“Guess I made a habit of leaving too.” I laughed out loud, though I knew it was no laughing matter. Sneaking a peek at my mirror I crumbled when I spotted Rocky’s face. She was definitely wearing the mask of grief.
I was an asshole.
“You’re better than this, Jesse. What are you doing? You have to talk to her one last time.” I took a deep breath and tore my gaze away. “Guess you’re going back to work tomorrow.”
***
Well, maybe going back to Rossi’s Novelties was not one of my finest ideas. If Rocky’s anger wasn’t hard to bear, then certainly her parents’ surprise return was even worse!
“We leave for less than a week and you turn this family store into a sex shop?” I cringed at the sound of Mr. Rossi’s voice, which sounded no louder than a sonic boom. The tips of his ears reddened, and I was almost afraid that the plump man was going to explode at any second.
Rocky’s eyes darted back and forth. She was obviously freaking out beyond belief, and though I wanted nothing more than to come back to her defense, I knew how this story would play out—the same exact way it ended years ago.
Her voice was hoarse. “Dad, I…”
Then just like that, Mr. Rossi’s attention turned on me. I took an involuntary step back, taken by surprise by the fury in his eyes. Though I towered over him, I didn’t doubt that he’d do everything in his power to reach up for my neck and choke me to death. “You! I knew I shouldn’t have hired you. That good boy act you’ve been pulling—you’re just like your no-good mom!”
“Dad!” Rocky yelped. “Jesse had nothing to do with it! Mom, please. You have to believe me.”
“Did you even work while we were gone?” Mrs. Rossi was always the level-headed one, but at that moment I feared she was even worse than her husband. Her face was like stone, smooth and hardened, her eyes narrowed slits, calculating and brutal.
“Yes! Check the books.”
My face immediately paled. Rocky mentioned she sold some of the penis shaped straws I put out on the shelf as a joke. I hoped to God her parents wouldn’t find any of those records in their books.
“I’ll do just that,” Mr. Rossi replied.
Great. I swallowed nervously, watching the plump man flip through the gigantic black binder mercilessly.
His caterpillar-like eyebrows rose when he spotted something in black and white. “Miscellaneous? What is this? We don’t sell anything marked ‘miscellaneous.’”
“I…uh…don’t remember,” Rocky stammered.
I shut my eyes. Rocky was always the worst liar imaginable.
Her dad scratched his head in ferocity, and for a moment I worried he’d cut right through his skin. “Did you sell a…a…what are they called?”
“A dildo, honey,” Mrs. Rossi answered with a surprisingly calm tone before scampering away.
Rocky winced and shook her head. “Um, no…they were straws.”
“Why were they marked miscellaneous?”
“I…uh…the barcode was scratched and I was too busy to grab another one to scan.”
Wow, maybe she wasn’t such a bad liar after all.
Just when I thought Mr. Rossi was about to buy it, the sound of his wife’s screams filled the store. Simultaneously, the three of us jerked up and quickly ran toward the source of the commotion. I skidded to a stop in front of a pair of painted purple footprints.
Crap! How could forget I painted the floor to the store? No wonder Rocky hated me.
“What is this?” Mrs. Rossi exclaimed, on the verge of hyperventilation. She licked one of her fingers and frantically tried wiping my “artwork” off to no avail. Face scrunched in anger, she gazed at her daughter with a look of pure ferocity.
That was it. I could no longer hold out any longer and let Rocky fight my battles for me. Repeating history or not, I had to take the blame again.
“Enough! Enough of this,” I growled.
“Jesse! Be quiet,” Rocky hissed in warning.
Ignoring her, I pressed on. “It was my idea. All of it. Our stores in Charleston do well by selling those toys. They also put glittered prints around their stores as a gimmick. Rocky didn’t want to do it at first. But as usual I was able to convince her.”
And with a snap of a finger I was once again kicked out of the Rossis’ homestead, banished from seeing their daughter. I couldn’t blame them for hating me. It was true; I did need to leave Raquel alone for good. Dad was right, we were a bad combination. As much as I tried to fight it, we definitely brought out the worst in each other.
“Shut up, Jesse,” I muttered, starting my car up. “You’re the only thing bad in this combination. Better walk away again before you screw things up even more for her. That’s what you are, aren’t you? Just a screw up…” I rubbed my eyes and took a few breaths to steady my heart, which was still beating erratically. Once I finally calmed myself to think rationally, I shook my head in disgust. “I can’t cut her out of my life again. I’m not strong enough anymore…so what do I do now?”
The answer to my question was simple. It wasn’t up to me. It never was up to me. It was time that Rocky took the lead, just as she wanted. It was time for her to step it up.
Chapter 31
Radio silence.
You’d think after five years of enduring it, a day would be nothing.
Well, it wasn’t.
The next day was horrible. Actually, what’s worse than horrible? Torture? The plague? Whatever was worse I was there.
Waiting sucked.
Not hearing anything sucked.
Everything sucked.
I dragged my feet around the house waiting for a non-existent call or text amidst my mother’s prying eyes and the arrogant smirk on Michelle’s chapped lips.
“Broken heart, eh?” The fiery redhead slyly mused as I shuffled past her in the kitchen.
I pressed my lips together and tried my best to ignore her, focusing my attention on grabbing a box of orange juice from the fridge and drinking juice straight from it. It had been years since I did something so juvenile, but I just wanted to give Michelle anything to comment on that wasn’t about my fucking love life. Placing the carton of juice down, I turned and eyed her methodically. There must have been something on my face that said, “Don’t mess with me,” because soon enough she backed away, hands held palm side up.
Guess I still have some of that high school bad boy left inside of me.
That was basically how it went for the rest of the day. Michelle stayed away from me and my phone remained silent. I attempted to keep myself busy and even went so far as to log into my restaurant’s main email, but nothing helped push the lead weight off my chest. I was just about ready to pack up and say goodbye to Bethel Falls for good when something particular happened. My cell phone buzzed.
“This better not be a dumb trick,” I muttered, desperately.
I wheeled myself away from my laptop and basically launched myself onto my mattress. The years’ old springs groaned under my weight and sudden movement…or rather, from the thrashing of my heart against my rib cage. Wincing, I lifted up my phone and gulped before skimming the text message.
“Here goes nothing,” I mumbled.
Five years is a very long time and since this may be the last time I speak to you for another five years I just wanted to say…Thank you for the years of friendship. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you and I appreciate that. I know it sounds weird, but you actually taught me to aspire for what true love could really be. As inexplicable as it is, I can’t help but think that my inability to form relationships was due to the fact that I compared them all to you. Thank you for setting that bar for me and thank you for loving me, even if it was in your own special way. Goodbye again, old friend.