Chapter 9: Long Weekend (Part 2)

Jacky

On the drive home, Jacky's mother was full of questions, both about school and about Ryan. Jacky had finally broken down and told her last week, mostly because she kept asking about what Ryan's favorite meals and he needed to prepare her for the fact that Ryan wasn't going to be staying with them. "But what's Ryan doing this weekend?" she asked.

"I haven't talked to him since before college," Jacky said, even though that was kind of a lie – there had been the drunken Snapchat exchange. "He got an apartment in Boston."

"I didn't know he was doing that."

"Neither did I," Jacky said bitterly. Then he told himself, I broke up with him, like that made it all better.

"So you don't think he's coming back home at all?" Mrs. Jennings asked.

"Mom, he lived in a group home. He's definitely not going there."

As they drove through Jacky's hometown, which seemed much smaller than he remembered, he scanned the faces of people walking along the sidewalks, and even craned his head to look at Ryan's old house, which had been sold shortly after his mother had died. When they got home, Jacky found himself feeling disappointed.

He unloaded his laundry and began to sort it, before his mother came in and said, "I'll take care of this. Why don't you call Cody? His number's on the fridge."

Jacky, who had been thrilled to have his mom take over his laundry, stopped at the door. "I have Cody's number."

"I think he lost his phone or something. He called last weekend looking for you."

Cody losing track of Columbus Day weekend was on brand for him, and the knot of tension in Jacky's stomach uncoiled. He didn't understand why Cody hadn't asked for Jacky's number but who knew what was going through Cody's head. Jacky was just glad that Cody wasn't mad at him.

He punched in the number on the Post-It from the fridge and headed up to his room as it rang. On the second ring, a female voice answered, "Zizza Za, can I take your order?"

Jacky stopped. Stopped walking up the stairs, stood there with his mouth open, unable to comprehend what was going on. Zizza Za was a pizza place near the mall.

"Hello?" the voice said.

"Uh, sorry, wrong number," Jacky said, and hung up.

He headed back downstairs and peered at the Post-It note, then at the number he'd dialed. It was the same number. Could be that his mother had written it down wrong, but Jacky had a bad feeling. He dialed the number again.

This time, the female voice sounded less than perky. "Zizza Za, can I take your order?"

"Hi, uh. I'm looking for Cody? Cody Mitchell?"

The girl on the end heaved a sigh. "He's not scheduled to be here until four. Which means you shouldn't bother calling back until five."

Just to be a dick, Jacky said, "Okay, and do you do Hawaiian pizza?" He walked into his bedroom and gazed around at the preserved space where he used to be a high school student. His bed reminded him of his last night here, lying in Ryan's arms. He turned around and looked at his desk, the surface clear of everything and calendar tacked above it still showing August.

Another sigh. "Yes."

"Good. I'll have a half pepperoni, half Hawaiian pizza. Large."

He didn't know what he'd do with a large pizza, as he was certain his mother had a meal planned for him.

"Delivery or pick-up?" asked the girl in a monotone.

"Pick-up," Jacky said. There was only an hour before four, which meant he might be able to catch Cody on his way into work.

The only reason Jacky could imagine that Cody would give out his work number was because he'd gotten kicked out of his house. At least it seemed like Cody still had a job. Jacky just hoped Cody had found a friend's couch to sleep on. In any case, there was only an hour until Cody was supposed to be at work, and Jacky could sit and eat pizza until he showed.

"Twenty minutes," the girl said, and hung up.

"Didn't even ask my name," Jacky muttered. He flung his backpack into his desk chair, rifled through for his wallet. He didn't know if he even had enough to pay for a pizza unless he used his debit card, which his mother kept telling him he should never use except for emergencies. After seeing that he had a ten and twelve dollars in ones, he shoved the wallet in his pocket and headed downstairs, where he found his mother in the laundry room.

"Mom, can I take the car for a few minutes?"

She looked up from sorting his clothes. "To where?"

"I just wanna check in on Cody."

"Can't he wait? You just got here. Don't you want to settle in?"

Settle in? He was only here for two days. "It'll be quick, I swear."

He hated the sad look on her face as she said, "Okay," knowing it wouldn't be quick. Zizza Za was twenty minutes away, and if Cody was late for work...

"Thanks!" he said, and added, "I can't wait for real food for dinner!" like that would make up for anything.

He installed the spinner that allowed him to drive one-handed, then got behind the wheel. Even though he'd gotten over his phobia of riding in cars and managed to get his driver's license, he usually still needed a moment before putting the car in drive. A deep breath in and out.

At least his worry for Cody seemed to overtake his anxiety about driving. He made it to Zizza Za in fifteen minutes, and immediately spotted Cody's junker at the back of the parking lot. He parked beside it, then peered over to see Cody reclined in the driver's seat, sleeping.

Jacky got out and rapped on the window, which was cracked for ventilation. "Hey, idiot," he called into the opening.

Cody jerked away and squinted up at Jacky before a crooked smile spread across his face. "Hey man." He struggled to sit up before remembering the lever, then he launched into a sitting position.

Jacky waited while Cody cranked down the window. Cody's Ford Taurus was super old school, with a mismatched door, no hubcabs, and a missing fender. It was a wonder it ever passed inspection.

"What's up?" Cody asked, fumbling for his lighter and the joint left in the ashtray.

"Are you living in your car?" Jacky demanded.

Cody laughed mirthlessly to himself. "You know my stepdad's a dick."

"Okay, but..." Jacky glanced over at the Zizza Za storefront. "I'll be right back."

He walked across the parking lot. The girl behind the counter pulled out a box like she knew who he was. "Pineapple and pepperoni?"

"Yeah." He tossed his money on the counter.

As he walked away, he realized she had probably seen him talking to Cody out in the parking lot. He could see the plume of smoke coming from Cody's car from here.

"You hungry?" he asked.

"Ugh, pizza." Cody made a face. But he got out of the car and sat on the hood, took the pizza box while Jacky clambered up. The hood was hot from the sun, but the chill in the air made it feel nice. Cody grabbed a Hawaiian slice, folded it in half, and took a bite.

"Have you been living on pizza, then?" Jacky couldn't quite resist the smell of pizza, and took a slice of Hawaiian too.

"So much pizza," Cody said. "Don't usually get Hawaiian though. I feel so healthy."

Jacky snorted. "Next time I'll order vegetarian supreme."

"Like eating a salad."

They ate for a few minutes in silence. "How long?" he asked.

Cody swallowed hard, coughed. He looked up at the clouds. "Like, a month?"

"So right after I left for school, then."

Cody shrugged.

Cody wasn't exactly the most talkative guy, unless he was high. But Jacky had a lot of experience not talking in therapy. He waited.

"It sucks, man. Everyone's gone. You, Nina, everybody. Even Josh is going to the community college and never texts me back. And I'm just this fuckin' loser stuck in this fuckin' town with no fuckin' future."

"Hey, at least you're not wasting thousands of dollars trying to figure out what you're going to major in."

Cody didn't say anything to that.

"I mean, you have a job, right? That's something."

"I'll probably get fired soon. Like at Subway."

"Okay, so what are you gonna do about it?" Jacky slid off the hood. "You gonna mope or you gonna make a plan?"

"I got nothin', man. No plan."

"Fine, then. You can mope. But you can also come to a party with me tomorrow."

Cody's drooping head lifted slightly. "What party?"

"At Monica's."

"Will Nina be there?" Cody looked so hopeful Jacky wanted to smack him.

"Pretty sure she went to college in the city, but who knows? Maybe both Nina and Haylee will be there to dump your ass again. Or maybe there will be new people for you to meet."

"I dunno. I'm supposed to work." Cody glanced over at the pizza place.

"Clearly you need a new job anyway. Come on."

Cody sighed. "Okay, fine."

"And while you're at it, you're sleeping at my house tonight. And taking a shower. You fuckin' reek."