Jason Davenport
My mind wandered as I leaned on a wall in the hallway.Rory and I had finally decided to throw the party at his place instead, and it had been exactly what I needed. Yes, I'd felt uneasy in the beginning, but after I'd gone home and disposed of the bloodied sheets, I felt better.Better and ready to party. And so far, apart from a terrible hangover, everything was going really great.The project was due today, and we were each supposed to submit a written report about our experience working together.Of course Amelia would be writing for the both of us. But I hadn't seen the bitch today.I frowned, hoping she wasn't still sulking about the other day. God, that girl had to be the most dramatic one I'd ever met in my entire life.And she better not have told anyone shit. What would she say anyway? I wondered, smiling. No one would believe her.As if she had been hiding in the corners waiting for me to think of her, she emeJason DavenportI sat in my room staring at the ceiling. I was bored. And there was nowhere to go. I'd played every video game I had over and over again, I didn't have soccer practice today, and I'd been to Rory's and Greg's twice in the last few days. On top of all that, Dad wasn't back yet. Not that it'd be any comfort if he was because he'd probably be at work by now. Contrary to my better judgement, I texted Dad everyday to make sure he was still alive. To make sure he was okay. And so far, it looked like they were having fun. I frowned. Of course they were having fun. It was obvious from Ashley's Instagram page-she literally uploaded every minute, from their bedroom view to every meal they were having to PDA. It was actually starting to get annoying. I was out here worrying about dad getting hurt, and he was somewhere in Paris having fun. Was he even worth it? I wondered. It was a pretty selfish thing he did-abandoning me like this
Jason DavenportA knock interrupted me as I was about to start breakfast. Since Dad wasn't home I'd started the habit of taking my food upstairs to my room. And I was really starting to like it. I could lie down lazily on a chair, or even on my bed, my food in a tray, eating at my own pace and leisure. Dad would never had allowed me to do that. We always ate proper. Always on a dining table. But as I was alone, I'd started to indulge in little things I'd never done before."Come in!" I ordered, throwing a potato fry in my mouth. A servant walked in swiftly. "Mr and Mrs Davenport are on their way from the airport. Mr Davenport said to inform you."Oh. They were back. Finally. I breathed out slowly. Dad was okay. Nothing went wrong. "Okay," I responded, waving her away. She gave a short nod and walked out, clicking the door shut. I quickly downed the rest of my breakfast and jumped into the shower. I'd also resorted to sho
Jason DavenportAshley was all smiles as she burst through the doors, clutching a huge pink shopping bag in one hand, and an oversize purse in the other. Dad walked in behind her, looking flushed. He shouted orders to the servants about the luggage in the limo. I examined Dad carefully to see if he showed any strange signs. Satisfied, I tore my gaze away and concentrated on my phone."Hey, Jason," Dad said loudly, grinning from ear to ear. "How've you been?" He asked. Despite myself, I felt a warmth spreading through my chest. As much as I hated to admit it, I kinda missed him. "Fine, dad. How was your trip?"He grinned a second time, handing me a huge box. From the weight I could tell it was video games. Tearing the box open, I procured video games and the latest PlayStation. My eyes widened in shock. My head shot up. "Dad!" He chuckled. "I knew you'd like it.""Thank you so much." I engulfed him in a hug. "Awww,"
Amelia ForbesI sat outside the principal's office waiting for my turn to go in. I'd only ever been here once in my entire life. And that was when I'd been summoned to inform me of a scholarship I was eligible for.And now I was here again. Summoned my Mr Redmey-my English teacher. I didn't know what to expect so I waited.I just wanted everything to move by quickly so I could go. I let out a breath, slumping deeper into the very uncomfortable lobby chair. After a while of waiting, the office assistant walked out the door, her eyes roaming. There were about six students here-including me.She paused to put on her glasses. "Amelia Forbes?" She asked, twirling a pen in her hand. Slowly, I got to my feet. "That's me," I said, desperate for everything to be all over. This was not where I wanted to spend the rest of my day.A curious look came over my face as I walked into the office. The principal, Mr Redmey, Mrs Sandra, and basically all my teachers
Jason DavenportI was still pissed as I scrolled through Ashley's instagram, as it reminded me of the failure I'd come to the last time I'd followed her. Sighing, I clicked my phone off and shoved it on the sofa. I let out a sharp breath, wondering where Rory was. I was at his house. His parents were on vacation so the house was free. Which was why we always chose Rory's house whenever we wanted to hang out, or throw a party. His parents were almost always gone.Rory had stepped out to get the pot and alcohol while we waited for the guys to arrive. I'd texted Adrian an hour ago and he'd said he was on his way. I groaned in agony. I hated waiting. And I really needed a cigarette right now. After a while, the sound of approaching guys talking and laughing let me know that they were here already. Finally.Adrian walked in first, deep in conversation with Greg about something I honestly didn't care about."Where are the cigarettes?" I groaned.
Amelia ForbesI'd resorted to going out more often, as it was the only way to clear my head. I could feel myself give up more and more as the days went by, although I didn't want to.The school had emailed Nana about my grades and Nana and I had had a long talk about it. Her trying to find out if anything was wrong with me, me trying to concentrate on her words and not the pain from the hole in my chest.So here I was this evening, walking round the town for the fifth time this week and finally coming to a stop in front of a liquor store. There was a free bench directly opposite the store so I sat there, watching people move in and out of store, while trying not to think about how messed up my life was.As I watched the store, a familiar looking girl walked through the doors-dressed in an oversized hoodie, similar joggers and a beanie-clutching a bottle of alcohol wrapped in brown paper in her left hand.A sigh escaped me as I saw that it was Dani.
Jason Davenport"Can you stop that?" I snapped at the servant who kept adding more gel to my hair to make it fall backwards.Her fingers froze mid-air as she cupped another handful of gel in her hand. She stared at me wide-eyed, waiting for my next order. Unsurprisingly, it only annoyed me further. I tore the ridiculous bowtie off my neck and popped the first three buttons of the crisp white button-down I'd been forced to wear. "Well, get the fuck out!" I spat, glaring at her."Oh!" She managed to yelp before dumping the blob of hair gel into the trash and practically running out of the room.I let out a groan as the door shut behind her. Dad had decided to throw a small party with relatives and friends to introduce his "wife" to everyone. And now I had to dress up and smile and act like the child who's so glad his dad had remarried.Furious, I barged into the bathroom and washed the thick, slimy product off, only stopping when I was sure it was
Amelia ForbesI shook my head vigorously over and over again as I stared at my reflection. I'd been standing in the bathroom for more than thirty minutes-the pregnancy tester I'd gotten from a store across the street clutched in my right hand.I remembered the nasty look the lady at the counter had given me as she tossed the tester into a plastic bag, murmuring something about 16 year old sluts.I shook my head once more. I was just really tense. I can't be pregnant.Relax, Mel. It's just a false alarm. The changes in your body are as a result of stress. Breathe.Already having previous information about what single and double lines meant, I settled down and peed on it. In the few minutes it took to show the result, I wiped my hands on my jeans. Maybe it's just a coincidence. A hormone thing. After a few minutes of waiting, I let out a shaky breath and looked down at the plastic I held in my hand."No!" I screamed, feeling my throat constric
Amelia ForbesThe day had gone by so fast and it was already about time for our dinner date. Dani came over to help me get dressed. She and Adrian were open about their relationship status now and they looked so good together I thought I would cry.She did my makeup too. I didn't look perfect because I still had a little bit of my tummy showing after the delivery, but Jason didn't care. Dani enveloped me in a tight hug as she saw me off to the limo."You look amazing, Ammie," She whispered. "Off you go. Be a good girl now."I whipped around, eyes widening in embarrassment. But she only winked at me and stalked off.God, I loved to hate her.I didn't know where we were going, and no matter how many times I'd asked, Jason wouldn't tell.Finally we arrived. He had set something up at one of the spots on the hill. There were lights and food, and even someone to play the violin.Again, how would he know I loved the violin?Benson.After about an hour of
Amelia ForbesIt had been a while since I'd had the baby now. Two months precisely.I had so many dreams I had wanted to realize after high school, so much I wanted to do. But all that was gone now. At least for a while. In the beginning it had saddened me deeply. But now, all I wanted was to make sure my baby got everything she deserved, and then some more.Being a mother changes a lot. Everything, in fact. And I really love my baby, but in she's always crying, and it's even worse at night now. We finally went to the doctor a week ago and realized it was colic. Thank God.I said a silent prayer. If I'm being honest, I don't think I could've handled it alone. Especially with Nana gone. The thought of her brought tears to my eyes. She had passed away peacefully at the elderly home. And I missed her a lot. Every day I would imagine all the beautiful words she would've used if she could talk.I thought of those times when she really was the only thing that kept me go
Amelia Forbes I deliberately sipped my hot cocoa slowly, as I watched Dani say hi to Adrian briefly and walk into the kitchen toward me. She pulled up a chair and lowered herself onto it, watching me with hawk eyes."What's going on?" Her tone was crisp."What do you mean?" I cocked an eyebrow.She rolled her eyes. "So pretty boy gets into an accident and all of a sudden you move in with him?"The anger that flashed within me knew no bounds as I raised her eyes to meet hers. "It was an attempted suicide," I said quietly.Her hand froze halfway to her lips. "What?" She managed to croak. "I...I had no idea that-""No you didn't," I snapped. She hung her head but didn't say anything more."And if Nana was still home, I probably wouldn't be living here now. So please don't play that card.""I'm sorry," She managed.I shrugged, eyeing her curiously. "And what about you?" I asked innocently. "Is there anything you wanna tell me?"She threw
Jason DavenportIt'd been five days since I was discharged from the hospital. My head still hurt, but I'd never felt better. Dad had convinced me to come back home and I'd agreed, on the condition that I'd keep working until I could afford to pay for college. And it'd been going great. My friendship with Adrian was still a bit shaky but we were working things out. We'd resumed our weekly hangout at my house to play either basketball or video games and it felt nice. Sometimes Amelia popped in to check on me but she never stayed for too long."Hey?" I shook Adrian as we both sat on my bed. He quickly tried to put his phone away and I eyed him suspiciously. "Who are you texting?" I asked. He blushed. "Um, no one?"I patted his back. "Tell me everything, my friend."An hour later, Adrian had narrated the love story that had sprung between himself and Dani Daniels and I stared at him in shock."Dani?!" I stage whispered, putting a hand to my mouth. "Holy sh
Jason DavenportI still wasn't sure what miracle had occured while I was unconscious.At first when I woke up, my first feeling was that of disappointment. I was disappointed that I had survived. Once again I'd proved that I'd always be a failure.But when Amelia had barged into my ward, a crying mess, and enveloped me in a hug, I thought I was dreaming. I still couldn't wrap it around my head but I was glad for it. Whatever had happened, I prayed that it would stay that way. As I relaxed my pounding head onto the pillow, my door swung open and I swallowed as I saw Adrian walk in.He stumbled awkwardly and took a seat beside me on the bed. "Hey.""Hey."For a while we sat there, not uttering a word to each other. "Why'd you do it?" Adrian finally whispered.I didn't need to ask to know what he was talking about. I took my time to gather myself. "I guess... I guess I was just tired of being such a failure..." I trailed off.Saying it brough
Amelia ForbesI sat fidgeting in the waiting room. It'd been three hours since we arrived at the hospital and everyone was seated, quietly. The truck driver had given a clear description of what had transpired. No one said a word.Tears flowed down my cheeks. He has attempted suicide.The thought broke me down more than I thought it could. I felt sad, guilty. I blamed myself for pushing him out in the rain and saying such hard words to him.I guessed those few weeks had put him into some deep state of depression. He was in such a state that he had seen suicide as the only option. It was then that I realized that he'd been honest the whole time.He'd been sincere. All the effort he'd been putting. I stifled a sob.What if something happened to him?My heart pounded in my chest. What would I do? I couldn't take care of a child alone. I couldn't...And he was so good with her. He'd be such a good dad. I couldn't... I couldn't lose him.I burie
Jason DavenportAs Amelia pushed me out into the blasting rain, I realized something. I was exhausted.I was tired.I was tired of the crying, tired of the begging. I knew I deserved everything that was happening right now and then some more, but I was tired. This was what I'd also be. The rapist. The criminal. No matter how hard I tried. No one would ever see the good in me.And it was all my fault. I showed the good in me too late. Way too late. So late that everyone would stand waiting for me to draw the curtains and prove to them that it was all an act. I'd always be the asshole. The monster. The beast.I looked up at the sky and sobbed. "Are you disappointed in me too, mom? This is what your boy turned out to be. A useless piece of shit."I slumped to the floor, my chest feeling like it was about to explode. "I'm a criminal, mom. I lost every-every thing. My friends, my family, my dignity. This is what I've become.""Nobody wants me m-mo
Amelia Forbes"I got in."Dani walked into my room beaming, a white envelope in hand.And although I knew what she held-a college acceptance letter, I asked, "Into what?"She rolled her eyes at me and laughed. "Bloustone College?" "Oh," I finally managed to mutter after a while. Dani stared at me in disbelief. "Really? That's all you're gonna say? I've been working my ass off for this and that's all you're gonna say?" She was right. I did sound kind of selfish."I'm sorry, Dani. I didn't mean it like that," I pleaded. "Of course I'm happy for you. It just.. it took me by surprise, that's all. You know how hard I've been rooting for you."She gave me a small smile and wrapped her arms on my shoulder. "It's okay, Ammie. I'll miss you too."My throat tightened. I was going to miss her. Even more than she thought. She was one of my best friends. She'd been there for me when no one else had. She'd practically forced her way into my life.I giggled
Amelia ForbesI woke up to the soft cry of my baby girl. We'd moved her from Nana's room to the room that used to belong to my parents.Careful not to wake anyone up, I tiptoed to the room and received a startle when I saw Jason cradling her in his arms.My first thought was to go in and snatch her away from him. If he hurt her, I swear. But I waited. And I watched.I watched her stop crying as soon as he picked her up. I watched him coo her, kiss her cheek and began to hum a tune. Was he singing? I wondered, my mouth agape.What had happened to the Jason Davenport from high school? And who was this softie? Was this all an act? To gain my forgiveness?But he knew everyone was asleep. So why would he act when there wasn't an audience. I don't know how long I stood there for. But i watched them, a wide smile permanently plastered on my face. He knew just how to hold her. How to rock her back and forth so she would fall asleep.How?What changed?