No One Does It Better

I slowly opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the light. I hated sleeping in the car, I always felt really disorientated.
“Hey sleepy head” Jake said from beside me. I turned letting my hazel eyes meet his blue eyes.
“How long was I out?”
“Almost 3 hours.” He said chuckling. “I was actually about to wake you up to get some food”
I groaned at the mention of food. “Food sounds so good right now.”
“I thought you’d say that”

We pulled up at some crappy diner and made our way inside. The inside of the diner looked like it hadn’t been re-decorated since the 50’s. We sat down at a table as a waitress came up to us.
“What can I get you?” She said in an obviously bored voice.
We said our orders as she wrote them on a piece of paper turning quickly on her heel.
Jake opened his mouth to say something but was quickly cut off by the sound of my phone beeping.
I looked down and noticed that it was a text from Mike.

From Mike:
Can I see you this week?

“Who is it babe?” Jake spoke up.
I quickly put my phone in my pocket.
“Just someone from work” A big fake smile was plastered on my face.

---

Jake put down some money on the table as we stood up walking back to the car.
“We should be there within the next two hours” He said stretching up against the car.
“Want me to drive so you can sleep?”
Jake smiled down at me “That would be fantastic”
I jumped in the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition.

The two and a half hours when quicker than expected. I lingered in every street, staring off at places that brought back memories. Jake snored from beside me as I drove past a metal fence with the words “Private property. Intruders will be persecuted” scrawled across a sign. I sighed under my breath as I quickly looked away.

I slowly pulled up against the curb of my dad’s house. Even though it had only been a couple of weeks, it felt like forever since I had been here. I put the car into park and nudged Jake trying to wake him.
“Jakey honey, we’re here” I sang
He opened his eyes tiredly and nodded his head. I almost sprinted out the car when I saw my papa opening the front door.
“Daddy!”
My dad started laughing at the sight of me.
“Hey sweetie, I’ve missed you!”
I ran into my dad suffocating him in a hug.

---

I sat cross-legged on the couch with Jake while some crappy reality TV show played in front of us. My dad was in the kitchen cooking us dinner. I quickly jumped up off the couch and went to go help my dad. As I walked in the room he was dancing around the kitchen singing about the food he was making.
“Need some help Pa?” I said over his singing.
“If you could stir this pot, that would be lovely” He said singing making me laugh.
“Sure thing”

“That should be everything, can you get out the bowls?” My dad asked.
I nodded my head and went to turn around seeing Jake at the door with a strange look on his face.
“Jessie, can I uh talk to you outside for a second?” He said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
“Yeah sure” A worried tone was apparent in my voice.
Jake closed the front door behind us and sat down on the porch. This scene was all too familiar to me.
I broke the silence as I sat down next to him. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“Who’s Mike? …But this time don’t lie.” He said seriously. I looked down at my hands and back up to meet his curious expression.
“What do you mean? He’s the guy from the café” I said almost in a whisper
“You said he was Kelly’s friend. If he and Kelly are such good friends than why did he ring your phone twice while you were in the kitchen and why would you have so many texts with him. There is something clearly going on here that I am not aware of.” Jake said as his voice cracked. I knew what he was thinking.
“Jake, there is nothing like THAT going on between Mike and I….I promise.” I said reassuringly
“How am I supposed to tell if that is the truth? Tell me who he is.” His voice was unsure. I sighed in defeat.
“Mike and I kind of have a lot of history.” I said looking everywhere but at Jake.
“What do you mean history? I’ve known you for ages and you’ve never spoken of Mike. The only guy you’ve ever spoken of was…” Jake trailed off and then his expression changed. It was as if it had just hit him like a train. “He’s the guy?! Mike was the guy?!”
I couldn’t bear to look at him. I nodded my head and I heard him exhale.
“Why are you doing this Jessie?! I spent so long trying to fix things. He messed you up bad and I was there to help you. It took such a long time before you would even let me in and now you’re letting him back in your life just like that?! If I ever see him I swear I will kill him!” Jakes voice was getting louder, I opened my mouth to speak but Jake cut me off. “When I moved here I met you, you were so intriguing but you were never fully there. You were always staring off into space, you always had such a blank look on your face. I tried for months to get closer to you but you always shut down. Finally, I got you to talk and you talked about this guy who left you. You were obviously in love with him, he tore you apart and now this SAME guy is back and you are seeing him! I don’t understand Jessie, help me understand!” There were tears sitting on the brim of his eyes. I couldn’t do this anymore.
“I don’t know Jake! I don’t know what I am doing! Do you know how weird it is for someone who used to mean so much to just appear back in your life?! I don’t know what to do Jake!” My voice was getting louder and shakier by the second. He sighed and grabbed my hand
“Please don’t see him Jessie. Don’t text him, don’t call him, don’t let him back in… please” his expression was filled with hurt. I nodded my head as he kissed my cheek. He walked back inside leaving me to sit alone on the porch. I sat with my head in my hands. I didn’t know if I could stop seeing Mike…I didn’t know if I wanted to stop.