Atlanta City's Bad Boy

Chapter 14. Hot-Headed

JESSE'S POV

I hear a beeping noise, irritated I move my arms around trying to turn the alarm off. Wait...this isn't my bed.

My eyes fly open, and I sit forward something stops me tugging at my face and arms I pull the plugs from my nose.

"Jess," I hear Mia whisper tiredly. I look to my right and see her standing up, walking towards me from where she had been lying on a couch.

"Mia, what the hell happened? Where am I?" I ask her. Before she can even answer me, everything floods back to me. Laying in bed, the smell of smoke, the barn, the horses, Mia, and the feeling of not being able to breathe. "Where are the horses, are they alright? What about the barn is it gone. What happened?" I ask.

"Calm down, Jess. The barn is gone. It all collapsed under the flames. You have been out for ten hours. You collapsed from too much smoke inhalation, but the doctors said you'd be fine. The horses are okay for the most part..." She trails off, looking at me with a somber look on her face.

"What do you mean for the most part?!" I ask, getting scared.

"Well it's Casper and Sugar they both have some pretty bad burns, I called a vet to come out and look at them. We got all the horses into the fenced-in area away from the fire. They'll make a full recovery, but they're petrified and freaking out," She explains to me.

"damn it," I hiss, throwing my face into my hands.

"Jesse, you should really call your mom," She says.

"I will a bit later," I tell her. "What time is it?" I ask Mia.

"Nine-Thirty," She answers. I pull her onto my lap, kiss her, and hug her. We sit that way for a few minutes. Then a doctor walks in. Good, I want to know when I can get the hell out of here.

"Hey, Jesse, how are you feeling?" He asks.

Mia climbs off of me, sitting down in the chair beside my bed. "Fine. When can I get out of here?" I ask, irritated.

"Jesse," Mia says in a stern voice.

"Well, if you are feeling up to it, I can release you by now, I suppose," He says.

"Sounds good, doc," I reply. The doctor makes his way over to me, giving me a once over. He asks if I can breathe easier, I tell him yes. He says I'm looking a lot better and with that, he leaves.

"That fire was intentional, Mia," I say, looking over at her.

"Jess, what makes you think that? It could have been wiring," She says.

"No fuckin' way, trust me that fire was set. I could smell the gasoline," I trail off angrily.

She stands up and sits on the bed beside me, looking into my eyes. "You don't think that..." She trails off, arching a brow.

"Yes, I do. I think Damon did it."

Just then, she got a text. "Who is it?" I ask her.

"It's Chrissy. They all wanted to know if you are okay and awake. They were all here last night about an hour after you got here," She explains. "I think Jordy and Opie are out there trying to clean up and deal with the horses." I nod in understanding. The doctor comes in with my release forms.

Mia goes over and grabs a duffel bag. "Jordy dropped you off some clothes."

I take it and quickly get dressed and sign the papers. "How are we getting home?" I ask her, confused.

"I sorta drove your truck last night behind the ambulance." She admits sheepishly looking down.

"Great, let's go," I say. She looks at me surprised, but I grab her arm and pull her toward the door.

***

As soon as we pull up into the driveway, I look up to see where my barn used to stand, which is now one big pile of burnt wood.

"Jess?" Mia looks at me, worriedly. I just shake my head in disgust and climb out of the truck. Once inside, everyone is there hugging me saying sorry. We all sit down in the living room. Mia crawls up beside me.

"Have you told your mom yet?" Nicky asks me.

"Not yet, I don't even know what the fuck to say to her right now." I sigh and throw my head back, looking up at the ceiling.

"How did this happen?" Jordy asks me.

"When I got out to the barn last night, I could Smell gasoline really fucking bad. I seriously think it was Damon. I mean, he was so fucking pissed off at me. Who else would have done it?" I growl. To my surprise, everyone agrees, knowing what I'm implying is making sense.

"How are you going to get the money for a new barn?" Frank asks me.

"I have insurance on the barn that shouldn't be a problem," I explain.

"Well, that's good," Noah responds. They all nod in agreement.

"So, what now?" Kelly asks.

The truth is, I don't even know how to respond to that. All I can think about is how bad I want to beat the fuck out of Damon. Actually, if I'm being honest, I want to kill him. Mia is not going to like that.

"I want him to admit that he fucking did it," I growl. "When he does, he'll be lucky if he ever sees daylight again." The threat rings in every word, and they all look at me worriedly.

"Jesse, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Mia's tone is soft, but her face looks angry.

I follow her out to the kitchen she turns around and looks at me with a stern expression. "Jesse, you know that isn't the answer," She hisses.

"Really?"I growl, throwing my hands in the air. "Please fucking enlighten me on what I am supposed to do, Mia?! Because I really don't know how to deal with this shit any other way. I just lost my god damn barn! I have two injured horses in my pasture that probably will not come anywhere near me now!" I start coughing. Not all the smoke is out of my lungs, and yelling is just making it harder to breathe.

"Jess, I understand you are upset, but-" I cut her off.

"Are you fucking stupid?! I'm not upset! No, I don't think so! I'm beyond that! I'm fucking livid! If you don't fucking like it, you can take your ass home! I'm dealing with it my own way!" I scream at her. Mia stumbles back from the venom in my voice; she looks scared. It's silent for a long moment. My breathing slows as I realize what I said to her. I shouldn't have said it. I didn't mean it. I shouldn't be screaming at her; it's not her fault.

Before I can say anything else, she steps quickly away from me. I see the hurt in her eyes. I screamed at her, called her stupid, and told her to go home.

"Mia wait-" She turns and bolts out of the kitchen. I sigh slowly, running a hand through my hair. Just as I'm about to follow after her Brady strolls into the kitchen.

"Jesse?" Brady is a cop that is just a few years older than I am. Brady is the only cop I have ever trusted. Most cops in Atlanta are all for catching me doing shit I ain't supposed too. Brady, however, has had my back the past three years. I'm pretty sure he knows what I do, but he turns the other cheek. He's caught me doing shit I wasn't supposed too and lets me walk away from it.

"Hey, Brady," I mutter.

"I need to talk to you about the fire," He says.

"Give me a minute," I say in a hoarse voice. I walk to the living room. When I walk in, everyone is staring at me. "Where is Mia?" I ask.

"She told Lily to give her a ride home," Jordy says.

"Fuck," I groan. I walk back to the kitchen, feeling defeated. Awesome, I lost my barn and fucked things up with Mia in less than twelve hours. Maybe things are better this way. Maybe Mia shouldn't come back. She's such a good girl. She shouldn't be with a guy like me. This is most likely where we will always bump heads. I'm hot-headed as hell, and she is so calm, cool, and collective.