An Unexpected Guest

It was the time of year that Jess hated-Rachel’s annual New Years Eve party. Rachel was Jess’ best friend, but she didn’t particularly like to be reminded that another year had passed of her being single. Jess was happy-she had a decent paying job at the bank, a close group of friends that she had since freshman year of high school, and a loving mom-she just wished she had someone to experience this mediocre life with. As she lay in her bed staring up at her ceiling, her phone started buzzing. Jess let out an exaggerated sigh and reached for the device.

“H-hello?” Jess said groggily.

“Well, someone is chipper this morning!” Rachel said sarcastically.

“Ha ha you’re sooo hilarious,” retorted Jess.

Rachel started going down her usual checklist for the night’s festivities. She liked to pretend that her and Jess were cohosts of the party, even though she knew it wasn’t Jess’ favorite activity.

“Can you at least try to be interested in what I’m saying? You know that New Years Eve is my favorite holiday and I would like for my best friend in the entire universe to be excited.” Rachel sounded serious and a bit hurt by Jess’ lack of interest.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I am excited to see you and everyone else…it’s just hard when your best friend is in a long-term loving relationship and I’m just…there,” Jess said in a somber tone.

“Jess, you are such a catch. You have to stop worrying about when you’re going to meet someone and live in the now! Don’t let life pass you by waiting on someone to show up. Show up for yourself,” Rachel stated.

The pair spoke for a little while going over what they still needed to get for the party and said their goodbyes. Jess knew that Rachel was right. Jess would be 29 in 2020, and she wanted to start living for herself, but the lingering thought of a partner ate away at her from time to time. She decided to push the feelings aside for the night. She was determined to make this the best New Years Eve ever. Jess slowly got the strength to get out of bed and walked towards her closet. As she thumbed through her same old clothes, something caught her eye. She was reminded of a sparkly dress she had bought simply because it made her feel magical when she saw it. She had never worn it, and wasn’t even sure if it would still fit. Holding her breath as she slid it over her head, the cocktail dress draped over her body perfectly. Jess stood in front of her full-length mirror. She tried to avoid mirrors as much as possible, but took the leap. As she eyed herself up and down, she felt warmth grow inside of her. She felt beautiful for the first time in a long time. Jess had a good feeling about tonight and what the new year had in store for her.

Jess showed up to Rachel’s house around 9 PM to help her set up. As she walked in the door, Rachel’s boyfriend Josh greeted her. His mouth automatically fell open.

“Jess…you look incredible!” he said as he ran to her and wrapped Jess in his arms. This was his usual greeting, and Jess secretly loved it.

“Okay, okay put me down!” cried Jess, who was trying to hold in her smile.

Rachel turned the corner after hearing all the commotion.

“What the hell is going…” Rachel stopped mid sentence as she finally saw Jess. Her eyes started to well up with tears.

“Oh my god, STOP!” begged Jess. She hated attention.

“I’m just…so proud of you,” explained Rachel. Her voice was shaky.

As the trio started setting up the food and drink tables, Josh and Jess started to chat.

“So,” started Josh. Are you hoping a certain someone will be here tonight?”

“NO!” yelled Jess. She realized he probably had no idea about the conversation she and Rachel had had earlier.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap,” Jess apologized. “I just wanted to dress up for myself and attempt to have fun tonight.”

“Well I think that’s awesome,” said Josh as he threw his arm around Jess. “And you’re awesome too.”

As the guests started trickling in, Jess told herself to be in the moment. She stood at the door with Rachel to greet everyone and take his or her coats. Rachel, from time to time, would give Jess the side eye and a smirk. Jess gently nudged her friend with her elbow. She was having fun, and Rachel knew that. The pair were realizing that word must’ve gotten out about the party, because more and more unfamiliar faces were starting to appear. Rachel grew more and more giddy because she loved hosting, but Jess was a tad more apprehensive. She was trying to enjoy her night, but the bigger the strange crowd grew, the more she had a bad feeling.

Around 11:30 PM, the party was in full swing. Everyone was dancing, drinks were flowing, and people were mingling. Jess scanned the room. She saw a group of girls eyeballing another girl’s dress, and Jess wasn’t sure if they were judging her or complimenting her. She saw a group of guys challenging each other to beer pong. She saw Rachel and Josh slow dancing to a fast song in the corner. Then, she saw him. In the opposite corner of the living room, she saw a young man staring at the crowd. His face looked stoic and angry. Jess’ heart sank into her stomach. She did not feel right about this stranger, and before she knew it, she started making her way over to him. This was so unlike her, but something inside her told her to make the move. His eyes began to shift as Jess made her way closer and closer to him. She stood by him quietly for a few moments.

“Hey, I’m Jess!” she said as perky as possible as she reached her hand out to meet his.

“H-hi...I’m…James,” he stammered, returning the handshake.

“It’s very nice to meet you, James,” Jess said confidently. She wanted him to know that she knew his name and saw him.

“You seem like you want to talk to someone. Do you want to talk to me? We can go in my friend’s room where it’s quieter,” asked Jess.

James looked at her wide-eyed. “I…sure, yeah,” he stuttered.

“Great, follow me!” said Jess as she grabbed James by the hand. The two headed upstairs to Rachel’s room. As Jess closed the door behind her the sound electronic music was muffled. The room was eerily quiet, and Jess started second guessing what she had just done. James sat on the desk chair as Jess plopped on Rachel’s bed. The two sat in silence for a moment.

“So, do you know Rachel?” asked Jess.

“No,” replied James with a straight face. Jess got the chills. His response was so cold.

“Oh, well did you come here with somebody? There’s so many people I don’t know here,” questioned Jess.

James sat in silence, and his leg started twitching. He began twiddling his thumbs together.

“Hey,” started Jess. “I know you just met me, but if you need a friend, I could use one too. You can trust me.”

James abruptly stood up. “NO! I can’t trust anyone! Not my family, not my so called ‘friends,’ and especially not my cheating ex who is downstairs right now with the other guy!” he exclaimed. Jess realized what was going on. James had come to watch his ex and her new guy, or he had come to do much worse. She knew she had to talk about this topic lightly.

Jess stood up too. “Listen, that sucks. I totally get it, but why did you come here, to spy on them? That will not make you feel better, I promise,” assured Jess.

“No, it won’t…you’re right,” started James. “But this will.”

At that moment, James drew a handgun from his hoodie pocket. Jess froze. She instinctively put her hands in front of her; as to show she was not there to hurt him.

“…James,” Jess’ voice shook.

“Don’t try and stop me, ok? It’s not fair that she gets to cheat and just move on with her life while I’m miserable. Is that fair to you? Is that justice?” cried James. His voice also shook.

“No, it’s not fair,” started Jess. “But is it fair to end the life of someone you once loved? And what would this accomplish for you? You’ll go to jail and the family of your ex will have to live without her, and your family will live without you, too.”

“So what? They don’t care about me, no one does. And don’t you DARE say you care about me, you don’t know me!” James was starting to yell.

Jess glanced at the clock on the wall, 11:50. Rachel or Josh would come looking for her soon. The three of them loved to ring in the new year together.

“You’re right, I don’t know you, but I do care about you. I care about you getting better. I care about your future, your ex's future, MY future…”her voice trailed off.

“I’m not going to hurt you…unless you try and stop me,” threatened James. “I’m just going to go downstairs at midnight…and end it all.”

“James, look at me,” Jess pled. “You can change this. You can find help and get better. I will help you. With whatever you need, I will help you. Just don’t do this, please. I promise there is so much good life ahead of you.”

James started crying. “How do you know? Have you ever been heartbroken? You don’t know anything about my life. It sucks and it will never be better. No one can fix the mess I’ve made,” he trailed off.

Jess collected her thoughts as best she could. “I know because I am kind of in the same boat. My life is boring. I haven’t been in a relationship in over 5 years and I’m sick of it. My job sucks, my dad is dead, and I just feel stuck. But guess what? I will never give up, because for every low, there is a high,” Jess stated.

As Jess and James stared at each other, she saw the door behind him slowly creak open. It was Josh looking for her. James turned around, pointing the gun at Josh. Josh raised his hands.

“Whoa man, just calm down ok? Put the gun down,” Josh said confidently. Jess was silently weeping.

“James, do not do this, please,” cried Jess.

James pointed the gun back to Jess.

“Everyone just SHUT UP, ok?!” yelled James. “I’m so sick of this world. I just want it to end, forever,” he said in an exhausted tone.

All of a sudden, Josh lunged at James. Jess covered her face, scared of what would possibly happen next. After what felt like 5 minutes, she saw that Josh had the gun and was pointing it towards James. A feeling of relief came over her.

“Call the cops, now!” screamed Josh at Jess. She ran out of the room downstairs, where unassuming party guests had no idea what horror they had just escaped.

“5…4…3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!” cheered the guests. As confetti fell, Jess reached her phone in her purse. Rachel grabbed her from behind.

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Have you seen Josh?” Rachel said. Jess could tell she was drunk. She didn’t know if she should tell her or not.

“Hi, he’s upstairs dealing with some random drunk guy,” said Jess. She ran back upstairs to Rachel’s room and closed the door. Josh and James were now sitting on the bed, James in Josh’s arms, sobbing. In the moments Jess was downstairs, Josh had thrown the gun out the window and was talking to James about the life he could be leading. Josh mouthed to Jess, “It’s okay.” She nodded back.

The cops were called, and eventually people found out why. As James was led outside, Jess was being questioned by a police officer. She glanced over at James and he met her eyes.

“Thank you…thank you for saving my life,” he said to Jess. She watched as they led him to the cop car.

Jess never heard from James again, but she thought about that night every day. She had Googled James’ name every so often and saw that he was seeking treatment, which eased her mind. That party was a turning point for Jess. She realized that if she hadn’t gone, the world might be a little different than it was before. She was thankful that she possibly saved a lot of people’s lives, especially James.’ She realized that trivial issues like wanting a boyfriend were so small in the grand scheme of things. Jess decided to live for her and the ones she loved from that point on. She would have a Happy New Year.