Jess felt anxious as the two cars slowly came towards their group and parked on the opposite side of the fire pit from where she and Doug were. Car doors opened and there were shouts and greetings mixed with rock and roll from the radios that were left on as four teen girls got out of one car and two couples came out of another. She felt even worse when she noticed both boys carrying six packs of beer. Doug stepped away to go to the group, leaving her alone.
As Jess examined the older girls, she immediately felt self conscious. None of them were dressed like her. Instead they were dressed casually, wearing either jeans or circle skirts with sweatshirts and saddle shoes. Not one of them had on a crinoline. Then Doug walked up to one of the girls and pulled her to him. She circled her arms around his neck and the two of them began kissing while people walked around them not seeming to notice.
With her face flaming, Jess walked to the fire pit and sat on one of the logs with her back to them, not wanting to watch Doug make out with a girl. She stared into the flames as the teens laughed and joked around her, wishing more than anything she was home in bed with a book.
A few minutes later, the boy named Chuck sat next to her, with two bottles of beer. "Here," he said, offering one of them to her.
"No, thank you," she said, keeping her eyes on the fire.
"Awe, go on," he urged with a smile, thrusting the bottle close enough she could smell it. "I promise I won't tell Doug."
"I don't drink," she said icily, pushing it away as she gave him a stern look.
"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug, and took a sip out of the one he'd offered her.
Feeling uneasy with him drinking next to her, she continued to gaze at the flames as if he wasn't there, hoping he'd take the hint and leave.
"That's Donna," he said after several minutes, pointing towards Doug and the girl with his beer bottle. She had her arms around Doug while he was talking animatedly with Whitey and another boy. Even in the dim firelight, Jess could tell she was pretty, with loose blonde curls that fell to her shoulders and bright red lipstick. They made an attractive couple. Then the girl looked over at Jess, scrutinizing her, and Jess dropped her eyes to the fire.
"She's not his girlfriend, but they've been together since last year," Chuck added.
"How can she not be his girlfriend if they're together?" Jess asked with surprise, and then looked over at them with curiosity. The girl was still watching her and she quickly turned to Chuck, embarrassed to be caught looking at them again.
"He broke up with her last spring. His dad – I mean, your uncle, made him do it."
"Why?" He shrugged again.
"I guess he didn't approve," he said casually. "Maybe it's because she's not rich enough. Her dad owns the grocery store."
Jess thought that was horrible, and exactly like something her uncle would do. It seemed his strict ideas about social status weren't just an excuse to belittle people, he'd used them to force Doug break up with a girl he was in love with. She'd never thought about how being Uncle Jonathon's son could be hard for Doug since he seemed to have everything handed to him, but now she had an idea. She couldn't help feeling sad for him, and then she thought about Marty. If a grocer's daughter wasn't good enough to date his son, it was likely a poor boy would never be good enough to be her friend.
"You know you're very pretty," Chuck said, interrupting her thoughts. "I bet you had a lot of boyfriends back wherever you came from." She leaned away from him to see if he was being serious, but to her shock, he appeared to be sincere.
"You should stop," she said pointing to the second beer he was working on. "You're already drunk."
"What's the problem," he said, scooting closer to her. "Don't you like compliments?"
"Excuse me," she said, standing up to get away from him. "I have to go – talk to Doug."
"Okey dokey," he said easily with a smile. "Catch you later."
Feeling Chuck's eyes on her back, she walked over to Doug. She didn't want to talk to him while he was with his girlfriend, especially after all the looks she'd been shooting at Jess, but she didn't have any choice. As she got closer to them, Donna noticed her. She tightened her arms around Doug and lifted her chin in a challenging way. It made Jess uncomfortable, but when Doug spotted her approaching, he looked even more uncomfortable than she did.
Stopping in front of them, she waited for Doug to introduce her. Now that she was close to the girl, Jess thought she was even prettier than she'd appeared from a distance. She had delicate fine-boned features and blue eyes that were several shades lighter than Doug's. Jess felt ugly and gawky in comparison. Doug kept looking over her head as if she wasn't there and she finally gave up on him.
"Uh, hi," she said, sticking her hand out. "I'm Jess, Doug's cousin."
The girl looked at her appraisingly, and then seemed to make a decision. "Donna," she replied simply, letting go of Doug long enough to shake Jess's hand a few times. "I wasn't sure if Doug was telling me the truth about you," she said, circling her arm around him possessively again. "But you're exactly how he described you."
Jess felt her face flush. She knew it wasn't a compliment, and in her mind she heard Doug's voice when he met her for the very first time, 'She's just a kid!'
"Uh, that's – nice," she said, and then felt her face turn even more red, hardly able to believe she'd said something so dumb.
Donna continued to look at her appraisingly while Doug pretended she wasn't there. The silence stretched making the awkward moment even more awkward until Doug said to Donna, "Let's go sit by the fire," and took her hand. "Later, Jess," he added, not even bothering to look at her as he led Donna away.
"Yeah – later," she said to their backs, feeling embarrassed and angry with herself. How could she have just blurted that out? She sighed deeply as she looked around for Chuck. Seeing him with a group of boys by one of the cars, she wandered over to an empty log to wait for the night to end.
Hours later, she kept yawning as she sat in front of the dying fire, trying to stay warm. It was way past her bedtime and she was getting more sleepy by the minute. Then all at once, everyone showed signs of preparing to leave, and she stood and stretched, grateful to be finally going home.
Kenny and Jerry kicked dirt over the fire, putting it out while the two couples who had come together drove off. Jess looked around for Doug and found him some distance away from the group with Donna. The two of them were lit by the headlights of the other car and it looked like they were having an intense discussion, then Doug turned his head and noticed Jess watching. He scowled at her and she turned around, embarrassed she'd been caught yet again.
Shivering now that the fire was dead, she went to his car. Chuck, Jerry, and Kenny had already gotten in the back seat and Jess decided she might as well get in too since it would be warmer than waiting outside. As soon as she sat in the front seat, Whitey joined her and closed the door. While she rubbed her upper arms to warm them up, she watched Doug and Donna. Donna was waving her arms around and it was clear she was upset.
"What's taking him so long?" Jerry whined from the back seat.
"He's getting chewed out," Kenny said, laughing.
"Someone must be on the rag," Chuck added snidely.
"Hey!" Whitey yelled, turning around to address, Chuck. "Watch the language," he said meaningfully, jerking his head in Jess's direction.
Hurry up, she thought desperately watching Doug try to reason with Donna. She'd had enough of teen boys for one night. Then Doug finally turned and walked to the car with his head down, holding Donna's hand. When he opened the door, he said, "I'm giving Donna a ride home."
"Awe, jeez! That's going to take forever!" Jess heard Kenny grumble under his breath, but Doug didn't seem to hear because Chuck had snickered loudly at the same time.
"Whitey, get in the back seat," Doug ordered.
"What? There's no room!" all the boys shouted at once.
"How about Jess," Chuck suggested. "She's smaller."
"Yeah, she's little," Jerry agreed. Jess looked at Doug, her eyes begging him not to make her sit in the back with all those boys.
"Jess?" he asked apologetically. "Do you mind?"
She wanted to say yes, but she knew it was no use. She slid across the bench seat to get out. When she stood up, Donna chirped happily, "Thanks, Jess," climbing in to take her place.
Doug opened the rear door and the boys shifted over to make room for her. She felt even worse, realizing she was going to have to sit next to Chuck, but she didn't think she had any choice. When the door was slammed shut, it was a snug fit, but at least she was warmer than she had been all night with all their bodies packed together. She leaned her forehead against the glass, hoping Chuck wouldn't start talking to her, but he seemed engrossed in a discussion with the other two about some girl.
Once Doug started driving, the movement of the dark car combined with the hum of the engine made her drowsy and she closed her eyes. The next thing she was aware of was the sound of boys talking quietly and a hand rubbing her knee. As she lifted her head off the glass, she noticed Chuck had moved closer and she was now wedged tight against the door.
She pushed his hand off her knee, whispering, "Stop," and looked up at the front seat. Donna was gone. They must have dropped her off while she was asleep.
"It's okay," Chuck whispered in her ear, the sour smell of alcohol on his breath making her turn her head away. "Just relax. I'm not doing anything." He placed his hand on her knee again and she pushed it away. He immediately put it back, this time above her knee under her skirt and when she tried to get him off, he tightened his arm, keeping his hand in place.
"Calm down, will ya?," he whispered. She pushed on his arm as hard as she could, but she was no match for his strength and his hand began slowly inching up her bare leg. The boys next to them carried on their conversation, not noticing the two of them struggling, but she didn't want to call attention to what was happening anyway, it was too mortifying.
"You're so pretty," he whispered, his hot, sour breath on her ear as he pressed her against the door even tighter. "Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you." She was finding it difficult to breath as she realized she was powerless to stop what he was about to do to her, and her mind went blank with terror.
"Stop!"she screamed, thrashing her body in a desperate attempt to get away. "Leave me alone!"
Somehow she managed to break free and in a panic, she launched herself over the back of the front seat just as Doug slammed on the brakes. She landed head first on the floor while the boys swore and shouted, having been thrown forward by the car suddenly stopping. Buried under a mountain of crinoline, she struggled blindly to get up.
"Doug!" she sobbed as someone grabbed her arms and pulled her up. It was Whitey, but she flailed to get away from him and lunged towards Doug, clutching onto him and sobbing into his chest, her entire body shaking.
"What happened? What's wrong?" he asked, but all she could do was sob. Opening the car door, he got out and pulled her with him. "What happened?" he asked again while she clung to him, but she couldn't stop crying long enough to catch her breath. Then he shouted at the boys who were now standing outside the car, "What the hell happened to her?"
"I don't know! She just started screaming!" the boys said all at once, and then she heard Chuck.
"I think she fell asleep and had a nightmare or something!"
"No!" she managed to cry out. Doug tightened his arms around her and bent down.
"What happened, Jess?" he asked quietly in her ear. "Tell me."
"He – he had – he had," she hiccupped, trying to stop crying.
"He had what?"
"He had – his hand – under my skirt." Doug's body went rigid.
"What did he do?" he asked, his voice suddenly lower.
"He tried to – he tried to," she whispered over and over, but she couldn't make herself say the rest, it was too horrible. Tension radiated off Doug's body as he slowly straightened. It seemed he'd heard enough to understand.
"She's lying!" Chuck insisted, and she looked up at Doug. His face was a mask of rage as he let go of her, and pushed her aside.
"What did you do to her!" he bellowed, moving forward.
"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Chuck pleaded with his hands up as Doug stalked towards him.
Before anyone could react, Doug punched Chuck twice in the face, the second punch throwing him to the ground. The other boys rushed forward to grab him and pulled him away.
"You broke my nothe!" Chuck howled as he came up with his hand over his nose. Jess covered her mouth in horror. His hands were covered in blood and more was soaking into his shirt.
"How dare you touch her!" Doug roared, struggling to shake off the boys who were holding him. "I'll kill you if you ever go near her again!"
"Stop, Doug! Stop!" Whitey shouted, and after a moment more of struggling Doug finally stilled. The boys hesitantly let go of him, one by one until he was standing alone. He breathed heavily as he stared down Chuck who was still bleeding profusely. "I better not see you so much as look at her again! Do you hear me?"
"I di'nt do nothin'," Chuck whined through his hand, and Doug made a move towards him. "Okay! Okay! I won'!" he cried, backing up, his eyes full of fear.
"You better not! It's time to go," he commanded, not taking his eyes off Chuck. "Everyone in the car – except you," he added, pointing a finger at Chuck who had taken a small step forward. "You find your own way home."
"B-b-bu' we're mileth from town!" Chuck sputtered, looking panicked.
"Come on, Doug," Whitey urged quietly, a pained expression on his face. "He needs to get home so his dad can fix his nose."
"He should have thought about that before he tried something with her," Doug said evenly, still glaring at Chuck. The boys looked between the two of them, not seeming to know what to do, and then Doug turned towards Jess. His blue eyes were hard like ice, but when he saw her, his face softened.
"Come on, Jess," he said gently, putting his hand on her back to lead her to the car.
As Jess slid across the front seat, Doug said to the boys, "I'm leaving. Anyone who wants a ride home better get in now." Then he sat next to Jess and turned on the ignition.
The boys looked at each other, and then turned from Chuck who still had his hand over his bleeding nose. As soon as the last door slammed shut, Doug drove off with a squeal of the tires.
It was quiet for a minute before Whitey said, "He needs medical attention. He needs –."
"Can it, Whitey," Doug said through his teeth. "Unless you want to walk home too." Whitey turned his head to look out the window and a tense silence filled the car.
While Doug drove, Jess felt shaken and sick to her stomach with humiliation. She could still feel Chuck's hand creeping up her bare skin and had to resist the urge to rub her leg to get him off. She knew Doug and Whitey would notice, and the last thing she wanted to do was draw any more attention to herself. Why had Chuck done that to her? Had she said or done something to make him think she wanted it? How could he be attracted to her anyway? It didn't make any sense. All those other girls were older and prettier than she was.
When they reached town a few minutes later and Doug started dropping everyone off, she was relieved. Whitey's house was the last stop. "Call James and tell him I'm on my way," Doug ordered tersely, staring straight ahead as Whitey opened the car door.
"Sure thing, Doug," he said solemnly, and got out.
With just the two of them in the car, Jess slid across the bench so she could slump against the passenger door and leaned her head against the glass. She was exhausted. All she wanted to do was climb in bed, pull the covers over her head, and forget this horrible night had ever happened.
When they reached the gate, it was already unlocked and the big black car was parked nearby with the headlights on and the engine running. Doug drove through it and down the wooded driveway to the garage without stopping. As soon as he'd parked the car and turned it off, Jess got out and started for the house, hearing Doug slam his door and follow her.
All the lights were off except the one in the hallway and the house was quiet. As Doug closed the front door, his face was pale and grim. Anxious to be alone, Jess quickly climbed the stairs. Once in her room, she couldn't get her dress and crinoline off fast enough. Throwing them on the floor of the wardrobe, she found her favorite nightgown and gratefully headed to bed, not even wanting to take the time brush her teeth.
As she pulled the bedding over her, she heard a quiet knock on her door and froze. Who could it be? And then she realized it had to be Doug. She didn't want to talk to him, but he knocked again, letting her know he wasn't going to give up. Sighing deeply, she got up and put on her robe.
Doug was looking at the floor when she opened the door. His hair was no longer styled by the hair crème and thick dark waves fell over his forehead. When he lifted his head, his arresting blue eyes were full of remorse.
"Can I come in," he whispered.
"I'm really tired, Doug."
"Please!" he whispered urgently, and she let out another sigh.
"Okay," she muttered, and opened the door all the way to let him in. When she closed it and turned around, his head was hanging again.
"I'm sorry, Jess – about everything," he said to the floor.
"It's – okay," she said, not knowing what else to say.
"I wanted you to know, you don't have to worry about Chuck," he continued more forcefully, looking up at her with anger and determination in his eyes. "He won't bother you again. And I'm not going to hang out with him anymore." Jess felt conflicted. As grateful as she was that Doug was willing to stand up for her, she felt badly he was losing a friend, especially knowing he'd had to break up with his girlfriend.
"If you still want to be friends with him, it's –." He raised his hand to stop her.
"It's not like that," he muttered bitterly. "We weren't friends. I only did stuff with him because his dad is the head surgeon at the hospital. I never liked him," he added quietly, looking ashamed.
"Oh," Jess said. Was this another example of what it was like to be Uncle Jonathon's son? Hanging out with people you didn't like because they had money and status?
"And –," he said, dropping his head again. "I've decided I'm not going to drink – if I'm driving."
"That's good, Doug," Jess said sincerely.
"Yeah," he said, and then he lifted his eyes. "You won't tell dad, will you?" he pleaded. "You know – about not going to the movies – and the drinking – and Donna," he finished quietly.
As he looked at her through his lashes, his beautiful blue eyes filled with sadness, Jess felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she realized what was going on. How many times had she seen him use these same tactics on her uncle to get what he wanted? He'd only come to her room to make sure she kept quiet, not just about the fact he'd disobeyed his dad, but about all the things he was doing behind his back.
She sighed deeply as she looked away from him. Had he been truthful about anything he'd just said to her? Perhaps he wasn't lying about Chuck, but the rest? She felt like a fool for having almost believed he was sincere. But could she tell Uncle Jonathon what happened anyway? It was almost certain he'd find out about Chuck. She felt sick just thinking about discussing the humiliating details with him.
"Please, Jess!" Doug begged.
"Okay, I won't tell," she said looking back at him, and Doug's face lightened. "But!" she said holding up her index finger. "I will tell him, if I find out you've been drinking while you're driving your car. I mean it!" she added firmly.
"Yeah! I mean no!" he exclaimed happily. "I won't ever do that! You're the best, Jess!"
"I need to go to bed," she muttered, moving to the door. He'd said the exact same thing to his dad when he'd given in on going to France, and it didn't make her feel any better.
"Sure thing, Jess," he said, following her. "Oh, if anyone asks, you should say we went to that Elvis Presley movie, King Creole. Okay?"
"Okay," she said tiredly as disappointment overwhelmed her. She would have loved to have seen that movie, but instead she'd had the one of the worst nights of her life.
"Good night," he whispered as she closed the door behind him, but she didn't reply.
She walked back to her bed, with a heavy heart. Pulling the blankets over her head, she imagined sitting next to Marty under the willow tree, looking out at the sparkling water through the gently swaying tree branches, hoping it would help her forget.
****
This was an intense night for Jess. I'm wondering what you make of the different sides of Doug you've seen in this chapter. What do you think his feelings are concerning Jess, and how do you think things may change between them? Luckily for her, she fought to save herself from Chuck. I'm sure you have a lot of opinions about him and what happened. I'm dying to know what all of you think!
Thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, please consider giving it a vote! The video is Problems by The Everly Brothers. The picture is Ricky Nelson aka Doug.