Jack Hammer by Tabatha Vargo, Melissa Andrea Page B
Authors: Tabatha Vargo, Melissa Andrea
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The familiar look on her face, and the friendly, non-judgmental smile in her eyes was needed. It was the comfort I was desiring, but had yet to receive from anyone. I missed uncomplicated. I missed my boring, undramatic life. I missed life without Blaine, but then again, I missed Blaine.
See?
Complicated!
Everything I was thinking must’ve showed in my expression. Because suddenly Lynn’s smiled dropped and she moved closer to me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, and her face crumbled with worry.
And then I did something I hadn’t done in a long time. I started to bawl. My tears weren’t pretty, and they weren’t quiet. No. I couldn’t have gotten off that easily. Instead, I sobbed uncontrollably and loudly, making the students who passed us stare.
Lynn slammed my locker shut and tugged me into the nearest girl’s bathroom. She left me at the sink while I let the tears fall, returning a few seconds later with tissue for me.
“Thank you.” I sniffed, sopping up my tears until the tissue fell apart in my fingers.
Once the water works stopped, and I swallowed the knot in my throat, I felt much better.
“Want to tell me what all that was about?” Lynn asked, tucking a strand of wet hair behind my ear.
She rested her hip against the counter with crossed arms and waited for me to get myself together.
I sighed. “I honestly have no idea where that came from, but I feel a hell of a lot better.”
She didn’t look at me like I was crazy, which was what I expected. Instead, she smiled at me before she burst into laughter. I held it in as long as I could, but soon I was laughing right along with her. The laughter felt even better than the tears.
Our giggles echoed off the bathroom walls, and I was sure everyone who walked by the door could hear our hysteria, but I didn’t care.
Wiping the laughter tears from my face, I took a deep, cleansing breath. Lynn did the same, smudging her eyeliner beneath her eyes.
“So, which is it?” she asked. “Your parents, school, or Blaine?”
I nodded, using my deteriorating tissue to collect any leftover tears. “All of the above.”
“Things didn’t go so well with Blaine this week?”
I hiccupped and shrugged. “No, not really. But I’m over that. Our project is done and turned in. That was my main concern. I just need to focus from here on out.”
“Can I tell you what I think you need?”
I pursed my lips to the side debating on how I wanted to answer that question. Lynn’s idea of how to handle things and my idea of how to handle things differed greatly.
“Go on,” I said cautiously.
“I think you need to relax, Chelsey. Like, forget everything. Screw your parents. And college. And everything else that’s bothering you. Having a good cry and laughing hysterically works, but remembering to have fun is a hell of a lot better.”
“There’s no time for fun,” I groaned.
“There is,” she insisted. “You have to make time. Promise me you’ll at least try to have some fun.”
I didn’t know how much fun I was going to have time to have, but it wasn’t going to hurt to agree to appease Lynn.
“Okay.” I smiled.
“Good.”
She seemed content, and that was all that mattered for now. She turned toward the mirror and I watched her reflection as she moved her fingers under her eyes and across her lips, fixing smudges.
When I found my own reflection I took in my puffy, red eyes and pale complexion. I almost didn’t recognize myself anymore. The stress of grades and college was beginning to run me down. It was aging me—turning me into an old hag way before my time. Maybe Lynn was right. Maybe I did need to remember to slow down and enjoy what was left of my teenage years.
My thoughts jumped to Blaine and all the fun he could offer, but then I remembered his face the day before, and the burn of his heated words. Swallowing down the hurt, I forced myself to push him from my mind.
The truth was Blaine was a ticking time bomb, and I
The familiar look on her face, and the friendly, non-judgmental smile in her eyes was needed. It was the comfort I was desiring, but had yet to receive from anyone. I missed uncomplicated. I missed my boring, undramatic life. I missed life without Blaine, but then again, I missed Blaine.
See?
Complicated!
Everything I was thinking must’ve showed in my expression. Because suddenly Lynn’s smiled dropped and she moved closer to me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, and her face crumbled with worry.
And then I did something I hadn’t done in a long time. I started to bawl. My tears weren’t pretty, and they weren’t quiet. No. I couldn’t have gotten off that easily. Instead, I sobbed uncontrollably and loudly, making the students who passed us stare.
Lynn slammed my locker shut and tugged me into the nearest girl’s bathroom. She left me at the sink while I let the tears fall, returning a few seconds later with tissue for me.
“Thank you.” I sniffed, sopping up my tears until the tissue fell apart in my fingers.
Once the water works stopped, and I swallowed the knot in my throat, I felt much better.
“Want to tell me what all that was about?” Lynn asked, tucking a strand of wet hair behind my ear.
She rested her hip against the counter with crossed arms and waited for me to get myself together.
I sighed. “I honestly have no idea where that came from, but I feel a hell of a lot better.”
She didn’t look at me like I was crazy, which was what I expected. Instead, she smiled at me before she burst into laughter. I held it in as long as I could, but soon I was laughing right along with her. The laughter felt even better than the tears.
Our giggles echoed off the bathroom walls, and I was sure everyone who walked by the door could hear our hysteria, but I didn’t care.
Wiping the laughter tears from my face, I took a deep, cleansing breath. Lynn did the same, smudging her eyeliner beneath her eyes.
“So, which is it?” she asked. “Your parents, school, or Blaine?”
I nodded, using my deteriorating tissue to collect any leftover tears. “All of the above.”
“Things didn’t go so well with Blaine this week?”
I hiccupped and shrugged. “No, not really. But I’m over that. Our project is done and turned in. That was my main concern. I just need to focus from here on out.”
“Can I tell you what I think you need?”
I pursed my lips to the side debating on how I wanted to answer that question. Lynn’s idea of how to handle things and my idea of how to handle things differed greatly.
“Go on,” I said cautiously.
“I think you need to relax, Chelsey. Like, forget everything. Screw your parents. And college. And everything else that’s bothering you. Having a good cry and laughing hysterically works, but remembering to have fun is a hell of a lot better.”
“There’s no time for fun,” I groaned.
“There is,” she insisted. “You have to make time. Promise me you’ll at least try to have some fun.”
I didn’t know how much fun I was going to have time to have, but it wasn’t going to hurt to agree to appease Lynn.
“Okay.” I smiled.
“Good.”
She seemed content, and that was all that mattered for now. She turned toward the mirror and I watched her reflection as she moved her fingers under her eyes and across her lips, fixing smudges.
When I found my own reflection I took in my puffy, red eyes and pale complexion. I almost didn’t recognize myself anymore. The stress of grades and college was beginning to run me down. It was aging me—turning me into an old hag way before my time. Maybe Lynn was right. Maybe I did need to remember to slow down and enjoy what was left of my teenage years.
My thoughts jumped to Blaine and all the fun he could offer, but then I remembered his face the day before, and the burn of his heated words. Swallowing down the hurt, I forced myself to push him from my mind.
The truth was Blaine was a ticking time bomb, and I