Page 25 of Wasted Memories
Despite Jessica being a few years older than me, we always got along. She was confidently curvy and always wore her ginger hair down with subtle beach waves that hung messily against her freckled cheeks. She had a bold demeanor, always speaking what was on her mind.
Elijah shook his head, keeping his eyes on me. “No, Emerson should do it. Prove that she really cares about her place of work.”
I bunched my eyebrows together. He seriously wanted me to confront my boyfriend to prove to him that I valued my job? I was surprised he was able to open a restaurant with how incredibly stupid he was.
“It’s fine, Jess. I’ll talk to him tonight when I get off.”
She opened her mouth to retort, but I cut her off by turning around and walking out to the floor full of customers.
The restaurant was packed, not a single table was empty. Everyone was here to watch the game and enjoy some drinks. I didn’t even want to think about how crowded the bar would be tonight. The Tavern and Craig’s bar were the only two places of business in town with TVs, so naturally they filled to capacity on game nights.
I was thankful we were watching the game at home with a few friends instead of here with the ego-filled crowd. Despite what people may think, I hated large crowds. I may give off the persona of loving to party because we frequented D Bar, but I just enjoyed hanging with our friends, keeping it small.
The people in my life molded me to be what they wanted and I let them. In order to keep up in this world, I had to put my own feelings aside and deal with it. Deal with having to put the person everyone wanted me to be first, and the person I truly was second.
I used to want to leave this town. I wanted to get out of here like my dad so luckily had the opportunity to do. He must’ve known what this place was doing to him and left before it could sink its claws into him, too. My only wish was that he would have taken me with him.
Even if I did leave, I had nowhere to go. I didn’t have enough money saved up to get a hotel or rent my own place. Every paycheck I received, Jett had me deposit a majority of it into our joint account and I never saw the money again. It wasn’t “joint” if I didn’t have access, but I wouldn’t be the one to call him on it. He would just say it was going toward our bills and I didn’t want him to think I didn’t trust him.
I’d come to accept that I wasn’t going anywhere, so I fell in love with the simple things, like the rain, the weeds growing out of cracked sidewalks, the flowers that bloomed outside the coffee shop in the spring. I found so many tiny details to fall in love with that I convinced myself I never wanted to leave in the first place.
With the rush of customers, the hours flew by, and by the time I knew it, I was clocking out and saying goodbye to my coworkers.
The rain fell in buckets on my walk home, my hood doing little to keep me dry. I wanted to get this conversation with Jett over with so we could enjoy the evening with friends. I'd had this talk with him before, but this time I had to get my point across so I’d never have to bring it up again.
Chapter Eleven
Wesley
IshoweduptoJett’s house at five o’clock on the dot. There were already cars lining the block, so I parked five houses down from his.
I sat in my truck for a minute, not wanting to go in. I knew how the night might end if he really did end up using Emerson as a spectacle to see who’d try to take a bite. I’d beat his ass, and that really wouldn’t get me any extra brownie points around here. Even if I didn’t want to necessarily be with her, no man should treat a woman like that, and if no one else was going to defend her, I guess I’d have to be the one.
It disgusted me that the people here were fine with it. Sure, they appreciated the way she looked, but they could at least have the decency to be respectful about it. Treat her like a human instead of some fucking pawn.
Getting out of my truck, I walked over to his house. The lawn was cut short, the bushes trimmed in perfect squares, telling me they had a gardener that tended to them frequently. The house itself was a one-story cookie cutter home.
The front door was opened wide, showing the front entry way that led to the bustle of people gathered in the living room. There was an ivory sectional that took up most of the living room, facing a massive TV that hung on the wall. Behind the living room was the kitchen, a marble island standing front and center.
Beer cans cluttered the counters, plates strewn about with forgotten food. There were a few slow cookers in the kitchen but upon looking further, they were emptied, only scraps of food left, which made me believe this get-together had started a lot earlier than Jett told me to arrive.
I heard Jett’s voice above everyone else, which didn’t surprise me. He looked like he was already drunk and the football game hadn’t even started yet.
“Wes, my man! You made it. I was wondering when you’d show up.” Jett made his way over to me as he spoke. “Want a beer?”
“You guys must’ve started early.”
I hadn’t answered his question about the beer but he pulled one out of a cooler and handed it to me anyway.
“Nah, we started on time. You’re the one who’s late. Jim was just telling me about your lunch with the guys today. You liking everything so far? The Tavern has some pretty delicious options, huh?” He took a long swig of his beer, not breaking eye contact as he waited for my response.
He wasted no time trying to get a feel of me. “Food’s good, yeah. Not too many choices around here but I’m not picky.”
I cracked open my beer and took a long pull as he got wrapped up in a conversation with some ginger haired guy. I leaned against the edge of the island, watching the crowd.
I already knew I wouldn’t be here long. I was popping in to say hi to be polite, and once this beer was empty, I’d leave. Jett was looking for trouble and I was not going to be the one to give him that tonight.
I heard the front door shut and moved my gaze in that direction, seeing Emerson walking in. With the look she had on her face, I was starting to think she’d be the one delivering that trouble instead.
