Page 24 of The Perfect Play

I must have stared at him a little too long because his smile disappeared and a frown replaced it. “You’d do that for me? What about your friends?” I asked.

“They’ll be fine for a bit. I only drove Dax here. The others were just going to meet us here.” Jake picked up his cup and motioned to the house. “Go tell Kate I’ll give you a ride, and I’ll let Dax know where I am.”

My feet seemed to move on automatic, turning me in the direction of the house and walking right to Kate. I whispered in her ear so she could hear, and her grin was wider than I’d ever seen it.

I walked out the front door, grateful to be out in the fresh air and away from the thumping bass. Jake stepped onto the sidewalk from behind a bush, startling me a bit.

“Just me,” he said, his hands out to reassure me. “I forgot how jumpy you get.”

I chuckled at that comment, several memories playing through my head within about three seconds. “Yeah, I’m definitely not one to take through the haunted houses.”

We walked down the sidewalk a ways, both of us quiet. For once, it felt like old times, where we could just let each other be and only talk when we needed to.

Jake opened the passenger door for me, and I nodded, grateful he was willing to take me home in the middle of a party. My heart raced as I waited for him to walk around the Jeep and get into the driver’s seat. For some odd reason, this felt like a first date.

He started the engine and pulled out of the spot, turning around in the crowded cul-de-sac. “You look amazing, by the way. How does it feel to survive your first party?” He glanced over at me with a mischievous grin before turning his eyes back to the road. I was grateful for that small action as I felt safer when he was watching the road, and my breathing was able to get back to normal. His first words echoed in my mind, and I wanted to ask him more about it. But part of me was worried I wouldn’t like the reasoning behind his flirty comment.

“That wasn’t my first party. I went to one in ninth grade. It wasn’t quite as loud and busy as this one, but it wasn’t too bad.”

“Ninth grade, huh,” Jake asked, his wrist on top of the steering wheel and his other hand resting on the console between us. “That surprises me. You’ve always been straight-laced.”

I turned a bit to face him, ready for whatever argument was about to ensue. “You were the same way, I remember. Was that just because of me or because that’s who you were before this persona took over?”

When his face fell, I backpedaled, resting my hand on his forearm. “Jake, I didn’t mean it like that. I know there’s been a lot going on in your life. I guess I’ve just been jealous all this time that you didn’t want to share it with me. That high school and popularity and girls could so easily replace what we’d had together.”

He bit his lower lip, looking as though he was debating internally what he should say. “That’s where you’ve got it wrong, Pen. It was never easy.”

Chapter 19

Jake

Astorm of emotions swelled up within me, and I couldn’t decide if I should explode or just do the best I could to calm them all down. Maybe taking Penny home was a mistake. I’d wanted to be with her, hear her talk a bit more, but somehow she just kept acting like I’d cast her off like an old worn-out shoe. Which I had done.

“My dad took the job promotion about two months before your mother walked out. You remember it, right? He invited your family over for that big cookout to celebrate.”

I glanced at Penny, and she nodded slowly. “I’d forgotten about that. We ate three ice cream bars and swore we were going to be sick forever.” She laughed, the sound of it easing some of the tension in the pit of my stomach.

“Right. I didn’t realize the promotion would make it so he had to travel so often. He’d done a couple of trips a year before, but this was Monday to Friday stuff. At first, it was kind of nice because he didn’t have a chance to ask me about baseball every time I was around him. But it was like he saved up every conversation for the weekend. It got to the point where I was starting to dislike baseball, just because he kept pushing it on me so much.”

Penny’s hand twitched, and I realized it was still on my forearm. The feeling was comforting and almost intimate.

“I remember having to drag you out a few times to play catch. I kept wondering what was wrong with you since it had been what we’d done for so many years.” I glanced over, and it was as though a little light bulb had lit in her eyes.

I nodded, remembering how her eyes had been so fiery every time, telling me I would turn into a no-good worthless kid if I didn’t stick with it. The passion of thirteen-year-olds.

“A couple weeks before your mom left, my dad came home drunker than I’d ever seen him. I woke up to him yelling at my mother, throwing her into walls and punching her in the face. I did my best to intervene, but he hit me in the stomach, taking all the air with it. I crumpled to the floor, trying to breathe, and he just stood above me, laughing.” I cringed, remembering the details as vividly as the day it happened. “He leaned over and spit in my face, calling me a disappointment and a waste.”

“Oh, Jake, I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me? I just thought you were being ornery because you were a teenager. I didn’t know all that was happening.”

I shrugged, turning the Jeep onto the main street once the stoplight turned green. “I think some part of me thought that if I couldn’t protect my own mother from him, how could I protect anyone, ever?”

The words tasted acidic on my tongue, and saying them seemed to put everything into a clear movie reel. I’d started pulling away from Penny but hadn’t quite understood at the time why. She’d been my rock for so long that it was difficult to drift away, find new friends or create stronger friendships with the ones I had. But I’d put up the walls to keep it from affecting me when I saw her outside looking like she’d lost her dog. And I’d kept telling myself she was better off without me.

“You were thirteen, and it’s not like your dad is some small guy.” The concern on her face as we pulled into her driveway helped with some of the bitter memories that sprang up again.

“I know, but at that age, you just think you’re so big, you know? That you should be able to take care of your loved ones. But I failed my mom. And then it became a routine. He’d come home from a business trip, sloshed, and the fists would start flying. I made sure the twins stayed hidden as much as possible and did what I could to soften the blows for my mom, but she’d always end up with a black eye or a broken bone.” I blew out a breath, trying to keep the anxiety of the memories from causing an attack. “I tried to report it several times, but my mother always smoothed it over, claiming it was her own clumsiness that caused each accident.”

I paused a moment, feeling some relief as the words lifted a burden I’d been carrying for so long. I’d never mentioned anything to the guys, only saying we couldn’t hang out at my house when my dad would be home. Finally breaking my silence made things clearer.

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