The Boy with No Name - 5. Chapter 5

The next morning, I woke up to Timmy still snoring. I swear he doesn’t sleep, he hibernates. Anyway, I smelled food cooking so I went into the bathroom to freshen up and I ran into Jesse. And once again, he was wrapped in a towel.

He stopped what he was doing. He stared me down like he was pissed at me.

“Sorry, I…”

“I’m done.” huffed Jesse and pushed passed me and disappeared into his room.

I sighed and then went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. After I was done, Jesse came back out, dressed for work. I stopped him in the hallway.

“Jesse, I’m sorry if what I said upset you.”

“I’m not upset. I’ve just got to get to work. Our dads are already out there.”

“You sure could’ve fooled me by the way you just looked at me.”

“Jamie! I’m not mad at you. Now can you let me pass?”

I paused for a bit and then moved out of his way. He pushed passed me and stomped downstairs.

I moped downstairs to find my mom eating at the table. She was also looking through the paper, for jobs I suspected.

“Morning mom,” I said.

She looked up from her paper. “Morning Hon, is your brother up?”

“No,” I said.

“Well, there’s eggs and bacon on the stove if you’re hungry.”

I went over and served myself breakfast. I sat down at the table and started to quietly eat my eggs.
“So, how was town?” asked mom.

“It was okay,” I said, not wanting to remember the fiasco.

“Just okay?”

“We didn’t stay very long.”

“Why not?”

“Mom, I’m trying to eat.” I snapped. I didn’t mean to, but it was sort of a sore subject for me right then.

“Sor-ry”

I scarfed down my breakfast and then I went upstairs for a shower. When I got out, Timmy was knocking on the bathroom door. I walked out in a towel.

“Finally,” said Timmy rubbing his eyes. I walked passed him and into my room to put clothes on. Then, I got out my sketchbook.

Yes, it reminded me of last night, but it was my only outlet. I looked out of my window for some inspiration. My eyes were immediately drawn to Jesse. He was taking a rest on a bench.

I started to slide my charcoal across the page and Jesse’s portrait slowly came together. In then end, it was probably one of the best sketches that I’d ever done. It was beautiful. Or it could’ve just been Jesse that was beautiful.

I put my sketchbook down and went into the kitchen. It was getting hot and I needed some cold water, but I found something better; cold lemonade.

I served myself some lemonade and started to drink when I heard the screen door open and slam. I turned around and saw Jesse. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw me.
He walked around me and served himself some lemonade. He looked similar to the first time I saw him the day before. He drank his lemonade, put the glass in the sink and then started towards the front door again.

“What was that about you not being mad at me?” I asked.

Once again, he stopped in his tracks. I thought he would turn around to face me, but he didn’t. He stopped for a second and then just kept on walking. The screen door slammed and he left.

“What happened between you two?”

I turned around and saw Timmy at the bottom of the stairs.

“Nothing, just leave it alone.” I said and went upstairs. I could feel Timmy’s eyes on me from the bottom of the stairs. I went into my room and slammed the door.

I had no idea what I was angry about. It’s not like Jesse and I were best friends. The fact that he wasn’t talking to me was no reason to be angry.

I kept telling myself this, but it wasn’t working. I was still angry. I was still a little bitter.

During dinner, things were more awkward that I suspected. It was quiet, deathly quiet.

“So, did you boys have a good time in town last night?” asked grandma.

No one answered, I just cleared my throat.

“Jamie, answer your grandmother.” said dad.

“Ah, yeah grandma, I had a great time.” I said with my head down.

“It doesn’t sound like it.” said grandma. “You don’t even want to talk.”

“I just miss home.” I said. “I’ll get used to it here eventually.”

“I’m sure as soon as you make some friends that you’ll warm up to it here. Why don’t you and Jesse go out again tonight? I’m sure there are plenty young people going out tonight.” said grandma.

“Um, I don’t really feel up to that tonight grandma.” I said.

“I don’t much either, Mrs. Walker. Today’s work left me kind of beat.” said Jesse.

“It was no more than usual. Even less since Jackson was helping you.” said grandma. Jackson is my father.

Jesse stayed silent and started to play with his food. He ate his last few bites and went upstairs. I did the same.

* * *

As the days went by, Jesse still hadn’t talked to me and anytime I went into town, it was with one of my parents.

The end of the week, Saturday, was Jesse’s day off and he went into town for the night. And Timmy decided that it was a good idea to go as well. He hadn’t been to town yet. He hadn’t even left the ranch. Anyway, I knew how small the town was and didn’t want to run into Jesse, but he begged me and I had to be a complete fucking idiot and say yes. I had no clue the hell I was thinking.

When we got to town, my fears were fulfilled when we walked into Jake’s and saw Jesse with his arm around a girl, most likely Stacy, his girlfriend.

“Can we go?” I asked Timmy.

“We just got here.” said Timmy. He looked over and saw Jesse. “What’s up with you two anyway? You were getting along fine at the beginning of the week.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said.

“Can we just stay for a second? I want to have a soda.” said Timmy.

“Fine,” I sighed and we sat at an empty table. Then, Stacy came over to us, practically dragging Jesse behind her. This reminded me of when he dragged me through town a few nights before.

“Hi, I’m Stacy.” She said in a high bubbly voice that made me want to puke.

She was tall and had long, light brown hair. She wore it in a tight pony tail that went down just below her shoulder blades. She had amber eyes. She was thin and very beautiful; just what I suspected Jesse’s girlfriend would look like. I wanted to leave so bad, but Timmy was still drinking his soda.

“Jesse was just going to be rude and not come over here, but I was like ‘You can’t be rude’ and so here we are.”

WHIPPED.

“Right, I’m Timmy.”

“I’m Jamie.” I droned.

“So who are you exactly?” asked Timmy.

“I’m Jesse’s girlfriend.”

“Oh…Girlfriend.” said Timmy in an ‘aha!’ manner.

“Yeah, we’ve been together for a year.”

“Wow, that’s a long time.” said Timmy, smiling at me. I hated the way I let him get to me all the time.

As the two of them talked, I could sense that Jesse was doing his best not to look at me.

“I’ll be back,” I said. I got up and I walked outside. It was a cool night with a slight breeze. The stars were really bright; way brighter than in California.

I saw a bench that sat beside a street lamp. I sat. I watched as cars slowly drove by. I watched couples holding hands, walking on the other side of Main Street. Jesse sat beside me.

“Now what? You going to ask me to stay away from you and your girlfriend?” I asked.

“No, I’m not.” he answered.