Jayne Doe by jamie brook thompson

Author:jamie brook thompson [thompson, jamie brook]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-01-16T05:00:00+00:00

Twelve

The glowing ends of half-burnt cigarettes light up the darkness of the cold night as I round the corner of the driveway and approach the porch. I can barely see, but I can smell them.

Alcohol and pot.

Johnny stands on the porch talking to Mom who's half in the bag and slurring so badly I can barely make out what she's saying. But he's chuckling along with her. The tugging in my spine stops, but I can't figure out why I'm here. There's not a gun in sight. Johnny isn't upset. He's quite proud of what he's done tonight and he's still high enough that he doesn't care where Jayne is.

Mom slides down to the porch steps. Her tiny body is swathed in several pairs of sweats, breathing in Johnny's cigarette smoke. As soon as he extinguishes one, he pulls out another. Mom's quiet, listening intently to him and swaying gently back and forth. He wants something from her. I close my eyes and focus.

“I just think it would be a good idea. At least for a little while,” Johnny says, taking another long drag of his cigarette and letting out a cloudy breath. His mind is a jumbled mess of random thoughts and broken phrases, images that don't make sense. He's blurry from the drugs. “My parents have a huge, empty basement, like a mother-in-law apartment.”

I step back and scrunch my face.

He wants my mother to move out?

Something inside of me says this is wrong. No, it's something else.

“Well, it's really what Jayne wants.” Mom takes a drag of her own cigarette and holds it close to her chest. “I don't think you need to get married. You're both too young.”

“My parents are old fashioned,” Johnny says as he searches for the right words. I can't make sense of what he's saying. “I just think she should move closer to campus with that gas guzzler. I don't want her to run out of gas again. She could get hurt.”

Blackness envelopes him. He doesn't mean a word he's saying. He doesn't care about Jayne; he just wants her close to him. So he can watch her.

“I told her not to buy that piece of shit,” Mom says, flicking ash from the end of the burning cigarette in her hand.

Tires crunch on gravel behind me as Billy pulls up in the Grand Prix. When he gets out of the car, his eyes are blood shot, pupils dilated. He's stoned again. He shoots Johnny a greasy smile.

“You're a happy boy, I take it.” The suggestion in Billy’s voice makes me want to puke. I swallow violently, keeping it all down.

“I'm good,” Johnny says, tugging at the waistband of his jeans. He leans closer to Billy and I take a few steps toward them so that I can hear. “I'm going to need another favor though. This ain't like the other one. I've got to keep this really quiet.”

“You got it, man,” Billy answers, slamming the car door. Mom jumps at the sound. “I couldn't find Martha, Mom.

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