Chapter Fourteen: Lucky & Drunk
"my life on the outside's fun to them,
but the person on the inside is crumbling,"
~ machine gun kelly
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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."
I believed that. Before he visited during my senior year in February, I hadn't seen him since the year before. He stayed in his off campus apartment in the summer.
"What do you think Adrianna would have done if she found out he was cheating?" I pondered, smiling both with amusement and sadness as I glanced in his direction.
He flashed me a grin. "Probably cry. Then start a fight."
I nodded confidently. "She'd preach I'm not a pussy through her tears before burning something down."
We both laughed but quickly sobered up when he began to drive up the ramp to get off the highway. It was at that moment I remembered our hands were still connected.
Air felt difficult to grab a hold onto as I observed how Jared stuck out his thumb before rubbing circles on my hand. I felt paralyzed before forcing myself to raise my eyes, only to see him watching me soberly before clearing his throat.
He turned back to the road, and I noticed we stopped in front of a red light. "I'm dropping you off?" He guessed, just as I unlaced my hand from his.
"Yeah." I sucked in my cheek fat, turning my head to the window. My hand automatically rose to the silver, lotus necklace Jared gave me. "You remember where—"
"Really?" His tone was questioning, but I could hear his amusement as he spoke. "Of course I know where you live, Lucky. Gimme some credit."
I tsked. "I don't think you deserve credit."
My teeth pressed into my lower lip to stop myself from smiling when I noticed Jared glaring at me. "I deserve a shit load of credit." He smirked and confidently shrugged. "Taught you how to throw a football, didn't I?"
I became defensive. "Okay, you did not teach—"
"Yes, I did," he drawled causally, not taking my critique seriously.
"No you didn't. And even if you did, you'd be a sucky teacher," I stated, but instead of being offended, he smirked before beginning to drive again when the light turned green.
"Guess we gotta play again, Lucky," he stated gleefully, obviously enjoying the thought of me trying and failing to play football.
My eyes narrowed further. "No."
His lips split into a wide grin. "You being a scaredy cat on me, Lucky?"
"I'm not a scaredy—" I rubbed my temples painfully. "You're so annoying."
"And you're frustrating. Come on, Lucky. Just admit it. You need help. You need me," he taunted, leaning toward me. "Say it."
I pushed his head back. "Keep your eyes on the road."
He chuckled but did as I said. "Say it," he continued to drawl. I knew he wouldn't let it go until I did whatever he wanted.
"Say what?" I decided to toy with him.
He quickly narrowed his eyes on me before turning onto my street. "Say I need you."
"Jared," I gasped playfully, pressing my hand against my chest. "I'm flattered but I can't say I feel the same."
For a moment, he didn't respond. But as my house was coming into view at the end of the street, he threw me a glare. "God, you're..."
"Amazing? Talented? Gorgeous?"
He looked away from the road again, but when our eyes met, he didn't refuse or accept my claims. Instead, he just stared at me before turning back to the street. I watched as he pulled into my house, but my brows furrowed when I saw a random car parked on the driveway.
"Whose car is that?" I asked out loud, unbuckling my seat belt.
When I didn't hear Jared's snarky comment, I peered in his direction and pushed my head back, surprised when I saw him glaring at the car.
I gawked when he threw off his seat belt and pushed his door open, only to stomp toward my house without another word.
The front door was open, so he invited himself in, while I remained gaping before forcing myself to move. I quickly took his keys out of the ignition and jumped out of the car before closing both our doors and running inside.
The moment I did, I froze.
Up the spiral staircase next to me, I heard men arguing. But running past the dining room and through the arched doorways, I peeked to my right, where the living room was, and saw mom and Jared's mom, Gloria.
Mom was holding Gloria's head to her chest as she cried, her face red and puffy from crying. "Mom?" I breathed out, her dark eyes snapping to mine.
I almost stepped back, alarmed by how pale she was, looking hopeless. "Your papa is coming home right now," she whispered, cradling Gloria's head.
"Is Rupert..." I didn't finish my sentence, because Gloria began to sob louder, just as the sound of something crashing upstairs perked my ears up.
My eyes widened before whirling on my heel, darting toward the spiral staircase. "Clover!" I heard mom hiss behind me, but I ignored her.
I took two steps at a time, and when I reached the second floor, I heard the crashing coming from the guest room, which was next to Dax's room, on the opposite hall from mine.
The second I stepped inside, I watched, horrified at the sight in front of me.
Rupert was laying on the floor, his face bloody as Jared continued to lay punches on his dad. I was pretty sure he was unconscious.
"Jared," I hissed, taking a hesitant step closer. "Stop."
Either he didn't hear, or he was ignoring me. "Jared," I began to plead. I was near Rupert's laying body and carefully reached out, waiting for him to pull his fist back before touching his shoulder.
Luckily, that woke him up from his trance before his eyes snapped up, glazed over and glaring. But the second they met mine, he began to exhale.
"Hey," I breathed out, walking around Rupert, so I was in front of him. "Let's go, okay?" I tilted my head slightly to see if Rupert's chest was rising.
After getting that confirmation, I sighed with relief and closed my eyes, just as Jared's arms wrapped around my waist. He held me tight as he lowered his head close to my neck, breathing heavily.
I laced my fingers into his hair. "Come with me," I mumbled, sounding more like a question than a statement.
With a shaky breath, he nodded. With that, I held his hand and tugged him out of the room. Mom was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, eyes narrowed with her arms crossed.
"Please check to see if he's okay," I mumbled. "I'll help Jared cool off."
She inhaled sharply and nodded her head once. "Your tatay is on their way. We'll deal with him."
I nodded and gave her a quick hug before turning to the door, only to see that Jared had already stepped out.
I rushed through the door and found him pacing his front of his car, his fists bloody and bruised from his assault against his dad. "Hey," I exhaled, waiting until I was in front of him to hold his hand.
"Maybe we could go back in there and clean—"
He shook his head and peeled his hand out of my grip. "No," he deadpanned, making me frown before he started curling his fingers into a fist.
"Jared, you're gonna widen your cuts," I warned, reaching out to help keep his hand open. With a sigh, I offered, "I can be your DD for tonight, but we need to clean your knuckles."
With a defeated sigh and tightened lips, Jared looked off to the side before nodding once. "Okay. Get in your car. Can I drive?"
His eyes returned to mine, and for a moment, he watched me soberly before nodding. "Good. Because I already had your keys," I grinned, pulling them out of my sweatpants pocket to lighten the mood.
He rolled his eyes, but I noticed a small quirk in his lips before striding to the passenger door. "Should I be worried you can't talk anymore?" I decided to tease further, hoping to get a reaction from him. He only said one word since I pulled him off his dad.
Spinning on his heel, he glared at me. But just as he was opening his mouth to retort, another voice spoke out. "Clover?"
It came from my right, and my eyes snapped in its direction. Only to gape when I saw Griffin walking on the sidewalk, his three-year-old sister holding onto her stroller as she wobbly walked.
I smiled and waved, but just as I was going to call out a greeting, Jared crossed the space between us and laced his hand with mine before leading me to his car.
Realizing he probably wanted to leave now, I smiled apologetically before rounding to the drivers seat. I gave another wave in Griffin's direction as I opened the door. "I'll talk to you later?" I offered.
He nodded but hesitantly glanced to the passenger side of the car—which was empty, with Jared now sitting inside. "Yeah... Everything good, Clo?"
I nodded, only to hear Jared rasp, "Lucky."
"Bye," I said to Griffin before sliding into the car, closing the door shut next to me.
My head spun, so I could glance at Jared. My heart ached, seeing him so disassociated with reality. "You're scaring me, Jared. Please say something."
For a few beats, he said nothing, keeping his eyes trained outside the window. That was, until slowly, his head cocked in my direction.
When he began to crack a smirk, I exhaled. "So, you're admitting you're easily scared?" He paused, his eyes roaming around me. "Scaredy—"
"Okay. You're fine." With that, I turned on the car and reversed out of the driveway, but I felt relieved when I saw him smirking.
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A few hours and several drinks later, Jared is hammered, but relaxed.
We were both sitting in front of the bar, but my stool was twisted to the left, so I was facing him as he took a shot of tequila with a random guy next to him.
I chuckled and sipped my Ginger Ale, watching as his faced morphed to a cringe. "Shit. It gets fucking worse each time."
"Want?" I offered my bottle, but he shook his head. "Alright, more for me," I sang, bringing the bottle slowly to my lips.
But he didn't stop me from wrapping my lips around the top. Instead, he watched, engrossed by my mouth. I tried to ignore how my heart leapt when his eyes darkened, pulling the drink away and resting it on the table.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," I smiled tightly before hopping off the stool. "Watch my drink."
I didn't wait for his response before striding to the hall, on the right the room. Despite it being nearly six in the evening on a Saturday, it was packed, and to say I was under-dressed would be an understatement.
Sweatpants and a low cut, cropped tank top wasn't bar material.
The women's bathroom was on the right, lined with women waiting, but the mens on the left, didn't have a person in sight. I sighed at the unfairness before leaning my shoulder against the wall, my back facing the exit.
A minute barely passed when I began to yawn, about to pull my phone out of my pocket. That was, until I felt a body pressed against mine from behind me.
I stiffened, but not from anxiousness or fear. Because the despite the smell of alcohol hovering in the air, I caught a musky scent, and its perfect blend of being sweet and strong.
And so, I didn't move away when I felt his head dip next to my ear, breathing in softly. "You always smell so fucking good." He released a groan deep in his throat.
"It's caramel," I whispered, not looking away from the bodies of women in front of me, waiting for the bathroom.
Another groan. "I know."
Memories returned of when I saw the nearly empty caramel macchiato candle in his room. I wondered for a moment if he started lighting the other candle I made him.
We stood in silence, until he suddenly gripped my waist and spun us around. My vision blurred until I felt the wall behind me, keeping me from falling when I lifted my gaze.
Jared's hands were on the bare skin on my waist before he sunk his head to my neck. "Jay," I whispered brokenly, but I closed my eyes at the feeling of him against me. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," he muttered next to my pulse before pressing his lips against it.
A shaky breath left me as I raised my hands to hold onto his shoulders, mainly to push him away. We were in public for God's sake.
But instead, I found myself digging my nails into his shirt and pulling him forward. His mouth continued to lay kisses on my jawline and neck, all while I felt a pool of wetness between my legs.
We shouldn't be doing this. We shouldn't be doing this. He was drunk, and...
I shook my head, only to tremble when his lips began to suck on a sensitive spot on my neck. "Jared," I gasped out before lacing my fingers into his hair, and with much strength, I pulled him off me.
His eyes were dazed when they met mine, and I frowned. "Jay?"
He blinked quickly, only for his gaze to remain on me as they roamed around my face. "You know, I remember when I first met you," he muttered, and I held my breath. "You and Adri had a sleepover during the football season. You guys were so fucking loud."
"I never..." He pouted, shaking his head. "I never saw you as anything more than her friend. But when I came back that winter, I hadn't seen you for a year and..."
His gaze focused on mine again. "I thought you looked so fucking beautiful." My lips felt dry, and I licked them—only for him to watch as I did so. "You always were, inside and out. But when I saw you, I wanted you."
"Jared," I whispered as he leaned in, dropping his eyes to my lips.
"I wanted to push you up against the wall," he muttered, ignoring my silent plea as he dropped his hand on my thigh, slowly tracing my leg before fluttering his fingers over my heat. "I wanted you. I still want you."
At this point, my chest was heaving as he wrapped his hands around my waist again. "Tell me you don't want me, Lucky."
My lips parted, but no noise came out.
He pulled his head back and I locked eyes with his, feeling unable to breathe when I saw how dark his usually bright eyes were. "I..." I swallowed. "I can't..."
Whatever I was going to say was put on pause when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. Jared must have felt it too, because he took a step back, glaring at my pants as I pulled out my phone.
It was a text from Cyrus: Mom told me what happened. I want to talk to you.
"I should p-probably call my brother," I stuttered, clearing my throat before turning my head to Jared.
He wobbled in his spot before stepping back, frowning to himself. I noticed then that people were walking around us to go to the bathroom line, and I cringed, feeling embarrassed.
"Let's get back?" I pushed myself off the wall and we both walked back to our seats—which were now occupied by two men.
Luckily, Jared managed to find two available seats at the end of the bar. But just as he sat, I heard a low whistle coming from the entrance.
"Isn't the gorgeous Clover Fields," Matt called out, striding toward me with a big grin before grabbing my hand to kiss the back of it.
I chuckled in amusement once he released me. "Hey. What are you doing here?"
His dove blue eyes rotated to Jared, who was laying his head on the bar table. "Jar over here texted me, and I was bored." He patted Jared's back. "He's a fun drunk."
More like a honest drunk, I thought to myself.
"Well, I gotta make a phone call." I lifted my phone, which was still curled in my hand. "Watch over him. Make sure he doesn't fall."
"Can't promise that," he chuckled, pressing his hand against his flattened shirt. "You gonna drink with me, Fields?"
He smiled, almost flirtatiously. "I get a vibe you're a fun drunk."
I smiled, but shook my head. "Can't. I'm the sober driver for this one," I cocked my head in Jared's direction, but Matt kept his eyes on me.
"Come on, have fun!" He grinned. "You can always get an Uber back."
"But I drove Jared's car," I remarked, but he tsked, lifting his hand to shove that idea away.
"You can always pick it up tomorrow, Fields. You're just finding excuses not to enjoy yourself."
My lower lip pursed. I was almost tempted to agree, but then I remembered Jared's predicament.
"Still can't. Maybe next time," I sighed, moving around him. "Watch him?"
He nodded before slipping into the seat next to Jared, patting his back. Making sure he was actually awake, I stayed in my spot for a few seconds until he finally lifted his head.
I slipped out the doors and inhaled the chill air. I left my jacket in the car, which I regretted now. It was below ten degrees.
Biting back my desire to go to the parking lot by myself, I leaned against the brick wall and dialed Cyrus' number, only for him to answer on the first ring.
"Where are you guys?" He asked aggressively, making my brows furrow.
"A bar..." I drawled slowly. "What crawled up your ass and died?"
He seemed to be breathing heavily. "Clover," he began slowly, as if he was about to erupt any second. "Jared attacked his dad unconscious, and now you're with him. I want to know where you fucking are."
I rolled my eyes. "Why? Are you planning to drive the two hours? You're still back on campus, Cyrus," I felt I had to remind him. "Everything's fine."
"Everything is not fine," he bit out before exhaling slowly. "I don't think it's a good idea you be around him anymore. Especially right fucking now. He's angry and drunk."
"Are you insinuating he'll hurt me?" I gaped in surprise. "Jared is not like that."
"No, he's someone who beats up his dad," he stressed.
He totally deserved it. Your brother is being a pussy, Clove.
My jaw clenched, feeling equally defensive of Jared. "Yeah, his dad who cheated on his mom."
"I wouldn't beat up dad if he cheated on mom!"
"I totally would!" I glared at the darkness on the opposite side of the street. "Stop acting like he's a crazy psychopath! Yeah, maybe he shouldn't have gone off so hard, but his actions are excusable."
There was a pause. "There's something wrong with you, Clover."
"Go take a chill pill, Cyrus," I deadpanned, not waiting for his response before hanging up.
I shoved my phone into my pocket and sighed, leaning against the wall. I rubbed my scar next to my head and tensed up before slowly before I sagged forward and returned inside.
Thankfully, after another hour, I managed to convince Jared, to come back to my house with me—though, he had to sleep in the guest room. The same room he hurt his dad.
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sorry for the absence lovelies!
I seriously do not remember the
last time I missed the day to post...
life's a little hectic right now,
but alas, it's CHRISTMAS! I hope
youre celebrating with friends
or family, and are surrounded by
all the love in the world.
thank you for reading! I'll catch
up with you another post cause
I'm rushing to upload — please
vote and comment and I'll see you
in the next one x