Stay With Them Tonight

The next day, Sunday, I decided to go grocery shopping for my house to pass the time. I had brought Danny along with me, and he had run off to the dairy section to get some milk. I was in the produce section, smelling the ends of a bunch of cilantro, when I heard an annoying voice.

“What are you doing?” I knew without turning it would be Ginger, and decided to pretend that I hadn’t heard her. I turned to go back to my cart and she was standing so close that I ran into her.

“Hey? What are you, a stalker?” I asked, pushing past her.

“Jason can’t love anyone else, you know,” she informed me. I tried to pretend that she hadn’t piqued my curiosity.

“Fine, since you’re going to tell me why anyway, humor me. Why can’t he love anyone?” I asked, turning around and crossing my arms.

“I didn’t say he couldn’t love anybody, I said he couldn’t love anyone else.” She rolled her eyes like I was stupid.

“Oh, and I suppose you’re just assuming he loves you, and that’s where your reasoning comes from?” I asked. A lot of girls are obsessed with guys they can’t have, I told myself.

“He’s told me before. He doesn’t just say it randomly. Jason is the type of guy that means what he says.” For the first time, she looked a little insecure and a little guilty. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

“We were together for over two years. Since we were freshman. He asked me the first day he met me, and we stayed together until a while ago. I bet you just want him because you want him to care about you, right? You want to transform him into this caring, loving guy?” she scoffed.

“As if. He won’t love you, because he can’t get over me. So don’t try.” As abruptly as she came, she turned and left, her high heels clicking.

I was starting to think Ginger hadn’t ever gotten over him, and that was why she was so territorial. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was the thousandth girl she had delivered that speech to, always trying to keep Jason single. Or maybe I was just romanticizing it. Maybe she was just naturally a bitch, and she viewed Jason as hers forever.

But . . . they were together for that long? Maybe he was hers, as much as she was his. I shook my head, advancing to the baking isle as Danny came running up to me, holding a gallon of milk with both hands.

“I saw Tracey! Did she talk to you?” he asked in that way that kids do when they have no idea what drama is going on around them. Now that we were away from his brothers, Danny was acting just like any little boy, and totally unafraid of cooties. I would have almost bet that Jason told him what cooties were, and of course said that I had them. I would hit him for that later.

“Uh-huh. She just came to say hi.” I lied easily.

“I like you better, Allie.” he said, standing on the end of the cart while I pushed. I smiled at him.

“You don’t have to choose, though, right? You can like both of us.”

He screwed his face up. “No, she made my brother really mad. I don’t like her anymore.” I looked at him curiously.

“So . . . did you know her well?” I asked. I felt bad for asking a six-year-old about the family’s personal life.

“Never mind,” I told him before he could answer. “It’s not my business.”

*****

“Help me unload!” I called into the house. One very sleepy-looking guy came out.

“Hey Ryan, where’s Jason?” I asked. I had wound up getting almost double of everything since the store was going through a huge sale. “No, get the bags on the right. The ones on the left go in my house.” He grabbed five bags and headed back into his house, me following with three.

“He’s still sleeping.” He had come home early in the morning, this time using the back door, and crashed in bed. It was time to yell at him.

I climbed the stairs and opened his door. He was on his stomach, face in his pillow. I grabbed the pillow from under his head, but he barely twitched. I started hitting him with the pillow.

“What kind of idiot” whack “would leave through his window” whack “in the middle of the night” whack “without telling his babysitter he was going!?” Whack. Whack. Whack.

“Stop!” he yelled, pulling the covers over his head.

“Wake up! You don’t deserve to be asleep, you stupid idiot!” I continued hitting him, and his arm shot out and grabbed the pillow. I wouldn’t let go, and he pulled me forward.

“Hey!” I yelled as I fell. I felt myself elbow him in the side and he grunted. “That’s what you get! Get up, or I’m pouring ice water over you!” I pushed off of him and climbed out of the bed, leaving to go put the groceries away, leaving him about five minutes before I got the ice water.

“I’m up!” he called after me.

“Liar!” I called back.

“Help me bring the other bags to my house, Ryan?” I asked. He walked out with me and we unloaded the rest of the stuff in my kitchen and he helped me put things away.

“What are you doing?” he asked me as I grabbed a small bucket from the shed.

“Nothing much.” I went to the freezer and pushed the button for ice, making a clanging noise as it dropped into the bucket. I filled it a third of the way and filled the bucket halfway with water, making sure it was really cold.

I hauled it out of the sink and trekked back to Ryan’s house, the pail swinging awkwardly as I carried it along. Ryan had a grin on his face, realizing what I was doing. I set the bucket on the ground before I went inside.

“Why aren’t you carrying this?” I asked him, putting my hands on my hips.

“I can’t claim I wasn’t a part of this if I help you,” he told me. I shook my head and continued on.

I pulled it up the stairs, Ryan behind me, both of us trying to make as little noise as possible. I slowly pushed Jason’s door open, seeing that he was still in bed facing the wall. I tiptoed over and held the bucket up.

“Don’t you dare, Allen Anderson,” he growled. I smirked and poured the bucket over him. He jumped up, cussing and shoving his wet blankets away from him and moving to a dry part of his bed. He was soaked, from his hair to his bare torso, and down to his jeans, which I was glad he was wearing. I could imagine him as one of those people who sleeps naked or with only boxers on, and he had probably just been too tired to take them off.

“A little cold?” I asked. I laughed and walked out. Something very cold and wet wrapped me in a hug from the back.

“Jason! It’s cold!” I yelled, trying to get away from him.

“This is all your fault!” he said, hugging me tighter. My whole back was wet now, and it was freezing cold.

“Go take a hot shower! You’re the one who wouldn’t get out of bed!” I yelled.

“I’m actually getting warm right now.” he gloated. I elbowed him and ran down the stairs when he let go of me.

“Stupid! Get out of bed next time!” I laughed and realized I had to go back up to get a change of clothes. I dashed up the stairs and ran to my room.

Actually, Jason was already in the bathroom, so the running was actually pointless.

*****

“Hey.” I said. It was around one in the afternoon, and there was nothing to do except watch movies on the TV.

“What?” Jason was sat back on the couch, his feet on the coffee table in front of him, controller in his hand, and the channels flying by on the TV. I was sitting in one of the chairs to his left.

“Are you still pissed about yesterday?”

“What about yesterday?” he asked, the TV landing on some show that I didn’t know. Someone was dying. Go figure, with Jason in control of the remote.

“When you asked and I gave you the answer you didn’t want to hear,” I said.

He reached across and pushed my head and rolled his eyes. “Stop over-thinking things,” he told me.

“Whatever.” I knew he had been angry. “Let’s watch Cinderella Story again.” He groaned.

“We already watched that.”

“Well, what do you want to do?” I asked.

He thought seriously while some girl screamed bloody murder on the TV. “Let’s all go out to watch a movie,” He suggested.

“Yeah! I’ll call Kelly!” I got up and ran to get my phone.

*****

Twenty minutes later, we were standing in front of the theater arguing over which movie to watch. Ryan and Kelly had decided to make it a date (with me heavily encouraging them), and Danny convinced them to watch the movie he wanted, so that left Jason and I arguing over which movie to watch.

“You went along with it. It’s not my fault all these movies look like crap.” Jason said, looking over the movie posters.

“This was your idea,” I raised my eyebrow at him.

“Your eyebrow is twitching,” Jason said. I rubbed it.

“It’s not like I wanted to be born with no eyebrow muscles. Blame my parents for not giving them to me,” I defended.

“Yeah, ‘cause the first thing a couple is going to think of before they have a kid is ‘Oh, let’s give her eyebrow muscles.’” Jason turned away and started walking away from the theater.

“I changed my mind; I’m hungry. Let’s go get food.” I stared at him, and he turned when he didn’t hear me coming after him.

“You expect me to just follow you?” I asked. He shrugged.

“You have a better suggestion?” he turned and continued walking. I rolled my eyes and caught up with him.