Hi everyone! Decided to update today instead of tomorrow because I don't know if I'll have time tomorrow. Hope you enjoy:)
Chapter Nine
"Beca, you have to come visit over winter break!" Maxie whined.
"I'll try too. I have to see if my mom will let me," Beca said into her phone. Maxie had called her the day before winter break started to get her to come stay with them for the month.
"She has to let you!"
"It's only a six hour drive away, no big deal," Beca said sarcastically.
"That's not even half a day!"
"You're right," she laughed. "I have to go, your brother's bringing me to the airport in a few minutes."
"Fine, fine. Have a safe flight!"
"Thank you," she said before hanging up.
"Was that my sister?" Jesse asked, who was standing in the doorway.
"Yeah, she wants me to come for winter break," Beca said as she zipped up her suitcase.
"You're more than welcome to come," Jesse said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "Waking up to you on Christmas morning would be the best present ever."
"I wish I could," she sighed as she rested her cheek against his chest. "I told my mom I'd stay with her, though. She said she has a surprise for me, which could be anything."
"I'll miss you," he mumbled in her hair.
"Promise me you'll call me every day, or Skype me, or something," she said quietly. She'd never tell anyone (besides Chloe) how much she missed Jesse when they were apart because Beca always made fun of couples like that.
"I promise. Come on, we're gonna miss our flights."
The plane ride to Maine wasn't as enjoyable as when she went to New York. She didn't have Jesse to calm her down during her anxiety attack when they took off, and she didn't have his brother waiting with a hilarious sign. Beca handed the cab driver money when he pulled in front of her mom's house. She thanked him as he got her suitcases out of the trunk before pulling away.
"This should be fun," Beca sighed as she opened the front door and walked in.
"Beca, honey, you're home!" her mom said excitedly.
"Hi Mom," she said, putting down her bags to hug her mom.
She really didn't mind being home with her mom, since she's the parent she stayed with when her father walked out, but she would rather be back at school. Her mom was great and all, but lately she's been strange when they've talked on the phone. Beca couldn't place it; she just chalked it up to her not being around as much and not as used to her.
"How was your flight?"
"Eh," she shrugged. "Boring."
"How was Thanksgiving with your father?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen to begin dinner.
"I ended up going to New York for weekend. I spent Thanksgiving with my boyfriend's family," Beca said as she brought her bags into her room.
"Oh, well that's nice."
"It was. So, what's the big surprise you have?"
"Janet, honey. I'm home," some man said as he walked through the front door. Her mom got a huge grin on her face as she ran to the front door.
"Beca, I'd like you to meet Jonathan. He's my boyfriend."
Beca just gave what she hoped was a smile at the greaseball who was standing in the front hall. He was very unsettling to look at, with his giant beer belly that hung over his dress pants and he had the worst toupee Beca has ever seen on a middle-aged man.
"Nice to meet you," Beca said awkwardly.
"The pleasure is mine," he leered at her.
"I'm going to start dinner. Beca, why don't you settle in," Janet said as she kissed Jonathan's cheek before going back into the kitchen.
"Yeah. I'll, uh, be in my room," Beca said as she turned around and quickly walked down the hallway, but didn't miss the look the creep gave her.
Once she got into her room and shut the door, she took out her phone to call Jesse.
"Miss me already?" he asked once he answered.
"I found my mom's surprise," Beca said, her voice low.
"By the sound of your voice, I'm guessing it wasn't a puppy."
"No, it was her creepy, disgusting boyfriend."
"Worse than Shelia?"
"I would rather spend all day shopping with Shelia than five minutes with this guy."
"That bad?" Jesse asked. Beca nodded, but realized he couldn't see her. "Maybe he just looks creepy. He might be decent."
"I hope so," she sighed.
"Maxie expected you to be with me when Shane picked me up from the airport. He even had a sign that said douchedick and bitchface."
"How nice of him," Beca laughed. She wouldn't tell Jesse that she was actually touched that his brother thought of her and his sister really wanted her there with them. He would just call her a softie, and Beca couldn't have that happen.
She talked to Jesse until her mom called her for dinner. Jesse told her to keep an open mind about this guy, which she said she would. She sat down at the table and began to pile her plate with food.
"How's school, sweetheart?" her mom asked.
"It's good. The Bellas look great, we made it to semi-finals."
"Beca's in an acapella group," Janet explained to Jonathan. "They won last year."
"Hopefully we'll win again this year."
"How old are you, Beca?" Jonathan asked.
"Uh, 19."
"Very nice," he muttered before he shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth.
"So, how long has this been going on?" Beca asked, gesturing between her mother and Jonathan.
"Since you got back to school. He sold me a toaster oven," Janet said and sighed like it was the most romantic story in the world.
"Prettiest customer I've ever had the pleasure of talking too. You certainly get your looks from your mom," Jonathan said and winked at Beca.
"Creepy," Beca muttered before she took a sip of her drink. "I'm going to meet up with some friends from high school now."
"Sure, sweetie. The keys to your Jeep are on the hook," Janet said.
Beca got up and grabbed her set of keys, plus the spare set. She didn't want Jonathan anywhere near her car.
Beca never kept her bedroom door open when she slept. She would get creeped out if there was a breeze that would move it and it would creak. That's why the first morning she woke up with the door open she was confused. She thought maybe her mom went to wake her up or something, so she brushed it off.
"Mom, did you go in my room this morning?"
"Nope," her mom said, shaking her head 'no' as she placed on bacon on Jonathan's plate. "I figured you'd want to sleep in since I saw you still asleep when I walked past your bedroom."
"My bedroom door was open when you walked past?"
"Well how else would I know you were still sleeping, silly? I don't have x-ray vision," her mom giggled.
"That's weird, I never sleep with it open."
"Maybe you just forgot to close it," Jonathan suggested.
"Yeah, maybe," Beca said, fully knowing she wouldn't forget to close it.
The second night she woke up to the sound of someone closing her door. She knew for a fact that she closed her door before going to bed, so that meant someone was in her room. She texted Jesse, but she knew he wouldn't answer until the morning. When he finally did answer, he said maybe her mom went to get something. She couldn't imagine what her mother would need at midnight, but she agreed anyway.
The third night was the final straw. She had gone to sleep late because she had Skyped with Jesse. Beca was just beginning to fall asleep when she heard her door open. Staying very still, she focused on her breathing to make it seem like she was in a deep sleep.
"So beautiful, too bad I didn't meet you first. The things I would do to you," Jonathan said as he stood over Beca's bed and watched her sleep. Beca had to keep herself from gasping.
"Jon, baby. Where are you?" Janet called from her bedroom.
"Shit," Jonathan said before running out of Beca's room. Beca heard him say he was in the bathroom, getting ready.
Beca quickly got up, shutting and locking her door as she grabbed her stuff to leave. She grabbed her suitcases, and whatever presents her mother had bought her for Christmas. Quietly, she walked through the door that lead to the garage and began to load her stuff into the trunk.
Beca decided she didn't want to leave anything of hers here. The next morning, she began to completely empty out her bedroom while her mother was running errands and Jonathan was at work. She could deal with one more night there.
That fourth night was the worst. He ran his hands through her hair and made weird noises as he stood over her. Beca could deal with a lot, but not this. Once he left, she grabbed the very few belongings of her that were left in her room and walked out, leaving only a bed and an empty dresser behind.
She opened the garage door, got into her car, and began to drive. Beca had no idea where she was planning on going. She was still dressed in her pajamas, it was one in the morning, and Georgia was just too far at the moment.
She found herself driving on the highway and six hours later, she was sitting in front of Jesse's house. His house was covered in Christmas lights and there was a wreath with a big red bow attached to the front door. She didn't know what made her come here, maybe her desire for normalcy and comfort; something she certainly wasn't going to get at her mom's. After twenty minutes, she finally mustered up the courage to get out of the car and knock on the door. She was about to knock when the front door flew open.
"Beca," Mr. Swanson said in surprise.
"Uh, hi Mr. Swanson," she said quietly.
"Weren't you supposed to spend the holidays in Maine?"
"Yeah," she said. He ushered her into the house and out of the cold. She followed him into the kitchen, where Claire was sitting at the island with a cup of coffee.
"Beca, what a surprise," she said. "What are you doing here?"
"I kind of drove here all night," she said as she looked down at her hands.
"You've been driving all night?" Claire asked as she got up to get Beca a cup of coffee. "I'm sure you missed my son a lot, but I'm not sure if driving six hours after a few days apart is healthy."
"Oh, no," Beca said quickly, not wanting her to think she was some obsessed girlfriend. "My mom has a new boyfriend and I was really uncomfortable with him in the house. I didn't know where else to go because Georgia is really far, but I just couldn't stay there any longer."
"Oh sweetheart," Claire said as she brought Beca into her arms. "I'm so sorry. You're more than welcome to stay here."
"Does your mom know where you are?" William asked. Beca shook her head 'no'. "You should probably call her."
"I think I'll call my dad first. I'll probably drive down to Georgia to stay with him for the rest of break. I'm so sorry for coming here, I just didn't know where else to go."
"Nonsense," Claire said. "We're happy to have you here. You're always welcome."
"Thank you," Beca said as she quickly wiped her eyes, not wanting to cry.
"I have to get to work," William said as he looked at Beca with concern. "If you have any problems, have Claire call me at the office."
"Thank you."
"Jesse's still asleep. He should be up in a little bit; he'll be surprised to see you here. I insist you stay at least until New Years. You can stay until you and Jesse have to go back to Barden and you two could drive back together. I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you didn't drive all the way down there by yourself. I can't believe you drove from Maine to here by yourself," Claire said quickly, but stopped when she saw Beca's face. "I'm rambling, I'm sorry."
Beca was overwhelmed by the kindness of Jesse's parents. She didn't know what to expect when she pulled in front of Jesse's house, but she didn't expect them to be so understanding. She half-expected them to tell her she could stay for a week then she had to leave.
"I really appreciate this. I'm not really used to people being so nice," Beca admitted quietly. "I was worried that I would be intruding. I don't want to ruin any plans you all have."
"Stop," she said. "We believe in the more, the merrier around here."
"Mom, who's Jeep is parked in front of the house?" Jesse asked as he wiped the sleep away from his eyes.
"Hi," Beca said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Surprised?"
"That I certainly am," he said as he stared at her in shock. "You're here?"
"I'll leave you two alone," Claire said with a smile as she left the kitchen.
"Missed me that much, huh?" he said with a smirk. The smirk was gone once he saw the look in Beca's eyes. "What happened?"
"Can we go to your room? I had a long drive."
They walked up to his bedroom together and she sat down in the middle of his bed. He sat down behind her and pulled her close to his chest.
"The movie lover in me wants to believe you drove six hours in the middle of the night to see me because you couldn't bear to be without me during the holidays," he said to her, making her chuckle a bit. "But I know that's not the case."
"My mom's boyfriend. He would watch me in my sleep. It got progressively worse," she said quietly, trying not to cry because she didn't want to show how much it bothered her. "Jesse, I can deal with a lot, but not some creep touching me in my sleep."
"He touched you?" Jesse said, anger evident in his voice even though he tried to control it, as he pulled her closer to him. "Touched you how?"
"He kept touching my hair. I'm scared what would have happened if I decided to stay there."
"Well, your safe now. You don't have to go back there while he's there," Jesse said, kissing the top of her head. "Does your dad know what happened?"
"No," she sighed. "I should call him, but I'm so tired."
"Go to sleep," he said as he laid her down.
"Will you stay with me?" she asked as she grabbed his wrist to keep him with her.
"Of course."
Beca woke up a few hours later to the sound of Jesse talking on the phone with someone.
"Once she's awake, I'll have her call you back, Dr. Mitchell," he said into the phone. "She should be the one to tell you why she's here."
"Jess," she said, her voice thick with sleep. "I'll talk to him."
"Okay," he said as he handed her the phone.
"Hi Dad."
"Beca, of all the irresponsible things to do. You left in the middle of the night, your mother called me in a panic. She was about to call the police to go looking for you. I'm sure you missed Jesse, but you can't do this."
"Dad, you know I wouldn't just leave because I missed him. Are you aware Mom has a new boyfriend?"
"No. Did you meet him?"
"Yeah, and he's a creep. He would stand in my bedroom and watch me sleep. He touched my hair, Dad. I don't know what else he would have done," Beca said.
"He what?"
"Yeah. I couldn't stay there; I was so uncomfortable. You know who I live with at school. I can deal with a lot of weird things, but having someone stand over my bed and watch me sleep is where I draw the line."
"Beca, honey, I'm sorry. I just thought," her dad said with a sigh, feeling awful that he thought she just left on a whim.
"It's fine. I'll probably come down to you in a couple weeks. All my stuff is out of Mom's house, so I hope that spare bedroom is still available."
"Of course it is."
"I should probably call Mom," Beca said.
"I'll be having a talk with her about this. Be safe, Beca. Tell Jesse I'm sorry for blaming him."
"He's sorry for blaming you," Beca said once she hung up.
"He thought I put some crazy idea in your head to drive here in the middle of the night," Jesse laughed.
"Sounds plausible," she said as she stared at her phone. "I know I should call her."
"Make it a quick phone call," he suggested.
"Fine," she sighed as she dialed her mom's number. "Mom?"
"Beca! Where the hell are you? I'm worried sick."
"I'm in New York. I had to leave."
"New York?! What would possess you to leave in the middle of the night?"
"Jonathan watches me when I sleep. That's why."
"No, he's with me all night. I think I would know if he left the room to go into yours."
"Well, apparently you don't."
"You didn't give him enough of a chance. He's a good guy."
"He makes me uncomfortable. I live with a nympho, girls who don't respect anyone's privacy, and I've been ambushed by my best friend in the shower. Not a lot of things make me uncomfortable, but he made my skin crawl."
"Stop being dramatic. Come home."
"I won't come home if he's still there."
"I love him, Beca."
"Then I guess you've made your choice," Beca said before hanging up.
Jesse sat down on his bed and wrapped his arm around Beca's shoulders, pulling her close to him. She smiled a little at the comfort Jesse brought her whenever he was near.
"Jesse, I need to borrow your car," Maxie said as she walked into Jesse's room. "Beca? You're here?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"My car is at Barden, remember? The keys to Shane's truck are on the kitchen table," he told her. He gave her a look to not bother Beca at the moment, because he knew Maxie would be dragging Beca to wherever she was going.
"Right, thanks," Maxie said slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. "I'm glad you're here, Beca."
"Me too."
"So, what do you want to do today?" Jesse asked.
"I don't want to ruin any plans you have set already."
"You are not ruining anything," he said, kissing her sweetly. "Having you here has made this break ten times better."
"You say that now," she said. "I'm up for whatever you planned today. Just, before anything, can we rearrange my car? My entire bedroom is kind of in my trunk."
"Your entire bedroom?" Jesse asked and Beca nodded. "Okay, lets go."
Jesse gave her a pair of sweatpants that would be warmer than her pajama pants and his Treble sweatshirt, which he knew she secretly loved. They walked out to her truck and he could see from the windows that she crammed as many things as possible in there.
"Okay, so," he said as she opened the trunk. "Why don't we take everything out and sort through it in the living room? I have extra cardboard boxes you can use from moving to the dorms."
"Okay," she said as she began to pull out her suitcases.
Twenty minutes later, Jesse's living room was filled and the two of them were sorting through her stuff. Jesse found it amusing when he found Beca's old dance recital pictures.
"I never pegged you as a ballerina," he said with a smirk.
"Two years, that's all I lasted as one."
"I'm sure you'd look adorable in a tutu."
"Shut up."
"Why does it look like a bomb exploded in the living room?" Shane asked when he walked down the stairs, not noticing Beca behind the boxes. "Maxie finally cleaning out her room?"
"No, I'm just cleaning out my car," Beca said as she stood up.
"Well, look who couldn't stay away from my little bro," Shane said with a smirk as he went over to give Beca a hug. "Didn't peg you for the type of girl who would drive for hours for a guy."
"You're right, I'm not that type of girl. I'm more of a runner," she said vaguely. Shane, like Jesse, knew when certain things shouldn't be pushed.
"I'm glad you came here, then," he said with a smile. "Are you moving in or something?"
"I emptied out my room at my mom's so I could bring it all down to Georgia at my dad's."
"You're not leaving any time soon right? Tomorrow's Christmas Eve."
"Your mom insisted that I stay until New Years," Beca said. "I don't want to be a burden though, so after I'll figure something out."
"Burden?" Shane scoffed. "Do you know how many fantastic stories I can tell you from now until you two have to go back to school?"
"Oh God," Jesse groaned, knowing his brother would completely embarrass him. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Shane?"
"Right, gotta go to work," he said quickly. "When I get home, though, me and Beca are going to reminisce."
"Looking forward to it," Beca said with a laugh.
"What's in this box?" Jesse asked as he opened the only box that was in Beca's car. "Christmas presents?"
"Presents for you guys, and whatever presents my mom got me."
"What if Santa visits your mom's to leave you presents and you're not there to get them?"
"I'll live," Beca said, rolling her eyes as she folded her comforter and placed it in a box with the rest of her bedding. "Should I put all of this back in my car now?"
"We'll keep it in my room. That way we can use your car."
"Okay, let's start bringing this stuff upstairs," she sighed as she stacked two boxes on top of each other and picked them up, not realizing she wouldn't be able to see over them. "Damn it."
"Little too short there?"
"Shut up," she grumbled as she carefully walked up the stairs, focusing on not running into anything. "Don't make fun of my height."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Jesse said as he dropped the boxes in his room. "Short-stack."
"That's it," she said, chasing him out of his room.
Beca woke up on Christmas Day and she was actually excited for the holiday, something she hasn't been since she was seven. Jesse pulled her closer to him when she tried to move out of his arms.
"Merry Christmas," she said softly as she kissed his face to try to wake him up.
"Hmm," he hummed as he pulled her closer. "I knew waking up to you on Christmas would be the best present ever."
"I think Santa came last night."
"Yeah, so did I," he said sleepily as he rolled over, keeping his hand on her waist.
"Jesse Swanson," she said, slapping his chest. "That's gross."
"Noelle and Fat Amy have had a severe affect on me."
"Clearly," Beca laughed. "So, what do you guys do on Christmas?"
"Dad's family is coming over for dinner."
"Are they as big as your mom's family?" Beca asked
For Christmas Eve, Jesse would always spend it at his aunt's house. When he said only a couple people would be there, Beca knew she had to work on his meaning of 'a couple people'. She had never seen so many people that were all related in one room before.
"No," Jesse laughed, remembering Beca's shocked expression when she saw all his aunts, uncles and cousins piled into his aunt's living room. "My dad only has one brother and he has a daughter who's three. It's usually pretty quiet on Christmas."
"I can understand why after a Christmas Eve like that," Beca said.
"Never a dull moment."
"Beca! Jesse! Brayden! Shane! Time to open presents!" Maxie yelled as she skipped down the hallway. "I don't want to wait any longer."
"Patience doesn't run in your family, does it?"
"I don't think Maxie knows the meaning of the word patience," Jesse said as he sat up in bed. "She won't shut up until we go down there."
"I love opening presents," Beca said as she got up and pulled on her pajama pants. "I hope your family likes what I got them."
"I'm sure they will," Jesse said as he grabbed her hand and they walked into the living room together, where Maxie was sitting in the middle of the floor like a ten year old, surrounded by presents.
"Didn't want to wait any longer," she shrugged.
Jesse and Beca had decided to wait until later that night to exchange their gifts, which Shane had a whole bunch of sexual jokes to make after hearing that. Beca was happy to see that everyone seemed to like what she bought them, and she prayed Jesse had the same reaction. Beca offered to help Claire with dinner, wanting to feel useful. Dinner was early because Jesse's cousin was still little and had to be in bed early. His cousin, Maddie, loved Beca. She wouldn't sit with anyone else at dinner, or when everyone was in the living room having coffee.
"Beca, I gots a new Barbie from Santa," Maddie told her as they sat on the floor and colored.
"Really? Barbie was my favorite doll."
"Mine too!"
"Time to go home, Maddie," Jesse's aunt said as she picked her daughter off the floor. "Say bye-bye to Beca."
"Bye-bye," she said, stretching her arms out to give Beca a hug.
"Bye Maddie," she said.
"She's a keeper, Jesse," his uncle whispered in Jesse's ear.
"Yeah, she definitely is," Jesse said as he watched Beca.
"Don't you think I've had enough creepy guys stare at me when I don't know for a while?" Beca whispered when she walked over to Jesse.
"I wasn't staring. I was admiring," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Wanna go upstairs? I wanna show you something."
"Okay," she said, taking his hand and following him upstairs.
They went into his room to grab their presents to each other, and he took her hand and they walked down the hall into a room she's never been in before. He opened the door and Beca was surprised to see the only thing in the room was a piano.
"You play?" she asked and he nodded. "How come you never told me?"
"Dunno," he shrugged. They sat down on the piano bench facing each other.
"Merry Christmas," she said as she handed him his gift. "I hope you like it."
He took the gift from her and eagerly ripped off the wrapping paper like a child. Beca couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh wow," Jesse said as he looked through all the stuff that was in the box.
She had gotten him the collector's edition of The Breakfast Club, plus a few other movies he's been meaning to buy; a Burberry watch she saw and figured he could use, and because Chloe said she couldn't just buy him movies; and some boxes of butter lover's popcorn, her favorite.
"You like it?" she asked tentatively.
"I love it, thank you," he said, kissing her before handing her his gift.
She opened the box and was surprised to see the new headphones she had been looking at because her old ones were starting to give out. Beca was going to thank him when she noticed the little blue box. She looked at him questioningly as she unwrapped the white ribbon and opened the box, finding a small silver, diamond heart key necklace.
"Jesse," she said quietly.
"I know you're not a big jewelry person, and I tried telling my mom that," Jesse began to ramble, thinking she didn't like the necklace.
"It's beautiful, I love it," she said, shutting him up. "Will you put it on?"
He took the necklace from her and she turned around so he could put it on. When he did the clasp, he pressed a kiss on the nape of her neck.
"Can you play me something?" she asked.
He began to move his fingers across the piano keys and played a beautiful melody she had never heard before. She rested her cheek against his shoulder as he played, and she got lost in her own thoughts. Beca couldn't figure out how she ended up with someone as sweet, amazing, and funny as Jesse. She was a cynical bitch and she wasn't afraid to admit that, but somehow she ended up with the best guy a girl could ask for and he had an awesome family. She couldn't picture a future with anyone else, and she didn't want too. Beca knew she would try her best not to mess this up because he was the best thing she had going in her life, besides the Bellas.
"That was beautiful," Beca said when Jesse stopped playing.
"I wrote it," he said sheepishly as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck when he saw the surprise on Beca's face. "I want to compose movies, remember? Gotta start coming up with some of my own music."
"You're amazing," she said, hiding her face into his shoulder to keep him from seeing her blush. "I love you."
"What?" he froze, as did she. She didn't expect to say it; she thought she was just thinking it.
"I love you," she said it again, gritting her teeth as she waited for his response.
"I love you too," he said as he gently moved her chin so she was looking at him. "Never thought you'd actually say it first."
"Didn't expect that either," she laughed nervously.
"Why do you look so scared?"
"I don't want to mess this up," she admitted quietly. "I don't want you to one day get fed up and just leave."
"I won't ever do that. You're not getting rid of me that easily," he said with a smirk as he leaned down to kiss her. "Best Christmas ever."
"Such a dork," she laughed as she kissed him again.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I can't believe all the reviews I've been getting lately, I really appreciate it. I'm so happy you all seem to enjoy this story :D
I'm not sure if the next update is going to be as quick, but you won't have to wait long for it. I want to get one or two more chapters finished before I update so I can keep up with these quick updates (which is SUPER unlike me because I usually take weeks lol)
Let me know what you thought of this chapter, anything at all. I love reading all the reviews & responding to them. Thanks :D
