Lucky For You

14 | Lucky & Drunk

Chapter Fourteen: Lucky & Drunk

"my life on the outside's fun to them,
but the person on the inside is crumbling,"
~ machine gun kelly

━━━━༻❁༺━━━━

Jared hung up on his mom after that, but that wasn't the end of the night.

He'd gotten beyond angry at his dad, and was tempted to leave at that moment. But after some smooth talking, I managed to convince him to stay over—and sleep on Tully's bed—so we could leave together the next day.

Now being Saturday, closer to noon, I glanced away from the window that was showing me blurry trees before peering in Jared's direction. He was speeding on the highway, clenching the wheel with one hand, and I couldn't help but focus on how his jaw popped.

Music from the radio was playing softly in the background, but neither of us made an effort to increase the volume during the silence.

Impulsively, my hand reached out and touched his shoulder, rubbing it soothingly to hopefully release his tension.

For a moment, his shoulders stiffened from my touch before slowly, he sagged forward, throwing me a quick look. "You okay?" I mumbled, rubbing his shoulder once more before letting go.

He tightly smiled before scoffing out a small laugh. "I don't know. I..." He glimpsed in my direction before returning his eyes forward. "I thought he wouldn't do it again."

My nose flared as I frowned. "Again?" I repeated. "What do you mean again?"

He said nothing at first—but his body exposed his anger as he pressed his back hard against the seat. "A few months into my first year in uni, I visited for the winter break."

I watched him, transfixed on his chest as he took a deep breath, his muscles stretching out his black tee. "It was a surprise. But when I got home, no one was there. Except..."

"Your dad," I finished, feeling my heart tighten as Jared glanced to me, smiling tensely. But his eyes revealed how broken he felt.

"My dad," he nodded once in confirmation before signalling to the right lane on the highway. "He was with someone. Where my mom sleeps for fucks sake. But I didn't pay attention to her. I just saw red and I... lashed out."

My brows furrowed, trying to recall when Adrianna and I were sophomores around that time. Vivid memories rose when I thought of that Christmas, remembering how their dad had bruises. He blamed it on falling and hitting his face on the table.

"After that, he cried and told me he'd never do it again. It was just the one time. He didn't want to hurt my mom." He clenched his jaw. "The only reason I didn't tell her was because I didn't want to hurt her. I thought he'd keep it in his fucking pants."

"I started fighting, because of him," he exposed, and my eyes widened in surprise. "On and off, but it was a way for me to let out steam."

When his eyes zeroed in on me again, I nodded in understanding before reaching for his hand—which laid on the console between us while the other held the wheel.

I placed it on top of his, but he quickly spun it around, so he was lacing his fingers with my hand.

My breath hitched, focusing on our locked hands before peeking in his direction. He was watching me soberly before exhaling. "Yeah. But after Adri... you know."

"Yeah," I choked out, unintentionally holding him tighter. "I know."

For a few seconds, we sat in silence, and my eyes lowered to my lap, until he spoke up again seconds later. "I barely visited after that. Because of him."