I pull up in front of the house. I don’t want to disturb her. It seems like she hasn’t gotten a lot of sleep in all of this, how could she? She starts to stir and I see her wake. She glances out the window and sees that we’re back at my parents’ house.
“Great!” she mutters.
“What’s wrong?”
“Your fiancé is over there,” she says, gesturing towards the house. My heart immediately starts to beat out of my chest when I see Jenna sitting on my porch.
“I know you didn’t want to talk about what happened when Cal came back but it might help you to know that Cal told her that we slept together,” she says quietly. Before I can respond, Jenna’s come down from the porch and is in front of the steps of the house. Normally dressed so well, she has on jeans and an uncharacteristic oversized hoodie, her hair pulled back.
“Just stay in here while I talk to her,” I tell Lauren who sighs and rolls her eyes but complies.
“Jenna, what are you doing here?” I ask, but before I’m even near her the smell of alcohol nearly knocks me out.
“Really Chris? It’s funny how within just a couple of days, the question of my presence is a necessary one,” she says with tears in her eyes and I feel a sting of guilt.
“I’m sorry Jenna.”
“No! No more apologies or your weak excuses. I am done with you Christopher Scott,” she says poking me in my chest.
“Do you understand what it’s been like for me since she arrived,” she yells, pointing at Lauren in the car.
“She ruined everything! This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were getting married. You loved me!”
“I still love you Jenna. It’s just I can’t hold on to you while I figure things out with me. You deserve better than that,” I try to explain.
“I’m done talking to you. I didn’t come here to talk to you. I want to talk to her. She deserves to face me!” she says as she shifts her weight between her feet. Oh no.
“Jenna. I’m taking you home,” I say, grabbing her arm as she tries to pull away from me.
“No! This is between me and her,” she says, snatching her arm away and heading towards the car where she proceeds to beat on the window, causing the alarm to go off.
“Get out. Get out and defend yourself you stupid whore,” Jenna says as I pull her over to her car.
“What is going on?” My dad comes out of the house, looking confused.
“Jenna’s drunk. I’ve got to get her home,” I tell him, even as she continues to tussle in my arms.
“She ruined everything! She doesn’t get to just get away with it,” Jenna yells.
“Jenna calm down. Stop this—you’re better than this!” I tell her firmly.
“Apparently that’s not true because I’m still not good enough for you!” she says, pushing me. My dad has made it down the stairs and over to us. Lauren has gotten out of the car at this point and headed inside the house, which sends Jenna into a frenzy.
“You trapped him with your kid. That’s the only reason he chose you. Sluuut!” Jenna screams. Lauren stops in her tracks and scowls at her.
“Lauren, don’t. She’s drunk. Please just go in the house!” I yell over at her.
“Oh please don’t bitch! I’m right here,” Jenna continues to taunt her as me and my dad attempt to get her in the car. Lauren stops in her tracks. Thankfully my mom appears in the doorway and says something I can’t hear and Lauren goes in the house.
“One big happy fucking family huh Chris?!”
“Jenna. Where are your keys?” my dad asks her firmly and she slams her hands against the hood of her car.
“Jenna, stop it!” I yell at her. I have never seen her like this before.
“Don’t talk to me Chris. Let your dad take me home. I never want to see you again. Never!” she screams at me before stumbling into the passenger side of her car.
“I’ll drive with her. Follow me over,” he says before getting into the driver’s seat of her car. I make my way over to Lauren’s car and when I look back Jenna gives me the middle finger. One I have to admit I deserve. Once I’m in the car I let out a deep breath before resting my head on the steering wheel. Everything Jenna said, I deserved to hear. I should have told her as soon as Lauren got here that we should take a break. I just hoped, I thought that things would end differently, that somehow everything would work out in the end, that no one would get hurt and that there would be a happy ending in this for everyone involved. After everything I thought that we could all get our happy endings, but the longer this goes on the more it looks like no one’s going to get one.
It only took my dad a few minutes to get Jenna in the house. It seemed like the ride over calmed her down or the alcohol made her sleepy. I can’t believe I’m the one who drove Jenna, a self-respecting, intelligent, beautiful strong woman to get beyond wasted and turn into a person I’ve never seen before. Is this what I do to people? Break them down, destroy their happiness? Is this what my life has come to? My dad looks relieved once he’s out of the house. I see him pause and shake his head before walking to the car and getting in. Once he does he lets out a deep breath.
“How is she?” I ask, too embarrassed to look at him.
“Jenna will be fine. She’s strong…she just…sometimes you need that moment to crack,” he says quietly.
“I know she’ll bounce back. I just hate that I’m the one who caused the pain she is in, that I lost a friend.”
“Let’s get going, son,” he says and I start the car and drive home. I’m surprised that he’s quiet and hasn’t mentioned anything about what’s happened. I knew I’d get an earful about how he was right, and Lauren being around is a bad idea, and what I did to Jenna was wrong. I’m sure she told him everything that happened while he was in there. Maybe he’s just giving me a break for tonight, one that I’m grateful for. The only thing I want to do right now is sleep.
I turn off the car and start to get out.
“Chris,” he says before we’re both out of the car. I let out a deep breath. I knew it was coming.
“I was really glad to hear your voice today,” he says, patting me on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about everything today, there’s always tomorrow for that” he says, before getting out of the car. I start to follow him and my vision gets blurry.
I’m no longer walking down the driveway to my house but down a street, one that looks familiar, the houses look run down the grass is over grown and most of them look abandoned. A couple of cars pass by. I make my way up the stairs of one of them. Chipped green paint covers the outside of it. The railing on the stairs is crooked. It’s dark out but the light on the porch flickers like there’s a short in its power supply. I knock on the door three times. The reflection on the dirty plastic portion of it reveals that I’m wearing a baseball cap and worn jacket. A deep voice on the other side asks "Who is it?"
“It’s me,” he replies.
Cal.
A second later the door cracks before opening. It’s a man, a big man, at least 6’3" and about 260 pounds. He lets me in and I close the door behind me.