This Is The Dawning Of The Rest Of Our Lives

My eyes shot open and I was breathing heavily.
“Jess?” came Tré’s concerned voice.
“Are you okay?” he asked, stroking a fling of hair out of my face.
“Yeah…yeah I’m fine,” I answered, “It was just a dream.”
“It’s okay Jessie, calm down,” Tré whispered, noticing how tensed I was. He lightly stroked my back, attempting to comfort me. I snuggled closer against him, his presence making me feel safe. He placed a kiss on my forehead and stroked my hair as I leaned against him.
Tessie was fast asleep, sucking on her thumb, holding onto Tré’s hand as though it were a stuffed animal.
“What did you dream?” Tré asked softly. I looked at him.
“I…I don’t remember,” I said, surprising myself. I’d been afraid of something that I couldn’t even remember, how weird is that?
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Almost midnight,” He answered.
“Fuck!” I swore, sitting up.
“I need to go home! My parents are gonna kill me…” I mumbled, trying not to think of what would happen when my parents found out we’d been away. Tré looked at me.
“Do you want me to come with you?” he offered.
“I don’t want to bother you…” I muttered.
“It’s nothing Jess, I just want to make sure you get home safely.”
“Okay, if you’re sure…” I said hesitantly.
“I am,” he answered firmly.

“Here,” I said when we’d arrived at my house. I took off the old coat Tré had lent me after a lot of encouragement from his side. I told him it wasn’t that far and that as long as Tessie wasn’t cold, I’d be fine, but he had insisted and eventually just thrown the coat over my shoulders.
“Keep it,” he said, “I don’t wear it anymore.”
I sighed, knowing he’d get his way even if I protested. I looked at him.
“Tré?”
“What is it, Jess?”
“Thanks,” I said, smiling weakly. He put his hand on my cheek, making me shiver lightly.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “that’s what friends are for right?”
I looked at him and bit my lip. Why did I have to be so fucking emotional??
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tightly against him, stroking my hair.
“It’s going to be okay Jess. I promise,” he whispered. It surprised me how safe and calm I felt when he was holding me. He really managed to make me believe everything was going to be all right. As soon as he released me, that feeling was gone.
“If you ever need to talk, or if you need something, just call me okay?” he said softly.
I didn’t realize until later, that I was seeing a side of Tré that not many people had seen before, probably only his family and Billie and Mike. This wasn’t the random, hyper, funny Tré I was used to. This was the caring, quiet, comforting, serious Tré. It’s somewhat scary how a person can be so different one moment or another.
I nodded. “I will,” I said.
Tessie grabbed my hand, drowsily trying to pull me towards the door. Tré kissed my cheek and rubbed my upper arm for a second before smiling a bit and waving at Tessie.
“Good luck,” He told me.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling weakly before turning around, walking towards the house.

I was lucky. My parents had already gone to bed. I silently carried Tessie to her room and tucked her in. I softly wished her good night and placed a kiss on her forehead, stroking her hair before turning off the light and walking to my own room.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Tessie crying. I quickly got up and dressed, wondering what was going on. On my way downstairs, I heard my mother yell to my father.
“Well then, if you feel you no longer belong here, why don’t you go?”
“I will, if you want me to!” I heard dad shout.
“Didn’t I make myself clear?”
Tessie started crying louder and I heard the backdoor slam. I quickly walked into the kitchen, rushing over to Tessie, picking her up in an attempt to calm her down. Mom sat down at the kitchen table, leaning her elbows on the tabletop, her head in her hands.
“Mom?” I asked with a trembling voice “What happened?”
“That’s none of your business!” she snapped. I was taken aback for a second.
“Mom, I heard you fighting last night. I’ve heard you fight before, I want to know what’s going on!” I said.
“That’s right, last night!” she said, suddenly looking at me. “Where were you? I was worried sick!”
I looked away, holding Tessie close to me.
“Answer me!” my mother said, raising her voice.
Tessie started crying again.
“I was at a friend’s house because I couldn’t stand the sound of you fighting downstairs!” I burst out, “and I wasn’t going to let Tess stay here while she was scared!”
“That’s it young lady, you’re grounded!” mom yelled at me. I stared at her in disbelief. Grounded. Great. Just what I was waiting for.
I sighed and hoisted Tessie higher on my hip before walking upstairs, putting my little sister down in front of her room and going to my own, slamming the door. I grabbed Jingle and strummed a bit, absent-mindedly. After a while, I decided I needed to talk to Tré. I don’t know why. I just needed to. I got up and walked to my parents' room, sitting down on the bed and grabbing the phone and calling the Wright house.
“Hello?” Tré answered after a few moments.
“Tré?”
“Jessie?” he asked, sounding happy.
“Yeah,” I smiled, glad to hear his voice.
“What’s up?” he asked, “How did it go?”
“I’m grounded…” I mumbled.
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Jess?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t move, I’ll be right there.”