Speaking of dogs…
Excited barking pierced through the music, catching my interest. It was close, like next door close.
Madman!
Jared and I found this crazy little Boston Terrier when we were twelve. My dad was gone a lot, and my grandma was allergic, so Jared took him home. The dog was insane but completely adorable. We named him Madman. I swear he purposely waited for oncoming cars before he tried to cross a street. Picking fights with bigger dogs was child’s play, and he would jump to amazing heights when he was excited…which was a lot.
I switched off the water and walked to the fence separating Jared’s backyard from mine. Squinting through the sliver of space offered between the wooden panels, I felt like I was glowing on the inside. My heart warmed at seeing Madman again.
He did the whole “bounce when you bark” thing that little dogs do and switched between racing the length of the backyard to jumping up and down. Even though he was technically Jared’s dog now, in my heart, the little guy was still partly mine.
I found a small hole to peer—ok, snoop—through. Jared entered my vision, and I flinched, remembering our last encounter. He started tossing miniature chunks of meat for Madman to catch. The dog gobbled them up and wagged his tail anxiously for another morsel. The little animal seemed giddy and well-cared for.
Jared knelt and offered the last piece of meat from his hand. Madman approached and licked his palm after scarfing down the treat. Jared smiled and closed his eyes while Madman stood on his hind legs to lick his master’s face. Jared grinned, and I realized how long it’d been since I’d seen him genuinely happy. His smile hollowed my stomach, but I couldn’t look away.
As my heart tugged at the rare scene of Jared actually looking human, my eyes snapped to his nak*d back and the faded scars marring his skin. Funny I didn’t see that the other night when he was shirtless in my room, but the light was dim, so I guess I missed it.
Scattered in no particular pattern were welts, about five or so, covering his muscular and otherwise smooth back. He didn’t have them when we were kids. I tried to remember if I’d heard about him getting injured. I came up with nothing.
At that moment, Apocalyptica’s heavy cellos vibrated out of my speakers, and Madman’s head twisted towards me. I momentarily froze before deciding to back away. He started barking again, and the sound of claws scratching the fence got my heart beating faster. Madman loved this heavy metal cello music that I’d been listening to for years. From the looks of it, he remembered.
Grabbing the hose off the ground, I dropped it again when I heard the fence panels shaking. Turning around, I laughed at seeing Madman climb through one of the loose boards and charge me at top speed.
“Hey, buddy!” I knelt down and caught the little dog in my arms as he squirmed with excitement. His panting breath warmed my face, and the slobber was pretty gross. But he was happy to see me, and I smiled with relief. He hadn’t forgotten me.
I stopped dead at the sound of Jared’s voice. “Well, if it isn’t the party pooper disturbing the whole neighborhood with her noise.”
My temper flared. He had no problem with my music, just me.
I looked up and met Jared’s sardonic stare. He tried to look annoyed with his cocked eyebrow, but I knew he wouldn’t engage me unless he got off on it. He hung over the top of the fence, his body perched on something giving him height.
Son of a bitch. Why did it always take me a second or two to remember why I hated him?
His shiny brown hair was a mess.
I loved that.
His chocolate eyes glowed with confidence and mischief.
I loved that.
His toned arms and chest just made me wonder what his skin felt like.
I loved that.
He made me forget how awful he was.
I hated that.
Blinking, I refocused my attention on Madman and petted his black and white fur in long, soothing strokes. “Shelburne Fall’s noise ordinance doesn’t go into effect until 10 p.m.,” I clarified and looked at my invisible watch. “See? Plenty of time.”
Madman started playfully gnawing on my fingers, and I shook my head, unable to believe how we could just pick up where we left off after so long. Since Jared’s and my fallout, I hadn’t pressed him about seeing the dog. The only contact Madman had with me over the past few years were accidents like today. But I hadn’t seen him at all since my return, and, even after a year, he responded to me like we’d just been together yesterday.
Jared still stood on the other side of the fence, watching us silently. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but part of me wondered why he didn’t try to get the dog back immediately. It almost seemed nice of him to let us visit.
I couldn’t help the huge ass smile on my face even though I tried. What the hell? The damn dog seemed so happy to see me that my chest shook with silent laughter. I never had a pet other than Madman, and after being alone the past couple of weeks, I guess I was hard up for a little love. If a dog’s attention could do this to me, I couldn’t imagine how glad I would be to see my dad when he came home.
“Madman, come.” Jared barked, shocking me out of my little uptopia. “Visitation’s over.” He whistled and pulled the board back, so Madman could slip through.
“You hear that?” I choked, my lips quivering. “Back to your cell, little guy.” I let the dog lick my face, and then I patted his behind before gently pushing him away. Jared whistled again, and Madman ran back through the fence.
“Jared, are you out here?” a woman called out. Jared turned to the voice but didn’t nod or respond.
“Tate, is that you honey?” Katherine, Jared’s mom, stepped up onto whatever he was standing on to see over the fence.
“Hey, Ms. Trent.” I waved lazily. “It’s good to see you.” His mom looked great with her shoulder length brown hair and stylish blouse. A lot better than the last time I’d seen her. She must’ve gotten herself sober in the past year.
Growing up, I often saw her hair in messy ponytails from being too hung over to bother with a shower and dull looking skin from lack of healthy sustenance.
“You, too.” Her eyes flickered with genuine sweetness. “And it’s good to see you two talking again.”
Of course she had no idea we were still at each other’s throats. It seemed Jared and I had that in common. We kept the parents out of the loop.
“Why don’t you come over for a few? I’d love to catch up with you and see how your year went.”
“Come on, not now.” Jared’s face was twisted up in displeasure, much to my delight.
“That’s sounds great, Ms. Trent. Just let me throw on some clothes.” Jared’s eyes swept over me, as if just realizing I was in a bikini. His gaze lingered too long, and yet, not long enough, making my toes curl.
“Fine.” Jared sighed and looked away. “I’m off, anyway.” With that, he hopped off his step and disappeared inside the house. Before I had reached my room to change, I heard the thunder of his engine and the peel of tires.
Chapter 12
“So why haven’t I seen you in the two weeks I’ve been home?” I asked Katherine after we’d discussed my trip and plans for senior year.
She poured more coffee for herself. “Well, I met someone a few months ago, and I stay with him a lot.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise, and she must’ve seen it. She shook her head and gave me a contrite smile.
“I guess it sounds bad,” she offered. “Me leaving Jared alone so much. Between my job, his school and job, and then all of the things he’s involved in, we just don’t run into each other a lot. I figure he’s happier on his own more and well…”
Her over-explanation and inability to finish her thought said more about her disappointment over her relationship with her son than anything else.
And why was he so busy that her being home was unecessary?
“What do mean ‘all the things he’s involved in’?” I asked.
She knitted her brows. “Well, he works at the garage a few days a week, races, and then has other obligations. He’s hardly ever home, and when he is, it’s just to sleep usually. But, I do keep tabs on him. When I bought us both new phones for Christmas last year, I installed a GPS app on his so I always know where he is.”
Okay, that’s not weird.
“What other obligations did you mean?” I asked.
“Oh,” she said with a nervous smile, “around the time you left last year, things got pretty bad here. Jared was out at all hours. Sometimes, he didn’t even come home. My…drinking…got worse with the stress of Jared’s behavior.” She paused and shrugged her shoulders. “Or maybe his behavior got worse with my drinking. I don’t know. But I entered rehab for about a month and got detoxed.”
Since I’d lived on this street, eight years now, Jared’s mom had had a drinking problem. Most of the time she’d been functional, able to go to work and handle Jared. After he came back from visiting his dad that summer three years ago, he’d changed, and Jared’s mom had sought escape in the bottle more often.
“He got into some trouble, and then he got it together. But steps needed to be taken, for both of us.”
I continued to listen, unfortunately too interested into this rare peek of Jared’s life. She still hadn’t explained the “other obligations”, but I wasn’t going to pry further.
“Anyway, a few months ago I started seeing someone, and I’ve been staying with him on the weekends in Chicago. Jared has a lot going on, and I just don’t feel like he needs me. I stay here most school nights, but he knows to stay out of trouble on the weekends.”
Yeah, instead of taking his debauchery elsewhere, he brought it home with him.
Some people might see her reasoning as logical, since Jared was almost an adult, but I let my judgment form. As much as I liked her, I blamed her for a lot of Jared’s unhappiness growing up.
I didn’t know the whole story, but I’d heard enough to figure out that Jared’s father wasn’t a good man. He had left when Jared was two, before I even lived in the neighborhood. Katherine raised her son almost completely alone, but she had developed a drinking problem during her marriage. When Jared was fourteen, his father called and asked if Jared could come and visit him for the summer. Happily, Jared agreed and left for eight weeks. After the visit, though, he returned cold and cruel. His mother’s problem got worse, and he was utterly alone.
I’d always known, deep down, that Jared’s problem with me was tied to that summer.
The truth was I resented Katherine. And even though I’d never met Jared’s father, I resented him, too. I would take responsibility if I’d hurt Jared, but I had no idea what I could’ve done to deserve his hatred. His parents, on the other hand, had clearly abandoned him.
It was one the tip of my tongue to ask her about his scars, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me.
Instead, I asked, “Does he see his father?”
She glanced at me, and I instantly felt like I’d invaded Top Secret territory. “No,” was all she said.