Inevitably Yours

I got home after school and wandered into the kitchen. My brother wouldn’t be home for another hour, so my house was nice and quiet. I got in the fridge to get a bottle of water before sticking my head in the pantry to find a snack. I probably wasn’t going to have time to eat before the concert tonight, so I wanted to eat something now.

I exited the pantry with the peanut butter jar and a sleeve of crackers to find a note on the kitchen island.

Hey Quinny,

I have to work late tonight, going to miss your concert. Dad has to go to a parent-teacher conference for your brother. They will probably miss it too.

Good luck. We’ll be at the next one. Mom

I stared at the note sadly. “Figures,” I sighed.

“It’s okay. They can’t control when these things happen,” Sapphire tried to defend.

“Well, they never came to a game to watch the halftime show and opted out of watching my race, the couple I had. I just thought they would be there this time,” I lamented.

“It’s okay. Christy is coming tonight, right?” she reasoned.

“Yea,” I said. “But it’s not the same.”

I grabbed the note and slid it into the trash, not feeling very hungry anymore. I left the peanut butter and crackers on the counter and trudged up to my room. Since neither of my parents were coming tonight, I probably needed to find a way back to school myself.

I went to my closet to find black dress clothes for the night, and my phone started ringing. “Hello?” I answered without looking.

“It’s at six tonight, right?” Jaxx asked.

“What is?”

“Your concert,” he said like it was so obvious.

“Oh, yea. Wait, why?” I asked.

“I’m coming, duh,” he said. “You told me about it weeks ago.”

“I didn’t expect you to come,” I told him, grabbing clothes from the closet. I walked over to the bed and laid them down over my comforter.

“I wouldn’t be a very good boyfriend if I didn’t,” he answered. “I would ask if I could take you to dinner after, but I bet your parents have that covered.”

“Well, actually…” I trailed off. I frowned at my chosen clothes; Christy was better at this stuff.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Some things came up, and they won’t be there tonight. I guess I could do whatever,” I told him.

“They aren’t coming?” he clarified. “I’m sorry, babe.”

I shrugged, forgetting that I was on the phone. “It’s alright. I guess you coming makes up for it.”

“Are they at least dropping you off?” he asked.

“Probably not,” I said. “I think I am going to ride my bike.”

“There is snow on the ground. There is ice on the roads,” he said. “No, I’ll come get you. I can come right now.”

“I still need to get ready,” I said. “It’s okay. You don’t have to come super early. Just be there at six. You can sit with Christy.”

“I’m going to shower and get dressed, then I’m coming over, and I will drive you. You’re my girlfriend; I’m not letting you ride your bike in the snow,” he insisted.

“Alright,” I said, feeling a little warmth in my chest. “Thanks.”

“I’ll see you in a little bit,” he said before hanging up.

I went back to my closet and found a different black shirt. “Jaxx is thoughtful,” Sapphire said. “You won’t be alone tonight.”

“I guess I won’t,” I said.

–

I got ready quickly, not putting on any makeup and pulling my waves up in a tight ponytail to stay out of my face. We weren’t supposed to stick out in any way, and I was already working against a head of blue hair.

I grabbed my nicest jacket and headed downstairs with my shoes and a book in my hand. I wasn’t sure when Jaxx was getting here, so I figured I should be ready. I set my shoes and jacket in the front hall and went to the kitchen. My brother was standing in the open fridge; I hadn’t heard him come home.

“You left food out,” he commented.

“You didn’t take out the trash yesterday,” I replied. He scowled at me. “So, what did you do to warrant this last-minute conference?”

“None of your business,” he said, turning back to the fridge.

“It’s a little my business as now neither of my parents will be attending my concert tonight,” I said.

“You suck anyway. They don’t care about you playing music,” he retorted. I bit my l*p, snatching up the food I left on the counter earlier. Heat pricked my eyes, but I didn’t want to cry. I threw open the pantry door and put everything away.

When I was done, the doorbell was ringing. “I got it,” I said, darting from the kitchen. Kent followed. I got to the door first and opened it to Jaxx. He smiled brightly at me.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied, stepping aside so he could come in.

“Did you even ask if he could come over?” Kent said, leaning against the wall.

“It’s none of your business,” I snapped at him. “Go away.” Jaxx looked nervously between us.

“I can come back later. I just wanted to see you before the concert. You sounded sad,” he said quietly.

“No, it’s fine,” I said. I grabbed his hand and led him into the house, past my brother. Without any other plan and still plenty of time before we had to leave, I went for the basement. I heard stomping on the stairs so I assumed Kent was headed to his room.

“Does your brother not like me?” he asked as we headed down the basement steps.

“I think he doesn’t like me,” I told him. “It doesn’t matter. He’s a little brat anyway.”

We stopped downstairs in the middle of the rec room area. Jaxx turned me to face him. “You okay? You look upset,” he observed.

“Yea, I’ll be fine,” I told him.

“You look really pretty,” he said. His hand came up to play with the hair in my ponytail. “I’m excited for tonight.”

“It won’t be anything special,” I said, looking away from him.

“I don’t care because I get to spend time with you,” he said, twisting the ends of my hairs in his fingers. “Do you want to hang out until we have to go?”

“Sure,” I said, nodding.

–

I packed away my instrument and gathered up my jacket. Christy, Aubree, and Jaxx were all waiting for me. I told my dad not to expect me home right away, and he seemed more preoccupied with my brother than me, so I took it as permission to do what I wanted.

My phone rang as I headed out of the band room to where everyone was waiting.

“So, did you kill it?” his familiar voice asked.

I laughed a little. Now that the concert was over, I felt silly for being nervous beforehand. I had texted Michael right before it was time to file into our seats. “I didn’t squeak,” I said.

“That’s a start,” he said. “Are you with your parents yet?”

“Oh, uh, no,” I said. I saw Christy waving to me enthusiastically from the side of the crowd.

“It’s loud,” Michael said.

“Yea, I am looking for my friends,” I told him.

“I was hoping you would have a few minutes to talk,” he said, sounding sad.

“Come on, Q!” Christy called.

“I can call you later tonight,” I told Michael as I got closer to my friends. “I think we are going to get dinner or something.”

“Who is that?” Christy mouthed at me. My eyes went a little wide, and I shook my head. She looked at Jaxx, then back at me.

“Oh, alright. You should go have fun,” he said.

“I will call you when I get home tonight,” I told him. “Promise.”

Jaxx looked at me in confusion, and Christy finally realized who I was talking to. She grabbed Aubree’s hand. “Let’s go outside!” she said quickly.

“Talk to you later,” Michael said. I hung up quickly.

“Who was that?” Jaxx asked.

“Just a friend,” I said, shoving my phone in my pocket so I could pull my coat on. His expression told me he didn’t believe me. “He just wanted to congratulate me. I haven’t talked to him in a while.”

“Okay,” he said carefully. “Let’s go. Christy said she wanted burgers.”

“Sounds good,” I said, trying to smile. Jaxx turned and headed for the door, not bothering to hold my hand. I felt guilty for a moment before I rushed to catch up with him.

“Did you really call f*****g Michael when Jaxx is waiting in the lobby for you?” Christy linked me as we hit the crisp winter air.

“He called me,” I told her. “We’re friends.”

“I thought you were done with him,” she said.

“It isn’t like that. He doesn’t want me,” I replied. Christy and Aubree were standing by the curb, waiting for us.

“Is everyone good with the burger stand?” Aubree asked, oblivious to what was going on.

“Yea,” I said with a tight smile.

“Sure,” Jaxx said.

“We’ll see you guys there then,” Christy said. She connected eyes with me for a moment, then turned to head toward Aubree’s car.

I pulled my jacket around me tighter. “Let’s go,” Jaxx said.

We walked to his truck silently, his face growing angrier as we went. We got in, and he continued to be silent as we pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the restaurant to meet Christy and Aubree. The silence was deafening, but I had no idea what to say.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I shifted to pull it out, but Jaxx covered my hand before I could look at it. I peered at him; he continued to keep his eyes set on the road, his other hand gripping the steering wheel hard.

We finally pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot and saw Christy and Aubree walking inside. Jaxx parked the car but made no move to get out. “Um, should we go?” I asked softly.

“Who were you talking to?” he asked. His tone was cold and sent a chill up my arms. His hand still rested over mine that held my phone.

“That was just a friend….” I said again. He turned his head, finally looking at me.

“I know other people in this pack. The rumors about you aren’t true, right?” he asked.

“What…” my voice died in my throat. It didn’t matter which rumors he was talking about; none of them were true. “No. They are all lies.” I looked away from him, not able to hold his hard gaze.

It was quiet for a drawn moment. “Come on,” he said. “They are waiting for us.”

His hand left mine, and he got out of the car. I slipped my phone into my jacket pocket and got out as well. When we got closer to the doors, he grabbed my hand. I looked up at him to see his face completely normal and smiling again. He opened the door, letting me go through first.

“You guys took forever!” Christy whined from one of the benches people could sit on while they waited to be seated.

“The roads suck,” Jaxx said. “I’m not going to drive stupidly with my girlfriend in the car.”

Christy smiled at me. “Everything alright? You look a little pale,” she linked.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

“Just cold,” I linked her back.

“We have a table ready for you guys,” the hostess said.

–

My dad was mad at me when I got home. My mom must not have been home from work yet because it was only him biting my head off about being out late on a school night. I nodded and replied ‘yes sir’ at all the correct times, keeping myself from guilting him about not coming. When he was finally done, I retreated to my room.

I had been too worried about starting a fight with Jaxx to check my phone during dinner. I got out of my dress clothes and pulled on a sweatshirt to sleep in. When I got into bed, I checked my phone.

MICHAEL