Page 5 of No Good Deed

“Brook never did that shit.”

“She did plenty of drinking and partying when she was going to that prep school. By the time we met, she was over it. I mean, she still went to parties, but it’s not like she had to. If she hadn’t gone, she wouldn’t have felt like she was missing out on that stuff.”

“But don’t you think that’s more about you? Like she’d rather hang out with you than go out?”

The answer is yes, but I don’t want to tell him that and make him feel even worse.

“I think Brook just didn’t get much out of it. Some girls like the attention they get at parties, or they go there to get drunk or high. Brook’s just not one of those girls.”

“And Haley is, or she is now. She wasn’t a few weeks ago.”

“I’m guessing she was, but she didn’t let you see that side of her.”

“That doesn’t make sense. We told each other everything. If she felt like she was missing out on shit by being with me, she should’ve said something. I would’ve been happy to go to parties and get drunk. The only reason I didn’t was because of her. Because she acted like she didn’t want to.”

“And because I would’ve kicked your ass if you’d done that shit.”

“Yeah, so maybe I should be the one going wild. I went out last night and didn’t even drink. And I was home before midnight. So I could get up early and call Haley before she went to work.” He huffs. “She wants to experience college? Then so am I.”

“Hey, don’t be talking that way. You know our history. There’s no such thing as casual drinking with us.”

“Maybe that’s true for you, but not me. I’ve drank plenty of times without a problem.”

“Because you had me to deal with. Now you’re on your own, and I’m telling you, it doesn’t take much before you’re finding yourselfneedinga drink, not just wanting one.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not your problem. I’m an adult now. I don’t live with you anymore. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Jake, I’m serious. I know you feel like your world just ended, but drinking isn’t going to make it better.”

“Yeah, it would. I’d feel a lot better if I was drunk right now.”

“And then you’d crash, feel like shit, and need more.” I take a breath, trying to calm down. Hearing him talk about getting drunk is filling me with rage, the kind I can’t control. I’ve done really well controlling my anger the past few years. There are only a few things that set me off now, and Jake is one of them. I worked hard to get him on a path to having a good future. I’m not letting him throw it all away because of some girl.

“Just take some time to let this sink in before you do anything,” I tell him.

“What am I going to do all day? I’m too wired to go back to sleep. I can’t study. Can’t do my homework.”

“Go to the gym. It always makes me feel better.”

“Because you’re a gym rat. I’m not.”

“You went to the gym all last year.”

“Yeah, because I wanted to look good for my girlfriend. Now I don’t have one, so what’s the point?”

“You know, maybe this will be good.”

“My girlfriend dumping me? You think that’s good? Are you serious?”

“Sometimes time apart is what people need to realize they want to be together.”

“You’re saying this might only be temporary?”

“I wouldn’t count on it, but it’s possible. My point is, you don’t know what’s going to happen, so even though you feel like shit right now, something really good could be just around the corner.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe you’ll make some new friends. Now that you’re single, you can go out and meet people. Maybe meet a girl.”

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