Eden Cove Vol. 7

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out".

- Walter Winchell

Jessamyn and Molly both slept in Monday morning following the opening weekend of Carnival of Chaos. It had been a huge success for the park and they had already extended the park hours for the next weekend. Both girls were exhausted but they had a busy day ahead of them. If they were going to keep their bills paid, the limited hours at KK's were not going to cut it and they needed to pick up a second job during the week. Karol's was now down to just operating three days a week for the Halloween event and even though the girls could expect to be scheduled open to close all three days, it wasn't enough. Candy had called last week and told them her new friend, Guy, was the manager of the brand new craft store that had opened in Dunmore Point, which was in the next town to the north of Eden Cove and only a 20-minute drive. Candy "might have" pulled some strings and got them both interviews with Guy on Monday afternoon.

"MOLLY! GET UP!" Jessa yelled as she walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. She needed caffeine and fast. Her head hurt and she felt too tired to face the day, she grabbed a Wild Cherry Pepsi and a Pop Tart before heading into the living room. When Molly finally emerged, she looked like she had been run over by a car or one of her bumper boats.

"Do we have to do this today?" Molly groaned and fell down next to Jessa on the couch.

"Yes. Interview at one, then I have to swing by my parent's house to pick up some stuff. And see Amelia and the kids, of course. If you don't wanna go, I can bring you back here first". Jessa said.

"No, it's cool. I wanna kick it with Amelia. I'm going over to Jason's tonight if you want to go? Maybe partner up with your partner?" Molly chuckled but Jessa rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right. Finn has no interest in me at all. He was all over Henley after close last night and they walked out together". Jessa mumbled like she didn't want to admit it. She kept telling herself that she didn't even like Finn. She just wanted Finn to want her, which was really pathetic.

"Well you don't know until you try, now go take a shower or no one will want your stinky ass". Molly kicked her off the couch and Jessa laughed but went to her room to pick out some clothes for the interview.

*****

The interview with Guy at Get Creative was hardly an interview at all. It was obvious he had already promised Candy that he would give them jobs for the holiday season. He asked a few basic questions to make sure they were not completely useless humans, they filled out paperwork and got their new aprons and nametags.

"That was easy!" Molly said as they got back into Jessa's car.

"Sure was, we need to thank your mom". Jessa agreed. The job should be easy enough, just cashiering most days with some stocking when they needed help putting out new items.

"So what kind of stuff are we picking up from your parent's house?"

"I have no idea. My mom called and said she found some old school stuff I may want, pictures and poems from elementary school. Like, what the hell would I want those for? She's my mom, if she doesn't want them, no one does, so just trash it". Jessa sounded harsher than she meant to but she didn't care.

"Dang. Okay then, tell me how you really feel". Molly said with a laugh but then she looked at Jessa with curiosity. "Something else wrong?"

"No". Jessa answered too quickly.

"Bullshit. And I know that Finn told you about Justin and Courtney, is that it?" Molly asked as she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her bag. "Can I smoke in here?"

"Since when do you smoke?" Jessa asked, confused.

"I don't know. Jason smokes and sometimes I smoke at his place and at work. Just sometimes. You want one? You sound like you need one".Molly stated and smiled at Jessa while she lit her cigarette and held it out to her.

"Um, yeah I guess so". Jessa said, taking the cigarette and holding it in her left hand. This is a mistake that Jessamyn would regret well into adulthood but it was too late now.

*****

Jessa and Molly walked into the Ally house and it was loud! This was unusual but then again, they didn't normally have three kids there. Tristan and Kai were racing cars across the living room floor while Gracie had MTV cranked up and Millie was on the phone, screaming at them to be quiet. Her dad was sitting on the floor, watching the boys and catching stray cars while her mom tried to pay attention to what Gracie was explaining about the video on TV.

"HEY!" Jessa yelled as she and Molly headed into the craziness that used to be her silent living room.

Once they finally got the kids outside, Jessa, Molly, and Amelia had a chance to sit down on the back porch and catch up a little bit. Amelia explained that she was going out for drinks that night with her high school best friend, Miranda. She told them the same story, that Kaden wanted to come with her but he had to work. She answered all the questions about California and then asked a few of her own, about Karol's, about the Carnival of Chaos, about the girls' plans for the next few months. Jessa and Molly stayed for dinner and then made their escape to go hang out with the boys. Jessa was relieved her mom forgot to give her the old school things. Maybe she would burn them.

*****

Amelia went to change after Jessa and Molly left, she wasn't sure what to wear out to drinks with an old friend. She didn't have "old friends" in California and all the get-togethers tended to be play dates these days. She decided on the only dress she brought with her, she wanted to at least look like she had her life together. Miranda did have her life together. Married to a doctor, had no kids, and spent her time working at the small boutique she opened "just for fun". Millie's calm and collected face didn't show the emotions inside that threatened to overwhelm her. She had thought about canceling so many times but she came here with a purpose. She was going to push herself to do something to break free of these new feelings that threatened to swallow her up.

*****

Justin called Jessa and Molly's place again, but still no answer. That was weird, he didn't remember Jessa telling him she would be gone all day. Maybe he should just stop by? Courtney had asked if he wanted to hang out and he told a little white lie and said he had plans. He liked Courtney but she was a little aggressive. Okay, a lot aggressive. He didn't really mind that but at the same time, he knew she would be leaving next month and Justin wanted a more stable relationship. He had the same feelings and needs as any 20 year-old-man but he tried to avoid the random hook-ups now. It was hard in an environment like KK's, where you worked around so many young, attractive people. Even the guests at the park were an issue, some of them came to see him in shows multiple times a day. Some had even asked for his autograph, Justin had tried refusing that, saying he was no one special. It didn't seem to matter to them. Justin got used to those types of girls quickly and paid them no attention. He decided if Jessa and Molly weren't home tonight, he could hang out with his family, and maybe watch some TV.

*****

Jessamyn spent the next day avoiding everyone she could avoid. She couldn't deal with people after making a complete fool out of herself Monday night at Finn's place. She suspected even Molly was still pissed off at her, she had apologized but she hadn't even done that right. Finn was mixing up drinks when they arrived and even though she said no a couple of times because she was driving her and Molly home, she finally gave in. He mixed up the strongest screwdriver known to man and when she finished that, he refilled it. Jessa only made it halfway through the second drink before she was practically throwing herself at Finn. She had moved closer and closer to him on the couch, she touched his hair, and she put her hand on his leg. Then her drunken self finally decided to ask for a tour of his room, Finn looked suddenly sober and shook his head. Jessa didn't stop, she moved even closer, and decided to try again. This time she tried to whisper in his ear that she "wanted him" and Finn gently pushed her back and said, " you know I have a girl, right?". Jessa felt like someone punched her in the stomach. She felt bile and alcohol surge up to the back of her throat and prayed she wouldn't embarrass herself further by puking on him. A girl? Hell no, she didn't know! He had never said a word about a girlfriend. Jessamyn felt disgusted by the situation, mostly just by herself, half drunk at a house party with a bunch of 20-something people she didn't know, throwing herself at a guy that didn't have any interest in her. Not even in a one-night hook-up with her! Oh my God! Jessamyn had jumped up so quickly, that she lost her balance, and fell back on the couch. The night couldn't get any worse, she was humiliated and her head was spinning. She tried getting up again, slower, she was aware Finn was talking to her but she couldn't concentrate on his words. She needed to get out of there. Now. And so Jessamyn ran, out the door, down the stairs, to her car and she got inside. She watched the house and prayed no one would follow her, no one did. Jessa sat there for a long time and then she drove home. She knew even at the time that she had no business driving a car but she needed to get home and she couldn't face walking back inside to ask for help. The phone rang a couple of times in the first hour after she got back to the apartment. But Jessamyn couldn't answer, she didn't want to speak to anyone at all. They really needed caller ID. Two hours after she had gotten in bed, the door to her bedroom was slammed open and Molly was standing there, mad as hell. Jessa tried to explain why she left her, tried to get across how embarrassed she was and why she left so quickly. Back at the guy's house, in a blur of alcohol, tears, and hurt by the sting of rejection, it made sense to take off. Here at their place, looking at Molly's hurt face, the girl who got left by her best friend and then walked home at midnight, Jessa felt even more pathetic. Especially because Molly called her pathetic and she was probably right.

"Oh, okay, you hit on a guy and he didn't want to bang you on the spot? Big deal Jess! Big freaking deal! So you take off and leave me? That's pathetic! You're always so worried about what everyone else is thinking about you! Grow up! And right now I think you suck!" Molly screamed from the doorway, more pissed than Jessa had ever seen her.

On Tuesday, Jessamyn stayed in all day and watched trash TV. She heard Molly leave early and was confused but figured she would try apologizing again when she came home. Molly never came home that night. On Wednesday, Jessa got up and dressed, drove herself to McDonald's to grab breakfast, and stopped by the gas station on the corner to grab a Gatorade and a pack of cigarettes. The clerk was a young guy, she didn't recognize him. Eden Cove was a small town, but not small enough that you knew everyone.

"Um, can I get a pack of cigarettes?" Jessa tried feeling a little silly.

"What kind?" he asked, he had long hair, rocker style hair Jessa thought, she assumed he must be in a band. A rock band. Grunge? Emo? Punk? She liked the vibes he was putting off but she had no answer to his question.

"I don't actually know". she laughed. "I just started smoking. Or trying it and I mostly just smoke my roommate's cigarettes but I don't know what kind they are so..." Jessa trailed off, looking down at her feet, feeling out of sorts.

"No worries". rocker boy said smoothly. "So I smoke Camels but that's not for everyone but it's pretty popular. You could try that? Or my older sister smokes Salem Lights? My mom is a fan of Marlboro Lights. If you want me to pick, I'd say try the Camel Lights".

"Okay, that sounds good". she peeked at this nametag, "thanks, Jon".

"Can I see your ID though?" he asked, all business now. Jessa handed it over with a smile.

"Jessamyn Ally. Waveside Place, no kidding? I live there too, on the third floor". Jon said.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool. So, we're neighbors?" she smiled again playfully.

In truth, Waveside was the largest and cheapest apartment complex in the Cove. It was very popular with younger adults while they were working their way through college or saving for a home or waiting for a house to become available for rent. Those were few and far between. Unfortunately, the name was deceiving and it wasn't near any beach or any waves.

"You work at KK's right?" Jon asked surprising her.

"Yeah, how did you know that?"

"My little sister works there. Hannah Zimms". Jon replied while bagging up her drink and grabbing her cigarettes from a stand behind him.

"Oh my gosh, Hannah is your sister? She works for me in Kiddie Korner". Jessa said excitedly. Even though she really didn't pay too much mind to Hannah, she was alright.

"Cool, yeah, she can be a pain but she's mentioned you. She likes you, and she says you're nice to her. The guy she worked for last year at Bandit was a real jerk to her." Jon gave her a little more information on Hannah and it lifted Jessa's mood a bit. She did try to be fair and kind to her crew. "So is the Halloween stuff as cool as everyone says? I was gonna go this weekend with some friends."

"Oh, it's so good! It's really fun, at least I guess it is, my maze is anyways, Waking Nightmare. I haven't really seen the rest of the park." Jessa felt a little sick thinking about working with Finn this weekend. Dammit. She was such an idiot.

"Cool, well if we decide to go, I'll look for you, Jessamyn Ally". Jon said in a cool, and laid-back voice.

"Jessa is fine. And yes, please do!" Jessa grabbed her stuff, gave a little wave, and rushed out. Jon ran out the door behind her and called out,

"Hey! Jessa! Do you even have a lighter?"

*****

By that afternoon, Molly came home and found Jessa laying on the couch.

"Molly! You came back!" Jessa jumped up but didn't go hug her like she wanted to, she wasn't sure if she was still mad.

"Yep. I live here". Molly said in a cold voice. Still mad.

"I know. I mean, of course, you do. I am so sorry for what I did. I'm a bitch, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry--".

"Just stop it, Jessa. Seriously, for once, just stop. You're not stupid and you're not a bitch. But you did act really careless. And it better never happen again. Jason was passed out drunk! You left me! I walked almost 3 miles home, at midnight! You wouldn't even answer the phone. I know you've got your own shit going on but we should be able to depend on each other". Molly was calm and collected but firm, honestly, she sounded like her mom when she spoke sometimes. Jessa started crying and found that she couldn't stop. Molly wrapped her arms around Jessa although the last thing she felt like doing right then was taking care of Jessamyn.

"We're gonna be fine Jess. We gotta stick together though". Molly whispered.

*****

Molly went to her room and closed the door. She took a deep breath. She thought back to sitting behind Jessa in Mrs. Smith's third-grade class. The teacher had asked Jessa to read out loud from the new chapter book they were starting. It was painful to listen to, Jessa standing by her desk, stuttering through the whole two pages she had to read, Molly could see the girl's hands shaking as she tried to hold the book steady. Jessa sat down and put her head down after she was done. Molly wanted to reach out to her but she wasn't sure what to do or say. Instead, she followed her at recess, Jessa was sitting alone on a swing until Molly showed up. Their friendship began that day. Over a decade later, Molly was still showing up for her, but sometimes she got tired of the "I'm so stupid" excuses that Jessa always had handy. She loved her, she really did. But Molly really wished Jessamyn would wake up one day and love herself. Molly heard the phone ring and hoped Jessa would stop ignoring the outside world, get off her ass and answer it because she wasn't going to this time. All this escaping into herself and hiding wasn't helping Jessa a bit. She needed some tough love. Molly could see the difference in how they were raised, Candy gave out the tough love and made Molly make choices. Lisa rolled her eyes at Jessa and gave out indifference and the cold shoulder. As adults, when things were wrong, Molly took action, while Jessa shut down.

"Molly! It's Jason". Jessa yelled down the hall. Okay then, she was going to the phone after all. Jason Merritt was checking all the boxes for Molly right now. He was older, successful, hot, and funny, and he not only understood but accepted the type of relationship she wanted. She didn't want to label what they had but she did make it clear he was the only guy she was into and she would not be with anyone else, he felt the same. It was working out perfectly for her. He never got upset if she flirted with other guys and she never got annoyed when she saw other girls trying to throw themselves at him. Part of her wanted to share with Jessa what he had told her about Finn but she decided not to. Finn did indeed have a girlfriend, but it is a long-distance thing. They met last year, at KK's when her family came to stay at the beach for the summer. Her family is crazy rich and for some reason, they like to stay at the Cove every summer. So when he met Sarah last year, it was love at first sight and they spent every minute that he wasn't working together. Sarah is 30, and she's an office manager for her dad's company up in New York but Molly didn't bother to ask what her rich daddy did for a living. This wasn't the part that annoyed her, the part that bothered her was that Finn had a hard time being faithful to poor Sarah. He tried Jason insisted, trying to be loyal to his best friend, but even he looked annoyed. Jason had told Finn just to dump Sarah and date whoever he liked but Finn was holding tight to the idea that she was his true love and sometimes temptation got the best of him. Therefore, both Jason and Molly were relieved he turned Jessa down. It wasn't because Finn didn't like her, he did and didn't want to mess up his work situation. Molly didn't think this would make Jessa feel better so she kept her mouth shut.

*****

Jessa's weekend kicked off just right. She sat on the dock with Freddy and told him all about the embarrassment of her Monday night. Well, she made it sound a little more innocent than it was. Turns out she didn't need to because Freddy told her a story about finding himself in an embarrassing situation with not one, but two girls in a "whore house in Japan during the war" that left Jessa's mouth hanging open. Freddy had laughed out loud, smacked his newspaper on the dock, and said, "come on now, Jessamyn, I wasn't always the old man you see before you". Jessa tried to imagine a younger Freddy, in his military uniform, drunk and heading into a whore house. She laughed out loud too. "Your stories are the best stories". Freddy pulled up the sleeve of his polo shirt to reveal a tattoo of a topless woman with long hair and large breasts. "Maybe that was the night I got this tattoo, I can't remember". Freddy laughed again. Jessamyn would always remember these times, when her children reached adulthood, she would share the stories with them. They wouldn't get it, no one would ever understand who Freddy was to her.

The new hours for Carnival of Chaos would be from 6-11 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So at 4 on Friday, Jessamyn walked to the shed with Hannah, Lily, and Ashley to lock everything up. Ashley was giving them the details about her maze, Ghosted, and Hannah confirmed that her brother, Jon, and his friends were coming to the park tonight. Lily was unusually quiet and listened to the other girls chat. Jessa was stalling on purpose, in no rush to see Finn. She was taking Molly's advice and acting as if nothing had happened but she was also trying to get Hannah to walk over with her and maybe suggest to her that she apply for a supervisor position next season.

Finn was leaning up against the entrance sign, waiting for her, like she figured he would be. Having Hannah next to her gave her a little courage.

"Hey, partner!" Jessa called in a voice filled with fake cheer.

"What's up, ladies?" Finn asked with a smile.

"So, I have to run by bumper boats real quick to help Molly close up but then I'll be back! Can you show Hannah how to do a rotation? She's applying for a supervisor spot next season. Well, maybe. She's thinking about it". Jessa said in a rushed voice. The look on Finn's face was total confusion because she had never shown up and then left before. She was just as confused as he was because she had no clue what she was going to say before she opened her mouth. Hannah looked thrilled to be asked to help out and learn something new with the hottest supervisor in the park. Jessa smiled and rushed off in the direction of the boardwalk. Molly would probably welcome the help, she did take longer to close down than any other ride because they had to move all the boats to the shed at the end of the night. Jessa's feet had just made it from the park's brick pathway to the wooden boardwalk planks when she saw a couple walking her way, holding hands and laughing loudly. Dammit. Was that Justin? Please don't be Justin.

"Jessa?" Justin called out down the boardwalk. Shit. She had no escape this time. Justin and Courtney were headed straight for her. Jessamyn threw a big smile on her face and tried to be as happy as possible while the words, "give me a break" flashed through her mind on repeat.

"Justin! Hey!" Jessa said, more fake cheer, and a big fake smile.

"Oh, so this is Jessa? Wow, you're so pretty. Justin has told me all about you". Courtney said quickly and smiled a perfectly rehearsed smile at Jessa.

"Yep! That's me. Listen, I can't talk, I have to go help Molly out. Have a good night!" Jessa said as quickly as she could and she kept walking, quickly in the direction of the bumper boats.

"Help Molly? Is something wrong with Molly?" Justin yelled out as she scurried away. "Jessa? What's going on?"

"Come on, she's fine. She's working". Courtney said and pulled Justin along.

Jessa went running up the dock to the bumper boats shed just as Molly was walking out.

"Whoa, Jess, what are you doing here?" Molly asked, clearly surprised.

"Helping you! But I'm late and you're done, I'm sorry". Jessa said quickly. Molly looked at Jessamyn like she was trying to solve a puzzle, then she held both hands up in front of her, as if she wanted to push Jessa away.

"Hell no Jessamyn Nicole! Turn your ass around and go deal with Finn!" Molly said in her best mom voice ever.

"But--".

"No! Enough of this, seriously. GO! Go back over there and act like it didn't happen. He won't bring it up". Molly grabbed her shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her down the dock.

Molly was completely right, Finn never said a word or acted any differently. They got the crew in place and got everything set to open. They easily fell back into their usual banter and the maze was packed with guests as soon as the gates opened. The night was going pretty much as good as she could expect until Finn called her on the radio sounding urgent.

"Finn to Jess, hold all guests at entrance, repeat, hold all guests."

"Jessa to Finn, I copy, holding guests".

"Finn to HQ, we need security and First Aid at Waking Nightmare exit. Crew member was struck in the face".

Jessa took off for the entrance position and told Cara to hold all guests.

"What's happening?" Cara asked, "I heard screaming, I mean more than normal, like mad screaming".

"I have no idea. I'm going in, look for security and first aid and direct them to the exit!" Jessa turned on her flashlight and took off into the maze, it didn't take long to find Finn who told her that Jason and one security guard had two guys at the exit. They had started acting rowdy, shoving other guests, and then one started throwing punches.

"Who did he punch? Why would he punch someone?" Jessa asked, shocked by this development.

"Justin. I couldn't tell if his nose was broken or not".

"Holy shit, where is he?" Jessa asked.

"Exit". Finn answered and nodded his head in that direction. Jessa took off that way without wasting time to thank him.

She found Justin surrounded by two of the park's first aid staff, one security guard, and Henley.

"Justin". she barely whispered his name, there was so much blood. She quickly say down next to him, told Henley to go back to the exit position, and took Justin's hand in hers.

"It's not broken". he said.

"Thank God. Are you okay? I can't believe someone hit you!" Jessa rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm fine Jess, thank you". Justin rested his head on hers and closed his eyes.

*****

The phone was ringing as Jessa and Molly were heading out the door for Karol's on Sunday morning, Jessa ran back to answer it.

"Hello?" she said quickly and impatiently.

"Jessa! It's Amelia. Is it a bad time?" Amelia asked and Jessa tried not to sound like it was actually a bad time. She felt guilty for not making more time to see Millie but she was busy. And they would still be here a few more days, right?

"No! Well, Molly and I are on the way to work. But I've got a few minutes".

"Okay, well, really I just wanted to know if you were free tomorrow afternoon?" Amelia asked.

"Um, yeah. No plans. Why? Do you need me to babysit or something?" Jessa asked as she flipped her hair back over her shoulder and looked in the new mirror they had hung last week. The walls in the apartment were mostly bare still but since they would get a discount at the craft store, Molly wanted to start decorating slowly.

"No. I wanted to have lunch with you". Amelia said trying not to sound annoyed.

"Oh! Yes! I would love that!" Jessamyn said and she really meant it.

*****

Amelia hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. One of the things she had hoped to accomplish was getting to know the sister she never had time for. Well, now Jessa didn't have time for her. Maybe that wasn't fair but Amelia felt left out of this life Jessa had built and she wanted in. She had called Kaden this morning and told him to book his flight. The kids missed him and she could use a hand with them. She wanted to do a few more things before she went back to California.

Check back in soon to see what happens in Eden Cove in Volume 8! Thank you for reading.