Confessions of a Bad Boy(43)

After a few minutes, Jessie comes back with a look of triumph and sheer determination on her face. She grabs my hand and pulls me back into the crowd.

“I found him.”

“How?”

“I just followed the trail of young peroxide blondes.”

She leads me to the lounge area, where the eighty inch TV screen is blasting out music videos, drowned out by the brittle laughter of young women that sit around the couches, all angular bodies and bored expressions. In the middle sits my dad, arms wide around the shoulders of two girls even I’d consider too young.

I step through the bodies and wait for him to notice me standing between him and the TV, though it takes a few seconds. The girls are hanging on his every word, way too scantily-clad for a birthday party, probably angling for a role in one of my dad’s movies. Nonetheless, my dad takes their attention willingly, as he spins them one of his old tales.

Eventually he looks up.

“Nate!”

“Hi, Dad.”

“It’s good to see you,” he says, patting away the arm of a girl offering a drink and standing up.

“Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” he smiles formally, before turning his gaze toward Jessie for a second and raising an eyebrow. “I see you’ve brought company.”

“So I have.” I force my voice to sound polite. “This is Jessie.”

She holds out her hand with a genuine smile. “Hi.” My father takes her hand, almost kisses it, but then seems to think better. He squeezes gently and then releases her.

“Hello, young lady. A pleasure to meet you. And how do you know my son?”

I sigh. “No, Dad. This is Jessie. You already know her.”

He looks at me with a frown, then back at Jessie before shaking his head.

“Remember?” I prompt. “From that small house next door.”

“Oh!” Recognition finally flashes in my father’s eyes. “Did you come about the noise? Look, it’s barely even eleven right now and I’ve already spoken with the police—”

“No,” I interrupt with a groan. “She used to live next door. We used to hang out together as kids, remember?”

He winces now, as if it’ll help him see into the murk of the past.

“I’m sorry…the only friend I remember of yours was that little brute who looked like a boxer. You know, the troublemaker. Bad influence. Brought the whole neighborhood down.”

I grimace as I see Jessie’s stance stiffen, as if she’s holding back a left hook of her own. Kyle might be protective of her, but she’s just as protective – if not more so – if people start talking trash about her family.

“That was Kyle, Dad,” I say, angling my body between them. “Jessie’s brother.”

“Oh,” he says, almost on the verge of embarrassment, but instead deciding to laugh maniacally as he drops back down onto the sofa between the two blondes. “Well, at least someone got the good genes!” he says to one of the girls beside him, causing them to erupt in sycophantic laughter.

I stand for a moment in front of him, feeling the rumblings of anger and frustration that always accompany meeting him face to face, and then the inevitable emptiness that comes when I realize he wouldn’t care even if I did let him have it. I turn to Jessie, grab her arm, and guide us away.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Is that it? Don’t you want to talk with him a bit more? I know he can be a bit of a jerk, but if you—”

“I don’t want anything from him. Not anymore.”



We take the fastest route away from my dad, which leads us across the back yard and out past the pool and guest cabin. We walk in silence as we skirt around the side of the property, circling back to the front yard and my parked car, my mood so heavy even Jessie can feel it.

“Hey,” she says suddenly, stopping.

I look up to see her gazing off toward the edge of the grounds. She looks back at me, smiles, and nods her head backwards at the path.

“Come on.”

“Jessie…”

“Come on!”

Before I can reply again she’s off, jogging down the path that leads away from the mansion – and away from my car. I start following. The pathway cuts through dense, overgrown trees and bushes that cordon off the grounds of the mansion, curling around until it opens up again at the back yard of Jessie’s old house.

Her gentle jog turns into a full-blown run as she swipes and ducks around the overhanging branches. I try my best to keep up, catching small glimpses of her as she starts laughing. Suddenly I’m a kid again, smiling at the thrill of the chase.

When I stumble out from the foliage and into Jessie’s old back yard, she’s not there. My smile drops like an anvil, and I take a few steps in complete confusion.

Then I see her.

“Jessie!” I call out, rushing over to the tree with the hammered-in steps as she clambers up toward the treehouse. “That thing’s gonna break!”

She’s already up by the time I say it though, up on the small platform with a few uneven planks nailed together as walls and an equally lopsided roof.

“It’s fine! Come on up!”

“I…but…”