WAKE (Wattpad edition)

33. Why I liked getting high.

{Jon}

"Get up. We're going. I signed you out for the afternoon."

Jon slowly turned his throbbing head to look up at Cary, who was standing in his room. Cary's eyebrows were drawn down low under a livid bruise, and his fists were curled. "I fucked up your dad's job," he said.

"What?" Jon sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, anger giving him enough energy to move. "What did you do now?" His voice was weaker than he would have liked.

"Pete's losing his job. Time to get your shit together. Let's go." Cary walked out of the room and Jon jolted to his feet, following him.

There was a car he didn't recognize parked outside the house. Cary held the passenger door open for him, frowning as he took in Jon's stained sweatpants and slumped walk. He slid into the driver's seat and put the keys in the ignition.

"Where are we going?" Jon asked.

Cary didn't answer.

"What happened to my dad's job?"

Cary stayed silent, changing lanes with quick jerks of the steering wheel and accelerating at the lights so Jon's head and chest pressed back into his seat. He braced his hands against the dashboard, feeling a little sick. "Where did you get this car?"

"It's mine," Cary said.

Jealousy billowed so large and dark that Jon felt it swallow his head. Cary had everything he wanted—he was tall and healthy, he had a bedroom in his parents' home, and his own fucking car even. "You dating too? Kadee said last night you guys had a thing."

Something went over Cary's face, interrupting the hard, focused expression he'd been wearing. Two spots of color appeared in his cheeks. "There's a thing. I don't know what it is."

Jon felt that shove all the air out of his chest. Cary made it look so easy to be normal. He put his eyes straight ahead. "I hate you so much sometimes."

They lurched to a stop at a red light. "Get in line behind everyone else," Cary said, dry and tight.

Jon stuffed his fists under his arms. "Where are we going?"

There was a pause like Cary wasn't sure himself. "Gazebo Park. I need some smokes."

Jon sifted through the handful of things Cary had said to him today. He hadn't thought much beyond his own needs and problems lately, but something about Cary's demeanour was making him afraid. "What happened with my dad?"

Cary was silent, shoulders hunched, staring straight ahead at the road.

Jon slapped his shoulder, stinging his hand. "Cary—you pick me up and now you won't talk. Fucking tell me what the problem is."

Cary swerved across lanes of traffic in a way that made Jon yelp and grab the handle of the door. He pulled into a school parking lot and screeched to a stop, throwing the car into park.

"I've been driving like one week. I can't talk at the same time, okay?" Cary shut his eyes, taking a shaky breath. "I think your dad is fired." His voice was flat. "I fucked up and got in a fight at the church."

Jon's mouth felt dry, and he realized it was hanging open. "Wait—what? What do you mean you got in a fight?"

Cary looked sideways at him, his eyes dark under his eyebrows.

"Don't even think about lying," Jon snapped. "Tell me the whole truth."

Cary lidded his eyes, taking a moment to collect the words. "Went to church with Kadee. Some guys were shooting hoops after."