Mr. Playboy (Dylan Minnette/Clay Jensen/13 Reasons Why)

20

"Jessica Grace Harris!" My mother yelled as I walked through the door. She stood up from where she was lounging on the couch. She was absolutely fuming. I could almost see the smoke coming from her ears.

My face felt red from embarrassment. I couldn't believe that after all Dylan and I had done, Andy still somehow find a way to mess everything up for us.

My father was also sitting next to her, but he didn't stand up like her, he was still watching some game show on TV. My dad never really cared, but just agreed with my mom on everything to please her. Happy wife happy life, I guess.

"Nice to see you finally decided to come home," she glared at me, but I could see some sort of sympathy or sadness.

I didn't say a word. I wasn't really sure what to say.

"Come have a seat. Your father and I need to talk to you." She sat down, still with that awful angry look on her face, and I sat in the chair to the left, facing the couch.

"Jessica, it seems like every day you're doing something with that boy. Haven't we told you time and time again that he's bad for you?" My mom threw her hands in the air out of exasperation.

"He's not bad for me! If anything, he's good! He- he-" I couldn't find anything good to say. At least, nothing good that would be appropriate to say to my mom.

Looking back on it, I couldn't help but settle again on the idea that being with Dylan had just caused all these problems for me. He introduced me to my rapist, cheated multiple times, and all of these rumors had been spread about me thanks to being in the spotlight.

Maybe things would just be better if we had separated.

Then again, I knew I loved Dylan. He really had changed for me. He put his playboy acts aside and really started to act mature. Then again, he could always revert back to his old ways...

"He loves me, mom. And I love him too. Who do you think you are trying to stand in the way of love?" I scoffed, but it felt cringy and cliche to say.

She laughed out loud. It didn't sound real. It sounded loud and obnoxious. Even my dad, whose eyes were glued to the screen, looked over. "Who do you think you are claiming you know anything about love? You're still just a teenager with your raging emotions. You may think you're in love now, but that boy is bad news. All he's going to do is hurt you.

"I know his mother. We used to be friends. Did you know that?"

I shook my head.

"She used to tell me all about her problems with her husband. He was abusive to her and they had fights all the time. Always saying how he hated her and she would say she hated him. I really don't know why they lasted so long. But he was really close with his son, that boy you're with. They would always go to baseball games, movies, stuff like that. They had a really close bond."

Dylan never told me anything about his dad. I guess it hurt him too much to talk about it. I wonder what his dad is doing now.

"But she -her name's Jennifer- she hated her husband so much, his name was Gary. She hated Gary with a passion. And they were, in fact, together because they fell in 'love' in high school. So when Gary left her, the boy just fell into a really deep depression. Around that time you went over to his house. We were so worried for you, Jessica. Jenny told me about how he turned into a really bad kid that would skip school, go to parties, get drunk, mess around with girls, all of that.

"Now do you understand why I didn't want him to be around you? I didn't want you to be hurt by him. I love you, honey, and I don't want a boy like that to ruin your life. I want you to get a good job, be successful, and date a really nice boy that loves you- for real. Not some petty high school love. Do you understand?"

My mom's entire speech hit me- hard.

I realized she was right.

Dylan had a really bad history. Being with him was a really bad idea. Sure, he changed for a little bit, but how could I know that he'd stay that way forever?

It would be much safer to just find a real guy. A real guy that would treat me right and not cheat on me like he could.

"Yeah, I understand," I said softly, looking down at my feet.

"Now. As for that video Andy sent me... Jessica, how could you? We expected better of you, right Hank?" My mother looked over at my dad, who was still focused on the TV, "Hank?" She repeated.

"Hm? What?" He snapped out of his trance and looked over.

"The video I showed you! Of Jessica and that boy."

"Oh, yeah! Terrible. Shouldn't be doing something like that, 'specially not someone like you. You got a bright future, honey, and you don't wanna waste it on scum like that." My dad pointed the remote at me, his eyes already having turned back to the TV.

"Dad, he's not scum. He's changed since then-"

"Oh, please. Boys never change." My dad rolled his eyes.

"See, honey? Trust your dad and I. We know how things like that work out. You know, I had a girlfriend in college that was like you- super smart, destined for a bright future, all of that, and then she found a guy that was a total scumbag. But, I don't know, I guess some girls are into that. So he took her to all these parties and just ended up destroying her life. She got into alcohol and drugs and last I heard, she was homeless, using whatever money she could find for drugs. And she could have been such a smart girl.

"So please, honey, let that boy go. I know you want to be a writer, right? Pursue your passions and become an author! A boy like that can't help you! He'll only bring you down!"

"I- I don't know. I just... need to think about it, I guess," I twiddled my fingers, looking down at them with a frown on my face.

"Hold on now," my mother laughed a little bit, "You don't get to decide what happens her. Hand me your phone," she held her hand out.

"Mom! You can't just take my phone, I'm almost 18!" I held my back pocket where my phone was sitting.

My mom closed her eyes and turned her head away, doing that snooty thing that parents do.

I sighed, feeling unable to resist, and put it in her hand.

"You can have your phone back in a week. For now, focus on school. You're not allowed to see that boy ever again- you hear me? If I find out you're with him, it's gonna get a lot worse for you. Trust me. Come home straight after school, no going anywhere else. Now go up to your room and go to bed- it's getting late."

"Mom, how come Andy gets to go to a party and not me? That's not fair-" I stood up, extending my hand out at the ground, trying to grasp at strings that were too out of reach.

"Um, Andy doesn't go to parties to make out with girls! He knows how to be responsible!" My mom yelled back out at me.

"Whatever. It's so obvious that Andy's your favorite child!" I screamed out at her as I ran up the stairs, then slammed my door closed and locked it.

I flopped on my bed, feeling tears come to my eyes.

I loved Dylan, I know it, but I couldn't help but think that my mom was right. The way she explained it all made so much sense.

Maybe I really should just cut things off with him. After all, being cheated on wasn't fun, and all these events that have been taking place have really distracted me from school. My grades weren't tanking, but they weren't as good as I know they could be.

I realized, too, that I should work more on my stories. If I want to be a successful writer, I have to follow my passions...

Alright, that's it. I'll just break up with him on Monday...

~~

No!!! Why Jessica, why?!!?

Oh well. Guess you guys gotta wait to see what will happen. See you tomorrow! And don't forget to VOTE!!