Chapter 3

Chapter 3 After Ava's dad helped Jason lug his school bag into the room, he excused himself, apparently to finish some unfinished project. This gave a dazed Jason some much-needed breathing room - his head had been patted so much he was starting to feel a bit dizzy. But as the door clicked shut, he perched on the edge of the bed, feeling adrift again. Ever since his mom passed and his dad remarried, he hadn't felt this close to any adult. He used to have his older brother, they'd stuck together to survive and were each other's nemesis. But slowly, even his older brother... He huffed, got up in frustration, and ambled over to the window. He fished out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, opened it, and stuck one in his mouth. Flicking his lighter, he paused. A request from a certain goody two-shoes echoed in his head "If you can, try not to smoke or drink in front of my parents..." Ugh - why the hell was everything so complicated? He ran his fingers through his already messy hair, adding to the chaos. Jason impatiently swung the window open, and Ava's dad, who was outside, turned to look over at the sound. Before their eyes could meet, Jason yanked the cigarette out of his mouth at lightning speed. The unexpected visitor had already fled. Under the streetlight, Ava's dad saw his daughter peering at him from behind the window. He looked surprised for a moment, then flashed a gentle smile: "What's up, sweetie?" "Nothing!" Jason was genuinely startled, his heart hammering in his chest. The cigarette in his sweaty hand was now a crushed mess, "...Just needed some fresh air." Damn, that was close! He quickly shut the window, kicked the cigarette pack back into his pocket, then whirled around like a cornered animal. It took a moment for him to regain his composure. He decided to let it slide. The sentimental man outside didn't look like he could handle a confrontation... he'd play nice, for now. With nothing else to do, he began scoping out his surroundings. Ava's crib was, like, super snug - no need to spell out what a DIY urban shack looks like. The living quarters for the four peeps in Ava's fam was just the ground floor. Before Jason showed up, Ava had sketched out a detailed blueprint of her pad, so it wasn't like Jason was going in blind. He was currently in Ava's room - a mere ten square meters of space, crammed with a bed, a desk, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe. Sure, the room was tight, but it was spotless. Jason did a quick tour, hands tucked behind his back, giving the room the once-over. It was clean, at least. But wasn't a chick's room supposed to be a pink explosion of fluffy dolls? Jason lifted the duvet, caught a whiff of a fresh scent, and his eyes landed on a book. He picked it up - "New Standard German Intensive Course 3"? What the actual fudge? He tossed it aside. Next, he opened the creaky, ancient wardrobe, revealing the sole occupants - a grey down jacket, a Brookdale Academy uniform, a couple of pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts, and a plain old sweater. That was it. Jason had done his homework, knew Ava's fam was broke AF, but he was still shook. His pocket housed his own wallet, chock-full of cards loaded with regular allowances from his old man and big bro. Five figures, six figures; he could burn through it all still. After all, life was pricey: How much for a motorbike? Hang out with a few and there goes twenty grand. He remembered Ava's dad in his grubby, worn-out apron and, for the first time, he realized he'd been living in a bubble, shielded by his loathed father and brother. He had no clue that in some corner of the city, peeps were living like this. Jason, stone-faced, returned the clothes to the wardrobe, not slamming the door this time, and rifled through the two drawers beneath. The left one held pairs of socks, folded into perfect squares. The right one - He opened it halfway, then quickly shut it. Jason coughed, his ears burning, as he moved to the desk. The dim light highlighted his embarrassment as he unzipped his ridiculously large backpack. "So, even tomboyish chicks like Ava dig floral and lacy um, stuff." Half an hour later, Jason was all riled up again. He pushed aside the textbooks littering the desk, constantly pulling out and putting back a pack of smokes from his pocket, and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Ava, perched in the gazebo under Jason's loft, was lost in la-la land, moon-gazing and chewing over a cryptic text about Jason's old man. A buzz from her pocket snapped her back. She fished out her phone. Jason's text: "Don't forget, you owe me big time!" Ava squinted at the words, her mind a whirlwind. She shot back a string of question marks, the universal symbol for WTF. Jason, the king of ghosting, went radio silent. After what felt like forever, he shot over a few pics. Ava clicked open, and her jaw hit the floor. A desk, drowning under a sea of untouched textbooks. Ava chewed her lip, then started tapping away. Ava's text: "Chill, dude. I've already nailed my winter break homework." Jason's text: "So what?" Ava's text: "Just go over it, genius." Jason's text: "Ha." Jason's text: "Review my ass." The frosty night air made Ava shiver as she let out a sigh, got up and started towards her pad, her thumbs flying over her screen. Ava's text: "What about your homework, genius?" Jason: "… " Ava's text: "How much have you done?" Jason: "… " Ava's text: "Let me guess, zero?" Jason's text: "It's in the second drawer of the desk in the study." Jason's text: "Yeah." Ava's text: "Today is the 13th." Jason's text: "Yeah." Ava's text: "School's back in two days." Jason: " Yeah." Ava stepped into the lift, swiped her card, and stared at the glowing numbers. She felt a rare wave of helplessness wash over her. After a beat, Ava's text: "I'll bail you out." Jason: "… " Ava's text: "Crack open the first lesson in Physics, I’ll catch you up tomorrow." Jason: "Fine." Ava pocketed her phone, punched in her door code, and mentally replayed their chat. As the door creaked open, light spilled out. Something was off. She'd left in broad daylight, and neither she nor Jason had flipped the lights on. She was torn between bolting and stepping in. Finally, she took a deep breath and went in, leaving the door ajar. She tiptoed in, her senses on high alert. Then, a slim figure materialized from the kitchen, donning an apron and wielding a spatula. Their eyes locked, and the figure froze, a deer caught in the headlights. Ava instantly recognized her as Jason's stepmom, Mary. Jason had shown her a pic of Mary from his dad's Insta. Mary was even more stunning in the flesh. But Ava wasn't in the mood to admire Mary's good looks. Underneath her cool facade, Ava was freaking out - hadn't Jason said his fam wouldn't be home for Christmas?! She was a sitting duck in a war zone. What was she supposed to do now?! So, under the harsh lights of Jason's crib, the two women stood in a Mexican standoff, silent as the grave. Mary, caught in the icy stare of her stepson in the doorway, felt a lump in her throat. His smoldering good looks, always a touch intimidating, seemed frostier after a month-long absence. Their no-show for Christmas's had clearly pissed off the young man. And yet, they were stuck in a pickle. The dudes of the house had been all set to jet back to the city for some Christmas's hang time with Jason, even pulling all-nighters for a fortnight. But then, day before the Christmas Eve, their overseas hub hit the fan. With their bags already packed, pops and son had to hop on a different flight. Their Christmas's was spent in transit, bouncing between time zones until they finally got things under control that morning. Jason's old man immediately sent his wife, Mary, back home to do damage control - their housekeeper had blown up their phones the day before, saying that Jason had gone all rockstar on their living room and then houdini-ed. A little furniture damage wasn't the biggie. Jason's dad was more worried that his younger son, in his fit, might do something self-destructive. Right then, Mary was about to say something, but felt Jason probably wouldn't be in the mood for her explanations. The kid had been giving them the cold shoulder for years. From the moment she'd joined the family, she'd never seen him crack a smile. Back then, he was just a tyke, and everyone chalked it up to a phase. With his dad swamped with work, no one gave it much thought. By the time they got the real picture, it was too late. His older bro, Mark, was a different story. After his rebel phase, he'd wised up to his bias and switched gears. But Jason had dug himself deep into his bitterness. His bad vibes had snowballed from his stepmom to his dad, and even his once tight older bro wasn't immune. If Mary were to be real, she had a hunch about the whys. When she and Jason's dad had just tied the knot, they were both up to their eyeballs in work and couldn't give the boys the time of day. Jason and Mark were shipped off to stay with relatives for a bit. In a fam as big as theirs, the rumor mill was always turning. Mary felt cornered because even now, folks were still throwing shade her way, claiming she'd gold-digged her way up the social ladder by latching onto Jason's fam even before his mom was six feet under. Seeing Jason's blatant loathing whenever he looked at her and his violent streak, busting stuff when he was around his dad or bro, you could guess what kind of picture he had of his family. All this flashed through Mary's mind in a split second, and she chose to zip it. The boy had finally come home, and with such an icy vibe, if she ruffled his feathers and he went off to street race again, his dad and bro would be stressed. So, Mary played the peacekeeper, stepping back, showing she was no threat. "Oh hey Jason, er, welcome home honey." Ava, still trying to decode this family dynamic, was like, "Wait, what?" She kept her poker face, but her mind was doing somersaults, trying to remember the 411 she'd swapped with Jason. About their families, the convo had gone something like this: Ava: "Besides my folks, I got a little bro at home. You might bump into them when you visit. No biggie, I'm usually a wallflower, you can try to keep the chit-chat to a minimum." Jason's response? "Oh, fab, I'm not big on family talk either." Followed by a look to the ceiling and a smirk that screamed sarcasm. Memory refreshed. Based on that, Ava did a quick mental rundown and within seconds, it hit her - her relationship with Jason and his fam was eerily similar! So, before Mary could make her exit, Ava tried to fix the awkward silence her brain-fart had caused. She leaned on the shoe rack, taking off shoes while nonchalantly announcing, "Hi." Mary: !!!!??? She spun around like a top, her expression a mix of shock and surprise when she saw her stepdaughter. But Ava played it cool, eyes on her shoes, not even looking at her. Mary almost thought Ava's casual greeting, like any normal family member, was a figment of her imagination. But then, after taking her shoes off, Ava started for the stairs and added, "Heading to my room." No tension, no harsh words, no sarcasm! Just as Mary was wrapping her head around the whole "pleasant surprise" gig, her voice decided to ditch her. As the figure she'd been eyeing started to dissolve into the shadows, she snapped back from her daydream, blurting out, "You... hit the hay early, okay?" She'd half-expected to be ghosted, but then a voice echoed back from the stairwell's corner, "Roger that." Those three words, so simple yet so profound, turned her eyes into mini waterfalls. Pinching her nose, she tried to stop the emotional tsunami from breaking loose. --- Back in her crib, Ava felt like she'd just dodged a bullet. She didn't bother hunting for her vacay homework in the drawer, her phone was now her main squeeze. Ava: "The wicked stepmother just crashed the party." Jason: "Say what?!" Barely a sec later, her phone buzzed. She picked up. Jason: "What's the 411? Wasn't she supposed to roll up next month?" Ava: "How should I know?" "...Did she give you any grief? Just brush her off," Jason finally responded. Ava took a moment, recalling that she'd barely exchanged a dozen words with her, even less than with her own fam. She felt a tad anxious, "Was I too icy, you think?" Jason exhaled in relief, "Nah, you're good. Ice queen vibes are all the rage." Both clueless about their mix-up, they ended their chat on a high note. Ava, convinced her analysis was on point, eased up and started working on Jason's homework as a chill-out activity. --- Jason ended the call, a weight lifted off his shoulders. When Ava's message had hit his phone, he'd nearly lost it at the dinner table. Now that the life-or-death crisis had been averted, he let himself unwind a little, shifting from standing to squatting in the bushes. He couldn't risk making that kind of call in public. The city village looked like a black hole at night, with even the street lamps putting out a dimmer glow than usual. The cold wind slapped his face. As Jason mulled over his family drama, his anxiety started to creep back in. Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a cigarette and a lighter, hoping a smoke would chill his nerves. But as he was about to crack open the cigarette box, a shaky voice rang out from the distance, "Ava?" Jason's head jerked up instinctively, spotting a middle-aged woman in a bulky coat approaching. The moment her face caught the street light, a chill ran down his spine. Ava's mother, fresh off her last gig of the day, recognized her daughter squatting in the bushes. A smile, a cocktail of warmth and worry, spread across her face. She reached out, feeling Ava's face, chilled by the night wind, "Sweetie, why are you squatting out here in this cold?" Jason quickly hid the cigarette box behind his back, "Erm..."Ava's mom, already hip to the game, was hit with a wave of guilt. She tugged on Ava's ear, her scarf sliding from her neck onto her daughter's: "Been camping out for me, huh? Sorry, babe. Lost track of time." The scarf, still warm from Ava’s mom's body heat, draped around Jason's neck, releasing a faint, weirdly comforting scent that Jason hadn't known since forever - a scent that could only be described as 'motherly.' Jason's brain flatlined, his hand taken hostage by this woman who was somehow even more sentimental than Ava's dad, as they strolled towards the main gate. The grip on his hand was light, but at that moment, Jason felt like Houdini couldn't escape this one. Fast forward half an hour, Ava, lost in the books, was interrupted by her phone's buzz. A quick glance revealed: Jason: "You owe me big time!" Here we go again. Ava shot back a string of question marks, her eyebrows knitting together. A beat later, a few photos popped up. Ava opened them, her eyes widening a bit. The picture showcased a crumpled cigarette pack, looking like it had seen better days, chilling in the trash can. Jason: "All in your folks' territory, k?" Ava picked up her phone, tapping a few things before sending a simple reply: Ava: "Appreciate it." Here we go again! How was he supposed to reply to that! Jason squatted by the trash can, feeling like a total tool. He ruffled his hair and shot back a chilly: Jason: "Don't mention it. Just needed a haircut, consider it a trade-off." A haircut? Ava paused, but didn't dwell on it, casually replying with a see you tomorrow. Jason didn't respond after that message. Ava waited a bit, but when her phone screen stayed dark, she dove back into her intellectual deep dive. She didn't notice the door to her study, slightly ajar, being gently nudged open. A figure loomed outside, sneaking a peek. It was none other than Mary, Jason's stepmom. After her initial burst of excitement, Mary recalled Jason's weirdly nice behavior that day. She was thrilled, but also a bit on edge. She worried there was something off with him. After mulling it over, she decided to play detective. And what a scene she stumbled upon! Jason, the house's resident badass, was - shockingly - nose deep in his books, and seemed pretty serious about it! Mary felt her head spin. She stumbled down the stairs, her mind a blank, and dialed her husband's number. A few seconds later, the usually unflappable businessman's voice echoed from the phone, "Come again?! Jason's hitting the books?!" Mary replied with a tremble, "Yeah! And he even said hi today! Like, really nicely!" "Holy smokes -" The couple, separated by miles of ocean, started bawling over the phone. Ava, who thought she heard some weird sounds: ??? Probably just her imagination.