Two Outta Three (Two Outta Three #1) Read online

  Chapter 26

  “You can’t keep me from seeing Jesse! He’s my best friend!” I was trembling with rage, stomping my feet so hard that the heel to my stiletto broke. There went cleaning those suckers up and returning them the next day.

  “I can and I will. As long as you live under my roof—”

  “Well, then I can’t wait to move out!” I screamed, interrupting my dad.

  That got him revved up. He moved quickly across my bedroom floor, his stomach jiggling in the process. I flinched, though I knew he’d never hit me, and prepared myself for the onslaught of words I knew would come flying at me.

  To my surprise, his tone was calm. “I know you don’t believe me, but we’re trying to protect you.”

  “From what?” I screeched.

  “Bad choices.”

  “You mean bad people.”

  My dad turned away, but my mom stepped up as usual, playing good cop. “Rocky, you have to understand where we’re coming from. We’re sorry for what happened to the Tyler boy, but you can’t let him influence you anymore.”

  “Those were my choices, Mom. Since when is it wrong to take risks?”

  “When you don’t know if the risks will lead to bad outcomes,” she replied in a somber tone.

  ***

  “Wow, who needs our Wednesday night show when you have this soap opera to keep you entertained.” Stephanie walked over and placed a cup of coffee in front of me.

  I didn’t respond and kept my gaze on the wisps of steam as they made it up to the ceiling.

  Placing a hand on my shoulder, she squeezed lightly. “How are you feeling?”

  “Sad,” I answered simply.

  “About Ethan or Jesse?”

  I shot her annoyed look. “What do you think?”

  “Hey, I’m just checking. Considering you ran off to Charleston without telling me, I feel as if I don’t know you anymore.”

  I didn’t know if she was kidding or not. I sighed, throwing my head back in exasperation. “He left again, Stephanie. I’m sure of it.”

  “So what?”

  “So what? What do you mean so what?”

  “Okay, tone it down, drama queen,” she replied, holding her hands palm side out.

  I stared down into the tan liquid and frowned. “I need to tell you something. I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

  “Oh, that’s a surprise,” she muttered.

  “Do you want to hear this or not?”

  She pressed her lips together and smiled. “Fine.”

  “I…we…um…” My voice trailed off. Stephanie and I joked about sex all the time and even discussed her sexcapades in detail. Why was this so hard for me to say out loud?

  Stephanie’s mouth dropped open. “Holy crap! You had sex with him, didn’t you?”

  Well, guess I didn’t have to worry about telling her anymore.

  I winced and nodded.

  “Ahhh! So how was it? I bet it was amazing. You know, with all that pent-up sexual frustration you two had.” She lifted her hands up and pantomimed what I could only describe as grabbing somebody’s balls. “It was probably awesome, right? You have officially lost your V-card. Wait, it wasn’t just the tip this time, was it?”

  “Oh my God, Stephanie! Please shut up!”

  Her mouth dropped open. She quickly zipped her lips and grabbed the nearest chair. Sitting down, she stared straight at my face, waiting for me to say more.

  I ran my hands through my hair. “He’s gone, isn’t he? Just like that. He left.”

  She reached out and placed her hand on top of mine. “He wouldn’t do that. You know it. He’s not the kind of guy that hits it and quits it.”

  I shook my head not fully believing her. “He’s cutting me off again. After—”

  “Sleeping with you?” she flinched.

  I shook my head. “After he told me he loved me.”

  “Wait, he said he loved you?” Her eyes were widened, soaking everything in.

  I nodded and shrugged, sniffling slightly. “I told him I loved him too.”

  “I knew it! I knew he always liked you!” She clasped her hands together and sighed contentedly.

  “What are you so happy about? He left me, Steph,” I reminded her.

  She curled her lips up into a tight smile. “No. No, he didn’t.”

  “How are you so sure? He just drove off.”

  “And what did he tell you before he did?”

  “That he’d see me later.”

  “Exactly!” She waved her index finger in the air. “He’ll be back.”

  “But—”

  “He’ll come back. Just like he did before.”

  Chapter 27

  “Rocky! Rocky! Open up!”

  I wiped my tears away and ran towards my bedroom window, which was opened just an inch. I peeked between my curtains and spotted Jesse standing on my front yard. I immediately pushed my window open the rest of way.

  “Jesse! What are you doing here?” I glanced over my shoulder and listened to my parents arguing in their room, most likely trying to figure out what punishment fit the bill. I leaned outside and hissed, “If my parents see you here, they’ll kill you!”

  Even from where I stood I could make out the horrified look on his face. “They’re making me leave, Rocky.”

  “What?” I must have heard him wrong. “Who?”

  “My parents. My dad. That’s why he’s coming up. He actually should be here in a few hours.”

  “Wait, you’re moving?” The world felt as if it was crashing down on me. There was no way this was happening.

  He nodded. “My mom kicked me out. I have to move to Charleston.”

  As if the clouds parted, my tears began to flow down my face. “No! You can’t leave.”

  “I’m sorry, Rocky. I’m also sorry for leaving you tonight.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Quickly unraveling it, he held it up over his head. “I was getting this for you. For us.”

  Through tear-blurred eyes, I spotted his portrait—my portrait. “Wait, you stole it from the Art Department?”

  “I…I needed to prove to you that I lo—”

  “Rocky! Who are you talking to?” My dad barged in and ran towards the window, shoving me out of the way. “Is that…Jesse Tyler! You better get out of here if you know what’s good for you.”

  Without thinking, I shoved my father aside. “Jesse, wait there! I’m going—”

  “You’re not going anywhere near him!” My dad grabbed my arm as I tried to run past him.

  “I’ll be back, Rocky!” Jesse screamed from the front yard. He sounded as if he was growing more distant. Almost as if he was running away. “Remember my promise! We’ll leave together!”

  “Jesse!” I broke free from my dad’s grip and ran, however my mother caught me at the door. She held me tightly as I collapsed onto the floor sobbing hysterically.

  Petting my head, she whispered, “Shhh. It’ll be okay. You’ll find a nice guy one day. Let this one go.”

  ***

  My eyes felt swollen as I stomped my way to Rossi’s Novelties, ready to get my shift over with. I didn’t get a wink of sleep the night before and didn’t know how I’d be able to man the store all day. I was actually excited my parents were coming home early. When I called my dad I was sweating bullets and was pretty confident I’d be yelled at. I was surprised and relieved to hear that none of the staff, i.e. Aunt Belle, had contacted them to complain about me and I was even more surprised they’d be coming home a full two days early.

  As I walked up the sidewalk leading to the store, I noticed that Ethan had even salted and sanded the walkway. A heavy feeling settled in my gut. “He’s a good guy. He didn’t deserve my shit.”

  Once I finally made it inside, I peeled off my jacket and threw it against the cash counter, not even bothering to hang it neatly. I punched my employee number in, and thinking twice, grabbed a nearby bottle of hand sanitizer and wiped a layer on top of t
he keys. I couldn’t be too careful after Justin and Lady Love were left in charge. I was busy settling in when suddenly I heard the front door bells ring. I felt a slight leap of my heart hoping it was Jesse, but even I wasn’t that stupid.

  “A little early today, aren’t we, Aunt Belle?” I muttered, flipping through our store’s receipt log.

  “Trying to make a good impression, remember?”

  “Jesse?” I immediately dropped the binder onto the floor.

  I sucked in my breath and watched as Jesse walked in as if nothing happened. He shrugged off his jacket and yanked off his beanie, causing his hair to flop over like some shampoo commercial.

  “I didn’t think you’d show.” I sucked in my breath.

  “Why?” he asked, walking up beside me to clock in.

  “Because…”

  “The nurse doesn’t officially start until tomorrow,” he explained. “Yesterday was a trial run.”

  “Oh.”

  An awkward silence wrapped us into her hug once again. Not knowing what to say, I kept quiet, watching as Jesse made his way towards The Dungeon.

  “Jesse…”

  “I’ll be in the back,” he said quickly before ducking out.

  It was as if somebody pressed the rewind button on us. The same aloof demeanor Jesse exhibited before showed its ugly head again. To make matters worse, the snow kept most of our customers away, so I had nothing to do but stare at The Dungeon, willing him to come out.

  “What are you looking at?” a perky female voice asked.

  “Oh!” I jumped up; knocking over the new tip jar my mom had insisted we keep out. Of course nobody cared to tip a cashier, so only about three nickels, two dimes, and a lump of lint found their way onto the counter.

  “Is Jesse in there?” Stephanie leaned across the counter, picking up each coin. She was dressed in a starchy white lab coat, so she probably was visiting me during her lunch break.

  “Yeah.” I smoothed my dirty apron and sighed. “He’s been hiding in there all day.”

  “Then get him out,” she replied as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Without warning, Stephanie flung her body over the counter and grabbed the microphone. I watched in horror as she called out, “Jesse to the counter. Jesse to the counter. Jesse, get your butt over to the counter.”

  I could have sworn I was blowing smoke out of my ears. I widened my eyes and gawked at her.

  Replacing the microphone, she clapped her hands proudly. “There. Easy as pie.”

  Within a few seconds, a chagrined looking Jesse walked out from beyond the orange doors. He kept his head tilted forward, showcasing the lighter colored strands towards the front of his head.

  “Hey, there, Mr. Hotshot. Glad to see you before you dipped again,” Stephanie said callously.

  “Stephanie!” I hissed.

  Jesse kept his expression placid. “You wanted to see me?”

  When his eyes flitted to mine, I shrugged and pointed at Stephanie. “She called you.”

  “Oh my God! Do I have to do everything?” Stephanie rolled her eyes and groaned. “Let’s wrap this thing up because it’s getting old. You guys had sex then you said I love you. Now hurry up and talk about it and fix whatever the heck you need to fix.” With a smile on her face, she patted Jesse on the back. “By the way, about time, dude.”

  My cheeks warmed in humiliation. I shut my eyes, not bothering to open them until I heard the telltale sign of the ringing bells.

  “Guess her mouth got bigger after high school,” Jesse muttered. He blinked quickly, finally glancing in my direction. “I guess we do need to talk.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed quietly.

  He closed his eyes and chuckled. “Oh, man.”

  “What?”

  Still laughing he replied, “I fucked up bad, didn’t I?”

  “How? By sleeping with me?” I snapped angrily.

  His eyes widened. “No, I—”

  “Raquel!” My dad’s voice bellowed through the store, bouncing off our ridiculous inventory until its sonic-like boom hit me in the chest. “What have you done to our store?”

  Our handful of customers froze in unison before simultaneously running out of the store.

  I gulped. “Dad! You’re early. I mean, really early.”

  My frazzled looking mom trailed behind him, staring daggers at me. I glanced between the two of them, shitting bricks. I hadn’t felt this scared since the night they picked me up in Mr. Elliott’s office.

  “Can you tell me why Mr. Bautista just told me you were selling plastic…uh…plastic toys? This is a family establishment!”

  “H-he misunderstood,” I stammered.

  “Misunderstood seeing you under a pile of filth!” my dad screamed, pounding his fist against the counter. “And tell me why I had another customer tell me that they heard obscene noises coming from the break room. Was…was that you?”

  I gawked at him, feeling even more horrified when I saw him glance over at Jesse. “No! That wasn’t me. I swear! That was Justin and his girlfriend!”

  “Why was Justin working? Wasn’t he supposed to be on vacation? And why was his girlfriend in our private break room?”

  “Mom always let Ethan in there!” I shouted without thinking. From beside me I could make out Jesse wilting.

  “We leave for less than a week and you turn this family store into a sex shop?” Have you ever seen those cartoons where the characters get so angry that they literally explode? Yeah, that was how my dad looked. I was certain he’d burst into pieces of confetti.

  “Dad, I…”

  His face turned towards Jesse in a fury. “You! I knew I shouldn’t have hired you. That good boy act you’ve been pulling—you’re just like your no-good mom!”

  “Dad!” I gasped. Flashbacks of Homecoming night flew through my head.

  Not again.

  “Jesse had nothing to do with it!” I argued. I looked over his shoulder and caught my mom shaking her head in disappointment. “Mom, please. You have to believe me.”

  “Did you even work while we were gone?” Her voice came out low and menacing. So much for good cop/bad cop.

  “Yes! Check the books.” I lifted a shaky finger and pointed toward the row of binders behind me.

  “I’ll do just that,” my dad muttered. He pushed past me and grabbed the binder that housed the week’s receipts. As luck would have it, the very first receipt he grabbed had to be the one from Miss Bachelorette Party. “Miscellaneous? What is this? We don’t sell anything marked ‘miscellaneous.’”

  “I…uh…don’t remember.” My cheeks warmed. I was so bad at lying.

  “Did you sell a…a…what are they called.”

  “A dildo, honey,” my mom answered before heading off to inspect the rest of the store.

  I flinched, never having wanted to hear my mom say those words ever. I scratched at my throat. “Um, no…they were straws.”

  There. That wasn’t a lie.

  “Why were they marked miscellaneous?”

  “I…uh…the barcode was scratched and I was too busy to grab another one to scan.” It was a valid excuse, as all of us had done it at least once.

  My dad’s lips pursed. “Fine. But that doesn’t explain—”

  “Ahh!” My mom’s shocked cry sounded from the back.

  “Mom!”

  The three of us ran over to aisle eight where we found my mom on her knees, frantically scrubbing at what was left of Jesse’s glittery purple footprints.

  “What is this?” she cried out.

  “I tried decorating,” I said quickly.

  “Decorating?” Mom gasped. “How is this decorating? You ruined the store’s feng shui!”

  “Since when do you do—” I began to say before Jesse cut me off.

  “Enough!” Jesse exclaimed with a shake of his head. “Enough of this.”

  “Jesse!” I hissed. “Be quiet.”

  F
or the love of God, please listen this time!

  Jesse lifted his chin, causing the fluorescent lights to bounce off his prominent chin. “It was my idea. All of it. Our stores in Charleston do well by selling those toys. They also put glittered prints around their stores as a gimmick. Rocky didn’t want to do it at first.” He paused and glanced over at me. “But as usual I was able to convince her.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Jesse, you know that’s not true.”

  “OUT!” Dad roared at the top of his lungs. He clenched his fists tightly and narrowed his eyes. “And leave for good this time.”

  “Not again. Dad, we’re adults now. You can’t expect to just kick him out like that. I—”

  “Still live under our roof, remember?” he snapped.

  Jesse threw me a knowing look. Ignoring it, I cried out, “You can’t pull this stunt again, Dad. You can’t just kick somebody out of my life. You can’t make decisions for me anymore.”

  Dad stepped forward trembling angrily. “I trusted you and you turned my store into some sort of freak show. What if the local news got wind of this? What if—”

  “Enough,” Jesse interrupted, which only made my dad grow angrier. Without giving my father a chance to speak, Jesse began backing away slowly. “You know what? Your dad’s right.”

  “Jesse,” I warned.

  “I should have never come back.” He turned around and began to walk away quickly.

  I immediately sprinted after him. Though my dad tried to hold me back, I noticed my mom yank him away.

  “Not now,” I heard her whisper.

  Making a mental note to ask her about it later, I caught up with Jesse right when he reached the double doors.

  “Wait!”

  Jesse stopped in his tracks and turned around, causing me to bump into his chest. I stumbled back, but he reached out to catch me before I fell. As I straightened myself, he gazed at me expectantly, waiting for me to speak first. This time I took the opportunity to do so.

  “Are you really leaving me? Again? After—”

  “Everything we did last night?” He looked down at his feet and shook his head. “I need to know…did you do those same things with Ethan the other night? And did you let him leave without a fight?”