Broken Hearts And Busted Stereos Ch 01

"Hey.. it's um, me…. Janey. Look, it's.. it's been long enough. I miss you. Still. I just wish you would at least tell me—" Ted sighed as he pressed the 7 key on his cell phone, effectively cutting off the message and deleting it. He swallowed hard, it had been almost two years since he had walked away without looking back. He cast his cell phone aside to the passenger seat, pulling off the highway into the small scenic rest stop off the Parkway. They had come here often in high school, sitting in the dark listening to music and smoking pot before opening the sunroof and lying back to watch the stars, discussing their latest conquests, their futures, and the day-to-day bullshit. When he closed her eyes he could almost hear her.

"Ted, seriously, you need to finish that application. I've filled out most of it, and it's free if you get in, and you will."

"Janey, you know it's not that simple."

"Yes it is! You could work part time and still give your family money and get an education so you could get out of school and make real money."

"Let's drop it." She sighed at the words, taking the blunt from him and pressing it between her lips. Her fingertips had brushed his, electricity barely crackling through his veins before he turned to gaze at her for a moment. She was a bit round, but well-proportioned, with chipmunk cheeks and soft curves. Hair was kept short, and currently black with streaks of hot pink. A hand lay on her ribcage as she puffed on that cigar, the orange glow of the cherry illuminating her face, sparkling off her green eyes. He turned away quickly, it was Janey. She wasn't interested, and even if she was, it wasn't worth risking moments like these. Sex only complicated things, as Adrian and Alexia had gone out of their ways to prove.

A knocking at the window of the car brought him back to reality. Suddenly it was light out, he was alone, in his own car, and there was an officer knocking at the glass. He quickly opened the glass barrier, looking up. "Is there a problem, Officer?" The cop chuckled, shaking his head and removing his aviators. "Steve? Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Yeah, I know, Janey gave me shit all the way through the Academy." The words slipped out of his mouth without thought. He watched as Ted shifted his weight, uncomfortably running a hand through his rust colored curls. "So, Mike told me about the comic book, how's it coming along?"

"Graphic novel, and it's going great, it should be out in stores in the fall."

"Oh, sorry. But that's great. How long are you in town for?"

"A few weeks, visiting the family, closing out a few last things out here before I make the move out west a permanent thing." Steve nodded, and sighed.

"Well, a bunch of us are getting together over at Jake's place tonight if you want to come by." He thought bettering of mentioning the fact Janey was in town. Maybe if Ted would just show up he would get over whatever it was that had ended their friendship, not that anyone knew what that was.

"Yeah, maybe I'll stop by. It'd be nice to see everyone." Steve nodded.

"Well, I should get back out on the road, it's nice out, so the speeders will be out and about." Ted nodded.

"Have a good one." Ted sighed, settling back in his car. Being out west he had forgotten that Janey still existed in this place. She had moved up north several years ago for school and slowly faded from the day-to-day scene. From her freshman year with multiple phone calls a day, to the summertime once more, when he couldn't take it any longer. He shook his head once more, starting the vehicle and pulling out onto the Parkway to head home. There would be time for this insanity elsewhere.

Fingertips moved to turn up the volume on his car stereo only to turn it back down as his cell phone chirped for his attention. He reached for it, looking at the caller ID. Janey. When he had first stopped talking to her, the phone calls had been frequent, but they quickly disappeared after… he sighed, his mind drifting.

"Um, Hey." The look of surprise on Janey's face as she stepped out from behind the heavy metal door and into the dormitory's hallway almost hurt him. She had been positively bewildered to find him wandering her hallway towards Mary's room. They had all been friends back in New Jersey and Ted hadn't even thought about the fact that Janey lived just down the hall. In fact, Mary had told him she probably wouldn't even be there, as a sophomore, most of her friends lived on the far side of campus, and that was where she spent most of her time.

"Oh, um.. hey" Janey looked at him, teeth sinking into her lip. She had lost some weight, and was wearing a wife beater and a pair of shorts, despite the fact her make up was done. It was apparent she was getting ready for something, her hair was it's natural brown now, and down to her shoulders, loose curls pulled into a bun. "We're kind of in a hurry, but I'll… um, stop by and say hi later." She smiled then, a bit of her discomfort relieved. Even if it was a lie, at least she looked less upset. He waved, disappearing down the hall.

He jumped a bit as his CD skipped, attention brought back to reality, he was almost home. He sighed, taking the final rights and lefts before pulling into the parking lot next to the small city run complex, jumping out before waving to Mrs. Smith across the street, her dark skin shining with sweat. He laughed, as she yelled to him, her thick Jamaican accent obscuring words.

"Ah, the young one's finally come home. You're mama said you'd be in soon. Koffe is excited to see ya."

"Thanks, Mrs. Smith. I'll stop by later." He chuckled, dashing inside the house. There was the mandatory hugging, you'd think after a 6 hour plane ride, dealing with a rental car, and sitting in traffic for another two hours would be an excuse to just go lie down. He chuckled at thought as his niece tugged at his belt loops, leaning to run a hand through her hair before excusing himself for a nap. It was going to be a long trip, especially when it came to telling everyone he wasn't planning on coming back.