In the Middle

A loud crash from the next room startles Jameson out of his slumber. He looked at the clock, grumbling when he realized he had only just gone to bed a matter of hours ago. It was an awful start to what he was sure would be an awful day. He threw the covers off of his tired body and climbed out of bed, wincing at the light shining through his bare window. He heard another couple muffled thuds as he made his way down the hallway.

“What’s going on in there?” he asked after lightly rapping his knuckles on the door. Muffled groaning was his response, followed by a hard thud. He tried the knob, but it was locked. A crash sounded loudly and he pulse quickened. “Unlock this door right now or I’m going to have to break it down! And you know it will not be replaced!”

A shuffling was heard just beyond the thin oak barrier, followed by the click of the lock being released. He wasted no time in swinging the door open to find the room behind it to be in complete and utter disarray. He shook his head in disappointment and stepped over the pile of shattered glass that lay near the doorway and over to the crumpled mass beside the bed. Crouching down beside it he let out a deep sigh in an attempt to calm his nerves.

“What on Earth compelled you to throw such a fit at such an hour?” he asked softly, trying with all his might not to scream. “Shouldn’t you be passed out in bed still?”

There was only a garbled snort in response as he looked around the room. He hoped that something, anything, would jump out at him. Something that would explain the unreasonable outburst. And then he saw it. Or rather, them. Several quite empty glass bottles, one tipped over on the bedside table and at least a couple others scattered below it on the floor.

“Drunk already, are we?” he let out an exasperated sigh as a hand reached out to him from the disheveled mess of blankets before him. He took the frail arm firmly, tugging up as he stood. The body before him swayed uneasily, as if to answer the question silently. “It’s only half past nine in the morning! Couldn’t you have waited until at least noon? Of course you couldn’t…”

After placing her in bed and tucking her in he sat for a bit watching over her. As she tossed and turned fitfully in front of him, he pondered over the situation at hand. How had his life resulted to this? How had things gone so downhill so quickly? He thought back to how life had been not too long ago and grimaced. To have it turn so quickly left a sour taste in his mouth. When he finally heard her soft snores, proving that she was finally out again, he sighed in relief. He bent over her and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead, then made his way to the door.

“Sleep well, Mother,” he whispered, pulling the door shut behind him.

He slowly trudged back to bed, falling onto his soft bedding. His eyes were closed before his head even hit the pillow. He fell asleep with a smile on his face, for he envisioned the most beautiful hazel eyes staring up into his face. He hoped he would be able to see her again, sooner rather than later, and above all else, he hoped she would be just as happy as he would be when it happened. There parting left him with some doubt on that, but he was determined to hold out hope, for without hope, what else did he have?

When he arose again, it was to the sound of the doorbell. It pleased him to be woken by something other than his mother’s drunken fits. It filled him with a small sense of normalcy in his otherwise crazy life. He crawled out of the comfort of his bed and made his way to the front door. He opened it slowly to reveal a beautiful brunette with sparkling blue eyes. His smile broadened as he gathered her up in his arms and held her small body close to his.

“Hey Jamie.”

He smiled at the nickname and pulled back just enough to plant a small kiss on her forehead.

“G’morning Dakota,” he spoke quietly, placing another kiss on the top of her head. “And how are you today?” She shrugged her shoulders in response and nodded towards the door at the end of the hallway. He knew what she was asking and sighed deeply. “She threw a fit early this morning; throwing things around and breaking bottles. I found her in a crumpled mess on the floor, too drunk to respond coherently.”

Dakota could hear the strain in his voice and squeezed his arm gently in reassurance. He offered up a weak smile before swearing softly under his breath. Dakota thought she heard ‘late’ and ‘work’ escape his lips as he dashed off down the hall. A musical laugh emerged from her as she stepped in, closing the door behind her.

Jameson rushed about his room, gathering up his clothes before jumping in the shower. The water was warm and refreshing as it flowed down his body. But just as quickly as he had gotten in, he was turning the knobs that cut off its cleansing stream. He hurriedly got ready, checking the mirror to make sure his hair wasn’t sticking up in all directions. He found Dakota lounging on the sofa in the den and smiled. She looked calm and happy, which pleased him. He never wanted her to fully feel the turmoil he did.

“I’m headed to work, Kota. You sure you’ll be fine?” He tried to leave the concern from his voice, but he knew it laced every word.

She smiled up at him, another small giggle on her lips. “You ask that every time, and every time it’s the same answer. Get out of here. I’ll manage just as well as I do every other day with her.”

“If you say so. I’ll try to get out as quickly as I can tonight,” he promised. Then, as an after thought, he added, “Her room is still a disaster zone and there’s some broken glass by the door that I was unable to clean. I’m very sorry for not taking care of it, but-”

“Just get going already!” she cut him off.

He nodded his head and quickly darted out the door. He grabbed his bike from beside the porch and peddled as quickly as he could down the street. It shamed him to know that he was leaving Dakota with her every day while he was at work, but it seemed like he really had no choice. He couldn’t just leave her by herself. He thought to his savings and smiled. He nearly had enough to cover the cost of the rehabilitation center. He made it to the small building and smiled, locking his bike in the rack in front of the door. There were two other bikes already there. He smiled as he turned to face their owners.

“I hope you two haven’t been waiting here for too long, now,” he stated with a cheery grin.

“Not too long,” said the shorter of the pair. She had burgundy hair that fell past her shoulders, emerald eyes and light freckles adorning her nose. It was rare to see her wearing anything but a floral sundress and ankle boots. Morgan smiled up at the boy beside her and he nodded in agreement.

Ollie was tall and gangly with shaggy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His shorts were a bit loose and his tee shirt had small clusters of holes from falling off his skateboard a time or two. It amused Jameson to see them together, which is part of the reason he allowed the couple to work the same shifts.

“Let’s get to work, shall we?” he announced as he unlocked the door.

They all breathed in deeply as they stepped inside, an almost sort of ritual that started every work day. The aroma that greeted them was so appealing. It was the smell of old pages, cocoa beans, coffee grounds, and French Danishes. It was the smell of home. They all quickly began to set up shop, heating the ovens and preparing everything that would need to be slipped into the baking heat.

When everything was prepared, he flipped the sign to ‘Open’ and hoped the day would go by quickly. He couldn’t wait until he could flip the sign back to ‘Closed’ and return home to relieve Dakota of her burden. She claimed she was making progress with Mother, but this morning just proved that she was wrong.

He knew he couldn’t let his mind wander to them. He had to focus on work. Morgan was gazing at him with concern, but he didn’t notice. His eyes were blankly focused on the wall across from him. The bell on the door chimed, alerting him to his first customer and breaking him from his trance. He shook his head slightly to clear his mind and smiled up at her.

“Welcome to Tattered Pages Café. What may I get for you today, miss?”

And so started what Jameson was sure to be a long day.