Down Under

Chapter 7

I'm just going to stop promising longer chapters.

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Chapter 7

          It only took ten minutes to get back to Harmony’s house in Alex’s car. When we got there the front door was wide open and a mixture shouts and screams could be heard loud and clear from somewhere inside the home. We glanced at one another before we ran inside, following the sounds of their voices to the back bedroom. Harmony was cornered with her back against the wall and Jesse was screaming in her face, ignoring the fact that her wide eyes and trembling hands were a clear sign of how terrified she was. Harmony had tears streaming down her now red and blotchy face, but she was countering everything Jesse said. She refused to back down despite the fear rolling off of her waves, only flinching when he got closer to her face.

          “Jesse!” I yelled when I saw his clinched fist raise the slightest bit.

          He glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyes narrowed into snake-like slits. “What are you two doing here?” he slurred out, his voice heavy with the amount of alcohol he must have consumed. I could smell the bitter odor radiating from him even from my spot in the doorway.

          “You need to back away from Harmony,” I said as I took a step forward, my hands raised as if in surrender. Maybe he can be reasoned with, I thought. As long as I stayed calm it would be okay, right? “Can’t you see how much you’re scaring her? Just back away and we can talk about whatever it is that has you so upset.”

          “Why are you so concerned for her, Blaze?” Jesse questioned. Both of his fists were now balled into fists at his sides as he stalked closer to me, his face contorted into a mask of rage. “Oh, I know! You must be the father, right? You’re the one that got her pregnant.” He jerked his thumb at Harmony who had her arms wound tight around her stomach and her eyes locked on the floor.

          My head was spinning. Harmony was having a baby? That’s what she wouldn’t tell me before, wasn’t it? That’s what she had been hiding. Is that what she meant when she said she knew why Jesse left? Had he really abandoned her because she was having his child?

          Alex looked at me then at Harmony, his face covered in what appeared to be shock. “Pregnant?”

          Unlike Alex, I tried to keep my expression neutral, void of any surprise. All I did was simply raise my hands higher when Jesse stopped in front of me, his eyes full of what I was positive was hatred. “Jesse, would you listen to yourself? I’m not the father. Harmony isn’t you; she would never cheat and she sure as hell wouldn’t do it with me, nor would I do that to one of my-”

          I knew it was a low blow bringing up Jesse’s cheating, but I had never expected him to explode so quickly and throw a punch faster than I could dodge one. Harmony shouted my name when I stumbled backward a couple of feet, my hand going up to my face. Blood pooled on the corner of my mouth, but all my teeth were still where they should be, for which I was thankful. I wiped the blood from my lips, wincing when the movement pulled at the bruise I knew was forming. The loud pop! sound that emitted from my jaw when I snapped it back into place caused a small gasp from Harmony, but immediate relief for me. I blinked to clear my black dotted vision and tried to focus on the people in front of me, fighting off the dazed state that was overcoming me. Harmony was next to me, grabbing my arm and asking if I was alright. Alex was on her other side, looking back and forth between me and Jesse, seeming unsure if he should trust Jesse enough to turn his back to him or not. All Jesse did, though, was stand there and stare at me.

          I brushed Harm off, assuring her that I was okay, and pushed past Alex. “Jesse?” I asked, taking another cautious step toward him. It felt like déjà vu and I couldn’t deny the worry aching inside me that it would end the same way it just had.

          He hung his head, kicking at the ground with the toe of his boot. “I’m sorry, Blaze,” he surprised me by mumbling. “I know you’re not the one who got Harm pregnant. I know it was me. I just… How can I be a dad? After all I’ve done to her… How can Harmony still love me? I’ve done nothing but hurt her.”

          He had done a complete 180 in just a matter of seconds. Going from hateful and belligerent one minute to apologetic and regretful the next. I knew it was the poison in his veins affecting his personality, but his moods were going to give me whiplash. I didn’t know if I could keep up.

          “She’ll always love you, she just can’t be with you anymore,” I repeated what Harmony had told me earlier, hoping Jesse would understand and remain this calmer version of himself. “Not right now at least. I’m sure she’ll want you to be in the baby’s life, but you can’t do that if you keep doing what you are now. Harmony’s going to need you and that baby is going to need you, don’t you want to be there for them?”

          Jesse lifted his head and looked straight at the girl we were talking about. “I do, but…” He looked back at me with hardened eyes and I knew in that moment we had lost any chance of getting the old Jesse back. “I won’t change,” he declared. “This is who I am now, none of you can change that.”

          Harmony let out a sound that was a mix between a sob and a gasp then buried her face in Alex’s chest. Alex wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her but the look on his face said he had no words that would sooth her.

          I gritted my teeth and tried a different tactic. “You’re right, Jesse. We can’t do anything to get the old you back, but you can. You can stop sleeping around. You can stop drinking. You can stop smoking whatever that is you reek of. You can stop all those things and be the man Harmony needs you to be, the man that baby needs as a father. They deserve for you to step up and be him.”

          Jesse stared at me, his ice-blue eyes as cold and solid as stone. Then he looked to Harmony and his face softened for a second before he scoffed. “You’re wrong, Blaze. I can’t do any of that. I don’t deserve the chance to do any of that. They’re better off without me and so are you. You all should see that.”

          It was useless to argue with him. He was either to drunk or too stubborn to see any reason, no matter what we said.

          I stepped away from him and motioned to the door. “Fine. Leave. You obviously don’t care about all you’ll be leaving behind, so why should we stop you? Go on. Go.”

          He stood there for a minute, staring at me like he couldn’t believe my words. But that hesitation only lasted a second before he walked away, not even giving a second glance behind him. It was quiet in the room until we heard the front door slam shut.

          Harmony let a few silent tears slip down her face as she shook her head and turned away from the door. “I guess I know where I stand.”

          “I’m sorry, Harm.” I bit my lip, feeling the guilt rise in me. It was my fault Jesse walked out. It was what I said that made him leave. I hadn’t thought he would actually do it, I thought he would argue and fight. It wasn’t the first time I had been wrong.

          She shook her head at me, her way of telling me it wasn’t my fault.

          Alex’s eyes were full of pity when he met my gaze. “You do realize you probably just lost any chance you had of getting him back in the band, right?”

          With a sigh, I nodded. “I guess I’ll just have to figure out another way to help Damon, won’t I?”