Home is a Four Letter Word

chapter eighteen

The Last Week of April

When the weekend came, Jake and Aaron had decided to take up their newest vehicle project: fixing the brake line on Aaron's truck. They were sprawled out in the driveway with flattened oil-stained cardboard boxes underneath the truck to keep them from cursing every time a rock dug too far into one of their backs. Jake swore he would never have wanted a lifted truck in his life, but with the lack of effort they had to put into getting up underneath it, he could see why Aaron found it so appealing. With the amount of work they put into getting the damned thing to run at least there was one saving grace.

It was quite warm for the end of April. At this point in the day, the sun was directly above them, shining down and making both of them sweat a little as the weather started to change into what Jake knew to be a hot summer over the horizon. He was suddenly grateful for the holes he had made in his jeans somewhere along the way, because if they hadn't been there, he might have been tempted to tear them into jorts, and then Connor would definitely have had something to judge him for. Just the thought alone brought a smile to his face that he had to bite down on his lip to control so Aaron wouldn't catch him looking like an idiot by grinning over nothing.

Country music was playing faintly on the radio that Aaron had brought along and set out in the driveway next to a box of assorted pieces and parts. Under the truck, he was singing some line about a girl at a party in a mini-skirt that really seemed to resonate with him as he poured his heart and soul into every word. Jake was unboxing the parts they got a couple days ago from a cardboard mat sitting just outside where Aaron was when his best friend smacked his hand down on his mat, gaining Jake's attention.

"Shit."

"What?" He looked through to him.

"You got a flare wrench? Think I brought the wrong one."

"We should. I'll go look."

He pushed himself up off the cardboard box, careful to make sure none of the pieces fell off into the gravel as he walked over it. It only took him a couple seconds to cross the few meters to the barn entrance.

Everything car related had somehow ended up in the entry-way of the barn when Jake's father was convinced they needed a workspace, but couldn't be bothered to clean out the garage to do so. There was an overhead light on at the counter with McKenna's various bridles and such scattered underneath in the same unorganized fashion she left her room in. The red tool box was propped up next to it, some of the drawers ajar, but most of them closed.

Jake couldn't remember if the wrenches were in the second or third drawer so he pulled open the second first to find an array of hammers, screwdrivers and other household supplies that probably should have been in the garage instead. He slammed it closed and moved on to the one underneath. When he opened the third, he quickly realized it was the drawer he was looking for, but that initial satisfaction fell flat when his eyes drifted over to the white envelope sitting on top. In the left corner of the envelope in colors he knew too well to mistake, was the OSU label with Undergraduate Admissions printed underneath it, followed by the middle with his name and address, and in the top right corner, the postage stamp dated March 2nd.

Holy shit.

Jake fumbled to pick it up, immediately noticing how the back had already been ripped open messily. With dirty hands, he struggled to get the letter out, not caring if he marked it up because the first person who opened it seemingly didn't care as much either. The corner was bent back on one side, but it was still folded in the tri-fold it originally came in and Jake didn't give it another second before he was unfolding it out in front of him.

It didn't take long to realize what it was.

This is my acceptance letter.

He saw the words 'congratulations' and 'we're pleased to inform you' and he didn't need to read the rest. He already knew what it said. He had read it with the first two acceptance letters he got from the other schools.