Behind These Bars

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen
Jason looked over at me and then quickly at his hands in his lap. "What do you mean? I told you I got it while playing baseball," he replied. I scoffed at that, "Jason, I might not be a genius but I'm definitely not an idiot. Not only would you not miss the ball but that bruise is too big to be from a baseball."
Jason clenched his jaw and looked up at the stars. I moved closer to him and cupped his cheek with my hand. "You can tell me," I said. Jason looked in my eyes, "I---I can't. I'm sorry." He looked away from me and stood up from the blanket. He began to walk away from me but I wasn't done with the conversation; I was far from it actually.
"Hey! I'm not done talking about this," I shouted. He turned around and marched up to me and shouted, "Well, I am! Just let it go Evangeline." I poked him in the chest. "No, I'm not going to let it go. Don't you trust me," I asked a little more calmly. He sighed and began to walk away saying, "I do trust you but it's not that simple." Throwing my hands in the air I looked at him incredulously, "Yes it is! I trust you so /I told you everything about my past. I told you everything about my stay in juvie," I retorted. He laughed at me with no humor in his voice, "Yeah but that's different. Everyone already knows about that. Newsflash Evangeline, you going to a juvenile detention center wasn't exactly a secret!"
His words hit me like a punch in the gut. It felt like all the air in my lungs had gushed out of me and was nowhere to be found. After my initial shock I could only feel one emotion: rage. Stomping towards him I pushed on his chest making him stumble. I remarked, "Do you think I want that to be public knowledge!" I pushed him and continued to say, "I've told you things about my mom and juvie that I've never told anyone!" I pushed him again and proceeded to shout, "You're such a jerk! I can't believe..." Jason grabbed my wrists to keep me from pushing him anymore.
"It's my dad, alright! Are you happy now," Jason blurted out. I just blinked a couple of times. Hearing Jason's outburst, I was a bit shocked. I mean, don't get me wrong, I knew he had to have gotten the bruise from being in a fight with someone; I just never thought that the person would be his dad. The golden boy of Wake Forest didn't have as perfect of a life as he led people to believe.
I ask shocked, "Your dad did that to you?" Jason just sighed and nodded at my question. I drug him back over to the blanket and made him sit down beside me. "How long has he been doing this to you Jason?" I stroked the crook of his arm where the nasty bruise lay on his skin. I looked at Jason's face and saw him wince a bit. I ask, "Does it still hurt?" He responded, "A little bit but it's not as bad as it was."
I still couldn't believe that this was happening to Jason of all people. He always put on this front that everything in his life was perfect but in reality, it was far from it. "Jason, how long?" Jason ran his hand over his face and looked out into the darkness of the trees and said, "The first time was when I was seven." Astonished I said, "Oh my gosh Jason! I'm so sorry." He just chuckled humorlessly. "It's okay. It's not your fault my dad likes to use me as his personal punching bag when he's drunk," he said.
Silence enveloped us momentarily as I tried to figure out what to say. "How often is he drunk?" Jason looked at me as he spoke, "Unknown to most, Jason Worthington. Sr. likes his scotch. I guess you could say my dad has a bit of a drinking problem." I asked, "That's why you didn't want to go home this week." "Exactly. I didn't want to bring you to my house and risk him being in one of his drunken rages," Jason said.
I had always respected and admired Jason but now I had a newfound respect for him. He had endured his dad's abuse for years and he'd never once shown it. It was then that a thought occurred to me, "Jason does your mom know about this?" He shrugged his shoulders and responded, "I mean she knows that dad can have a nasty temper when he's drunk but they're hardly ever home at the same time so she's never actually seen him hit me." I interjected, "But she must have seen the bruises and marks from him hitting you?" He shook his head and said, "This bruise was a mistake. He usually makes sure they're places where no one can see them."
That one statement completely shattered my heart. No one should have to go through that pain. Not only physically but mentally. It was just wrong. "Jason, why don't you just tell the police? You have proof; they'd have to believe you." He looked back off into the distance and said, "What's the point? I'm going to be gone in two years anyway. Plus, he's still my dad and besides it'd affect my mom's reputation as well and I don't want that." "But..." He looked at me concerned and said, "Promise me you won't say a word about this to anyone Evangeline." I looked into his eyes and sighed, "Okay, I promise."
After that we both just sat staring into the sky looking at the stars. Then about thirty minutes later, we decided to pack up all the stuff and head to my house. When we got to my front door, Jason rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm sorry about tonight. It's not exactly what I had in mind for our first date." I smiled at him and leaned up on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek. "To me, it was perfect," I said. He put our foreheads together and asked, "Be my girlfriend." I couldn't help the huge grin that spread across my face. "I thought you'd never ask." Jason smiled at me and leaned in until our lips touched. In that moment it didn't matter what crap we both had to deal with, life couldn't have been any better.