Chapter 33: Kinky Nineway Garage Orgy
((Playlist: I'm A Natural Blue by Waterparks))
Two days later, Sophie hadn't done much to 'fight for love'. Actually, she'd spent most the past two days sleeping, eating obscene amounts of ice cream, and thinking about what to do next. If her parents sensed something was wrong, they didn't bother to ask her about it.
Amy, who definitely would have asked, was away for the weekend. She had gone on a trip with Finley to her see her aunt somewhere by Salt Lake City. Apparently, she had a huge, stately manor that she was letting them use as a wedding venue. Of course, Amy and Finley were thrilled, and Sophie didn't want to call Amy and distract her from her wedding preparations.
Instead, Sophie just chilled through the rest of Sunday, falling into a sleep made fitful by the prospect of having to face Jackson at school the next day. What in the world am I going to say to him? She asked herself as she stared blankly at a ceiling she couldn't even see.
Sometime late in the night, or early in the morning, after she finally did fall asleep, her phone buzzed annoyingly on the nightstand. Sophie rolled over, stifling a groan. Whoever it is, I'll call them in the morning.
Just as it stopped buzzing, It started up again. She covered her ears with a pillow, but still the buzzing sounded as the person called again. And again. And again.
Irritated, she finally snatched up her phone and answered with a groggy, "hello?"
"Sophie, it's me."
Her half-asleep brain tried to process the voice. "Who's 'me,'" she mumbled into her pillow.
"Jackson."
That woke her up. She glanced at her clock across the room and stated, "it's four AM."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Of course you did. What kind of masochist is up at four AM by choice?"
"Wow, no need to be so salty."
"And there's no need to call at such an ungodly hour."
An awkward pause ensued.
"So, why are you calling me?" Sophie continued.
Jackson hesitated. "I... just wanted to talk you, I guess."
"About?"
"I don't know. The weather. Music. The mysteries of the universe. Anything, really."
Sophie sighed. "How about we talk about something meaningful."
"Alright, mysteries of the universe it is."
"No," Sophie replied. "I meant our break up."
"Oh." Jackson paused. "I'm not sure what to say about it, honestly."
"Me neither, actually." Sophie sat up and leaned her head against the wall behind her bed.
Jackson said, "alright, you know what? Phone conversations are kind of awkward."
Sophie smiled slightly. "That's true."
"Get dressed. I'm coming to pick you up."
"Wait, what?" Sophie frowned. "Now?"
"Yep."
"And go where? It's the middle of the night!"
"Morning, actually," he corrected, "which means we can hang out and talk and it's technically more socially acceptable."
"I- uh- okay," she agreed without really thinking.
"Cool. See you in a few minutes." Jackson hung up.
Sophie stared at her phone for a moment. What just happened?
As she threw on jeans and hoodie, a sudden realization hit her. Crap. I have to sneak out. She tiptoed carefully down the stairs. When she got to the first floor, she let out a sigh of relief and cracked open the front door.
A pair of headlights approached the house, then suddenly flicked off. She could see the silhouette of the Hussy through the dark, so she quietly shut the door and ran to the car.
She swung open the door and got in the passenger seat. She gave an awkward wave, where her hand didn't come far above her ribcage. "Hey."
He nodded. "Hey."
She could feel his eyes on her, but by the time she looked up, he was already turning the car around and had his attention averted to the road. Still, she studied him, in his disheveled state. His t-shirt was wrinkly; his hair, mussed, like he made a conscious effort to look like he just rolled out of bed.
Then again, considering the time of day, he most likely had.
Not quite courageous enough to ask the questions she really wanted to, she distracted herself by buckling her seatbelt. "Where are we headed?"
"It's something of a short road trip," he said, lips tweaking into the beginning of a smile. "It's a bit of a distance, but trust me, it's worth it."
She didn't know whether to be happy or terrified about the prospect of a long car ride with Jackson. Her jaws stretched into a yawn. "How in the world do you plan to stay awake to drive?" She wondered sleepily.
"I haven't been sleeping too well lately, to be honest." Something about the way he said it made her feel sick to her stomach.
She shrugged. "Neither have I, to be honest." Not that it sounded as sincere coming from her, as her eyelids fluttered shut again. It was a conscious battle just to keep her eyes open.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?" She could almost hear a smile in his voice.
"Not exactly."
"You know, I don't mind if you fall asleep," he said. "I can wake you up when we get there."
As nice as sleep sounded, Sophie felt bad about taking a nap in the car with him when the only reason he picked her up was so that they could talk, but when she started to voice this, he waved her off.
"Go to sleep, Sophie," he insisted. "I can just pop in a CD. All you'll miss is me doing my best Britney Spears impression."
"You hate Britney Spears."
"You really do know me too well."
She smiled and leaned her head against the window, watching the streetlights roll by. She was asleep in seconds.
"Hey, Sophie. Wake up." Jackson shook her shoulder. Sophie let out a very unattractive grunt and sat up. She glanced outside and saw the beginning of the sunrise glowing over the mountains.
"Where are we?" She stretched sleepily.
"Just come outside," was all Jackson said. She stepped out into the chilly morning and saw that they were, in fact, in the middle of nowhere. Desert surrounded them for miles with nothing else in sight.
Jackson was sitting on the hood of the Hussy. Sophie scooted up next to him and laid back next to him, watching the stars slowly vanish into the morning. "So, you drove me to the middle of the desert?"
"I did." Jackson crossed his arms behind his head and gazed at the sky.
She looked around. "It's nice out here, but... why?"
Jackson shrugged. "I like to just come out here and sit sometimes- especially during the night. You can see the milky way out here. It's beautiful."
Jackson sounded so content that Sophie couldn't help but smile. "I didn't know you were so deep."
"Well, you've read the music I write."
She couldn't help but snort at that. "Of course."
Jackson was quiet for a moment. "So this is a bit of a mess."
Sophie let out a slow breath. "You don't say."
He crossed his legs in front of him. "The question is, where do we start picking up the pieces?"
She chewed her lip nervously. His phrase made it sound so easy, as if they could gather up the pieces of what happened with some proverbial broom and sweep them out the back door, let it scatter like dust in the wind. Deep down, she knew that what came next for them - if anything - would be a battle in and of itself.
Maybe it was time she donned her armor.
"I have an idea of where to start," she began, "and her name starts with an 'm'."
He let out a long sigh. "Sophie, I'm sorry for everything she put you through. Really, I am. I tried to get rid of her, but I didn't do enough."
"Don't apologize for her," she said, shaking her head. "I let it go on too, I guess. I thought that if I ignored her at first, she'd give it up."
"So did I. Wow, were we wrong."
They both laughed for a second, the hollow laugh of people realizing how great a doom they'd built for themselves. Jackson was the next one to speak. "What did she tell you though? If you don't mind my asking."
"That you were playing me." The words, once gone, left a hollow space in her chest. "That you were using me as a replacement and you didn't take us seriously."
"And you believed her?"
"She was right on one part." Sophie raised her eyebrow. "It's no secret that I'm not exactly your type."
"My type?" A note of incredulity crept into his voice. "What do you know about my type?"
She chewed her lip again, not exactly sure how to reply. Jackson went on. "It seems like you've been running on some assumptions on who I am, Soph. Wrong assumptions."
"I know, and I'm sorry." She reached back and ran a hand through her hair. "But can you just tell me one reason why you think we'll work out?"
In lieu of answer, he said, "you know, you're the first person I've brought out here."
"Okay?"
He pointed to the sky. "See, this is kind of special to me. I'm probably not your vision of a perfect Christian boy, I know, but whenever I see the sun coming over that horizon, I feel something. It's like this weird epiphany when I realize the sun has been rising there for longer than I remember, and will keep doing so long after I'll be remembered. It baffles me to think that there was a time before the dawn touched those mountains."
He took a breath. "And when that happens, I wonder how the sun and the earth and all of us got here in the first place. Sometimes, I think it's God, or an entity of some sort. But really, I don't know if it matters. All that matters is that there might be a power out there at work, and if there's a power out there, why can't there be miracles and stuff? Why can't there be love?"
Sophie leaned her head on Jackson's shoulder. "Love's everywhere, you know. Not just romantic love- there's family love, friend love, and the love people have for their pets. There's love for things- reading and drawing and photography and cooking and hiking and playing music..." she trailed off.
Then continued: "Life is just one ongoing contradiction; sometimes life is crappy, but other times it's great. Sometimes you're standing on top of a mountain, and sometimes you're laying in a muddy ditch. But just because you're in a ditch doesn't mean you'll be there forever; you just have to figure out how you're going to get up the mountain. That's what the people you love are here for: to pick you up and help you to the peak. You just have to say positive; you have to think about what the view will be like at the top of the mountain. Life is better with friends and family and partners. Life is better with love."