“I didn’t come here to yell at you. I am trying to come and talk to you, as a friend.” He carefully pulled the sheets and blanket up to the headboard and sat on the top cover, careful to not give any indication that he wanted to join her under the sheets. The handkerchief he kept in his pocket met her tear-streaked face as he gently wiped away her tears.
Pamela was really quite beautiful and, even though he was not attracted to her personality, he couldn’t deny that her physical beauty was a rarity. Her blond hair looked like soft-spun silk, and he was always fond of how it seemed to shimmerduring their midday summer swims. They sat in silence as she cried the last remaining tears.
“Why did you leave me? Why did you have to go off to college?” Her voice was quiet and broken. Even in her drunken state Jenkins recognized the fourteen-year-old girl who had dull hair, bad skin and no friends. She was all insecurity and no substance.
How can I tell her that I’m her only friend while I have gone on to find friends I have similar interests with? That I want to do more than party and waste my life away?His mind raced as he tried to come up with the best answer.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry I had to leave. You know I want to become a lawyer, and I need to go to the best school for that. You’re so important to me, and I’m grateful for our friendship. You do help me remember that I need to have fun, but my version of fun. You’re going to be okay with me gone. You’ll make lots of new friends.”
He brushed the blond hair from her green eyes and leaned his cheek against her forehead.
“Thank you.” Her voice broke between the random sniffles.
“I can’t have the same lifestyle as you. I want to be a good lawyer, and I need to keep my reputation clean. I hope that as my friend you can understand that.” Jenkins moved back to the edge of the bed; the smell of alcohol was causing the contents of his stomach to churn.
“If I am able to tame it down, do you think we could hang out more when you are in town?” Pamela did her best to keep her stiff blond hair from her face. Her nose scrunched up. She took a big whiff and pushed the hair back further.
“Yeah, I think we can. But you would really need to clean up your own reputation. You can’t just be good when I’m in town.”
She nodded and then dropped her head into her hands. “I’m such a mess. I’m going to take a shower and go to sleep. Thankyou again, Jenkins.” She lifted her face and met his gaze. Her hand reached out, and he grasped it. “Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
Jenkins released her hand and stood from the bed.I might be able to convince Darla to choose someone else if Pamela can get her life straightened out. I can avoid that conversation for now. Hopefully I can salvage the relationship between Darla and Pamela.
“Yeah, do you think we can continue our conversation tomorrow? We can come up with a plan to leave all this partying lifestyle behind. I have to drive back to campus tonight, but I’ll call you.”
“I would like that. I just don’t know how to be anything but what I am.” She hung her head, not wanting to look back up at him. “I’m a product of my circumstances.”
Jenkins ground his teeth together as images of his own difficult childhood—from his abusive uncle to his sister’s untimely death—flashed through his mind.You think you had it tough? I had it worse and I’m trying to make my life better; you are just making excuses.His fists clenched at the thought.I need to get away from her and clear my head before I say something I regret.
“I need to get back on the road since it’s already so late. But I promise I’ll call you tomorrow, and we can figure this all out.”
Pamela nodded and retreated to the bathroom. Jenkins considered offering her a ride home.Might be best to keep her away from Darla until I have a chance to talk to each of them,he thought,as he made his escape.
Back outside the mansion, and away from the pounding music, he was finally able to think. He inhaled the fresh air deeply to clear himself of the alcohol-infused scent that filled the mansion.
Determined to stop Darla from making the switch, he planned to tell her that he thought Pamela would change and that he could help her. There won’t be a need to switch with her. He could save Pamela from a horrible fate, being trapped in an ailing body, and he could save Darla from having to make such an impossible decision.
Well, impossible to most. To Darla, the decision seems as easy as deciding what to eat for dinner each night.
He looked at his watch. It was too late to go home and talk to her tonight.I’ll talk to her in the morning before my conversation with Pamela.He rubbed his eyes, a new determination growing inside him.
He spent several hours driving back to campus, thinking about what exactly he would say first to Pamela and then to Darla. The idea that the woman who took him in as a teenager had planned to switch with his sister at one point meant that Kinley would have been sentenced to die in an old woman’s body.
She died young anyways.He scoffed in the dark to himself.I just need to help Darla come to terms with the end of her life and accept that her time has come.
He finally collapsed on his bed. His dorm was quiet, with just the soft hum of his window air-conditioning unit. The conversations for the next day were finalized in his mind, and he drifted off to sleep peacefully, knowing he had a good chance to change both of their fates.
Early the next morning,Jenkins awoke to the phone on his wall ringing. He swung his tall, lanky legs out of bed and crossed the room to pick up the phone.
“Hello?” His mind worked to get out of the sleep-induced fog that prevented it from working at full capacity.
“Hi, Jenkins.” Pamela’s clear voice came from the other side.
“Pamela! How are you feeling today?” His mind cleared more as adrenaline pumped through his body at the sound of her voice. “I was going to call you later to talk. Is everything okay?” Her deviation from their plan set his nerves on fire as he immediately worried something was wrong.
There was a long pause before she answered. “It’s done.”
“Done? What’s done?” He thought back to their conversation from the previous night and couldn’t place what she was talking about.
