CHAPTER 2 WOO ENJOY
Monster I Become- Chapter 2
The bright lights of the kitchen beat down on me. With barely five hours of sleep last night, the light is double its normal illumination to my eyes. I watch as the bacon sizzle and spits in the frying pan, the grease swelling into bubbles then bursting. The smell is intoxicating for most but with a pounding headache, the scent does nothing but make me want to puke. However, it helps ‘soak up’ the alcohol, as some put it so for these types of mornings; it’s my go-to breakfast.
“Jace, breakfast is ready!” I call from the kitchen. I faintly hear him moan in protest then the creaking of his bed. Thud! The sound catches me off guard but I giggle and shake my head; it just doesn’t concern me anymore when he slips on his own clothes. Some days, I swear Jace does it on purpose just to hear me laugh.
Jace crawls out from his dark cave into the shinning lights of the kitchen and he pretends he is melting. “Ah!” he screams and slowly shrinks to the ground, his hands over his head, trying to shield his eyes.
I continue to laugh. “Get up, Jace,” I instruct him as I place the bacon onto a plate. I bring it over to the coffee table while Jace drags himself over to the couch.
“Party, too, hard,” he grumbles, his face shoved in the pillow.
Slipping in beside him, I pull on his shoulders until he is sitting up right. His hair is messy and dark bags are clearly visible under his eyes. “Advil,” he groans and gives me a puppy look. I pull out the bottle from my coat pocket and hand him them, along with the previously placed glass of water on the coffee table.
“There now eat up the bacon. School is in,” I check my watch, “two hours.”
“I’m skipping today,” Jace says with a mouthful of crispy meat. “No way will I be able to get through that math test with a migraine.”
I shake my head. “You’re going to school, Jace,” I tell him. “You have to live with the consequences and not run from them.”
Jace continues to chow down and chooses to ignore me. I let him finish it off; it’s more important him to seem sober at school then me. I can risk it, he can’t. I clean up the plates when he is done and he heads off to get ready for the school day and as do I. Spending most of my time in the bathroom, I brush my teeth and throw my short black hair into a makeshift messy bun.
Ten minutes later and Jace is driving us to school.
* * *
“No, I’m going to Maddie’s instead Griffon,” I hiss at him, my hands on my hips, showing my displeasure of our conversation. “I am not talking to my counsellor today. I’ll go tomorrow. Besides, it’s not she really cares. She’s paid to let me talk to her.”
Griffon throws his arms in the air. “You’re so stubborn! Why can’t you let yourself get better, Jade? Just go talk to Miss Gorge and maybe you wouldn’t have to go every week.”
I shake my head. “I’m fine, okay? My depression is gone and I haven’t had an anxiety attack for months. I’m fine!”
I turn my back on my friend and stomp down the hall way. I’m not the stubborn one; he is! I don’t have to go if I don’t want to. It’s my choice, no one else’s. On my way, I pass Kara who shoots me a smile then turns back to her phone. As I leave the school, Olin waves at me from his group of friends. I meet Maddie outside at the bus stop where a girl bounds up to us.
“Hey Jade!” she chirps.
“Hi!” Who are you again?
She hands me a piece of paper and scribbled on it is someone’s number. I take it with a confused look. “Silly! It’s Josh’s cell! Remember, you asked me for it at that party a couple weeks ago? Sorry I didn’t get it to you sooner but you know, when life happens, you just got to flow with it!”
“Oh right,” I lie. “Thanks.”
I watch as the bubbly teen skips away from us and I turn back to Maddie. “That was Genie,” she reminds me and realization floods my face. I recall meeting her at Tara’s house a while back but after learning who she is, my memory is blurry. I said I rarely drink. “You really need to make a list of all your contacts with pictures or something.”
Maddie plays with her hair, twirling it nervously over her fingers. “Something is bothering you Trish.” She goes to protest but sighs. “What is it?”
“Let’s head to my house and we’ll talk, okay?”
I nod and we leave the schoolyard. Barely five minutes later, we arrive at her old, run down home and she unlocks the door, leading me in. The walls are bare but it has character and a sense of home. I don’t feel at home anywhere else but Maddie’s which says a lot about my family.
I crash on the couch and Maddie flips on the television, switching it to the afternoon cartoons. Even though we’re teenagers, some Bugs Bunny or Tinker Bell is comforting after a long day’s work. We unwind as the fairies dance and sing on the screen.
“How was your day, Trish?” I ask as she stretches her legs out onto the coffee table, grabbing a bag of chips from a basket beneath her feet.
“Pretty good, actually,” I answer. “Although, the day did start out with me at Jace’s and you know exactly how that goes.”
Maddie gives me a sympathetic look mixed with concern. “Yeah, you did look a little rough this morning. Now, that is actually what I wanted to talk to you about…”
My fingers dance across the keyboard as I text my mom to let her know I’m at Maddie’s house instead. She sends back a sad face but says it’s all right. “Maddie, do we really need to ruin our fun?” Suddenly, thunder cackles outside and through the window, I catch a glimpse of the pouring rain before turning back to Maddie. Great.
“I’m sorry; I’m just worried about you. It’s just not healthy, you know? You take care of him and hurt yourself.”
I cross my arms, looking down. “He needs me, Maddie.”
“Yeah, well, he needs to see that you need him to, that you can’t always be there for him. He can’t always depend on you, Jade!”
Suddenly, the cartoons just make me feel silly. Talking about such a grown-up subject with the television on Tinker Bell just doesn’t seem appropriate. “You don’t get it, Maddie. His mom and dad… there are just things going on that you can’t imagine. I’m not going to just leave him.”
“I know, you can’t tell me but have you even taken a day to yourself in the past, what, four years? You can’t do this to yourself, Jade, please promise me that you won’t get caught up in this anymore? I mean, you can help him but don’t let him hurt you.”
Before I can answer, there is a knock at the door. Curious, we both jump up, leaving our serious conversation behind us to pick up later. Maddie opens the door and gasps. I force myself between her and the entrance, knowing her shocked inhale of breath came from the cold wind and rain hitting her but my longing for knowledge keeps me fueled.
I stop in my tracks, staring wide eyed at the person at the door. “Jace?”
