourself! My daughter has never gotten into this much trouble until you showed up in her life.”

I didn’t reply. What could I say? It was the truth.

“Dad, stop it!” Rocky gasped between sobs.

“Be quiet, Raquel,” her father snapped. “You’re lucky Mr. Elliott is kind enough to allow you to make up the time in detention.”

Though he glared at her with as much ferocity as I’d imagine a rampant bull would give a red blanket, I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. At least Rocky had parents who cared. What did I have?

As if just remembering my presence, Mr. Elliott stepped around father and daughter and pointed a finger at me. “Mr. Tyler. We’ve tried your mother a few times and unfortunately could not reach her.”

“You mean she didn’t care?” My tone oozed with sarcastic charm.

“Stop making it worse,” Rocky muttered under her breath.

Mr. Elliott frowned. “No matter. Her attendance is not necessary for your punishment. We spoke about this before, remember?”

Crap. I knew what was coming. I nodded silently as Rocky looked on in confusion.

“This is another strike to a long list of strikes.”

“Permanent records are fake,” I mumbled.

Rocky shut her eyes and shook her head. “Idiot.”

Mr. Elliott let out an exasperated sigh. “It is with utter disappointment that I’ll have to suspend you.”

Wow. Thought expulsion was coming.

“Suspension?” Rocky gasped. “But suspension means—”

“Automatic banishment from every dance for the year, yes.” Mr. Elliott never took his eyes off of me. That’s why he didn’t expel me! He knew how much this dance meant to me and just ripped it out from under me. This was far, far worse than being kicked out of school.

“Rocky and I already made plans to go to homecoming together,” I replied solemnly.

“Over my dead body!” Mr. Rossi interjected. “You are never going near my daughter again.”

I remained frozen, watching as Mr. Rossi herded Rocky out of the office. I internally groaned and shut my eyes. I really fucked this one up.

“Just let her go, son.”

My eyes snapped open. “What?”

Mr. Elliott shook his head slightly. “Let her go.”

Chapter 7

Me: How was school?

Rocky: Boring without you.

One week. It’s been one week of me stuck in the hell hole I called my house, and one week away from my friends. I cringed hearing my mother hawk up a loogie in the room next door, wishing that I was just in the middle of a bad dream. Desperate to lose myself, I picked up the phone once more.

Me: Has anybody been bothering you?

Rocky: If you’re talking about Dwight, yes.

Okay, maybe that was a bad way of losing myself. My blood boiled as my fingers took on a mind of its own.

Me: Tell me exactly what he did and don’t lie.

A few seconds ticked by with no answer. “Come on, Rocky. Stop thinking of a lie.”

Finally, after a few minutes my phone buzzed, and to my disappointment it was definitely not the answer I wanted to see.

Rocky: He asked me to homecoming.

Me: Did you tell him you had a date already?

Rocky: You mean the date that ditched me?

I couldn’t tell if the pain in my stomach was caused by irritation, guilt, or the leftover pork chop I found in the back of the fridge that night. I stared at my screen, typing, retyping, and erasing over and over again. Racking my brain for a response that wouldn’t piss my best friend off, I was relieved to hear the PING of her response.

Rocky: I said no of course.

I let out a sigh of relief and deleted my string of gibberish. Deciding I didn’t want to talk about the meathead anymore, I abruptly changed the subject to happier thoughts.

Me: Seeing as we BOTH don’t have dates, you wanna continue our cheesy movie night tradition? I’ll supply the popcorn ;)

Damn, a winky face emoticon? What’s happening to you, Jesse? I frowned as I watched three dots bounce across my screen. She was definitely typing something and hesitating. Hmm…

Me: You have something against acid washed jeans and teased hair?

Rocky: Don’t be mad be at me.

Though my heart was pounding at this point, I decided to keep the mood light.

Me: Okay, I admit I hate acid washed jeans myself, but the hair is awesome.

Rocky: Jesse, I was still planning on going to the dance.

Feeling my heart threatening to escape my ribcage, I ground my teeth together. If she had said no to Dwight, maybe she had said yes to somebody else. At the risk of sounding like an overbearing boyfriend, I typed out the one question that I really didn’t want to know the answer to.

Me: Are you going alone?

Rocky: Nah, I was planning on tagging along with Steph.

I calmed down a bit, but still felt on edge.

Me: Surprised she went for that idea.

Rocky: I’ll be there for moral support.

Me: Moral support for what? Watching them make out in front of you?

Rocky: Haha. For your info it’s a girl thing. You wouldn’t understand.

Me: You’re right.

Rocky: Anyway, I have to go. Unlike some people, I have school tomorrow.

Me: Fine. Gnite.

Rocky: Nite

I tossed my phone aside and fell back onto my bed. Shutting my eyes tightly, I imagined a far different scenario where Rocky wouldn’t need to be the third wheel. I’d show up at her door, corsage in hand, ready to treat her like the princess that she was. Once we arrived at the dance I’d never let her go, relishing in the feeling of her soft skin under my hands.

Yeah, that would have been perfect. Too bad I was always far from perfect.

Chapter 8

I’m not a creeper, I promise. However, I admit that everything I did on homecoming night was nothing short of stalker.

First, there was the fact that I sat at the precise street corner, at the precise angle, and at the precise time Rocky was leaving for the dance. I really didn’t know why I did it, but chalked it up to being a masochist with an undying need to torture myself with something that I couldn’t have.

I remained hidden behind a bush, muttering curse words under my breath. “Dwight better not fucking show up if he knows what’s good for him.”

Okay, if I were being honest, maybe I was there to find out if Rocky had lied to me after all. Not that I could fault her; I mean, I had made my feelings about Dwight well known. Still, I couldn’t quiet down my incessant need to protect her from a condom-bearing, horny meathead.

To my relief, it wasn’t Dwight who rolled up to her driveway. I sighed with relief once I heard Steph’s annoying chatter echo through the street.

“Come on! We’re late!” she hissed. “I told you not to spend too long fixing your hair. Look at it! It looks exactly the same.”

Daniel’s shoulders slumped forward. “You know she’s gonna do nothing but cock block us, right? I was hoping we’d have some time together tonight.”

“Like you’d be getting some regardless,” Stephanie replied with a laugh.

I smirked, watching the two bicker as they knocked on the front door. If those two didn’t disturb the neighborhood, I didn’t know what would. I was about ready to plug my ears when suddenly all arguments ceased. In fact, all three of us immediately stilled.

When Rocky walked out of the house…it was as if the world stopped turning. All birds were hushed, crickets quieted, and breezes ceased. Rocky was…I don’t know? Gorgeous? Radiant?

“Beautiful,” I whispered.

Her long hair was piled up into dark curls on the top of her head, making her look like a goddess from Olympus. From her cherry red dress that draped in the front to her golden shoes and accessories, she was like a muse—my muse. All she was missing was a lyre and a cup of ambrosia.

Longing tugged at my bones as I watched the Rossis swarm around the girls (and Daniel), snapping pictures and putting them in ridiculous poses.

“I should be there with her,” I muttered, watching Rocky laugh along with her family. “I should be the one in those pictures.”

Those five stages of grief had nothing on me. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression—the only stage I skipped was acceptance.

I should have been going to that stupid dance.

I should be with Rocky.

My mother shouldn’t be a raging alcoholic.

My father shouldn’t be marrying some woman who isn’t my mom.

Ignoring my better judgement, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the flask I had swiped from my mother’s dresser that morning. I took a swig of liquid courage and headed toward the school. I knew it was stupid, but I was Jesse Tyler after all.

***

Okay, I take that back. I was stupid. A downright unintelligible amoeba. Why did I have to follow Rocky to that dumb school? Why?

Sure, things started off well at first. We joked, we laughed, and I could almost see the look of contentment in Rocky’s eyes, and God, did her eyes look especially beautiful under the field lights. I was lost in her chocolate browns and entranced by the gold ring surrounding them. Feeling an indescribable need to remember her eyes forever, I did what any other kid my age would do; I grabbed her camera, marking the event with a selfie.

Despite the smile on my face, I’d felt a horrible tugging in my gut. We’d be separated soon enough. It would only be a matter of months until she moved away to college. She deserved it, of course. She needed to have all her dreams come true, but I didn’t want to let her go. That’s why I promised her that if we ever left town, we’d leave together…

Yeah…It sounds like romantic shit, but yet another one of my brash decisions fucked everything up.

“You had to leave her alone on the field, didn’t you? Then you had to take the blame for everything.”

Like an idiot, I made the valiant decision to steal my portrait back from the art teacher that swiped it from her. Again, it was a romantic idea, but with a horrible, horrible, result. Not only was she found loitering on the football field, but she was found with my flask! I couldn’t let her to take the fall for me. Never once and never will.

“And now you’re expelled and moving to Charleston. Perfect,” I grunted to myself. I exhaled deeply, running through the empty streets. My shoes thumped against the slick asphalt, but falling wasn’t a worry of mine. I needed to get to Rocky’s house quick. I hoped to God her parents hadn’t barricaded her inside, especially since they’d looked ready to kill me in Mr. Elliott’s office. I couldn’t really blame them.

It was my liquor.

It was my fault Rocky was outside waiting for me.

Everything was my fault—I shouldn’t have even been there in the first place!

“Forget about it, Jess. Just focus on getting to her. You need to tell her you’re leaving. It needs to come from you.”

I skidded to a stop once I reached the Rossis’ driveway. It was as if a giant force field pushed back against me, freezing each limb until I clammed up, unable to move. Mr. Rossi stood in front, trembling with rage.

“Mr. Rossi—”

“What are you doing here?” He cut me off, breathing heavily. His big belly rose and fell, betraying his staggered breaths.

“I want—need—to see Rocky.”

One step after the other, he bounded toward me, shaking his fist in the air. Surprisingly, his voice was eerily calm. “Leave. Now.”

“I need to talk to her,” I pleaded. I glanced up at her window, desperate to see her face one last time.

“Leave!” he shouted.

“But—”

Without another word, he turned toward his front door and quietly stalked away.

Surprised he didn’t pick me up and throw me toward the street. I scratched my head, staring at his retreating figure, thankful for my dumb luck. Yet I knew better than to stand out there for long. Mr. Rossi was up to something. I just didn’t know what.

Quickly, I ran toward the front lawn, listening to the grass crunch as I positioned myself under Rocky’s bedroom window.

“Rocky! Rocky! Open up!”

There was a slight rustling amid the baby blue curtains before a makeup-streaked face peered between the cloth. “Jesse! What are you doing here? If my parents see you here, they’ll kill you!”

How was I supposed to tell the one person I cared about that I may never see her again? Feeling my soul crumble, I cried out, “They’re making me leave, Rocky.”

“What?” Her face was one of fear-stricken panic. “Who?”

“My parents. My dad.” I gulped, fighting back a feeling of hysteria that pushed against my core. “That’s why he’s coming up. He actually should be here in a few hours.”

“Wait, you’re moving?” Her voice was barely a squeak.

“My mom kicked me out. I have to move to Charleston.” Saying each word out loud was like a knife being twisted inside my chest. The pain was almost unbearable.

“No!” she screeched almost angrily. “You can’t leave.”

The tears I tried so hard to fight began to fall. Luckily, it was probably too dark for her to see them roll down my cheeks, but truthfully I wouldn’t care if she did. Maybe then she’d finally see how much she really meant to me. “I’m sorry, Rocky.” I bit back another sob. “I’m also sorry for leaving you tonight. I was getting this for you. For us.”

I unfolded the portrait—the stupid picture that I risked everything for. The stupid sketch that caused me to lose it all.

“Wait, you stole it from the Art Department?” she gasped.

If this was really the last time I’d be seeing her, I really needed her to know the truth behind my feelings. Whether the universe was against us or not, I needed to take my stand. Taking one last breath, I lifted my chin and did my best to catch her beautiful eyes. “I…I needed to prove to you that I lo—”

“Rocky! Who are you talking to? Is that…Jesse Tyler! You better get out of here if you know what’s good for you.”

Ah, so there was Mr. Rossi.

A look of annoyance flashed over Rocky’s face. “Jesse, wait there! I’m going—”

There was some yelling and a bit of a scuffle that followed. Though I wanted desperately to barge into the house to make sure Rocky was okay I thought better of it, finally making my first good decision in a long time. Rocky would only be ‘okay’ if I wasn’t there. Her father was angry because of me—she was in trouble because of me.

I needed to leave, but that didn’t mean it would be forever.

“I’ll be back, Rocky.” Recalling the stupid pact I made with her that night, I added, “Remember my promise! We’ll leave together!”