This Is The Dawning Of The Rest Of Our Lives
Chapter III - Fights and Snuggles
The past weeks have been the best of my life. I’ve been spending time with Green Day, as the guys” band was called, a lot. I listened to their music, and it’s simply awesome. Billie has an amazing voice, he rocks on guitar, Mike is an astonishing bass player, and Tré’s an incredible drummer. It feels so good to have a bunch of close friends! I never really had any friends and spent most of my time with Tessie and Jingle. I lived for music. I still do, but now I have people to share it with, and that’s great. It’s nice to have people you can turn to when you’re having problems.
My dad was usually home for dinner, but the past few weeks he’d been coming later. I asked my mom about it several times, but she told me she didn’t know anything about it. I’d heard my parents fighting a few times. I couldn’t stand it. Whenever it would happen, I’d grab Jingle and start playing so I wouldn’t hear them.
I hadn’t told any of the guys about it. They’d noticed I was silent sometimes, and they asked if there was something wrong, but I’d tell them it was just a lack of sleep. I don’t think they believed me, but they didn’t ask any further, so I left it at that.
This time it was different. It was worse.
Mom and dad were fighting again, and I was playing guitar, teary eyed.
Suddenly, I heard something breaking. Dad had probably slammed his fist on the table so hard it sent a glass flying. A few moments later, my door slowly opened and a crying Tessie appeared. I looked at her and felt tears rolling down my cheeks as well.
I got up and walked towards my little sister, picking her up and holding her close against me, closing the door in an attempt to block out the sound of my parents fighting.
“Shh,” I whispered, trying to calm down both Tessie and myself, softly stroking the little girl’s back.
“I’m scared, Jessie,” She sobbed.
“Shh, Tess, it’s gonna be okay,” I cooed, hoping it would be.
When ten minutes later the fighting still hadn’t stopped, I’d had enough of it. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I needed to get Tessie and myself out of here. I couldn’t think clearly, but I walked to my parents” room, holding Tessie, who was clinging onto me like a little monkey, close to my chest. I grabbed the phone and dialed the first number that popped up in my head.
“Hello?” came a deep male voice.
“Uhm, hello Mr. Wright, this is Jessica,” I said, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.
“Hello, Jessica! One second,” he answered kindly “I’ll get you Tré.”
“Thanks,” I managed to mutter.
I waited for a few seconds, which seemed like ages, looking at Tessie softly sobbing, her small body lightly shaking.
“Yellow! Jess?” came Tré’s happy voice.
“What’s up?”
I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.
“Yeah it’s me…” I said, my voice cracking,
“Jess? Is something wrong?”
“Yeah…well, kinda…I was wondering, can I come over with Tessie?” I managed to ask
“Yeah. Yeah, of course you can. Are you okay?” he asked, sounding worried.
“As long as I can get out of here I’ll be fine,” I said, “I’ll be over in a bit. Bye Tré, thanks!”
I don’t know how we did it, but somehow we managed to get out of the house without my parents noticing. It was raining softly, and I didn’t get really wet, but I was freezing by the time we got to Tré’s house. Somehow I’d thought of putting a sweater and a jacket on Tessie, but not on myself. I didn’t see Mr. Wright’s car in the driveway, and I started to panic a little, somehow thinking that maybe Tré hadn’t hear me right and left somewhere. I rang the bell, hoping he’d be there. We didn’t have to wait long for the door to open. I shivered and a wave of thankfulness ran through my body.
“Come in!” Tré said, looking extremely worried.
“Thanks,” I muttered as Tessie tightly held my hand when we walked in.
Tré closed the door and hugged me for a second.
I wished he’d have held me longer.
“Jess, what’s going on?” he asked, leading us to the living room where I collapsed on the couch. Tessie climbed onto my lap and curled up against me. Suddenly I started crying, letting the fear I’d felt flow out. Tré disappeared for a second, to come back with a glass of water. I held Tessie to my chest with one hand, and quickly wiped my eyes with the back of the other before thankfully taking the glass and taking a sip. Tré sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close against him. It comforted me a little and I instinctively leaned against him.
“What happened, Jessie?” he asked softly
“Maybe I can help…”
It made me feel funny when he called me Jessie. Only Tessie had done that up to now. I liked it.
I swallowed and took another sip of water before looking at him.
“Mom and dad are fighting. They’ve been doing that a lot these days…” I mumbled
“I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I was in my room and I heard this crash and then she came to my room, saying she was scared.” I said, nodding to Tessie, who was calming down a little. Tré looked at her and softly stroked her hair. I couldn’t help but notice how sweet he looked when he did that.
“I was scared too…” I continued
“All I could think of was to get out of there with Tess, so that’s why I called you, and I didn’t think of putting on a jacket or anything and it was fucking cold and then I didn’t see the car in on the driveway and I thought you weren’t there or something.” I sobbed. Tré pulled me closer against him, which made me feel warm inside. He softly rubbed my arm.
“That fucking sucks…I wish there was something I could do.” he mumbled.
“As for the car not being there,” he added, looking at me
“Mom, dad and Lori are at a party. I was supposed to go too but I told them I wanted to stay here for you,” he said.
I didn’t say anything. I stroked Tessie’s hair a bit, looking at her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” he asked
“What?” I asked, looking at him.
“You said your parents have been fighting a lot. That’s why you were so quiet isn’t it?” he added, suddenly seeing the connection. I nodded slowly.
“I didn’t want to bother you with my problems…” I mumbled.
Tré thought for a moment, not knowing what to say, absent-mindedly stroking my hair. It made me relax a little, and I could feel Tessie relaxing as well, her grip on my neck loosening a bit.
“Do you want to take a shower or something?” he suddenly asked
“I’ve got a guitar upstairs if you want to play…I could make you something if you’re hungry…I don’t know if she needs anything?” he stroked Tessie’s back softly as he talked about her.
“You’re putting way too much effort into us.” I mumbled.
“Of course not, don’t be stupid.” he said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it a bit.
I didn’t react; surprised by the fact that he’d grabbed my hand. He shyly released it again.
“A shower would do you good.” he said, “It’ll wash your worries away. We’ll figure out what to do later after that.”
“But Tessie...” I started.
“I’ll look after her.” Tré said.
“ We can watch TV or something. I think that kids show is on now…I watch it sometimes” he added with a smirk. I chuckled a bit.
He smiled, and I felt a slightly funny feeling in my stomach.
“Okay.” I said
“Hey Tess,” I whispered, looking at my little sister.
She looked up.
“I’m going to shower now okay? I’ll be back and you can watch TV with Tré here okay?”
She looked at Tré for a second.
“It’s all right,” I added softly, “He’s a nice guy.”
Tessie giggled. Tré grinned.
“Okay,” Tessie said, “you be back soon?”
“I promise.” I said, placing a kiss on her forehead before lifting her off my lap, placing her on Tré’s. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV before wrapping an arm around Tessie, who snuggled up against his chest. I smiled as I walked to the bathroom, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more grateful for anyone in my life than for Tré at that moment.
When I got back downstairs after showering I was exhausted, but, as Tré had predicted, a lot of my worries had been washed away. Of course a few were still spooking through my head, but they disappeared for the time being as I spotted Tré and Tessie when I got back to the living room.
Tessie was asleep, curled up against Tré’s chest, her thumb in her mouth, and her other hand holding onto what looked like a stuffed monkey. Tré was half asleep, staring at the TV screen, one of his hands resting on Tessie’s back. I sat down next to them and Tré rubbed his eyes before looking aside.
“Hey.” he whispered, so he wouldn’t wake Tessie up.
“Hey.” I smiled, looking at the monkey, which looked quite old. One eye was missing and some of the stitches were loose. Tré grinned.
“That’s Snuggles; I got him when I was two. I thought she’d like him.” he said.
“How are you feeling?” he added, looking at me.
“A bit better.” I said
He smiled. There was that funny feeling again.
“Thanks…” I said.
“For what?” he chuckled.
“Just for being here…and sorry for ruining your night.” I added He looked at me. I looked back at him teary eyed. I’d never noticed how blue his eyes were. They seemed to have a magical glow over them that attracted me. I couldn’t look away. After a moment, he blinked.
“What do you mean ruining my night?” he asked softly.
“You were supposed to go to a party right? You should’ve gone. I’m not worth staying home for.” I said, a lump forming in my throat again. Bloody thing.
Tré wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close against him, making sure not to wake Tessie up.
“Shh, it’s okay Jessie.” he whispered, rubbing my arm.
“I’m sorry.” I sobbed
“Don’t be, Jess. Don’t be sorry. I didn’t want to go to that party anyway, and I’m glad I can do something to help you.” he said softly. I snuggled up against him and buried my head in his chest, next to Tessie. She woke up.
“Jessie?” she asked sleepily
“Shh.” Tré said, placing a kiss on Tessie’s head.
“She’s fine, you go sleep some more.” he said softly.
Tessie looked at me and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Here.” she said. I looked up a bit, wiping my eyes. She held Snuggles up.
“You can have Snuggles, he’ll make you feel good.” she stated. I smiled through my tears and took the monkey.
“Thanks Tess.” I said, stroking her hair a bit.
She smiled and curled up against Tré again, moving a bit so I had more room.
Tré stroked my hair as I snuggled against him, slowly calming down. Holding Snuggles close, I closed my eyes, and I dozed off after a while. Tré smiled as he looked at me sleeping, and placed a soft kiss on my hair.
“It’ll be fine, Jessie.” he whispered, not sure if I could hear him.
“I’ll make sure of that.”
My dad was usually home for dinner, but the past few weeks he’d been coming later. I asked my mom about it several times, but she told me she didn’t know anything about it. I’d heard my parents fighting a few times. I couldn’t stand it. Whenever it would happen, I’d grab Jingle and start playing so I wouldn’t hear them.
I hadn’t told any of the guys about it. They’d noticed I was silent sometimes, and they asked if there was something wrong, but I’d tell them it was just a lack of sleep. I don’t think they believed me, but they didn’t ask any further, so I left it at that.
This time it was different. It was worse.
Mom and dad were fighting again, and I was playing guitar, teary eyed.
Suddenly, I heard something breaking. Dad had probably slammed his fist on the table so hard it sent a glass flying. A few moments later, my door slowly opened and a crying Tessie appeared. I looked at her and felt tears rolling down my cheeks as well.
I got up and walked towards my little sister, picking her up and holding her close against me, closing the door in an attempt to block out the sound of my parents fighting.
“Shh,” I whispered, trying to calm down both Tessie and myself, softly stroking the little girl’s back.
“I’m scared, Jessie,” She sobbed.
“Shh, Tess, it’s gonna be okay,” I cooed, hoping it would be.
When ten minutes later the fighting still hadn’t stopped, I’d had enough of it. I couldn’t handle it anymore. I needed to get Tessie and myself out of here. I couldn’t think clearly, but I walked to my parents” room, holding Tessie, who was clinging onto me like a little monkey, close to my chest. I grabbed the phone and dialed the first number that popped up in my head.
“Hello?” came a deep male voice.
“Uhm, hello Mr. Wright, this is Jessica,” I said, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.
“Hello, Jessica! One second,” he answered kindly “I’ll get you Tré.”
“Thanks,” I managed to mutter.
I waited for a few seconds, which seemed like ages, looking at Tessie softly sobbing, her small body lightly shaking.
“Yellow! Jess?” came Tré’s happy voice.
“What’s up?”
I swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat.
“Yeah it’s me…” I said, my voice cracking,
“Jess? Is something wrong?”
“Yeah…well, kinda…I was wondering, can I come over with Tessie?” I managed to ask
“Yeah. Yeah, of course you can. Are you okay?” he asked, sounding worried.
“As long as I can get out of here I’ll be fine,” I said, “I’ll be over in a bit. Bye Tré, thanks!”
I don’t know how we did it, but somehow we managed to get out of the house without my parents noticing. It was raining softly, and I didn’t get really wet, but I was freezing by the time we got to Tré’s house. Somehow I’d thought of putting a sweater and a jacket on Tessie, but not on myself. I didn’t see Mr. Wright’s car in the driveway, and I started to panic a little, somehow thinking that maybe Tré hadn’t hear me right and left somewhere. I rang the bell, hoping he’d be there. We didn’t have to wait long for the door to open. I shivered and a wave of thankfulness ran through my body.
“Come in!” Tré said, looking extremely worried.
“Thanks,” I muttered as Tessie tightly held my hand when we walked in.
Tré closed the door and hugged me for a second.
I wished he’d have held me longer.
“Jess, what’s going on?” he asked, leading us to the living room where I collapsed on the couch. Tessie climbed onto my lap and curled up against me. Suddenly I started crying, letting the fear I’d felt flow out. Tré disappeared for a second, to come back with a glass of water. I held Tessie to my chest with one hand, and quickly wiped my eyes with the back of the other before thankfully taking the glass and taking a sip. Tré sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close against him. It comforted me a little and I instinctively leaned against him.
“What happened, Jessie?” he asked softly
“Maybe I can help…”
It made me feel funny when he called me Jessie. Only Tessie had done that up to now. I liked it.
I swallowed and took another sip of water before looking at him.
“Mom and dad are fighting. They’ve been doing that a lot these days…” I mumbled
“I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I was in my room and I heard this crash and then she came to my room, saying she was scared.” I said, nodding to Tessie, who was calming down a little. Tré looked at her and softly stroked her hair. I couldn’t help but notice how sweet he looked when he did that.
“I was scared too…” I continued
“All I could think of was to get out of there with Tess, so that’s why I called you, and I didn’t think of putting on a jacket or anything and it was fucking cold and then I didn’t see the car in on the driveway and I thought you weren’t there or something.” I sobbed. Tré pulled me closer against him, which made me feel warm inside. He softly rubbed my arm.
“That fucking sucks…I wish there was something I could do.” he mumbled.
“As for the car not being there,” he added, looking at me
“Mom, dad and Lori are at a party. I was supposed to go too but I told them I wanted to stay here for you,” he said.
I didn’t say anything. I stroked Tessie’s hair a bit, looking at her.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” he asked
“What?” I asked, looking at him.
“You said your parents have been fighting a lot. That’s why you were so quiet isn’t it?” he added, suddenly seeing the connection. I nodded slowly.
“I didn’t want to bother you with my problems…” I mumbled.
Tré thought for a moment, not knowing what to say, absent-mindedly stroking my hair. It made me relax a little, and I could feel Tessie relaxing as well, her grip on my neck loosening a bit.
“Do you want to take a shower or something?” he suddenly asked
“I’ve got a guitar upstairs if you want to play…I could make you something if you’re hungry…I don’t know if she needs anything?” he stroked Tessie’s back softly as he talked about her.
“You’re putting way too much effort into us.” I mumbled.
“Of course not, don’t be stupid.” he said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it a bit.
I didn’t react; surprised by the fact that he’d grabbed my hand. He shyly released it again.
“A shower would do you good.” he said, “It’ll wash your worries away. We’ll figure out what to do later after that.”
“But Tessie...” I started.
“I’ll look after her.” Tré said.
“ We can watch TV or something. I think that kids show is on now…I watch it sometimes” he added with a smirk. I chuckled a bit.
He smiled, and I felt a slightly funny feeling in my stomach.
“Okay.” I said
“Hey Tess,” I whispered, looking at my little sister.
She looked up.
“I’m going to shower now okay? I’ll be back and you can watch TV with Tré here okay?”
She looked at Tré for a second.
“It’s all right,” I added softly, “He’s a nice guy.”
Tessie giggled. Tré grinned.
“Okay,” Tessie said, “you be back soon?”
“I promise.” I said, placing a kiss on her forehead before lifting her off my lap, placing her on Tré’s. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV before wrapping an arm around Tessie, who snuggled up against his chest. I smiled as I walked to the bathroom, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more grateful for anyone in my life than for Tré at that moment.
When I got back downstairs after showering I was exhausted, but, as Tré had predicted, a lot of my worries had been washed away. Of course a few were still spooking through my head, but they disappeared for the time being as I spotted Tré and Tessie when I got back to the living room.
Tessie was asleep, curled up against Tré’s chest, her thumb in her mouth, and her other hand holding onto what looked like a stuffed monkey. Tré was half asleep, staring at the TV screen, one of his hands resting on Tessie’s back. I sat down next to them and Tré rubbed his eyes before looking aside.
“Hey.” he whispered, so he wouldn’t wake Tessie up.
“Hey.” I smiled, looking at the monkey, which looked quite old. One eye was missing and some of the stitches were loose. Tré grinned.
“That’s Snuggles; I got him when I was two. I thought she’d like him.” he said.
“How are you feeling?” he added, looking at me.
“A bit better.” I said
He smiled. There was that funny feeling again.
“Thanks…” I said.
“For what?” he chuckled.
“Just for being here…and sorry for ruining your night.” I added He looked at me. I looked back at him teary eyed. I’d never noticed how blue his eyes were. They seemed to have a magical glow over them that attracted me. I couldn’t look away. After a moment, he blinked.
“What do you mean ruining my night?” he asked softly.
“You were supposed to go to a party right? You should’ve gone. I’m not worth staying home for.” I said, a lump forming in my throat again. Bloody thing.
Tré wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close against him, making sure not to wake Tessie up.
“Shh, it’s okay Jessie.” he whispered, rubbing my arm.
“I’m sorry.” I sobbed
“Don’t be, Jess. Don’t be sorry. I didn’t want to go to that party anyway, and I’m glad I can do something to help you.” he said softly. I snuggled up against him and buried my head in his chest, next to Tessie. She woke up.
“Jessie?” she asked sleepily
“Shh.” Tré said, placing a kiss on Tessie’s head.
“She’s fine, you go sleep some more.” he said softly.
Tessie looked at me and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Here.” she said. I looked up a bit, wiping my eyes. She held Snuggles up.
“You can have Snuggles, he’ll make you feel good.” she stated. I smiled through my tears and took the monkey.
“Thanks Tess.” I said, stroking her hair a bit.
She smiled and curled up against Tré again, moving a bit so I had more room.
Tré stroked my hair as I snuggled against him, slowly calming down. Holding Snuggles close, I closed my eyes, and I dozed off after a while. Tré smiled as he looked at me sleeping, and placed a soft kiss on my hair.
“It’ll be fine, Jessie.” he whispered, not sure if I could hear him.
“I’ll make sure of that.”