Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Sixteen

—

"And every night, I fall asleep
Just so I can see you in my dreams;
And I finally think you ought to know the truth... Are ya listening?
I'm knocking on your heart, could you let me in?"
Knocking On Your Heart | Maggie Lindemann

—

Lilla
[Saturday, May 18th, 2018 - 7:34 AM]

I have to blink a few times before my vision clears and I have to rack my brain to remember where I am. A weight on my chest grabs my attention, and I look down; seeing Jason wrapped in my arms, comfortably draped over me.

Oh God, what time is it?

I crane my head just enough to check the clock in my car, and see that it's only around 7:30, which means my mom probably isn't awake yet. But she might be very soon, and I don't know about Jason's family.

My hand rests on his shoulder and starts gently shaking him awake.

"Jason," I whisper, shaking a little harder. "Jason."

"Mmm, no, not yet," I hear him mumble, voice drenched in exhaustion, and feel his arms tighten around my waist. My heartbeat involuntarily speeds up.

Breathe, Lilla. Breathe. You hug guys all the time. How is this different?

"We gotta get home," I lamely attempt. He might not wanna go home, idiot. "Won't your dad and Penelope worry?"

He sighs, and I feel the air brush my arm.

"I don't wanna go back." A frown tugs at my lips. I wonder if it's because of the nightmare or if he is at the point where he hates being at home all of the time. He doesn't sit up.

"Well I would say we could go for breakfast but I don't have enough money in my wallet." Another sigh. Glancing around my car, I ponder our options.

Can't take him home, we can't get food, the best solution is... My house.

"Okay," I say, suddenly chipper. I tap his shoulder to indicate for him to crawl off of me, which he does. "We're going to my place."

He hesitates.

"Will your mom be cool with that?" He asks, worried. We get out of the backseat and sit back up front.

"I have no idea." His eyes go wide, mouth dropping open. "Don't worry about it, though. She's chill." He nods, acknowledging what I said, but I'm not sure he believes it. "Seriously. Don't worry."

He lets out a half-hearted chuckle.

"I'm meeting your mom for the first time, and if you haven't noticed, I'm not a people person."

"But you are my friend. My mom likes all of my friends if they're respectful."

"But I am also your soon-to-be fake boyfriend."

"So? Will you be respectful?"

"Of course."

"Then no problem."

"If you say so," he hums, staring out the window.

The sun has only risen a small amount, but it's enough to light up the landscape. We zoom through beautiful neighborhoods with charming old houses, taking mere minutes to meet my house. It is a brick house with a stark white door, and many lavender bushes surrounding the fresh cut grass of our front yard.

"You have a cool house," Jason comments as he admires the structure. It seems like he's trying to imagine me living in it, and I can't tell if he can or not.

"Thanks," I smile. My mom and I hear that a lot.

I grab my keys and he trails behind me to the front door. I open it quietly, trying to hear if my mom is awake, and nothing reaches my ears. Grabbing behind me, I latch onto Jason's hand and lead him inside, pulling him up the staircase and into my bedroom. Once in the safe zone, I shut my door.

When I turn around, Jason is already observing his surroundings; eyes curiously scanning my bookshelf, shifting to the hanging cork board that is adorned with programs and posters from shows at Bringham that I've been in. He smiles at the Polaroid of me and my cast members in full costume in our production of The Music Man this year; hair curled and faces layered in clown-esque stage makeup.

"I had no idea you did so many of these," he comments. I stroll up beside him and take in the collage of performances.

"Yeah," I say, pathetically. "It's weird to think about." He chuckles, and opens his mouth to possibly say something else, but the distant noise of a door creaking open makes us both snap our heads in the direction of my bedroom door.

"Looks like Mom's awake," I exhale. "Wish me luck." Giving Jason a final smile, I make my way to my door but he grabs my arm.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Uh... Telling my mom you're here?" His eyes pop, like he doesn't want that to happen, like he thought he would just hide in my room until he felt like he should go back home.

"Oh! Do I, um, need to like, come with you?"

"Not right now. Once I tell her, and she's aware of your presence, you're free to come downstairs and eat our food," I nod at him, putting an assuring smile on my face. He nods back, and I take that as my cue to leave.

I jump like a kangaroo down the stairs, as I normally do, and come face to face with my mother in the kitchen.

"Morning, Sweetheart! You're up early," she notes, checking the clock on the oven.

"Good morning! Yeah, um, kind of a weird question, but do you remember how I told you I wanted to become better friends with that kid, Jason, from school? Whose brother, you know, uh... Died, recently? The one I used to tutor?"

I don't know if I could sound more like a broken printer if I tried.

"Yeah! Is that still going well?" Her attention isn't on me, she is making herself some eggs for breakfast, so she can't see how much I'm, like, freaking out.

"Great, actually! It's been great. He's... he's... he's, uh... He's upstairs!" I just blurt it out, ripping off the bandaid, and she whirls around from her position in front of the stove.

"What? Has he been there all night? Did he sneak in? Are you two—"

"He had a really bad nightmare last night involving his brother. I picked him up from his house because he called me and asked me to, he wasn't in a good state, and he didn't want to go home this morning so I brought him here."

Notice how I conveniently left out the charming detail about us spending the night in my car, in a parking lot, where we were vulnerable to getting mugged or hurt.

Mom let's out a long, weighted sigh.

"You did the right thing. Just— Try not to make this a regular occurrence, okay?"

Filled to the brim with relief, I smile widely and nod.

"Thank you. Now bring the poor guy downstairs. I'll make you some food."

I run over to her and wrap my arms around her frame, kind of awkwardly because she's still making eggs.

"Thank you!" Then, I dash back upstairs and burst into my room. "Jace, we're in the clear." He visibly relaxes, muscles less tense, and he smiles at me.

"I can come down?"

"Yes, you can come down, silly!" I grab the tops of his arms and lift him from his seated position on my bed, and link arms with him as we walk back down to the kitchen. "By the way, I didn't tell my mom we spent the night in my car. Do me a huge favor and avoid revealing that detail."

"Your wish is my command," he mumbles back into my ear, just in time for us to reach the kitchen.

"Mom! Jason, this is my mom, Emma. Mom, this is Jason."

My mom flashes him a joyful grin, coming over to shake his hand.

"It's great to meet you, Sweetheart."

"You too, Emma."

"Now, sit, sit! Do you like pancakes, Jason?"

Jason looks at me, as if he's scared of saying something wrong, bless his heart. I respond with a nudge with my shoulder and a comforting smile. He smiles back.

"Pancakes would be fantastic, Emma." Mom turns around.

"Oh, I wasn't gonna make them. I'm not some master chef, here! I just wanted to know if you liked them." Jason's face is priceless; he pales completely, and his smile falls into a straight line. I can't help but let out a few giggles. "Oh my God, Jason, I'm kidding! I promise. I'm making pancakes."

"Jesus," he mumbles, very quietly, to himself. His head shakes back and forth, like he's trying to get himself together, and I pat him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Hun. You're fantastic. Keep doing what you're doing," my hand runs down his arm and clasps his hand. He squeezes it back, and nods at me, lips turning back up into his classic smile.

"Thanks." Almost instantly after he thanks me, my mom speaks up from her location at the counter, mixing together pancake mix with water.

"I heard you two were up a lot last night." Jason looks down, embarrassed. "Does coffee sound good? Do you drink coffee, Jason?" But, his head perks back up.

"Coffee sounds amazing," he groans. It's almost as if the mention of caffeine made him realize how tired he his. "Thank you so much."

"Of course!" My mom smiles. I smile at her, too, and nod my head, trying to silently thank her for being so cool with Jason. "Lil, could you get the coffee maker going?"

"Yes ma'am!" I bounce up, shuffling around to get all of the factors that eventually result in the machine bubbling away, dripping small drops of coffee into the pot. Mom's got the pancakes in the pan already.

"So, Jason," my mom speaks up again, making small talk. "Tell me about yourself. What's your favorite subject in school?"