Forbidden
FOUR
Jason DiMera sighed as he took his seat against the farthest tree in the lunch yard. He, along with Brandon and Ben, claimed the area as their own back in their freshman and sophomore years. It was detached from the general population of students, just how they liked it.
“Dude, Jay would have barbecued that kid!” Benji—who was considered the youngest member of their group, being five minutes younger than his twin and a year younger than Jason—exclaimed.
“He would have done way more than that. Did you see the look on his girlfriend’s face? Even she knew her man was about to be destroyed,” Brandon replied, blowing smoke out through his nose as he exchanged words with his brother.
“She looked like she was going to shit her pants; like Jason would have beaten the shit out of her, too, or something. Those fucking kids crack me up.”
“Right? Seriously, if we turned out to be like them, I swear—”
“Guys,” Jason said, after sitting there for a few minutes listening to them go on about the almost fight. “Enough, already. It’s done and over with. We didn’t fight, he walked away, and that’s the end of it.”
Jason turned his head away from the two men, who were now giving him matching looks of confusion, and turned his attention to where the other students were sitting and eating the disgusting food provided for them. His eyes scanned the people, the majority of them being the epitome of what Jason hates; snobby, stuck up, and exactly what you’d expect from kids with more money than they knew how to handle. Among them, Jason realized, was one of the girls he’d seen earlier in the day. He’d recalled her name to be Alyson or Aly or something along those lines, and he remembered that said girl seemed to be very close to Scott Moyer’s girlfriend. His eyes began to search through the other students that Alyson was sitting with and, low and behold, he found his gaze landing on one Jessa Davis, where they stayed trained for way longer than necessary.
“What the hell are you looking at her for, Jay?” Brandon piped up, leaning over to punch his friend in the shoulder. Jason jumped slightly, before flashing an angry glare.
“What?”
“Uh, hello, we see who and what you’re looking at. We’re not stupid. She’s the fucking devil’s girlfriend, you ass,” Benji said next. Jason grinned a little and shook his head at the over-reactions he was able to pull from his two best friends.
“How do you even know who I’m looking at?”
“Because you were looking at her earlier, too. Do you like this bitch or something?” Brandon asked.
“No, I don’t fucking like her. I mean, she’s hot, like really hot. I’d definitely plow her if I had the chance, but she’s nothing more than a pretty face masking a stuck-up, rich bitch,” Jason said, sneering, as Brandon and Ben both laughed.
“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I’d fuck her, too. She’s pretty cute, but like you said, obviously that masks her true colors,” Benji agreed. Brandon and Jason both nodded their affirmation, and that was that.
The rest of the lunch period was complete with more laughs about random things and small talk, before the bell rang and Brandon and Benji headed one way to their class, and Jason headed another to his own.
The school day was over no more than three hours later, and it seemed as though Jason, Brandon, and Benji were always the first out.
“So, our place, one hour?” Brandon asked Jason as he and Benji stood next to their car.
“Definitely, man. Anything to not have to stay in that hell hole for longer than needed,” Jason replied, smiling at the brothers as they nodded in understanding.
“All right, we’ll see you soon, then,” Brandon concluded, getting into the driver’s side of his car while Benji waved and got into the passenger side. Jason bid his farewell and got into his own car.
The stereo system blasted an old Misfits song once Jason started his car, and he smiled faintly and began nodding his head to the beat. He revved the engine with his foot, letting it give off torturous noises that no doubt pumped him up for the ride. He put the gear in reverse after looking for any oncoming traffic and skidded out of his parking spot to begin his journey home.
This part of the day was perhaps the most nerve-racking for Jason. He never knew exactly what he would find when he walked through the front door of his house. A drunk mother, for sure, but what else? Was she passed out? Did she drown in her own vomit? Did she drink one too many this time? All of these possible outcomes plagued his mind every single day of his life.
Upon pulling up in front of his house, Jason quickly exited the vehicle and walked across the yard. As usual, the front door was already ajar, like it probably had been all day long, so he opened the outside screen and made his way inside. The sight of his mother didn’t surprise him one bit, and Jason thought this fact was the saddest thing ever.
She sat on the couch, clad in her pajamas and a robe over top, with a glass of what appeared to be a brand of wine sitting half tipped over in her left hand. She was passed out already, and Jason shook his head at the pitiful image before him. He walked forward and took the glass out of her hand, placing it on the coffee table, lest it falls on its own and shatters into hundreds of little pieces.
“I can’t take this shit,” he whispered to himself. The urges coursing through his system were beginning to get harder and harder to control, and he knew he was getting close to snapping. The facade of being a hard ass that could take anything was getting thinner and thinner, but for the time being, Jason swallowed it down and began moving away from his mother and toward the stairs.
He ran up to his room, pushing the door open and advancing toward the desk sitting against the furthest wall. He opened one of the drawers and fished through it for the little box he kept that hid stacks of bills, as well as drug paraphernalia he’d need for later on. He took it in his grasp and left the room, not stopping to look at his mother again when he descended the stairs and passed her by.
Upon reentering his car, Jason placed the box on the seat next to him and started the ignition. He skidded away from the curb and began his trek to Brandon and Ben's house.
He barely made it to the main road when he decided it was time to spark one up. He reached over to the box without taking his eyes off the road, basically a pro at doing these kinds of things while driving. He felt the thin paper touch his fingertips, and was quick to take hold of it, along with the baggy full of the green herb he’s come to love over the years. Jason knew this would hold him down for a little while; take his mind off of everything, and that’s exactly what he needed.
He made a left when the familiar road came into view, and he waited until he was in the clear to roll the joint. As he moved to light it, the sound of a blaring car horn resonated throughout the area, and Jason quickly looked up to see he was swerving into the small lane next to his and was about to crash head-on with the vehicle coming toward him.
Throwing the joint down somewhere in front of him, he gripped the steering wheel with both hands and jerked it to the side, slamming his foot down on the break just as his car crashed into the side of one of the many trees that lined the block.
“Dude, Jay would have barbecued that kid!” Benji—who was considered the youngest member of their group, being five minutes younger than his twin and a year younger than Jason—exclaimed.
“He would have done way more than that. Did you see the look on his girlfriend’s face? Even she knew her man was about to be destroyed,” Brandon replied, blowing smoke out through his nose as he exchanged words with his brother.
“She looked like she was going to shit her pants; like Jason would have beaten the shit out of her, too, or something. Those fucking kids crack me up.”
“Right? Seriously, if we turned out to be like them, I swear—”
“Guys,” Jason said, after sitting there for a few minutes listening to them go on about the almost fight. “Enough, already. It’s done and over with. We didn’t fight, he walked away, and that’s the end of it.”
Jason turned his head away from the two men, who were now giving him matching looks of confusion, and turned his attention to where the other students were sitting and eating the disgusting food provided for them. His eyes scanned the people, the majority of them being the epitome of what Jason hates; snobby, stuck up, and exactly what you’d expect from kids with more money than they knew how to handle. Among them, Jason realized, was one of the girls he’d seen earlier in the day. He’d recalled her name to be Alyson or Aly or something along those lines, and he remembered that said girl seemed to be very close to Scott Moyer’s girlfriend. His eyes began to search through the other students that Alyson was sitting with and, low and behold, he found his gaze landing on one Jessa Davis, where they stayed trained for way longer than necessary.
“What the hell are you looking at her for, Jay?” Brandon piped up, leaning over to punch his friend in the shoulder. Jason jumped slightly, before flashing an angry glare.
“What?”
“Uh, hello, we see who and what you’re looking at. We’re not stupid. She’s the fucking devil’s girlfriend, you ass,” Benji said next. Jason grinned a little and shook his head at the over-reactions he was able to pull from his two best friends.
“How do you even know who I’m looking at?”
“Because you were looking at her earlier, too. Do you like this bitch or something?” Brandon asked.
“No, I don’t fucking like her. I mean, she’s hot, like really hot. I’d definitely plow her if I had the chance, but she’s nothing more than a pretty face masking a stuck-up, rich bitch,” Jason said, sneering, as Brandon and Ben both laughed.
“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I’d fuck her, too. She’s pretty cute, but like you said, obviously that masks her true colors,” Benji agreed. Brandon and Jason both nodded their affirmation, and that was that.
The rest of the lunch period was complete with more laughs about random things and small talk, before the bell rang and Brandon and Benji headed one way to their class, and Jason headed another to his own.
The school day was over no more than three hours later, and it seemed as though Jason, Brandon, and Benji were always the first out.
“So, our place, one hour?” Brandon asked Jason as he and Benji stood next to their car.
“Definitely, man. Anything to not have to stay in that hell hole for longer than needed,” Jason replied, smiling at the brothers as they nodded in understanding.
“All right, we’ll see you soon, then,” Brandon concluded, getting into the driver’s side of his car while Benji waved and got into the passenger side. Jason bid his farewell and got into his own car.
The stereo system blasted an old Misfits song once Jason started his car, and he smiled faintly and began nodding his head to the beat. He revved the engine with his foot, letting it give off torturous noises that no doubt pumped him up for the ride. He put the gear in reverse after looking for any oncoming traffic and skidded out of his parking spot to begin his journey home.
This part of the day was perhaps the most nerve-racking for Jason. He never knew exactly what he would find when he walked through the front door of his house. A drunk mother, for sure, but what else? Was she passed out? Did she drown in her own vomit? Did she drink one too many this time? All of these possible outcomes plagued his mind every single day of his life.
Upon pulling up in front of his house, Jason quickly exited the vehicle and walked across the yard. As usual, the front door was already ajar, like it probably had been all day long, so he opened the outside screen and made his way inside. The sight of his mother didn’t surprise him one bit, and Jason thought this fact was the saddest thing ever.
She sat on the couch, clad in her pajamas and a robe over top, with a glass of what appeared to be a brand of wine sitting half tipped over in her left hand. She was passed out already, and Jason shook his head at the pitiful image before him. He walked forward and took the glass out of her hand, placing it on the coffee table, lest it falls on its own and shatters into hundreds of little pieces.
“I can’t take this shit,” he whispered to himself. The urges coursing through his system were beginning to get harder and harder to control, and he knew he was getting close to snapping. The facade of being a hard ass that could take anything was getting thinner and thinner, but for the time being, Jason swallowed it down and began moving away from his mother and toward the stairs.
He ran up to his room, pushing the door open and advancing toward the desk sitting against the furthest wall. He opened one of the drawers and fished through it for the little box he kept that hid stacks of bills, as well as drug paraphernalia he’d need for later on. He took it in his grasp and left the room, not stopping to look at his mother again when he descended the stairs and passed her by.
Upon reentering his car, Jason placed the box on the seat next to him and started the ignition. He skidded away from the curb and began his trek to Brandon and Ben's house.
He barely made it to the main road when he decided it was time to spark one up. He reached over to the box without taking his eyes off the road, basically a pro at doing these kinds of things while driving. He felt the thin paper touch his fingertips, and was quick to take hold of it, along with the baggy full of the green herb he’s come to love over the years. Jason knew this would hold him down for a little while; take his mind off of everything, and that’s exactly what he needed.
He made a left when the familiar road came into view, and he waited until he was in the clear to roll the joint. As he moved to light it, the sound of a blaring car horn resonated throughout the area, and Jason quickly looked up to see he was swerving into the small lane next to his and was about to crash head-on with the vehicle coming toward him.
Throwing the joint down somewhere in front of him, he gripped the steering wheel with both hands and jerked it to the side, slamming his foot down on the break just as his car crashed into the side of one of the many trees that lined the block.