Cracker Jack

"You still want to be the one to tell her?" Jack asked softly as Angel pulled the minivan to a stop in front of the Mercer household.

We had already stopped and apologized to the victims of our car theft, though once again Jack didn't let me take full blame. He had been by my side, apologizing right along with me. I don't know why I ever expected him to let me do it on my own.

I gulped audibly and gazed up at the house. The lights on the main floor were on, and I swore that I saw Evelyn's silhouette pacing back and forth somewhere within. "Yeah, I've got to do it."

"Maybe your girl isn't so bad after all, Jack," Angel said, twisting around in the front seat to look at us.

To my surprise, Jack didn't object. He simply shrugged and grinned.

To try and alleviate some of the tension I felt, I snorted. "Right, because your girlfriend is all that. How is Sofi? I haven't seen her around lately."

"Don't bring her into anything. And definitely don't bring her up around Bobby," Angel warned. "I don't need to deal with that shit right now."

"Really? I thought Bobby adored her," I laughed.

"Shut up, Hayley. Go tell Mom what you got our impressionable little Jackie to do. Then we'll talk."

Suddenly, my nerves were overwhelming. "What if she doesn't want you to see me anymore, Jack?"

"Hayley, you had a good reason for doing what you did. She can't hold it against you." Jack tried to reassure me as he patted my knee.

"Yes, she can. She's your mom. And I'm corrupting you."

"We can blame Bobby for that. Come on, let's go inside."

Of all the things that I'd done in my life, I was suddenly facing the most terrifying one of all. I'd lost friends before, but I'd never had a friend like Jack. In such a short time, he'd changed my life so much. When he was around, I no longer felt the need to be destructive. I actually felt remorse for the wrongs that I'd done in the past. He brought out the best in me, but at the same time he let me be myself.

I followed Jack out of the minivan and grabbed his elbow. "You need to let me take all the blame this time, okay? Please? It's really important to me."

"Whatever you want."

"Thanks."

Jack smiled at me and began to head inside. I paused and watched a few snowflakes fall into his hair. He really was a good looking guy. I had always paid too much attention to his attitude and troubles to truly appreciate the way that his eyes glittered when he looked at me. I used to only crush on guys that looked good, but I had fallen for Jack for other reasons. His appearance was just a bonus. He raked his fingers through his hair and looked back at me, still smiling.

"Come on, Hayley. We're home now."

I couldn't help the way my heart stuttered when he said we.

I inhaled deeply and walked with him, hoping to appear to be much more brave than I felt inside. Jack held the door for me, and I found myself in a tense room. Bobby and Angel were standing together, and Evelyn was waiting expectantly near the stairs. Her expression showed me very clearly that she wasn't happy with me. I had seen that one coming. Bobby and Angel had surely explained everything to her already.

"Evelyn, I-"

"What were you thinking, Hayley?" Her tone was crisp and biting. But most shocking off all was the fact that she sounded concerned. It was almost frightening to know that she cared about me even now, when I'd been so utterly stupid. "Don't you ever stop to consider what could happen when you do such careless things? What if one of you had gotten hurt? Did you think that you would get away with it? Answer me!"

I fumbled with words that seemed to escape me. "I... No. I didn't think I could get away with it. I just didn't account for Jack. I didn't want him to go with me that night, and I definitely didn't want him to take the blame for me. In my mind, it was okay if I got hurt. It's not like my parents would care. Hell, my dad wouldn't have noticed if I never came home at all. I felt that the only person who would really care was Jack. But he wouldn't let me go alone. And I realize how stupid I was to go anyways. I should have just called the whole thing off. I can't tell you how sorry I am. For the first time in my life, I actually understand what regret feels like. I can't even begin to explain how much I hate myself for putting Jack in danger. I'm sorry."

Evelyn's face truly showed her age in that moment. The lines and creases around her eyes were heavy, and her lips were turned down in a severe frown. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. After a moment, she sighed and looked over at me. Her piercing blue eyes made me feel incredibly small.

"Hayley, I need to talk to my son. I'd like you to go home. Thank you for being honest with me, and I'm incredibly grateful that you managed to get him home safe. But that doesn't change the fact that it happened, and that it was wrong. You can come here in the morning when the two of you walk to school. Goodnight."

I nodded my head slightly, then left in silence. I deserved so much worse. But still, her cold dismissal had left me feeling chilled. Even the cold Detroit winds couldn't tear through the frozen shell that had encased me. As the door closed solidly behind me, I could hear Evelyn's voice rounding on Jack.

"How could you do something like this, Jack? We're your family, don't you understand what that means?"

I hurried away before I could hear anything more. I didn't want to think about how much Jack and I had let Evelyn down. She had been more of a mother to me in the past few weeks than my own mother had ever been. And I had repayed her by almost taking away her youngest son. In all honesty, I hoped that she didn't forgive me. I didn't want to forgive myself; it would only make sense if she hated me, too.

I hesitated outside of my front door. For some reason, it bothered me that my mother wasn't going to yell at me. She wasn't even going to care. So what if I'd almost gone to prison today? She wouldn't have cared at all if I hadn't come home. It would just be one less mouth to feed. I sat down on the front step and lit a cigarette. The tar and nicotine didn't seem as soothing today. I put the smoke out on the sole of my shoe, then tucked the remnants back into the package.

I went straight to my room when I went inside. If she was home, my mother made no attempt to communicate. It was better that way; I was in no mood for talking. I leaned my forehead against the icy glass of my window pane. I don't know how long I sat there, but eventually the sound of my name roused me from my stupor.

"Hayley!"

I blinked a few times in confusion. The voice was coming from outside, and it definitely wasn't my mother. I pulled away from the window and wrenched it open. The air was still, but dreadfully cold. I shivered as I leaned out and looked onto the street below me.

"Angel?" I hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He smiled, and his entire face was illuminated. "Bobby sent me. He thought that you should know that Jack's grounded for a couple of months, but that's the worst of it. Ma isn't all that mad. I think she was actually kind of proud of Jackie for trying to protect you. We still think he's an idiot, but that's not really the point."

Despite the wetness that had gathered in my eyes - whether it was due to the cold or emotion, I couldn't be certain - I laughed. "If it matters, I think he's an idiot too."

"You know he'll be heartbroken to hear that, right?"

"He'll be fine, Angel. Is that all you came here for?"

"Pretty much. Jack gave me something to pass along to you. Are you going to come down, or do I have to try and throw it to you?"

"I'll be right down." I told him. I pulled the window closed and barreled down the stairs toward the front door. When I stepped outside, Angel was waiting with his usual bright smile.

"Here," he held out a small paper bag. "I went to check on Jack and he told me that you needed this. I won't lie to you, I looked at it. I don't get it though. I mean, I understand why he gave you part of it, but there's one thing that doesn't seem to belong. Maybe you can make more sense of it than I could."

"Thanks. So you guys don't hate me, then?"

Angel chuckled and hit me once on the shoulder. "We're Mercers, Hayley. You're going to have to try a hell of a lot harder to make us hate you."

I glanced at the bag in my hand. "And Jack isn't upset with me?"

"The stupid kid would take a bullet for you. He's a bad seed just like the rest of us. I think you might be stuck with him for life."

"Oh crap. There's nothing I can do to get rid of him?"

Angel winked at me. "Catch you later, Grove. Now that this whole mess is behind us, I'm heading over to Sofi's."

I rolled my eyes and turned back toward the front door. "Have fun. Actually, on second thought, you should avoid having too much fun. I remember what you guys were like in high school. Nobody wants that."

"Very funny. You wait until you and Jackie are like that. It won't be such a joke then."

"Whatever, Angel. I'll see you around."

When I was back in my room, I settled onto my bed and dumped the contents of the paper bag onto the thick quilt. There was a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, a toothbrush, and a small note.

Hayley,
I'll have to borrow these since I can't get my own. And it's not used, I promise. Bring it all home when you can.
Jack.

I gingerly picked up the red plastic toothbrush and smiled. He wasn't hiding his toothbrush anymore; he had allowed this place to become his home. And he knew that it was practically my home, too. I shoved the cigarettes and the lighter into my backpack, then placed the toothbrush on the box beside my bed.

Even after the day's events, I still managed to go to bed with a smile on my face.