read part 1 - 8/22
Not Alone - part 4 of 4
He slumped back in the couch and then he started to talk. He wasn’t looking at me. I had heard most of it before, but I needed to hear it again and I needed to hear it from his lips. Kimmie had gotten drunk and she was angry at her boyfriend for leaving with someone else. Jordan was trying to be nice, he was trying to make sure that she was taken care of. She was difficult to control in the car and she had gotten sick. Jordan had just handed her a bag to throw up in when he took his eyes from the road. Then that car appeared and never stopped.
Jordan was quiet for a long time. He had to clear his throat before he spoke again. “You’d better leave now. People won’t be too happy with you if they know you were here.”
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“I do. I don’t want to ruin your life anymore than I already have.” He stood and put a hand out to me. “It means a lot to me that you came here today though. I want you to know that.
I took his hand and held onto it when I stood. “What are you going to do Jordan? You can’t hide in here forever. What about your classes? All those plans you had?”
He sighed. “I can’t think about that now …” He gently ushered me to the door. “I’m not going to fight Kimmie’s parents. I probably won’t be able to continue school after that anyway.”
When he closed the door behind me, I felt even more loss than I had before. My friend needed me but he wouldn’t accept my help.
I dragged myself to classes over the next few weeks. As far as I knew, Jordan dropped out of his. When I called him, he refused to talk. And he wouldn’t let me come over again. Listening to my classmates who knew Kimmie, I could tell that Jordan was right. People wouldn’t be very happy with me if they knew I was trying to help him. He was trying to protect me.
The school moved another student into the suite and into Kimmie’s room. She had just transferred from another school and she knew nothing about the girl who had slept in that room before her. And I resented her presence. That was always going to be Kimmie’s room and I wasn’t very nice to her. And I resented the fact that Jordan had pushed me away.
The next day I heard a few of the students talking in the library. They mentioned Jordan and the lawsuit. He had to appear in court … today. I ran back to my room and got changed. And then I caught a bus to take me into town and to the courthouse. I got to the lobby just before the doors were opened and people were going to be let in.
Jordan was standing there, alone. He looked sad. I could tell that he had lost weight since I saw him last. He didn’t hear me come up behind him and I slipped my hand into his.
He was startled as he looked at me, then he looked around the lobby. Jordan looked down at me. “People are going to hate you for being here.”
“You’re my friend Jordan. This is where I’m supposed to be.”
I didn’t feel so alone anymore.
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