Touch of Hellfire (Original Version)

☕️16☕️

Mom came back over. "Mom, can you get us both out of dinner tonight?" Rory asked Mom.

"Heather yes because my mother will freak if she sees that but what about you?" Mom asked Rory. "I have to tell Dean what 'happened' with the car," she told her using air quotes.

"Why is 'happened' in air quotes?" Mom asked her. "She's telling Dean that I did it," I explained. "He'll take it...twenty percent better than the truth."

"Thanks," Rory said.

***

"You have everything to wallow?" Rory asked me. "Yeah, thanks," I mumbled. Rory gave me a big hug and put on the TV and put on Back to the Future.

"I'll report back what happens," Rory promised me, giving me another hug before I tucked into my pizza.

I was upset that Jess just up and vanished. I didn't blame him, Rory didn't blame him, Mom didn't blame him.

I hugged my pillow tightly and sniffled a little. I stared at my blue cast, the painful memory of that night.

I wanted to ask him about that other day, when I was stressing about my business project.

I was about to kiss him but it got interrupted. I didn't just like Jess.

I love him.

I really do.

And he's gone.

I put my food aside and I lay down.

"I wish you were here Jess," I mumbled, pretending he was here beside me. "It wasn't your fault.." I began to cry a little. "...I blame the damn dog, my biggest regret was not telling you the truth that night.."

I felt the tears running down my face and I cried into my pillow.

"Hezzy?"

I woke up to see Rory sitting on my bed, she gave me a sad look, she knew I was crying.

"Did..Dean get mad?" I stuttered. She shook her head. "I left the J word out."

"Rory..can I tell you something?"

"Of course," she smiled.

"I think I'm in love with Jess," I confessed. Rory gaped. "Oh Hezzy, your first love."

"But he's gone Rory," I sighed. "He's only been gone for a day, he'll get in touch with you, I know he will," Rory reassured me.

***

"You two HAVE to get together!" Tessa gasped. "Have you forgotten something?" I asked her rhetorically. "The man ain't here!"

"So we have our date for Columbia, May 10th," Tessa cheered. "I can't wait," I smiled. "You know..we could try look for your beau there," Tessa pointed out.

"Yeah well, needle, haystack," I repeated. "Look in there," Tessa looked through the window of a place that used to be boarded up. "It's a music store, you can finally get some good stuff there," she laughed.

"That poor bench," I looked across the street. "I overheard Taylor ranting about it," Tessa told me. "My mom was with him and he blamed Jess for everything."

"Even though I have been pissing him off?" I raised my eyebrow. "Apparently," Tessa shrugged. "But my mom likes him because we had this lab project a month ago and he was over at my house one time and she told Taylor that it wasn't on him or you."

"So..everyone is blaming him?" I asked her. Tessa nodded.

"Great. That's just great," I groaned.

I walked home from school on that Monday, feeling pretty miserable, still no word from him. "Oh Heather! Hold on sweetie!" I heard Babette calling my name. I turned around on my lawn.