I struggled to focus on my school work the remainder of the day. Kate & June quickly took notice of my fleeting mind, Jesse's words still tumbling around in my head, the last sentence in particular. "...And I am the ONLY one in your life right now that isn't too afraid to be honest with you." He had said, so absolute in his resolve.
"Hello? Earth to Ainsley?" June waved her tiny hand back and forth in front of my face as we sat in our usual corner of the cafeteria. "Honey, are you okay? You look a little peaked"
I blinked, forcing myself out of my own head and back into reality. "I'm sorry, guys. It's just been a day and I have a lot on my mind."
"You're telling us! You've been a Zombie since you came back from the nurse."
"Seriously, Ainsley...are you feeling alright?" Kate took on a concerned tone.
"Yeah, guys I'm good! I'm just worn out is all. I'll be fine." I assured them. They eyed me suspiciously for a moment before accepting my answer.
"Okay then," Kate leaned forward on her elbows "I guess you feel up to coming over to my house to hang out with me a June?"
I peered at them guiltily. "I can't....I actually have plans after school."
"Oh, you and your mom doing something?" Kate asked.
"No actually, I have plans with...a friend." I replied, not sure whether I should tell them who my plans were with. I definitely intended on telling my mom that I was going to hang out with Jesse after school, but I didn't necessarily want to tell my friends, knowing they would make it out to be a bigger deal then It was.
Kate and June stared at each other for a long moment before throwing their heads back and cackling wildly like I'd just told them the funniest joke they'd ever heard.
June pretended to dab tears from the corner of her eyes as she continued to laugh. "That's a good one, Ainsley!" She chuckled. "But unless you've suddenly decided to branch out and make new friends, then I can assume you have plans with the Easter Bunny!" She and Kate were in hysterics in utter disbelief that I had plans with someone other then them or my mom. While I couldn't blame them, i hadn't hung out with anyone other then them in the last 3 years, it still annoyed me a bit that the idea of me being able to make a new friend was so funny to them.
"Not that it's any of your business ladies, but I'm actually hanging out with Jesse after school." My voice was thick with irritation. Both my friends froze in an instant. A wide grin spread across June's face, while Kate took on a more skeptical expression.
"Wait...the guy from the hospital?" Kate's furrowed brows and disapproving look told me rather quickly that she didn't approve.
"Yeah, him." I replied shortly.
"He's cuuuuuuuuute!" June bounced up and down as she clapped her hands together excitedly.
"He's creepy!" Kate snarled, taking both June and I by surprise.
"If he's creepy, he is welcome to come creep on me anytime." June joked, her lips curled in a sly smile as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"This isn't a joke, June!" Kate snapped again. She turned her body towards me, her voice concerned. "Honey, I love you to pieces and I'm super happy that you are talking to new people and all that Jazz. But only you would pick the one guy in town that literally NO ONE, knows anything about. Not where he comes from, who his family is, or why he is so obsessed with y-"
"I think obsessed is a bit too strong of a word for someone who's had all of two conversations with her Katie-cat." June teased.
"What normal person would INSIST to ride in an ambulance and spend hours in a hospital room of someone they didn't know, June? Honestly, you don't find that even a little bit odd?" Kate argued.
"I think it's romantic!" June's spikey blonde bob bounced as she dramatically swooned.
"DAMMIT JUNE!" Kates hands slammed hard against the table top, drawing the attention of our peers for a moment. Kate calmed herself, "This isn't some 'boy-meets-girl, boy-saves-girl, boy and girl fall in love and live happily ever after' fairytale crap. This is real life." Kate looked back to me "And I am telling you there is something off about this guy"
"Kate, I think you're being just a little ridiculous. He's just a guy." Though I didn't believe that Jesse was 'just' anything. "And he has helped me more then once now. I don't think it'll hurt to go grab a coffee and chat as a thank you."
"But that's just it, Ainsley. WHY has he gone out of his way to help YOU...a girl that he doesn't even know?" She pressed harder. June sat silent in astonishment, rendered speechless which was a rare occurrence for her. Neither of us had ever seen Kate behave like this. I was passed irritated now. Now, I was angry.
"Gee, I don't know Kate. Maybe because he's a decent human being and he saw I needed help?"
"And this morning? June or I easily could've taken you to the nurse when you had your nose bleed. Your mom even asked that I take you," she was so intense as she spoke, more so then she had any need to be. "But yet again, this dude insists that he be the one to take you. Why am I the only one who finds that weird?" She threw he hands up in an act of frustration.
"What is your problem Kate?" I asked accusingly. "The real problem, because something tells me this isn't about me hanging out with Jesse"
Kate stared at me for a moment, taking both of my hands in her own. "I am just trying to look out for you Ainsley...that's all"
I felt an odd sensation wash over me as she spoke. Some unseen force driving me to listen and believe her words as she spoke them. But Jesse's words tumbled over and over again in my mind. I pushed away at the feeling that tried to incept my heart and mind.
"I want to believe that," I pried my hands from her grip and stared into her face. "But something tells me I can't." I could see that this hurt her, but I didn't care all to much of I'd upset her in my current mood. Without another word, I rose from the table and stalked out of the cafeteria.
***********************************************
The last half of the day went by in a blur. I stood at the bottom of the concrete steps that led our into the student lot waiting for Jesse. I made sure to inform my mother where I'd be going after school. I didn't really think Jesse had any nefarious intentions, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Mom wasn't particularly fond of the idea when I mentioned it, but her reaction had been no where near as visceral as Kate's.
Student raced past to their vehicles as I stood waiting at the bottom of the steps. One by one, students pulled out of their parking spots and made their way single file to the exit in a slow moving parade. After waiting for roughly fifteen minutes, I began to think Jesse wasn't going to show. Maybe he had just been messing with me, trying to freak me out. But that didn't make much sense considering the urgency he'd spoken with earlier in the day. It was unseasonably warm for mid-December but the wind was whipping hard and the temperature dropping fast, forcing me to wrap my arms tighter around myself to stave off the cold. I looked begrudgingly at the dreary grey clouds that hung thick overhead, preventing any warm rays of sunshine from shining down and combatting the chill in the air. I regretted not opting to wear something heavier then my old worn sweatshirt.
The parking lot was all but clear now, save the cars of students who remained on campus for after-school extracurricular activities. Just as I was about to give up entirely and head for my own car, Jesse came into view at the top of the stairs. He strolled casually down the steps, the urgency that oozes from his every poor that morning absent from his features. He wore an brown leather jacket zipped high to his chin. Worn patches indicating the jackets age spotted the otherwise supple leather. His emerald eyes settled on me as he approached, offering a cool smile.
"I wasn't sure you'd come," he voice was matter of fact. "You went back and forth on the decision all morning." It was unsettling, the certainty in his words. Like he'd spent his day sifting through my thoughts. I didn't like sharing my thoughts and feelings as it was, so the idea of someone having unfettered access to my every thought made me more then a bit squeamish.
"You're lucky I'm still here. How nice of you to finally show. You do realize it's freezing out right?" He smirked in response to my obvious agitation.
"It's not that bad," he chuckled, "besides, this weather doesn't hold a candle to your chilly disposition."
I bulked at the accusation. "Chilly? I am not chilly! I just don't like you...or trust you...and you're creepy as hell."
He chuckled again, walk past me with the expectation that I would follow...I did. "If that we're true, I doubt you'd have waited so long for me to show. On some level, you trust...maybe even like me a little." He cast a look over his shoulder at, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His over-confidence irked me, but not enough to ebb my curiosities.
Jesse walked briskly across the near empty lot. His long legs carried him more quickly then my short stumpy legs. I had to speed up to a light jog in order to keep up. It was then that I spotted the sleek black motorcycle the stood alone towards the far corner of the student lot.
"You have got to be kidding me?" Was all I could manage as we approached the shining metal beast.
"What?" He asked, removing the helmet strapped to the back of the bike and holding it out to me with one hand. I stared back at the helmet that matched the shiny black color of the bikes gas tank incredulously. He extended the helmet further towards me as he spoke. "I only have the one helmet, you should wear it. Protect your skull and all that."
"You are insane if you think I'm riding on the back of this thing!" I took a step back, putting distance between myself and the bike as if it were a venomous snake that could strike me at any moment. Jesse looked from me, to the bike, and back at me before bursting into a fit of laughter. "What?" I asked in indignation, if I hadn't know any better I'd have thought I stamped my foot like a small child in irritation at his unveiled amusement.
"As rebellious as you are, I wouldn't have pegged you to be frightened by a little motorcycle ride." He chortled as he collected himself. "Besides, how did you think we would get there, did you think we were walking?"
"I am not rebellious," he glanced at me sideways, but I ignored this and continued, "and I drive you know. If my car is still here when my mom leaves, she will assume something went wrong and call for a search party! Trust me, it's better if I follow behind in my OWN car." I insisted, trying not to let on that I also didn't want to potentially leave myself stranded somewhere with this guy with no means of escape.
He didn't protest, "Suit yourself," he shrugged. "But your missing one hell of a ride." And with that, he pushed his hair back out of his face and slid the helmet snuggly into place before mounting the black beast. I headed for my safe little Honda parked a few rows away from where the bike stood. As I reached my vehicle, I heard the engine of the bike roar to life before settling into a soft growl as it idled.
I watched Jesse as he waited impatiently for me to get into my car and situate myself in the drivers seat. It always took me several minutes to ready myself before I even turned the key and started the engine. I inherited this trait from my mother, though somehow I was even worse about it then she was; often resulting in me arriving late to events and obligations. As I placed my backpack in the passenger seat and rifled through its many pockets, I felt eyes on me. Without turning my head, I glanced through the windshield. Jesse, still seated on the back of the motorcycle, had turned the upper have of his body toward my car, his arms extended above his head in exasperation as if to say "Are you done yet?"
I had to admit, I was a bit delighted by his annoyance. After all his cryptic bullshit and judgmental opinions of me, it comforted me to see that I was equally as capable of getting under his skin the way he did mine. I fought to keep my face from indicating that I had even taken notice of his gesture but made point to move even slower. I even made a point to buckle my seat belt securely and check all of my mirrors before putting the key in the ignition. My car didn't spring to life with a roar the way Jesses bike had. Instead, the exhaust coughed and sputtered loudly while the engine wined faintly in protest. After a few moments, my Honda settle into a fainter sputter, the engine still wining but showing no signs of failure.
I looked ahead to Jesse and offered a nod to tell him I was ready to go. Jesse revved the engine, sending smoke and loud snarls out of the tail pipe. The white smoke that billowed from the exhaust with every twist of the throttle made the bike appear even more beastly, as if it could spit fire like a dragon at any moment. I followed behind, sure to leave a few car lengths between my car and the bike for good measure. Like me, Jesse seems to prefer the scenic route. He drove wildly down the twisting paths and sharp bends that made up the back roads of Hillview. So much so that with every new turn i felt my muscles tense in anticipation for the the metal crunch of the bike at it hit the pavement and sent him sprawling in the middle of the road, leaving me to be the one to accompany HIM to the hospital. But he road the bike expertly, never failing to make each turn with precision as he whipped around corners and through tunnels.
I had been so preoccupied by Jesse's erratic driving, that hadn't noticed how far we had driven. I realized we were nearly at the edge of town of town as the tree line grew thicker and thicker on either side of the road. Dense wooded areas bordered our sleepy Midwestern town. Hillview had been around for nearly a hundred years, but most people had no idea it existed, let alone where it was. This meant we didn't get a whole lot of new faces in town; Hillview wasn't exactly a tourist town. What new faces did appear were usually students at the university in Crestwell.
Crestwell was a town located a few miles away on the other side of the trees. Like most of the towns within an 80 mile radius of Hillview, it was small and quiet. It was a bit more lively then Hillview, but not much. The college wasn't massive, and the Campus could hardly be described as that, but the constant flow of fresh new students every year meant you could usually find something fun to do if you were able and willing to make the 25 minute drive through the woods to get to Crestwell.
I knew the route well. When I got my license, I grew rather fond of going on long drives when I needed to clear my head. I could only bare to stare at my bedroom walls for so long before I felt suffocated by them. So instead I would opt to drive up and down the roads that led in an out of Hillview to the surrounding town. I was surprised to find that Jesse appeared to know the narrow streets as well as I did despite being new to town. One might think he grew up here...just like everyone else who frequented the usually deserted roadways.
We had long passed the old wooden sign that read 'Now leaving Hillview, we hope to see you soon!' that marked the border of the town and had been driving beneath the canopy of the tree for some time now. When a wooden sign not unlike the one that sat at the Hillview town line that read 'Welcome to Crestwell. Happiest Town Around!' came into view, I breathed a sigh of relief. That was until Jesse took a sharp left turn on a hidden dirt path just before reaching Crestwell's town line. I'd driven this road dozens of times, even snuck to a few parties in Crestwell with June and Kate. But not once, had I ever taken notice of the dirt path.
I carefully navigated my car through the break in the trees. The path was narrow, barely wider then the width of my car, which wasn't particularly large to begin with. This was it...I had gone with some strange boy, driven by my own stubbornness and curiosity, and now he was leading me deep into the woods down a path I literally couldn't turn around on so he could murder me. My body tensed and my breathe caught in my throat in response to the metallic sound of the low hanging tree branches as they scraped across the surface of my car. For a moment I considered taking my chances and barrel rolling from the vehicle to make a break for it into the trees, but then I felt the tires rumble beneath the car as the road changed from dirt to gravel. A few moments later, a break appeared in the trees; leaving me both surprised and relieved by the sight that stood before me now.
The gravel road led us into a large clearing. The space was a near perfect circle, and I could tell the land had been well tended to. I imagined it could be quiet beautiful during the spring, surrounded by blooming flowers and the fresh scent of pine. Winter had turned the grass a dull brown, pine needles and cones that had fallen from the surrounding trees littered the ground. The smell of pine still hung in the air, but the added chill made the scent seem almost sharper. The harshness of it burned in my nostrils with every breath I took. The great sky that hung above the cold dead land gave off more of a sense of disparity then it did beauty. An involuntary shiver vibrated up my spine.
At the far end of the clearing sat what appeared to be a small cottage. We approached slowly up the gravel drive. As we did, the house grew in size, revealing itself to be much larger then it had appeared from across the open stretch of dead land. It exuded a warmth that the surround area was seemingly devoid of. The blue painted wooden shutters were open; offset by exterior walls that resembled the fresh cream. The dim glow of a lit fireplace flickered welcomingly through the opened windows. Finely manicured shrubs lined the path that led from the gravel drive to the door. Jesse had slowed his bike to a crawl just before the road turned to gravel, so we followed along the gravel path slowly around to the pack of the house.
The face of the cottage made it appear small and homey, but once you had continue around the bend of the drive, you could see the sharp angle of the roof, revealing a second story loft that sat at the back of the house above the garage. A set of stairs beside the garage led up to a deck just outside of what appeared to be a private entrance to the loft. Jesse slowed to a stop and pulled a small fob from the pocket of his jacket. With a click of a button, the garage door rose and Jesse ease the motorcycle inside and parked it next to the red SUV already in the garage.
I parked my car to the side and breathed a sigh of relief. Someone else was here...I wasn't alone with some guy that a barely knew. There was a parent or at the very least a sibling in the house. I gathered my thing with a final huff, turned off the ignition and got out of the car. Jesse had exited the garage and stood waiting patiently.
I couldn't help but notice is at ease he seemed to be, more so then he ever been the few times I'd been around him. At school and the hospital, he had seemed uncomfortable and closed off. He wouldn't talk about certain things, and what he did talk about was done so cryptically.
But now, he leaned casually against the side of the garage at the foot of the stairs as he waited. His expression was calm, serene even. Despite the fact that I could feel the sharp bite of the air against my skin and the burning scent of pine needles in my nose, he seemed to be unfazed by it.
"Where are we?" I questioned him, approaching warily.
"My humble abode!" he made a sweeping gesture with his arm toward the house.
"My rooms up here," Jesse started up the stairs, I didn't move. "You comin'?" He turned back and stared down at my frozen frame stuck at the base of the steps.
"Uhhh...is there anyone else here?" The air had grown colder. It was barely 4:30 in the afternoon, but the sky had already started to darken and the wind tore at my clothes more forcefully then it had earlier. I pulled my arms right around myself. I felt the faintest pressure at the back of my head, it felt like something was knocking inside my skull. I pushed the sensation from my mind, forcing myself to focus on the situation at hand. "I thought I saw another car when we got here."
"Yeah, that's my dads car. Don't worry he knows I'm having company over. I'll even introduce you if that makes you feel more comfortable." He offered.
"No, it's fine, thanks though." The fact that he had even offered made me feel reassured, and I wasn't exactly in the right headspace to explain to his dad who I was or how I knew his son. How would I explain why I was here when I didn't even know yet.
So instead I followed, hoping that I wasn't as foolish as I thought I was being. Every cell in my body screamed with each step I took up the stairs, but my gut pushed me forward. I was supposed to be here, I could feel it.
"Well," Jesse pulled a key from his pocket, taking the last few steps two at a time and unlocked the door, swinging it wide open.
"Come on in and make yourself at home." He smiled warmly. "Then I'll answer any number of the questions I know you have swimming around in that pretty little head of yours."
I felt the heat creeping up my neck and into my face. I took a deep breath and made a decision. I was going to trust my gut...and my gut told me that I had come all this way, I might as well hear him out. Without further hesitation, I stepped inside and let the door swing shut behind me with a click.