Caught in the Crossfire

Chapter 7

My eyes flutter open and I stretch, my back and knees and ankles giving satisfying pops. I feel… relaxed, on that line between awake and asleep. It’s a wonderful place to be; it’s like your floating, waiting for a wave of unconsciousness to crash over you.

When I roll onto my side though, I get a face-full of sunlight, and I jerk up and back, almost falling off the bed. My head starts to throb and I feel like puking. Ugh, hangovers suck.

I lay on my back, hands over my eyes. A few seconds later I remove them and peer over at the clock on the table beside me. The neon green lights flash at me:1:27 pm. Really? This is late, even for drunk-go-to-bed-at-3-in-the-morning me.

I look over at Claire’s sleeping form, and then slide out of bed, careful not to wake her. I tiptoe down the steps to the kitchen, heading straight for the refrigerator. I open it and scrounge around for something to eat. Not finding anything, I close the door, and there stands Drake.

He places his hand over my mouth before I can let out a shriek of surprise. I try to pull his hand away, but he won’t budge. “Janie, we need to talk.”

“Oh yeah, and how are we supposed to talk when you have your hand covering my mouth? I mean really.” I can’t say that though, so I just roll my eyes and gesture at his hand on my face, trying to convey my message.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He apologizes and removes his hand, letting it fall to his side.

I remember my flashback. And I remember what I told myself last night; that I would get to the bottom of this mystery. I believe the best way of doing that is hearing it straight from Drake. And since he’s the one that came to me asking for a chat, I believe this is the perfect opportunity.

No, I don’t forgive him. But I’m willing to talk to him, just so I can get to the bottom of this.

“Alright, I’ll go. But you have to promise me that you will answer all of the questions I have for you honestly.” He looks hesitant, but then agrees. “Good.”

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen off of the counter beside the refrigerator, I jot down a note for Claire that tells her I was going out for a while, I would be back later, and not to worry.

I run back upstairs and grab my shoes, then jog back downstairs and to the front door where Drake is waiting. He’s changed clothes since last night, and is now sporting a leather jacket, gray t-shirt, and black jeans. His sandy hair is tousled stylishly. So handsome, it's not fair...

He glances up at me when I walk over, and opens the door without a word. We walk down the steps and get into his car. I have no idea where we’re going, but he obviously has a place in mind.

The whole ride not a word is spoken. I’m not ready to ask anything yet, and he hasn’t tried to say anything, so we just stay quiet. My mind drifts, not really thinking about anything.

I come back to reality when the car stops, and I look out the window at the park. There aren’t too many people here, only a couple of joggers and dog-walkers.

We both step out of the car and he leads me over to a bench underneath a large tree. I sit a little away from him, and that seems to bother him, but his irked facial expression is quickly replaced by a blank mask. We sit for a while, until I decide to pop the first question.

“Where’d you go last night?” What? That’s not what I wanted to ask.

He’s a little confused too, but answers anyways. “I went to Kane’s.”

“What for?”  I ask. Still not my top priority.

He fidgets a little. “We had some things to discuss.”