You're the One - Part 1 || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 142: Again

I felt my face get hot, tears come to my eyes as Travis held his glare on me.
"You don't know anything about me." I choked, avoiding his eyes. "I'm not like that anymore." He sighed, rolling his eyes.
"I know you well enough. People don't change. And if someone like him is interested in you, then he has no idea who he's dating." My stomach dropped.

Travis was right. There was a lot that Jake didn't know about me, but this was finally my chance to leave all of that behind. There was no reason he had to know about any of that. I wasn't her anymore.

I pushed past him, quickly making my way back towards the main area of the venue when I felt his hand tightly grasp my wrist, yanking me back.
"Don't just walk away from me." He snapped. I pulled my arm back, glaring up at him.
"I don't owe you anything anymore!" I yelled, backing away. "And.. I'm never coming back here."
"Jess, this is your family!" He yelled back, his face inches from mine.
"No, he's my family! And.. I'm not going to keep doing this to him." I cried, pushing him away.

When I got back out, I could see Jake talking to my dad over by the bar, another drink in hand. My heart started beating faster, not sure what I was about to walk into.
"Ready to go?" I asked, taking his hand. He looked down at me with bloodshot eyes, his face flushed pink.
"Sure." He sighed, his face dropping. I quickly shot my dad a look, who's face remained neutral. What was going on?
"We'll.. see you back at the apartment?" I asked. Dad nodded, looking back over at Jake. My cheeks burned as I reached over, taking the glass out of Jake's hand, placing it down on the bar.
"Come on." I said, tightening my grip, and leading him out of the venue.

He was silent the entire walk back, avoiding my eyes every time I peeked up at him. When we got to our building, I guided him up the stairs, doing my best to hold him up despite his drunken wobbling. I tried my hardest to hide my disappointment. All I wanted was one good night with him at my place, but apparently even that was too much to ask for.

As I opened the door, he wobbled in, catching his balance on one of the end tables. I sighed, hanging up my coat on the hanger, going over to him.
"Here, let me help you." I said softly, unzipping his jacket, maneuvering his arms out of his sleeves. After hanging his up next to mine, I turned to see that he had no doubt, toppled over onto the couch, his eyes now closed.

"What happened?" I sighed, trying my hardest to hold back tears.
"What do you mean what happened?" He argued, his tone getting more defensive.
"I mean.. I thought.. you weren't gonna drink like this anymore." I said softly, sitting down next to him on the couch. He rolled his eyes.
"I can have a drink, Jess. I'm fine."
"Yeah, a drink.." I muttered. He glared over at me.
"Jess, you act like you haven't gotten completely hammered almost every night." My heart dropped.

"Jake, I have not gotten hammered every night. We all had a couple of drinks a few nights ago-"
"Yeah, I remember a few nights ago." He said, looking away. "That's when I had to babysit you." My heart started beating faster, my face getting hot.
"You didn't have to do anything." I snapped. He looked back over, holding his stare on me for a moment, taking a second to calm down.

"Where's your room?" He asked. I bit down on my lip, hesitating for a minute.
"We can talk out here." I said. I didn't want him in my room. I barely let anyone into my bedroom. That was my space, and I didn't want another spot ruined with his drunken memories.

"What were you and Travis talking about?" He asked, his face getting angrier.
"It was nothing." I sighed, reaching over, placing my hand on his leg. He shook his head, pushing my hand away.
"Nothing, sure." He sneered. My heart dropped.
"Jake, I.. I didn't even want to talk to him. You told me-"
"Why the fuck is he still writing songs about you, Jess?" He yelled, his face getting red with anger. "Are you still talking to him?"