Chapter 4

Jessie bonds with Ben and the fights escalate at home with Mara and Dakota

Chapter Four

 

 

September 1sr 2003

Ben refuses to stop teasing me, and I really hate it when he does! He’s always making me blush and no matter how many times I tell him to stop, he just keeps going! It’s so frustrating! He doesn’t tease Tristan or Trisha at all! Well everyone teases Trisha, because she’s Trisha but that’s not the point! It’s not like Mara and Dakota levels of teasing, but how my dad teases my mom, but he’s supposed to tease her, he’s married to her. Ben’s a friend I guess, why would he want to tease me like I’m his wife?

 

* * *

 

November 14^th 2003

I don’t know what I’m going to do with Ben, he’s awesome but I can’t stand the constant teasing! I don’t know what it is that drives me insane, I can handle playful teasing and that’s all he’s been doing since I met him, but something about it… I don’t know how I’m feeling about it anymore. I know one thing is for sure, Mara and Dakota are coming to visit for Thanks Giving and Christmas. It makes me physically sick to think about it. I don’t want to be here while they’re here. I don’t want them to hurt me.

 

As much as I wanted to stop time and prevent the holidays from happening, Thanks Giving arrived in what felt like a day and I had to face Mara and Dakota. I didn’t want to; I cried all morning until Tristan assured me they wouldn’t touch me. He wouldn’t let them touch me. He always protects me from them.

 

Dressed a cinnamon colored floral lace dress and cream colored knit tights with a diamond design; I slipped on my ballerina flats and headed downstairs. I stopped at Tristan’s room; I couldn’t walk into the dining room without him.

“You look beautiful.” He hugged my trembling body.

“Thanks,” I sounded like I wanted to cry and I probably would cry if he hadn’t told me to try to be brave, and reassured me for the millionth time that he won’t let them hurt me.

 

We walked into the dining room and there was already food on the table. The turkey wasn’t out yet but all the small side dishes were sitting in a row down the long rectangular wooden table decorated with a fall themed tablecloth.

 

Mara sat next to Dakota and Claire on the left side of the table closest to one end, my mom and dad were sitting exactly in the middle of the table with Tabby and Odhran on either side of them. Tristan sat at the last chair and I sat next to Odhran.

 

This had to be the worst silence I’ve ever been through. I felt their eyes stabbing me with cold stares. I wanted to get up and run away, but Tristan took my hand and squeezed it.

“I see you glaring at Jessie and Tristan, and I’m warning you three, end it now.” Dad’s booming baritone voice split the air causing Claire to jump a little. She nodded, intimidated by the underlying threatening tone of his voice. Mara and Dakota said nothing, but they stopped glaring at me and Tristan.

 

Marla dyed her normally black hair a light brown while she was gone however, it’s fading out and turning back to black. She wore mascara and a light layer of burnt sienna eye shadow and left the rest of her face naked, an unusual choice for her. She picked a golden brown short-sleeved V-neck top with a flower broach on the left side of the shirt and a pair of black dress pants to wear to dinner. Dakota and dad wore similar button down shirts but in different colors, Dakota’s shirt while darker than dad’s is a light red mixed with orange and pink. Dad picked a simple yellow-orange shirt. They both wore dress dark brown dress pants and loafers. My mom looks beautiful in her knee length purple dress mixed with a little bit of cobalt. The front of the dress looks like one side folded over the other and it also looks like the skirt portion should separate from the top, but it’s an illusion. Tabby wore a multi colored dress, orange on top with a brown skirt decorated with white polka dots and a bow on the right side. Odhran wore a simple silky brown dress shirt and brown dress pants.

 

I think that our relatives have learned to stay away from our house on holidays. We’re lucky if anyone comes over for Christmas. Everyone got sick of Marla and Dakota’s crap that they pull every time I’m around them. They can’t suck it up and get along with me after all these years and they never will.

 

* * *

 

Nothing happened, they didn’t give me dirty looks, they didn’t throw food at me, they didn’t spill anything on me, and they left Tristan alone too. We finally had a peaceful holiday. Well we had a peaceful dinner, but it’s almost time for deserts and some company. I don’t mind it though, I’m not as paranoid as I was a few hours ago, and socializing shouldn’t be that hard of a task.

 

We all helped clean up the dinner mess for once, usually Mara and Dakota have to do it because they did something stupid. I helped mom and Tabby bring out the deserts. Claire decided to be a drama queen but she’s always a drama queen, we’ve learned to ignore it.

 

“When will Uncle Jack and Aunt Robin be here?” Odhran asked impatiently while mom was taking cheesecake out of the fridge where it was thawing out for most of the day.

She quickly glanced at the clock on the stove, it’s six thirty now, “They’ll be here around seven o’clock Odhran.”

“I can’t wait that long! I want to hang out with Eric and Brandon!”

“They can only travel so fast on the roads.” Claire rolled her eyes at him.

“I know that, I’m not stupid Claire!”

“Did I say you were stupid? No I did not say that so don’t put words in my mouth, Runt.”

“I told you to stop calling me that! I’m not that little anymore!” He blushed embarrassed by a nickname given to him at birth. He was a tiny baby but a healthy one, someone said he’s the runt of the family and somehow that nickname stuck and now that he’s getting older, it’s starting to annoy him.

Shortly after Odhran’s complaining, someone knocked at the door. He smiled thinking it was Uncle Jack and Aunt Robin, but they’re too far away to get here twenty minutes early. I had a free hand so I had to answer the door.

Ben stood there with a smile on his face; he’s still in Oregon when he should be in Pennsylvania.

“What are you doing here I thought you left yesterday?” I asked shocked to see him at my house.

“They cancelled my flight for some unknown reason so I brought another plane ticket for today. I figured I’d say goodbye since I was already driving past your house.”

“You could have called me, you didn’t have to visit, are you sure you’ll make your flight on time?”

“You don’t want to see me?”

“I do, it’s just you should be headed for the airport!”

“I’ll be fine,” he hugged me without much warning, “I’ll be back, I don’t know when but I’ll be back. Expect extra teasing to make up for however long I’ll be gone for.”

“Ben you’re going to drive me insane.”

He laughed at my frustration, “You know you love it.”

“No, Ben, I don’t like it one bit.” I was trying to guilt trip him, but he didn’t fall for it. My dad poked his head around the corner and asked who I was talking to.

“Just Ben, he wanted to say goodbye because he’s leaving for Pennsylvania.”

“I thought he left already.”

“We already went over this dad; his flight got cancelled so he brought new tickets.”

“Oh well you better hurry up and get to the airport before you’re late.” He said and disappeared into the dining room.

“Well that just happened…”

“So I guess you’re leaving now?” I asked even though part of me wanted him to stay, I don’t know why considering his family lives on the other end of the United States. I felt selfish thinking I could keep him here.

“Well since everyone else is in a hurry to get me out of here I might as well leave then.”

“Sorry we just don’t want you to miss your flight. Wait a minute did you stop at Trisha and Aileen’s houses? Oh wait Aileen went to her grandmother’s house in Ohio so she’s not even home, but what about Trisha and Natasha?”

“I called them before I came here.”

“So you can call them but you show up at my house to say good bye?”

He smiled and leaned down next to my ear, “Well I like you the most but don’t tell the others I don’t want them to get offended.” He whispered and kissed my cheek.

“Bye Jess.” He said and turned to leave. I stood there in shock, I wasn’t sure what to make of that, I mean it was just a simple kiss goodbye and it was on my cheek so that shouldn’t really mean anything.

“Wait,” I stepped outside and shut the door behind me, “Why did you just kiss my cheek?”

“I wanted to, so I did, you don’t mind do you?”

“That’s it, that’s the only explanation you have?” I asked still shocked.

“Well I could kiss your lips if you want, but I figured that would be a little too much for a goodbye.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, I wasn’t mad at him for kissing my cheek. I felt confused even though there’s nothing confusing about a quick goodbye kiss, people do it all the time as their way of saying goodbye. I can’t help but think that there was something more though.

“I guess you’re right, remember to call me though, or at least text so I know when you’re not busy.”

“I’ll remember, bye Jessie.” He waved and headed down the walkway to his car. I leaned up against the pale yellow siding of my house and waved to him while he drove away. I stayed outside though, long after he’d disappeared down the block. There was something else to that kiss and I know it.

 

“Are you coming back inside any time soon?” Tristan asked standing in the door frame.

“Yeah, in a few minutes, don’t let Mara and Dakota eat my favorite slices of the variety cheesecake.” I said and he nodded.

“I already saved you the slices. Are you okay you seem out of it?”

“I’m fine; I’m just thinking about stuff, I’m done though.” I said and headed inside with Tristan.

 

* * *

 

 

Ben remembered to call me... a week after leaving but he indeed called. I kept thinking about him, not all the time, but at random moments of the day. I’d find myself remembering all of the things he teased me about, except the soda incident. He’s determined to never let me live that moment down for as long as I live.

 

“So I know you just got rid of me but we’re headed up to Oregon within the next year or two.”

“You mean you and your band-mates are going to be here?” I asked excited for the possibility of a concert.

“Well yeah that’s why I said ‘we’re headed up to Oregon,’ how did you miss that?”

“I didn’t miss it; I just didn’t want to assume that’s what you meant.”

“That’s what you want me to think.”

“You know I can hang up on you and not answer my phone for the rest of the night.” I threatened him but he didn’t take it seriously. He knew I wanted to talk to him so hanging up after a five-minute phone call wasn’t an option. The concert wasn’t so much a concert but a random appearance at a radio station in Portland. I wanted to go but we have to take care of Christmas stuff and we might not have time to drive nearly two hours away. I’ll have to settle on listening to them instead of seeing them.

 

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Mara barged in my room; I forgot to lock the door. I thought they’d moved on from their childish bullshit but I was wrong.

“None of your business, I’m not bothering you because a friend called me on the phone, my cellphone, not the house phone, so it’s not like you were bothered by constant ringing.”

“You’re too damn loud so shut up and hang up the phone.” She crossed her arms like she always does when she’s ready to beat the crap out of me.

“You’re not hitting me; mom and dad told you both to knock it off!”

“That was during dinner, and that was a week ago.”

I’m not playing her games, I refuse to let her bully me and I refuse to let her beat me. I decided to ignore her and continue talking to Ben. She didn’t like that idea so she marched over to my bed and tried to take my phone from me by squeezing my wrist with all her strength. I dropped my phone without a fight but she didn’t let go, instead she twisted it and it made an ugly cracking noise.