The Greatest Force Ch. 07

I pulled Alec's photograph out of my jeans and sat on the cold, wood floor.

"YOU BETTER FUCKING OPEN THIS DOOR, OR I SWEAR I WILL RIP YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!"

I held Alec's picture in my hand as if I were holding a newborn hummingbird. The sound around me became dull. My dad's voice was a faint boom. I could hear a constant static line coming from the depths inside me.

I drew my knees in towards my chest and held the photograph against the thin fabric of my shirt with my forearms.

I prayed that my world to go easier on me, just even a little bit.

But it didn't.

---

My alarm clock rang two hours later at 6 A.M. I looked at it, annoyed, and threw it at my bed frame to make it stop. My iPod had shut off and my legs were cramped from being bent in my sleep. So was the photograph. I tried to smudge the creases out but it had been folded for too long, so I placed the diagonally bent picture under my lamp for safe keeping. I sat in the same spot for about a minute, listening to the morning sounds. The birds were wide awake in the tree outside my window, and there were no voices to be heard in my house. I took my chance and walked over to my door, pressing an ear against it to make sure the coast was clear. Thanks to a greater being out there, my bedroom had a bathroom, so I cleaned up and changed all of my clothes. After brushing my teeth and combing my hair, I pulled a windbreaker off of a hanger and dished a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of my drawer. I made them excessively and stored them in my room when my parents weren't home, otherwise I would be starving all the time. I dumped it into my empty gym bag that I was bringing with me. When I had decided it was safe to leave, I let myself out.

My mom's sleeping body had been leaning against my door. Her head fell at my feet with a loud thud.

I froze.

Quietly and gently, I stepped over her tiny body and propped her up against the wall, fixing the frilly, powder blue chiffon sleeves of her blouse that had dropped down her shoulders. She mumbled in her sleep.

I tiptoed down the stairs and kept an eye out for my dad. I rushed to the kitchen and fished bottles of vodka, scotch, bourbon, and anything else I could find that had extras. I carefully set them into the gym bag and zipped it up slowly. My face pounded through a headache.

For the first time in ages, I was able to walk through the front door without any trouble.

----

"What's up with the gym bag?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay. Are you okay? You look so tired, let me-"

"No, sit down, I'm fine."

"Jett, did something happen wh-"

"Parker wants to use your house for a party."

Alec raised an eyebrow.

"Tonight."

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again and frowned.

Alec shook his head. "What-"

"You have to let him use your house, okay?" I took the bottles out of the gym bag and set them across the table.

"Where did...did you...?" Alec frowned harder and watched me put the drinks down. "You didn't take those from your parents, did you? I mean, I used to take liquor from my parents too but it was...one bottle...I...Jett, I feel like there's a lot I'm missing here..."

"All you need to know is that it's really important that Parker uses your house for his party tonight and the rest doesn't even matter," I put my hands on either side of his face and flashed a pained smile.

"Jett...what's wrong?"

I leaned forward and angled in for a kiss. Alec fervently pushed his mouth into mine as though he was waiting to kiss me for years, and he didn't pull away for a good 10 seconds. He made those quiet, accidental moaning sounds and tilted his head for more surface area. Our lips clicked at release and Alec exhaled sharply.

"Sorry." he whispered. We stood like that for a while until I awkwardly put my hands at my sides and cleared my throat. Alec paced around the kitchen.

"I would say no any other time, but since it seems urgent, I guess he can use it..." Alec rubbed his head. "You know he kinda...beat me...multiple times...right...? We're talking about the same Parker...?"

I nodded. "Yeah, same one."

Alec looked away, and bounced on his toes, curling his bottom lip in.

"Tell me what happened," he whispered after a while. His soft, warm hands felt my face, easing my aching head. I closed my eyes subconsciously, letting myself get lost in the touch of his palms.

"God..." I frowned. "Why do you stay with me?"

Alec dropped his hands. An offended look was strewn across his face.

"Don't do that, Jett. Every time things start to get better with us, you have to say something ridiculous."

"I'm asking you an honest question, Alec. Why? Why do you do this? What have I ever done for you? Nothing! I've done abso-lute-ly no-thing; no-thing. Why would you let Parker use your house for a party like it's no big deal?"

"Because it sounded like you were asking it of me as a favor, Jett."

"Why would you do that for me? Why? I want to know why."

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "This is stupid."

"I never do shit for you but you bend over backwards to do shit for me, Alec, why?"

Alec bowed his head slightly and looked up at me with hindering, globe-like eyes.

"Do I need a reason?"

His answer shook me and created a sliver of warmth down my spine. I blinked excessively as I tried to get words out of my mouth.

"You're never going to tell me what happened, are you...?" Alec's face broke into a worried mess.

I drew myself close to Alec and slipped my bottom lip against his upper lip, our mouths hung open in anticipation. My eyes fluttered shut and I pushed in for a deep kiss. All I wanted was to protect Alec from everyone and everything, and always have him wrapped around my finger. I just wanted him to be the way he was now, forever.

It was all I wanted.

----

Several hours later, I was lying down on the couch with Alec's head settling into the grooves of my chest. He ran his thumb over the subtly protruding veins in my arms. The television was on and since it was the week of Christmas Day, of course every channel had to be playing any of the Home Alone films all day, every day.

This particular channel was playing Home Alone 2, where Kevin gets stranded in New York. Alec had no complaint about watching this movie repeatedly, and helplessly chuckled at every other line. I enjoyed watching Alec more than I enjoyed the movie itself, which said a lot because I thought the films were brilliant. The scene where Kevin is watching a gangster film rolled around and I mused at Alec as he silently mimicked every line, accompanied with hilarious facial expressions, exaggerating Johnny's smug face.

"Maybe I'm off my hinges," Alec cocked at eyebrow at me with a remarkably long mouth, "but I believe ya." He nodded his head around funnily. "That's why I'm gonna let ya go. I'm gonna give ya 'til the count of 3 to get your lousy, lyin', low-down 4-flushin' carcass out my door!"

I laughed heartily, brimming with tears of laughter.

"1... 2..." he aimed an imaginary submachine gun up into the air right on cue with the television and pretended to fire bullets all over the ceiling, falling backwards on the couch and flailing his arms. "3! Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!" he pretended to shoot the gun again. "And a Happy New Year." He fired the last, single shot at the television.

I was quite literally in tears from laughing so hard, humored and enamored of Alec's sense of humor and ridiculously perfect timing and memorization of the scene. He laughed with me, falling back over the armrest of the couch and coughing lightly. I grabbed him by the waist and pulled him into me, nuzzling my face against his cheek, both of us flooding with smiles.

Alec was about to say something when we both perked our heads towards the entrance at the sound of the doorbell. Our faces fell.

"Aw, shit, it's 9 already." Alec scrambled off of the couch and shut off the TV, messily readjusting his hair and smoothing out his shirt.

I walked over to answer the door, greeted by an already drunk looking Jenna with Cara and another one of her recruits hooked on either arm. Jenna was wrapped in a skin-tight, purple sequined minidress with an off-putting pair of towering green heels. Cara melded into a small black dress with lace arms and beige wedges. I couldn't believe I even thought this to myself, but Cara actually looked kind of nice. Her hair was up in a slicked back pony tail, and her skin glowed luminously.

"Sorry to break it to you, but this isn't a Little Mermaid themed party," I snarled at Jenna.

She laughed sarcastically and broadened her shoulders. "Then I guess I'll have to ask King Triton to leave, won't I?" she bit her lip seductively as Parker emerged from behind Jenna's other wing-woman.

"People are starting to drive in through the back, you might wanna open the backdoor." He advised. I nodded and waved the people in, dimming the lights and starting up the bass-heavy music on the stereo. Every entrance of the house was open now, and for some reason people thought wide open doors weren't enough, so they climbed through the windows.

I turned around to find Alec, but instead found myself nearly toe to toe with Parker.

"You didn't disappoint with your end, bud," he patted my shoulder. "Hope we can forget about what happened earlier."

Jenna slid her arm down Parker's chest from behind and revealed herself charmingly, extending a full red cup into his hand.

"What happened earlier?" She asked in a baby voice, using her long, fake nails to push Parker's face to look at her. Her straight, lengthy blonde hair caught in place on her sequined dress, making her flip her hair to the side a lot to keep it untangled.

"Nothing for you to worry about, sugar," Parker grabbed her by the ass and she bit her lip, lifting her leg and straddling it over his hip, as if her dress weren't already too short to cover her cheeks.

"God help the needy." I latched my palms together sarcastically and smirked at them both. Jenna rolled her eyes and made sure eye contact with me before locking steamy lips with Parker in the middle of Alec's kitchen.

I opened my eyes wide in sarcasm once again, raising an eyebrow and making my way past the immense crowd that had exponentially grown in a matter of minutes.

"Alec!" I shouted over the drunken girls falling to the floor. I cupped my hands around my mouth while I called his name, hoping it would help even a bit. I pushed my way around and bumped into Tommy and Zipper in the garage who sat side by side, setting up a game of beerpong.

"Hey!" They called in unison, smiling and raising their arms for a handshake. We greeted one another and laughed.

"Word got out real fast about the party, huh?" I put my hands on my hips.

"Yeah, for sure, dude." Tommy nodded, gulping down what was left in his cup.

"Parker invited everyone from everywhere, bro," Zipper strategically placed the red cups in a pyramid shape. "Chicks from North Bay got here like 5 minutes ago."

My brow furrowed, and I was about to ask how many people exactly Parker invited, but decided that it didn't even matter.

"You guys seen Alec anywhere?" I lightly touched my fingertips to Tommy's chest to keep his attention, looking into his eyes that were dizzily looking for focus.

Both of them, at the same time, chimed, "Who?"

I dropped my hand and shrugged, realizing I should've known better. "Nevermind."

The sight from the staircase was a perfect bird's eye view. All I could find amongst the mass of human bodies were drunken teenagers toppling over one another; wasted girls stripping out of their tank tops and dresses and shimmying down to nothing but a cute laced bra (some not even that); guys trying to slip next to a girl who was obviously not aware of her surroundings and feeling her up; Jenna grinding against another guy who was drinking bourbon straight out of the bottle, spilling it everywhere; a stream of awkward freshmen joining together in the corners of the house; pop after pop after pop, everyone sporting drinks they had brought from elsewhere. I couldn't see much of the kitchen over the vastness of the living room, but I caught a glimpse of some junkies popping Alec's prescription meds in to get a high. I'd come to the conclusion that all of these people had arrived already on a high or buzzed, because the rate at which the party was escalating at such an early stage was unbelievable.

"Dammit." I whispered under my breath, successively being walked into by a trio of slurring, swaying girls. They batted their eyelashes at me and one fell into a giggly fit, in turn causing the other two to giggle uncontrollably. The blonde tugged her friend's arm, and laughed lazily.

"Ask him!" she bit the edge of her cup. The brunette fell drunkenly onto me, looking up at me with dilated eyes. She hitched a thumb into her tiny denim shorts and tilted her head, circling a hand around my hip.

"Wanna find a room with us?" she giggled, closing her eyes. "We saw you when you walked in and couldn't stop imagining..." she placed a hand on the clasp of my belt. "...what a strong, handsome guy like you could do in the bedroom..." The shoulder of her gray T-shirt slipped down her arm, revealing a glowing, bare shoulder and protruding collar bones.

I gently fixed the sleeve and smoothed it into place.

"This party will probably get raided soon. You girls should leave while you have the chance." I made my way back up the stairs, straying from the three who were left pouting and pushing back damp strands of hair.

I squeezed past couples making out and barricading the hallways, past guys yelling and running down the stairs with multiple bottles of vodka in their hands.

"Alec?" I poked my head into the guest room, immediately regretting it when I saw a jock from West High fucking a blue haired boy on the floor, shamelessly and roughly doggy style. The football player, James Clark, a noted ladies' man, had the kid's blue hair in his fist and was whacking at it like he was made of brick. Neither of them noticed me, and carried on obliviously.

I whistled. "Whoops." I shut the door and cleared my throat. I could hear Clark's thighs slapping against the kid's ass even after I walked away.

I turned around and bumped into Cara, who was alone, for what seemed like the first time. She had to look up to make eye contact with me even though she was wearing heels. Her face read "piss drunk."

"Jett." Cara smiled woozily, waving a red cup in the air.

"Hey." I nodded, putting my hand on her shoulder to push her aside and make my way to the other rooms. She grabbed my forearm and held it on her shoulder.

"Stay and chat." She cooed, pulling me closer towards her.

"What am I supposed to talk to you about, Cara?" I sighed, holding her up.

"Hmmm, I don't know," she giggled. "Parker told me that you and I have a lot in common, so there must be something." Cara flipped her hand to the side girlishly.

I looked at her. "He did, did he?"

"Mmhmm," she moaned, grabbing my shirt collar with her free hand. "Wanna get to know each other?" she bounced on her toes.

"Yeah, I wanna get to know you more than anything." I rolled my eyes.

"Oooo-oooo," she teased, not noting my sarcasm. "Okay then, let's play a game. We take turns asking each other questions -- we both get 2 - and if one of us is turned off by the fourth question, we part ways. The answers have to be honest."

"Sure." I watched her sip a fusion of what looked and smelled like vodka mixed with orange juice.

"Me first!" She laughed out loud, holding my hand and pressing her chest against mine, looking up at me with swimming, hazel eyes. "How old was this sexy, mysterious Jett when he lost his virginity..." her eyes glistened in curiosity and she held back a laugh, "...and with whooom?"

I answered blatantly. "9. My dad."

Cara was in the middle of taking a sip of her mix, but hearing my answer, erupted into outrageous laughter and spit the drink all over the wall next to us.

I winced.

"Wow!" She wiped her lips. "You're funny." She swallowed whatever was left in her mouth. "But next time it has to be the truth, hot stuff. Your turn."

"What happened between you and Alec that made you decide to fuck him over so bad?"

Cara tapped a finger on my chin. "He loved me too much. I just thought he was hot, was all, I was just in it for the sex, you know what I mean?" she laughed for the millionth time. "But he never even slept with me; all that stuff Jenna told people about Alec being embarrassing at sex is bullshit. I never even saw his dick," she laughed yet again, "but sometimes I'd play with him in his sleep," she dropped her empty cup and turned around, pressing her ass against my genitals and her shoulder blades against my chest. "I wish I had the chance...I wish..." she blindly took my hand and laid it on her breasts. "But he loved me too much. He was too broken. I was in a bad spot. And I couldn't find a way out. I wasn't getting what I wanted. I left."

"Your turn." I whispered, looking over to the staircase where two guys were dying of laughter because of something one of them said.

"What do you think about me?" she turned around to face me again and pushed her ponytail aside. "Honest this time, remember."

"I think you're horrible. And I think we are a lot alike."

She frowned a bit and stared at me, waiting for more.

"That's all you're going to say? I gave you such a long answer, come on. At least explain, I don't even get it." She pushed me back, but didn't move me anywhere.

"I don't know what else you want me to say."

"You're really bad at this game. I'm bored." She pouted.

"See you later, Jett." Cara kicked the cup that had tumbled to the floor and strutted down the staircase, running her fingers through her long, sleek ponytail.

----

About 5 hours into the party, I still couldn't find Alec. I searched every inch of the house, assuming that he'd secluded himself in effort to get away from the raging drunks and wanted to be alone. I became so desperate that I checked under every bed, in every closet; pulled back the shower curtains in every bathroom; searched every face at the party and called for him repeatedly, asking strangers if they knew where he was.

Glass was shattered. The sofa was overturned. People were climbing the tables and having sex in Alec's room. Someone jokingly yelled that the cops were coming, which made a swarm of people run for the door, knocking things off of shelves and trampling over Alec's jacket that was hung on the coat hanger.

I found myself wishing the party would get raided.

I leaned against the wall dividing the kitchen and the living room. A look of helplessness melted into my face. I stood there, looking at nothing with my arms crossed over my chest. Deciding that I could use a break and some fresh air, in all innocence and no expectations, I stepped out into the vast backyard and avoided the people by staying close to the wall and turning into the pathway that lead out to the front of Alec's house.

I acknowledged that there were two people in the pathway and that I was about to pass them, but for the most part, I was looking at my feet as I walked.

The last thing I expected, out of all things possible, was to hear Alec speak in a feeble, mangled voice.

"Get off."

I looked up from the floor with widened eyes, rapidly becoming tense before I even caught sight of what was in front of me.

The more my eyes adjusted to the dark night, the faster the anger boiled inside of me - the faster my face twisted into a hateful look of pure animosity.

Alec was held against the brick walling of his house, arms weak and drooping, the same as his eyes. Someone in a hooded sweatshirt was holding Alec up by the underarms and had Alec's legs sloppily wrapped around his waist. The guy in the hood was kissing Alec on the cheek and down his neck when I got there, and the thought of how Alec had ended up like that and what the guy was planning to do later made me furious. Alec blindly turned his head to me and spoke my name before I lunged at the guy holding him.