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Jules did as she was told. I didn’t need to look at her face to feel the tears of disappointment pouring down her face. Danny removed me from the cruiser and I had to toss my head back to get the hair out of my eyes to see my poor family looking on at me in fear. I glanced at each one of them but lingered with Jules before breaking my focus and catching Jesse Thomas, or his angelic alter-ego, smiling at me in fraudulent pity. He intelligently didn’t say a word.
“Sit down here Elliott,” my uncle said and pointed to an old wooden chair.
I did as I was told but kept a cold hard stare on Jesse. He smiled an evil grin when he was sure no one was looking. Danny went outside to talk to our parents and Jules came in from the cold and knelt on the floor before sitting back on her ankles. She wrapped both her hands around the back of my knees and peered deep into my eyes.
“Are you okay?” She asked.
Jesse leaned forward to eavesdrop.
Knowing this I said, “I’m great. I’ll be out of here in no time at all and we can go back to our life.”
“Your life is over Elliott,” he said and winked at Jules when she turned around to glare at him.
I nearly jumped up but restrained myself with everything I had.
Instead, I said, “Lip is lookin’ a little fat Jesse. Sort of matches your head now. You should consider those once a day to even things out. I can work something out if you wish.”
Jules turned back and pleaded with her eyes.
“Don’t,” she mouthed so Jesse couldn’t hear.
She was warning me to stay as civil as possible. She knew the power lay entirely in his hands and this visibly terrified her. This was working out so well for Jesse and it just infuriated me. Whether he pressed charges or not, he looked the innocent, but I knew if he didn’t, it also meant he had something larger up his sleeve and he wanted the police as little aware of him as possible. Plus, it added to his Eddie Haskell-like intentions and he would look like the bigger man. It was a win-win for him. The exact opposite of the catch twenty-two he very decidedly deserved.
Jesse got up to talk with his parents, mine and my Uncle Danny. Jules got up and sat in the chair next to mine. She reached her left hand behind me and wove her fingers through my imprisoned hands. That helped, a lot, for both of us. We were suddenly prepared for it to go any direction he wanted it to go. We were ready. We waited patiently as the conversation became slightly elevated, then died down and ended with handshakes all around.
My parents and Danny came back inside, stomping the snow from their boots.
“Jesse’s decided not to press charges,” Danny said.
“I already knew that,” I scoffed.
“Oh yeah?” My dad said angrily. “How could you be so confident of that, huh? Is it because you knew he was a decent kid who’d forgive even the most heinous of grievances for a friend who basically abandoned him? Or maybe because he just wanted to put this all behind him and forget about it so you wouldn’t lose your scholarship?”
“Is that what he told you?” I hollered.
“Yes, son, it was. He’s a good boy.”
“Damn it dad! He’s lying! Why can’t you just believe me?”
My dad slammed his hands on the desk beside him. “Enough!”
The entire room became deathly silent.
“You’re lucky that you’re free to go today. Do you know how close you came to ruining yourself? I know you think you’re justified in how you feel about Jesse but it’s got to end. These are my demands Elliott, you will not talk, look, breathe around or near Jesse Thomas, you hear me? Or I’ll transfer you to Charleston so fast your head will spin. I’ll call your Principal in the morning and see about rearranging your schedule. Are we in agreement?”
I only needed to nod my head. Jules and I were in this alone and that was painfully evident.
That night I sat at my kitchen table with a handful of my hair in each hand. My mom asked that Jules not come over that night so she could talk to me.
“Elliott, I need to know just how far you think things have gone with the ‘unexplained’ occurrences.”
“It’s serious mom,” I said, shocked she was taking me seriously.
“Did you see any of the things that Jules claimed she saw?”
It was her emphasis on the word claimed that made me feel uncomfortable.
“Jules doesn’t lie mom,” I said defending her.
