The Drive: My Pain, Your Stain

Chapter 10: A Closed Door Opened

With the loss of the baby and now finding out that with Jackson's paycheck came with a lay-off too; things didn't look so bright for the coming week. However, Jackson didn't feel like he could give up because of Debra's depression about the miscarriage and bills piling up against them at the moment. He had to find a job quick to survive this dilemma. He ran into Bryce at the local pub and decided what the hell might just stop in a get a beer and relax even just for a drink. O'Brien's Pub was well known to be a rough bar and was just around the corner from the house. A place where Debra and Bonnie would not approve ha ha; but 'who cares I am the Man of the house and no one runs me,' Jackson thought as he walked up to sit next to Bryce at the bar. Bryce and he worked at the same place but in different department for years. "Yo, Jackson, how you been," Bryce said. "Whassup, Bryce, did you get laid-off to today?" He replied. "No." Bryce answers. "Well I did and I think it is really shady." "If you ask me because they gave me no warning, either," Jackson replies.

Bryce with some concern for his friend asks, "So whatcha going to do now?" Jackson with his beer in his hand, looks up to Bryce and says, "Duh, look for another job." Bryce and Jackson look at each other and just laugh. Bryce scans the room and sees a buddy of his in the back and tells Jackson 'he will be right back.' Jackson nods and continues to take a few gulps of his beer and looks up at the bartender and orders another beer. Bryce soon returns and tells Jackson, his friend, just told him about a place he just got hired from but it is a piece away from his house. Jackson perks up and says, "Where it at?" Bryce goes on to tell Jackson where it is at; when all of a sudden a fight breaks out in the back hall towards the bathrooms. Both Bryce and Jackson gulp down their brews and head for the front door of O'Brien's. Just as they leave the area of the window, "CRASH!" Jolted by the sudden thunder of broken glass; they whip around to see two dark figures rustling around on the ground like two school boys beating on each other. "Man, I'd hate to see their faces in the morning, Bryce says." Laughter bellowing from Jackson's stomach, "Yeah, for whatever it was worth; it must have lead to some girls skirt tails!"

The 'Peeping Tom'

Bryce and Jackson walk down toward Jackson's home and Bryce hands over a piece of scrap paper that has scribble on it. Jackson peers at it all to put in it in his jeans pocket. Both are at the edge of the corner when they spot a figure at the window of Jackson's home peering in. Bryce looks at him as to give him signs to tell him Bryce will held toward the back and he to creep up on the figure in the darkness at the front. As Jackson creeps up to the front of his house; it is seems like mist or fog starts to settle in around the houses and from down the street he hears a distance bark or two. The figure still trying to peer into the house at someone and Jackson soon became enraged at this peeping tom. 'SNAP!' goes a twig in the backyard, the figure looks quickly toward the sound and bolts down the small yard where he meets Jackson and gets him in a bear hug. Swinging around, down on the ground, the darkness makes it hard to see who is who as Bryce leaps over the fence toward Jackson and the creeper. As a mirage of twist and turns Jackson loses his grip on him and Bryce gains ground as the figure disappears down the street into the fog. Jackson is found huffing and puffing as the air in his lungs escapes him in the rumble.

Jackson hears footsteps from Bryce's shoes as he asks "Are you alright, Man?" 'Man, he got away." "It was like he had super shoes, he took off like he was running for his life and then I heard no sound." "I looked around and nothing but taillights screaming away from me." Little droplets of sweat from his brow, Jackson looks up at Bryce only to laugh. Bryce looks at him like 'what he was laughing at.' Jackson wipes the sweat from his face, gets up from the ground as Bryce hands him his hand to help him up and all he says to Bryce, "Never a dull moment in this part of town, never a dull moment." They both head up to his house only to see DB on a chair at the living room table, her head bowed as she slept. She was apparently waiting for him to come home. Bryce nudges Jackson as to say he will see him later. Jackson nods his head toward Bryce like as to say 'ok.'