Jesse's favorite day was always the first of summer.
It was one of the first things I learned about him as I held his hand from where I sat beside his bed in the hospital.
Jesse Bradshaw was the kind of guy who was a high school legend. In the summer his days consisted of drinking and surfing and crazy stunts and pranks, collecting stories as if they were treasure.
But of course, by the time July started rolling around, the magic of those summertime stories would wear off. So summer was a chance for him to collect his treasure once more and stock up for the next year.
But this year was different for Jesse. And it wasn't because his girlfriend, Lila CuRash was acting distant, or because his best friend, Ace Armstrong, was acting much too close to Jesse. It was because this year, when summer came to an end, Jesse would no longer find himself stuffed inside a sweaty classroom full of depressed teenagers.
His senior year had come to an end, and Jesse Bradshaw was finally an adult.
Hence the beginning of the downfall of Jesse's final summer.
When Lila CuRash broke up with him.
Lila CuRash is one of what us 'normal' islanders refer to as an Obnoxious Rich Golden Arrogant Self-absorbed Magnate, or an ORGASM. It would be a good time to point out that I did not create this name.
Lila's father is rich from doing some kind of fancy job in oil for fifty years, and he lives on the far west side of the island, where a handful of millionaires live in mansions on their five-hundred acre lots. Because of her richness, Lila was naturally very popular at school. If she'd been born only a few years earlier she wouldn't have had to suffer going to our crappy little public high school full of normally paid people, but the rich-kid private school burned down the year before she was born, and the one thing our island lacks is a second high school.
Naturally, at this school, Lila was revered as a goddess. But she also had a major flaw; Lila CuRash was extremely, terribly, ultimately…boring.
And here is where Jesse comes into play. As I said, Jesse was the school legend type-and this was even so back in fourth grade, when he lit a firework in the principals office. So Lila and Jesse made a deal. They dated; he made her look not boring, and she made him look like he had an ounce of financial wit in his hollow head. They both made each other look like what they were not.
And they never broke up-not from fourth grade all the way through senior year.
So it was quite a surprise for Jesse, as he walked Lila to his car. Jesse loved his car-a powdery blue convertible, always perfectly shiny with fine white leather seats. He loved his car, more than he loved himself at times. It was vintage, expensive-and rare among the Island's commonfolk. Only the rich people really own cars here, and the town is small enough you can walk anywhere. And if you do want to go somewhere far off? The single town taxi will take you anywhere on the island for 50 cents and a piece of gum. So Jesse admired his car, admired it like it were some kind of treasure-looked at it in such a way.
And that's when Lila decided to drop the news-when Jesse was admiring his car. Because suddenly, high school was over, summer was starting, and cars were now irrelevant. Jesse was no longer fun. He was immature.
And she dropped it-just like that. Looked him in the eyes, and told him in her delicate french accent as though she were a dove singing a song. Next year he was going to be in that same old town with those same old aviators in his same old car. Smoking his same old cigarette and staring off into the same old sunset. And Lila was going to be at Harvard studying law, becoming an adult with an actual, fathomable future. They could not be together a second longer.
Suddenly, Jesse Bradshaw was a man Lila CuRash could never be seen with, so she left Jesse. And she left him brutally-standing right in front of his beautiful, beautiful car, with a sadness in his heart and the ring in his pocket that he'd now have to return.
…
When Jesse had a bad day, he drove. Driving was easy in our town, because the only traffic remains the single taxi and the rich people. This particular day, Jesse drove to Ashby Thomas's house, with Ace and Cole and Brian in the back, all headed to Ashby's party, to get drunk and stoned…and for Jesse to hopefully find a way to get over Lila.
Cole and Brian were Jesse's friends, more by association than actual friendship. They fit into the same social category as Jesse-coll cocky guys who are good at everything and great at nothing-so it seemed obvious that they HAD to be friends. But there wasn't any real part of the friendship. They told each other their darkest secrets, not because they cared, because they felt obligated.
Ace, however, was not Jesse's friend by association; they shouldn't have been friends, according to all others. Jesse was cocky adventurous good at everything great at nothing guy, and Ace was the opposite; Ace was the good grades momma's boy who did his laundry, who'd never even KISSED a girl and was waiting till marriage to lose his virginity even though every time he left the house he was practically covered in a wave of hot girls. He'd been Jesse's ride or die since Jesse's literal second day of living, and some part of Jesse must've had a soft spot for Ace that said he couldn't leave his friend behind in the pursuit of childish highschool fame. It was an interesting side of Jesse, because there were many people Jesse didn't hesitate to leave in the pursuit of fame. But Ace wasn't one of those people.
At the party, Jesse got out of his car-
And that was the first time I saw him.
The first time I saw Jesse Bradshaw, he pulled up in a convertible so vintage and blue I thought my eyeballs might explode. Not because of the car. Because of him. Because what were the chances I, the Girl Nobody had Ever Heard of Before, would get invited to a party by my friend who was invited through her cousin who was invited through her hookup, to a party Jesse Bradshaw would be attending. Slim to none!
Because I hated Jesse Bradshaw and his friends with a fire that hell itself was jealous of.
"Who are they?" I'd asked Raven, my best friend, while doing my best not to stare daggers at Cole from where we were hiding on the balcony. I knew who he was- I'd dated him in 10th grade, and it did not end well. Safe to say once a cheater, always a cheater-even went he cheating originated in childhood games of tag. The party hummed below us, the alcohol in my hand bitter and spicy. I didn't want to drink it, but Raven insisted, so I sipped it slowly and poured some of the balcony whenever Raven wasn't looking. We were Whale Watching, which is Raven's fancy way of saying she's looking for a guy to flirt with.
"Jesse Bradshaw, Ace Armstrong, Cole Neil as you know, and Brian Terrier." Raven replied, grabbing the rest of the alcoholic beverage I was holding and downing it in one go. Then letting out a polite burp. "You know Lila? CuRash?"
"The ORGASM? That's Jesse? You mean Jesse Bradshaw has been dating her since fourth grade?" I'd asked, leaning my forehead against the cold metal railing.
"Exactly, it's crazy! They've been going steady even after you started homeschooling. Why can't I find a relationship like theirs?"
"A relationship like theirs?" I'd scoffed, watching Jesse dap up Ashby and grab a red plastic cup full of alcohol, before almost immediately going to flirt with some random bikini babes. "I don't think you want a relationship like theirs."
"Babes, you don't know what you're talking about, he's never even cheated on her!" Raven responded, tipping her cup upside down and looking disappointed at its emptiness. "Damnit I'm out of fuel. I'm going to get s'more-want any?"
"Um…yeah I'll come." I told her. Not to get more alcohol-just to steal more chocolates. But I couldn't help but steal one more glance at Jesse…because…he really ticked me off.
"So you're still sour at Jesse?" Raven had shouted over the stupidly loud music. We'd passed him in the party-and apparently, she had seen me give him a nasty side eye.
"He's an obnoxious jerk!" I replied, quietly as I could-which was still technically pretty loud, as I had to shout over the music and sound of people making out who probably just met five minutes before.
"Honey, that was third grade!" She groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as if I'm giving her a migraine the size of a whale.
"All the gossip you tell me doesn't help. I don't like him." I'd decreed, pushing past a random guy to grab a chocolate.
"Hey!" he shouted. "You made me spill my drink!"
Raven then grabbed my arm and began to drag me back up the stairs-not before I had grabbed another handful of chocolates-pushing through crowds of people while the commotion I had started grew.
"This is why we hide out on balconies!" She muttered, practically shoving me onto the balcony once more and slamming the screen door shut behind us-and then we both stopped.
There was Jesse Bradshaw.
"Oh…sorry, didn't realize you two were up here." He apologized, slipping his phone back into his pocket as he turned around, leaning against the railing so thin and fragile I was afraid he'd fall backwards and off the edge.
"Technically we weren't…not when you came up. Were you calling someone? We can find somewhere else to go." I proposed through gritted teeth, annoyed as I realized, Jesse Bradshaw didn't remember me.
"Nope!" Raven had interrupted, waving her hands between us frantically for…some reason. "No! I claimed this balcony fair and square so I can get knockout drunk with my best friend without a creepy man taking advantage of me and you will not take that away!" With a sigh and my face buried in my hands, I apologized to Jesse.
"She's been feral since her most recent breakup. He…was not good." I explained as Raven continued to talk about 'her balcony' and something about cows and also chug her drink almost violently.
"Ah." he said, letting out a sigh. "Understandable. Just went through a breakup myself." This dragged Raven's attention back to us faster than a three year olds attention is dragged back to his mom when she promises him ice cream.
"A breakup?" She'd shot him a wild look. "YOU AND LILA BROKE UP?" And with that she proceeded to grab his shoulders and shake him violently. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU BROKE UP?'
I was certain it was loud enough for the entire party to her-for a hot second I thought the party physically had stopped, only to realize that Raven hadn't shouted nearly loud enough for anyone down in the party to even think they heard her.
"Raven! That is so rude!" I'd told her, trying my best to contain my laugh.
"What?" She asked obliviously. "It's shocking! I'm shocked! I'm sure everyone in the world is! Who else knows? Is it big news yet?" She turned back to Jesse with wide, hungry eyes.
"Actually…" he said hesitantly. "You both are the first to know." Raven froze-then unfroze-then froze again. Then she turned to me, her face panicked as if she'd been given access to all the classified files in the government, her eyes ablaze. Then she shook my shoulders violently.
"SUMMER!" She whisper-shouted. "WE ARE THE FIRST HUMAN SPECIMENS ON THIS ENTIRE EARTH TO KNOW THAT JESSE BRADSHAW AND LILA CURASH BROKE UP!"
"Well," Jesse interjected, seeming oddly at ease with Raven's…craziness. "I guess Lila could've told someone. Her girls probably know. You're just the first to hear it from me."
With this Raven had let out a sound I can only describe as some crazy version of a bird's mating call, then proceeded to follow it with the dance. She danced around me, around Jesse, and then around the rest of the balcony. I silently thanked god there was nobody below who could possibly peer up and see Raven perform her…performance.
"Is she always like this?" Jesse asked me as she danced around.
"No. She's pretty tame when she's drunk." I responded, which was, unfortunately, the truth.
"Hm." He said, just leaning against the railing, watching her. I watched him watch her. He looked bizarrely the same as when he was a kid. His features were a bit sharper, he was technically a bit older, but his smile and resting face and blue eyes were all the same.
I'd considered saying something-remember that girl from third grade? That's me!- but by the time I had finally settled on 'How's life been?' He turned back to me. "I am going to head back down stairs, if that's alright." he told me. "I came with some friends, don't wanna ditch them too long. Um, if you need any…assistance with her, feel free to come find me, a'ight?"
"Sounds good!" I'd told him, intertwining my hands in front of my chest. He dipped his head, opened the screen door, exited, and closed it, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"That was terrible…" I muttered, letting my straight spine fall and slump.
"That was FANTASTIC!" Raven declared. Somehow her empty red cup had ended up on her head, some sort of makeshift hat.
"Raven I understand you're drunk but also you're not really supposed to be happy when people break up." I'd told her flatly, and she gave me a dirty look.
"I wasn't glad they broke up! Frankly I am the opposite, but I was honored to be the first person-besides you-that Jesse bestowed with such information! That is it." She insisted, sticking her nose up and sitting in a neat criss cross applesauce on the floor.
"Fine." I agreed. "Just happy to be bestowed with the news." And with that I sat beside her, folded my hands in my chest, and leaned forward to rest my forehead against the railing.
By the time it came time to drag Raven home, I actually contemplated taking Jesse up on his offer.
Raven had gotten going talking about Cole and 'how badly he'd hurt me' even though I had honestly already forgotten the majority of things he'd done. Raven was just being…chaotic.
"He is a terrible person!" Raven practically screamed as I dragged her through the party. It was still going strong and probably would be for another five hours, but it was 10 PM and I had desperately needed to get home for my shift.
But as I looked around to try and barter for help…I found Jesse in an even worse situation.
He was the most drunk I had, and still have, ever seen him, except for September 9th. He was swaying as he stood, laughing with a red cup in hand, and that was when the worst person who could possibly walk in decided to walk into the party- Lila CuRash.
It happened very fast, so fast I don't even actually remember the span of events between Lila walking in and Jesse on the ground bleeding.
When he had seen her walk in with her signature outfit, the tiny black dress with the long hand-covering sleeves and the thigh high black boots, Jesse had managed to stop his swaying. For a moment I thought somehow seeing her had managed to sober him up-but I was very, very wrong.
Because instead he tried to kiss her-and she pushed him back. And he cracked his head on the ground.
For a second there was silence-everyone watching him. He just sat up, felt the back of his head and then held it in front of his face. "Oh. I'm bleeding." he laughed. And then everyone panicked.
"Somebody call the police!" Ace shouted, and everyone talked like they were and got out their phones like they were going to do so, but nobody did-just gossiped in panicked tones because Jesse Bradshaw had cracked his head open.
Lila just rolled her eyes at him, then turned to her heel, quickly gathered her girls and strutted out of the party. And me? I was stripping off my sweatshirt, revealing only my tank top underneath, and pressing the fabric to Jesse's head.
"Ace!" I shouted to the boy who was currently just sitting and staring at Jesse who was staring at me in almost awe as he leaned into the sweatshirt and my touch. "Are you drunk?"
He nodded his head. "Not as bad as him," he pointed to Jesse. "But yeah I'm drunk." I sighed, looking back at Raven, who was gripping the shoulders of a random person in the crowd. Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind.
It would've taken much too long for an ambulance, and Ace was too drunk to drive. So was Raven, and probably Cole and Brian, and though I had technically drank it had been practically two sips and I felt completely fine…
"Ace, see Raven?" I pointed at my friend in the crowd, doing…crazy antics. "She's drunk too, and she needs to get home, but I also can't abandon her. Are you sober enough to drive?" He nodded, and I said a quick prayer to god-I didn't know the first step to driving a car, so I supposed he was my best bet. "Go grab Raven, get in the car and start it up, do not leave without me and Jesse, we'll be out soon." Ace left to grab her, and I turned back to Jesse. He didn't look good-his usually slicked back hair was messed and bloody. The blood leaked into my sweatshirt, and I wasn't sure exactly what I was supposed to do, but I tried to put pressure on the wound because I was pretty sure that was supposed to stop the bleeding. Pretty sure.
I looked for Brian and Cole in the crowd, feeling bad about leaving them behind, but when i saw Cole making out with a random girl and Brian flirting with another, I assumed they'd be fine.
"Jesse, I need to get you to the car, and I am not strong enough to carry you. Can you walk?" His blue eyes blazed into mine.
"Hopefully," he managed, though his voice was rough.
I took a step back and stood, letting him press the sweatshirt to his head himself while he stood. His legs were shaky and he almost fell again but I managed to catch him-slip my shoulder under his and do my best to support him as he limped out to the car.
Ace and Raven were already in the car, the engine started and Raven admired the car because it was Jesse's famous powder blue convertible and she was Raven and she couldn't not admire it, even when its owner's head was currently cracked open.
The drive took about half an hour, because of course the hospital had to be on the other side of the island, near the rich folk. Halfway there Jesse had practically bled through my entire sweatshirt and I had to get Raven to promise Ace she'd buy him a nice new shirt just to convince him to take his off and let me use it as a compress for Jesse's head.
And then it was fine.
The bleeding eventually stopped, though I kept the shirt pressed to the wound, just in case. Jesse's head was in my lap, one arm wrapped around me and behind my back. Raven would scream every one in a while when Ace made a bad move or went too fast, and though it wasn't a leisurely drive by any standards, I was glad the main part of the chaos was over.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked Jesse,
He shifted to look up at me. "Keep the blood of the seats, if you haven't already. They stain really easily-it would be a pain to clean up."
Me, Raven, and Ace spent the entire night in the hospital. Mainly because we had no way of going elsewhere-Jesse had said he didn't want his car going anywhere, and me, Ace, and Raven combined somehow lacked any money, even a mere 50 cents, to afford a taxi.
So Ace slumped back on a bench, me and Raven slept on each other's shoulders, and I was late for my shift.