A friend" I say and flash dad a smile.
"Its not even seven and he or she is here to pick you up? Where are you going? You haven't had your breakfast yet" Dad scolds.
Oh God! If I tell them its Jake, they will act even worse! I had to come up with an excuse.
Mom is at the window. I bet she's looking at the car.
"The car down there looks familiar! I just can't remember who uses it" mom spits.
"Oh come on mom and dad! Nicole has to go! Her friend is waiting for her" Trina comes to my defence and I silently thank her.
Dad sighs deeply and mom doesn't like the idea at all.
"Be back latest by twelve" Dad instructs and I nod.
"Take care sweetheart!" Mom says and plants a kiss on my forehead.
I give Boomer to Trina.
"Bye Nicole!" Trina says with a huge grin and I rush downstairs. I'm still in the black tracksuit I wore yesternight.
I got out and Jake's car was in front alright. I walked towards it and climbed in.
He sat in. His hair was dishevelled and his hands were covered with wounds. He doesn't look at me but he takes a gulp of whiskey.
"Hello Mister!" I say and wave my hand in his face.
He looks at me bored.
"Can you stop drinking! You are driving" I say making gestures.
He smiles but takes another gulp and he begins to drive. I don't feel comfortable. I have a feeling we could have an accident or get arrested by the police!
He continues to drink the whiskey. He looks horrible. I wonder what has got him looking this way. I don't think he has even showered because he's still on the clothes he wore to the party. That makes two of us.
A cab comes towards us and my eyes grow wide. Jake looks calm.
"Jake! There's a cab heading our way! You're not on the right path!" I say anxiously. He just looks at me and smiles again. He puts the whiskey to his mouth and I snatch it. He looks at me surprised.
I see the cab driver dodge and rain curses at us. I ignore him and put the bottle on my mouth and drink the rest of the whisky in the bottle with one gulp and throw it at the back. The alcohol burns in my throat.
Jake continues to look at me amused.
"Stop the car!" I demand but he doesn't.
"I SAID STOP THE CAR!!!" I yell and Jake stops it.
Okay so he has stopped it. I get down and I know Jake has his gaze on me.
I open the driver's door.
"Come out" I command
"What are you up to Nikki?" He drawls with a smirk.
"relax! I can drive" He says.
"You can drive? Ha! A cab almost run into us" I yell.
"You worry too much! Just come sit and let's go" Jake persuades.
"You are not well" I say.
"Now get out" I command
He lifts his hands up and comes out. I sit in the driver's seat and he sits at my former place. I put on the seat belt.
"Can you drive? I must warn you! Its a beast" Jake spits and I look at him. He chuckles.
"I can! Try me! I don't care if its the most sophisticated car in the universe" I say and Jake laughs.
"You are so amusing Nikki" he says and caresses my cheek with his wounded fingers. His grey eyes were boring into mine and I feel a pit of fire in my stomach.
"Drive " Jake whispers and I look at his lips. He laughs and sits upright. Did he hypnotize me? No! I can do this!
I press on the accelerator and the engine roars. I swallow hard and the car begins to move. I'm not a good driver but at least I can drive.
"Where are we going to?" I ask Jake. Am sure he wouldn't let me go to his apartment if drunk Kate is still there.
"My apartment! I'll give you directions" He says and I nod.
He directs me well and I follow even though I nearly hit an old woman at the zebra crossing and Jake laughed at me.
We soon got to his apartment. I walked in and shuddered. The place was so cold and I could see my breath leave my nostrils. But it was cute and clean to my surprise.
Jake walks in after me.
"This is where I live" he says.
We walk further and come to the hall. I wonder if Kate is still here.
"Is someone else here?" I ask. Curiosity was killing me.
"No! I live here alone" he says.
I didn't mean that! I meant is someone in here right now.
"So there's no one here at the moment" I ask.
He nods and goes to the kitchen. He comes back with a glass of water and a bottle of whiskey.
"Choose one" he says.
"I'll take water" I say and take it.
He smiles and opens the bottle of whiskey
He slumps on his white couch and drinks it.
I take a sip of my water and lay it on a table. I snatched the bottle from him.
"Stop drinking!" I say.
"Give it back" he says and I trace annoyance in his tone.
"No I wouldn't! Look at you! You're messed up!" I tell him.
He glares at me and goes to the kitchen.
I put the bottle down and ran after him.
I block him before he could open the fridge.
"Don't even dare Winters" I say with a glare.
"Look! I didn't bring you here to control me! So if you want to do that! Then get out Anderson" he spits and I'm hurt.
"Fine! I'm going! All I did is to care about you" I say completely annoyed with his rude behavior. His tone was too harsh. I didn't know him well.
I walk out of the kitchen.
"Just go" he yells after me.
I open the front door and a hand grabs my arm. I wasn't going to cry. I had to be strong. I looked back with a stern face.
"Come back! I need you to care for me" he says and I narrow my eyes at him. What's wrong with this guy.
"I behave like that when I'm extremely angry" he explains and I nod. I walk back inside.
I sat in a couch in the hall and he comes to sit in the opposite couch. He doesn't touch the bottle of whiskey on the table.
"I'm sorry! I acted like a madman" he says.
I laugh and he smiles.
"I'm glad to see those dimples again" he says and I blush.
He laughs at me.
"Jerk!" I say and hit him with a pillow in the couch. He laughs harder.
"Okay so what's got you in this situation? Why are you extremely angry? Why are you drinking?" I ask him and he sighs deeply but he doesn't take the bottle of whiskey on the table.
"I had an encounter with my dad Wednesday night" he says and looks on the floor.
My mouth goes open. My eyes grow wide.
"He had the guts to call my name" Jake continues. He clenches his jaw and I hear it tick.
But am still shocked with the story he was telling.
"After all those years! You finally run into him! That's great" I say and Jake looks at me with his dull grey eyes.
"What did you say?" He says and I shut my mouth. Did I say something wrong?
"Don't ever say that! Seeing him again brought back memories! Its haunting me" He says.
"I'm confused! I don't know who is lying now" he adds and stands up.
"He told me that, he came to look for us but my mom told me he never came" Jake says quite calm now but his voice was filled with sorrow.
"What if he did?" I ask him.
"I don't know!!!" He screams at me and I shudder.
He puts his hand through his hair.
He sighs.
"I'm sorry for yelling" he apologises
"I understand" I reply.
"I just need to yell everything out and be free" He explains still standing there with his tall body frame.
I stand up and walk to him. I take his right hand and encase it in mine. Then I give him a small sympathetic smile.
"Why don't you ask him?" I ask
"Ask him?" He scoffs.
"He wanted to talk to me that night! But I didn't want to! He even had the audacity to call me his son!" Jake says angrily.
"Why didn't you talk to him? Maybe you could have understood things" I scold
"Talk to him? He's a scum!" Jake retaliates.
"What makes you think that?" I reply angrily.
"Because he got married and had three kids with his new wife!" Jake says.
"How did you know that? He told you himself?" I ask him.
"No. My boss told me" he says more calmly.
How did his boss get to know that?
"My boss is a good friend of my dad's." Jake replies sober now but his eyes were still blazing with anger.
"Maybe he had a good reason to get married again" I say.
Jake chuckles.
"Are you defending that...that Scum?" He shouts at me.
"No! I'm not! I'm just saying" I reply quickly. I'm getting worked up right now. This conversation isn't going anywhere.
"That same night when we had the encounter, I eavesdropped on a conversation of him and my boss" Jake says and I listen intently.
"I don't understand him! He's so complicated! He has so many twists and turns!" He roars and hits the wall.
"What did he say?" I ask him. He looks at me.
"According to what I heard its like he still thinks about us! Like he wants to see us again. He sounded desperate Nikki! I don't know! He spoke of my mother and Jessica!"
"He still cares about you! You really need to hear his side of the story" I convince.
"No! I'm not going to listen to his crap and fairytale stories after getting married and abandoning us!"
God! He's so stubborn.
"That's the only way you can understand everything! Or it will keep haunting you" I suggest.
"Please do it! Do it for me" I say.
He sighs.
"I will try" he says and I smile.
He smiles back and pulls me in for a hug. I hug him back sniffing in his cologne.
"Am glad for talking to you! I feel much better now" he mouths in my hair. I rub his back slowly.
"Its good you told me!" I say when we break apart.
"Have you told your mom and Jessica?" I ask him.
"No! I don't want to bother them" he says sincerely.
"Gosh I'm starving" he adds and rubs his stomach. I chuckle.
"Let's go get something to eat" He says and we walk to the kitchen together.
"I cooked some taco" he says and places them on two porcelain plates. The aroma of the taco fills my nostrils. I hope they taste the way they smell.
We go to the dining and eat together.
"Why don't we go somewhere after eating?" I suggest.
"Where" Jake asks raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe an entertainment centre or something just to be happy again" I say and Jake chuckles.
"Besides, we have loads of time! My parents said I should be back by twelve and its now eight" I say.
"Why don't you stay here and we will watch a movie together then after that we can go to the amusement park?" Jake suggests.
"I like that idea" I say pleased and Jake chuckles.
After eating we sat at the hall.
"So which movie are we watching?" I ask Jake
"Which movie do you want to watch?" Jake says amused with himself and I roll my eyes.
"Errr.......Stranger things" I reply.
"Sure" Jake says and he sets some things and the movie comes on.
He then comes to sit by me with two popcorns. He gives me one and I munch on it. We watch the movie together. My heart was beating at a faster rate.
I put my hand in the bowl and all the popcorn is gone to my surprise.
I look at Jake and he smiles. He's done with his popcorn.
"Did you steal my popcorn?" I ask him.
"No! I didn't!" He shrugs with his cute face.
"You did Winters! Don't deny it! My bowl was half filled with popcorn" I spit.
He looks at me. His grey irises brimmed with amusement.
"So what if I did? What are you going to do?" He asks me and throws some popcorn into his mouth. He chews it in my face and chuckles at my reaction.
"Spit it out Winters!" I say and grab his collar playfully. We laugh together and I leave his collar.
We go back to the movie.
The movie came to an end soon and Jake and I got ready to go to the amusement park.