Jessimae walked downstairs after her long nap to see who could be knocking on her door. When she opened it, she saw Roman standing there with a disappointed look on his face. "What's up?" she asked. "Any particular reason why you haven't been back in school?" he demanded to know. Jessimae rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen, being followed by her boyfriend. "I'm not ready to, Roman." She whined, filling her glass up with water. "Babe, it's been over two weeks. You told me a few days ago you'd be back." He retorted. "My face still isn't healed, Roman! I'm already the laughing stalk of that school. I just…I can't." Roman sighed and walked up to the sad looking girl and cupped her face. "You look fine, Jessimae. I'll destroy anyone who fucks with you." He smirked, kissing her forehead. She shook her head slightly and stared into his beautiful, grey orbs. "I appreciate that, but I look like a heroin addict with these bruises. Besides, AJ and Brianna come over every day and give me my school work and I check my grades, which are still straight A's by the way." She reassured him. Roman chuckled and shook his head at the floor. "That doesn't mean you can ditch school. Not attending is still showing up on your records." Jessimae giggled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Sorry dad." She whispered sarcastically. "Speaking of which, when do you go to court?" he asked, rubbing her back to the point where her knees were getting weak. She loved that Roman cared about her a lot, but at the same time, it was annoying that he was always on her case about things. "This weekend. I'm not ready." "You'll be fine. It'll be all over after this."
She layed her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat for minutes. "You feel so perfect in my arms." He mumbled with his lips against her head. All she could do is smirk. This boy was so amazing that no matter what he did or said, she could never form a damn sentence. "I love you." She finally whispered. Roman pulled back and looked into her eyes before planting a soft kiss to her lips. "I will love you again when you come back to school." He joked. Jessimae pushed her hands into his chest, causing him to stumble. "You're an asshole." She smiled. "Alright, I'm going to be late for practice Jess. Please be strong and come back to school tomorrow." He said, looking at his watch. "First, it's Jessimae. Only Addy, AJ, and Brie call me Jess. Second, yes…Unfortunately, I will be coming back tomorrow. Only for you though." She chuckled. "Well, I apologize, and maybe…if you're up for staying up late tonight…I can come over and make it up to you." He mumbled, seductively, as he nuzzled his face in her neck. "We've done it every day since the first time. What's with you Samoans and your high sex drive?" she laughed, pushing him off. "It's only high when I'm around you." He smirked. "Your wild ass needs to go to practice, my dear." she laughed. After a few more moments of eye rolling, pouts, and laughter to each other, he finally gave her one last kiss and left for football practice.
"Hey Roman!" AJ winked, in a joking matter. When she passed him on the sidewalk on her way to Jessimae's house. "Hey Teeny-Tiny, what are you up to?" he laughed, earning a slap to the arm by the small girl. "Don't call me that." She shouted with a smile. It was truly impossible to be unhappy around Roman. He just let off that vibe to anyone. "I'm taking Jessimae's school work to her. You know when she's coming back?" Roman took the papers out of AJ's hand and was astounded by the work she was doing. He never knew that she was in advanced physics. For a seventeen year old eleventh grader? That was impressive. The fact that she was practically a genius really turned him on, actually. "She said she'll definitely be back tomorrow." He answered, giving Jessimae's work back to her. "Did she tell you that while you were boinking her?" she smiled, oddly feeling overexcited that Roman and Jessimae were now having sex. Roman's eyes bugged out after hearing AJ say that. He didn't know if he was embarrassed or humored by this girl. "I gotta go to practice you little freak." He laughed, giving AJ a hug. "Alrightly, see ya tomorrow." She smiled.
…
"Jessimae Miller! I have lovely homework for you!" AJ shouted, busting through the front door. "You scared the shit out of me, AJ!" Jessimae laughed, running downstairs to see her friend. "I saw Roman leaving just now! You just get done with that Samoan D?" she winked. "You are too much, AJ. You just can't get over the fact that I lost my virginity." Jessimae laughed, getting slightly cocky. "No, I just can't get over the fact that you lost your V to Roman fucking Reigns!" AJ quickly retorted. "Well, it was phenomenal, and continues to be. Now, tell me about you and Punk! You getting that D yet?" she asked, poking AJ's belly. AJ pouted and flopped on the couch. "No, I tried, but he's not ready. To be honest, he's kind of arrogant. But he really gets my feels going." Jessimae choked down a laugh. "I've never really heard of a guy that wanted to be the one to hold out." She muttered, but then she felt stupid for saying that because Roman wanted to hold out when she wanted to do him in his damn car. "Yeah, well, he's an odd one I guess…Where's Addy?" Jessimae was enjoying her freedom in her own house so much that she forgot Adeline was at the beach with Sami for a week. "She comes back on Friday." She answered. "Oh…well, I'll leave you to your Einstein homework. I need to go check on Brianna anyway. She had another Nicole meltdown today." AJ pouted, walking over to the front door. "Give her my love!" Jessimae shouted as AJ was walking out. "Will do!"
Jessimae went to walk into the kitchen, but stopped in front of the little table next to her couch when she saw the picture of her, Adeline, and her mom and dad. They were at Disneyworld six years ago, and looked incredibly happy. Unfortunately, all she had was the memories of her amazing mother, and once amazing father. Although she was happy her father had gotten dealt with, her heart felt emptier than ever.
…
"Jess! You're not going to believe this! Sami got me the most beautiful promise ring!" Adeline shouted on the phone so loud that the neighbors could probably hear. "Oh my God! How cute! I can't wait to see it!" Jessimae cheered. "How's everything at home?" Jessimae couldn't be happier about what was going on at home. She was free, didn't have to go to school when she didn't want to, she could smoke in the house. Literally, she was now a teenager that could do whatever the hell she pleased. "Everything's the same as usual here…I miss you, Addy." She mumbled. "I miss you too Jess! By the way, are you sure you want to go to court?" her worried sister questioned. Jessimae was silent for a couple seconds. "Adeline…you've seen for the past five years what that animal has done to me. You know how long I've waited for this? Why wouldn't I be sure?" Jessimae nearly snapped. It bothered her that it sounded as if Adeline didn't want this to happen. "Yeah I guess." She muttered. "Why do you sound unsure about this?" Jessimae asked, annoyed. "I'm not! Why would you ask me that?!" Adeline freaked. "Cause you were his fucking baby!" Jessimae screamed, and hung up the phone. She didn't mean to snap at her sister. However, all the jealousy that she's had for Adeline over the years is really boiling to the surface. Jessimae was too worked up to do her homework right now, so she layed down on the couch and fell back asleep.
…
After about three hours of sleep, Jessimae nearly jumped five feet off the couch when she heard someone pounding at her door. She slowly walked over and opened it after taking a few deep breaths and was nearly tackled by Jon. She somehow managed to stay to her feet by holding onto the wall as she watched this drunken stupor fall to his knees with a half empty bottle of jack in his hand. "Jessimae! Jessimae! Scotty ditched me tonight and I'm bored!" he slurred, while grabbing her waist and hugging her torso. Jessimae looked up at the ceiling and sighed in frustration. She really didn't need this right now. "Jon! You need to leave! Please!" She whined, trying to push him off. "Please, Jessimae! Make love to me, I love you! I saved your life because that's how much I care about you! The least you can do is give me your love!" he preached, now standing up and playing with her long hair. "Jon, stop it! Please! You need to leave right now!" She pushed him off. Jon stumbled to her couch and layed down, nearly spilling his bottle of jack all over her white carpet. "I can't make it home…I'm…I'm drunk." He slurred, shutting his eyes to finally sleep. Jessimae leaned against the wall and stared at him in disbelief. She felt so bad. She really had feelings for this kid, but she just couldn't just leave Roman. He was too perfect for her and even though Jon did save her, all he ever did was cause trouble with her. She walked over and pulled the bottle out of his hand and placed it on the table. He snored softly as she gently layed a blanket over his limp body. Jessimae knelt next to him and ran her fingers through his hair as she observed his adorably sleeping face. Everything about him was just so cute. "I'm sorry, Jon." She whispered, kissing his forehead and going to the kitchen to make herself dinner.
…
Jon's eyes slowly opened and was sort of startled when he realized he was on a strange couch. He sat up and looked around and fell into a rush of relief when he saw Jessimae sitting at her kitchen table doing homework. "What the hell am I doing here?" he groaned, rubbing his head and taking a seat next to her. "Well, a bottle of jack became your best friend last night, and next thing you know you're passed out on my couch." She somewhat chuckled. "Are you serious? I got drunk and came here?" he asked, very shocked. Jessimae nodded as she typed her math problems into her calculator, trying not to look at this boy. "Shit, sorry about that sweet cheeks." He muttered. "No, harm done. Help yourself to some food and drinks if you want." She offered, gathering her schoolwork so she could go up to her room. "What kind of Albert Einstein bullshit are you doing in these classes? Hold shit!" he laughed. "Its advanced physics and it's really not that hard." She retorted, snatching her homework out of his hand. "Damn, I like a girl with brains." He winked. Jessimae remembered when Roman said that exact same thing to her on the jungle gym that night. Honestly, it meant more, and was cuter when Roman said it.
She trusted Jon would show himself out, even though she really didn't want him to leave. "Where are you going?" he asked. She turned around and cocked her eyebrow. "Um…up to my room." Jon stuck his arm out and gave her an adorable pout that melted her heart. "I don't get a hug?" he sarcastically complained. After a deep sigh and a moment of thought, she placed her books on the coffee table and proceeded to return Jon's embrace. He held her tightly and inhaled her lovely scent. "Thank you, Jessimae. For letting me crash on your couch." He mumbled. "Well, it kind of wasn't my choice, but you're welcome." She chuckled, rubbing his back up and down with her finger tips, but quickly stopping when she fully realized she was doing it. "It's really late. I'll let you get some sleep." He smirked, lacing his fingers into hers. Jessimae tried to find it in herself to push him away from her and go upstairs to sleep. However, there was just something...something about this kid that was like crack to her. Jessimae tried to tell him to back off, but his cute face looking down at hers wasn't allowing her to form a damn sentence. Better yet, she just stupidly did the unimaginable. "You're right…it's um…really late, Jon. You could sleep here if you want to." She stuttered, immediately wanting to bash her head into the wall. Jon looked at her in surprise. He was harshly fighting a smile. "A…Are you serious?" he finally spoke up. "Yeah, let me just get you some blankets." She faked smiled as she turned around to make her way upstairs. Jon finally cracked his smile that he so badly wanted to flash to her, but he didn't want to push his luck.
Minutes later he watched her come downstairs with a pillow and a comforter. "Here, these are comfortable." She mumbled, laying the stuff on the couch. "Thank you, sweet cheeks. I really appreciate it. Uh…Saraya's not hiding here is she?" he winked. Jessimae giggled and rolled her eyes. "Don't be an asshole. Jon laughed and layed down on the couch, watching her walk up the steps, intently.
…
Jessimae layed comfortably in her bed, flipping through channels when she heard a soft knock on the door. She wanted to jump up and run around her room, freaking out like a crazy person. It was bad enough she let the kid stay here in the first place. Yet, she kept her cool and stayed in the position she was in. "Come in!" she softly shouted. Jon slowly opened the door and saw Jessimae bundled in her comforter, watching television. He walked over to her bed and held the phone out to her. "Sorry to bother you, but your sister's been ringing up this phone for about an hour." Jessimae furrowed her eyebrows and got out of bed. "I hope nothing's wrong! It's three in the morning!" she freaked, snatching the phone from him. Jon watched her in awe as she stood by her dresser, redialing Adeline's number in nothing but a tank top and underwear. Knowing the person she is, he was fairly certain Jessimae forgot she wasn't wearing anything. However, what Jon didn't know is how many fucks Jessimae wasn't giving lately.
The dirtiest thoughts were running through his mind as he thoroughly stared at her. Actually, to the point where even he wanted to palm his own forehead. "She must be drunk because she's not picking up now. I wonder if she started drinking because of what I said earlier." Jon wasn't even listening. He loved this sight and didn't stop himself from staring even when she turned around. "Jon you're such a perv!" she chuckled, rolling her eyes. When she tried walking past him to go back to bed, he stuck his arm out to the side, stopping her in her tracks. It caught her by surprise and sent shivers through every body part she has. Without saying a word, he took a step in front of her and softly clenched her waist. "What are you doing?" she whispered. A soft "Shhh…" escaped his lips as he moved his face closer to hers so their foreheads were now touching. Jessimae got her shit together when she realized what he was trying to do. She pushed him away and nearly dove back into her bed and got under her blankets. Jon was somewhat taken aback. "You need to get back on the couch or leave, please." She demanded. "Jessimae please, don't do this to me." He whispered, softly. Jon had his tricks with girls. Of course, he did love Jessimae, but he spoke softly on purpose and got touchy feely at times because he knew all girls loved that attention. However, Jessimae was a challenge, but Jon loved a challenge. "Um…How about you don't do this to me?! You know I'm in a relationship with Roman! He took my virginity which caused me to completely fall in love with the kid, and you keep doing this to my feelings!" she snapped.
Jon just stared at her blankly. Did he just hear her correctly? "…You had sex with him?" he stammered. He couldn't believe the jealousy that swarmed over his body just now. Never had he gotten this feeling before. Jessimae noticed the hurt in his heart broken kid's face. She wasn't going to show him that she felt bad though, because it was a really bad Idea to show Jon Moxley weakness. "Yes, Jon. Many times in the past two weeks." She added. He definitely did not want to believe this. He really did love this girl since sixth grade and desired nothing but her all these years in every way imaginable. Obsessed maybe? He didn't care though. Something about him was truly a sick guy. "And you…love him?" he dreaded asking, knowing her answer. "Yeah, I do." She replied. Jon slowly walked over to the door and turned around to take one last look at her. "I'm sorry, Jessimae." He whispered, before quickly making his way out the door. Jessimae layed her head on her knees and started sobbing. She slowly realized more and more that, yes…she was in love Jon Moxley.
…
Jessimae got no sleep last night. She continued to lay face up on her bed, listening to her soothing ocean noises on her computer to calm her nerves. After hearing the front door slam about an hour ago, she was pretty sure Jon went home. She didn't know what was worse, denying Jon's intimacy, wanting Jon's intimacy while she was with Roman, or admitting to herself that she was in love with Jon. The car horn honking outside the house drew Jessimae out of her thoughts.
She walked outside to see Roman sitting in his car, waiting for her to get in. He noticed her head was hung low and she had a depressing look on her face. "You okay, baby?" he mumbled, softly, while pulling back out on the road. "I'm just a little embarrassed about going back today." She confessed. Roman glanced over at her and sighed. He felt really bad for his girl. "You look fine." He mumbled, tapping her chin with his index finger, making her crack a smirk. Jessimae rolled the window down and stuck her hand out. "It's not that, Roman. I know that everyone knows about what happened to me, and I don't need more bullying in my life. More than that, I don't need sympathy from people. I hate attention." She sadly explained. "Don't worry about all of them. That school is just full of cold-hearted assholes. All of my friends like you anyway so you're in the clear." He chuckled. He put his hand on her thigh and rubbed it with his thumb. "You're a beautiful and extremely intelligent girl, Jessimae. You're so much better than those people…a lot more than you think." Jessimae couldn't fight the smile that her sweetheart of a boyfriend caused, as she leaned over and layed her head on his shoulder as she clenched his muscular, tattoo covered arm tightly. He layed his head on top of hers and couldn't help but smile as well. These two were head-over-heels in love with each other. Whenever Jessimae was around Roman, she couldn't believe that she's fooled around with Jon. She felt guilty, stupid, and downright terrible about hooking up with him recently. Then again, it could be worse. Saraya could've been watching again.
…
Roman and Jessimae walked up to the school and hesitated when they got to the doors. She took a deep breath and scratched her forehead out of complete nervousness. "You're going to be fine, babe." He reassured her. "If it gets to be too much then I'm leaving early." She stated. Roman chuckled, pecking her lips softly and dragging her into the school playfully by her ear. "Ouchies." She whined, trying to pull his hand off. "Hush little girl." He laughed.
It was majorly awkward walking through those hallways. She felt like every eye was on her. Jessimae followed close behind Roman as they made their way to homeroom. "I feel like the new kid coming back." She mumbled. "Yeah, it's been a while hasn't it?" he laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder to calm her down.
When they walked into homeroom all eyes darted at them. Jessimae tried to stand behind Roman as much as she could, but he wouldn't allow her to be fearful of these people. "Mrs. Miller! Welcome back, sweetheart!" Mr. Colter happily said. Even though it was kind of heartwarming to see someone happy to have her back, Jessimae still felt really uncomfortable with the attention. It was bad enough everyone was looking at her, but now she had to deal with everyone talking to her/looking at her. "Thank you." She faked smiled, as she quickly made her way to her desk. All she could think about was: *Thank god Roman sits next to me.* He scooted his desk over to hers and scrolled through his text messages when he looked up and saw Dave Batista approaching him. Roman immediately hit defense mode. Jessimae looked back and forth between the two and cocked her eyebrow when she noticed Roman's jaw clenching incredibly forceful. "Hey man, they're trying to switch my homeroom with someone else because of what happened, and I really don't want that, and I uh…I apologize man. I really do. That was just fucked up, the things I said…We cool?" he sincerely stated, extending his hand to the angry Samoan. Roman knew he was right though. His apology seemed sincere and it was better to let go of shit. Roman reached out and shook Dave's and nodded. "Yeah, we're cool."
Dave nodded back and proceeded back to his seat.
Jessimae stared at Roman curiously. "…Do I want to know?" she asked. Roman chuckled, feeling slightly embarrassed by this situation. "I beat him up because he was making fun of you about what happened with you and Jon. It got pretty wild in here." He confessed. She got wide eyed and was at a loss for words. There were two emotions swimming through her heart. She was flattered that Roman defended her to the point where he actually fought someone. Two, she felt really bad because Roman was too good of a kid to be fighting like that. He gets straight A's, he's an amazing football player, and he's well-behaved at home. Guilt was now washing over her as well. "Sorry about that." Roman furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you sorry?" he slightly chuckled. "Cause that fight was my fight." She mumbled, laying her head on Roman's shoulder again. "It's not your fault that he's an asshole. He shouldn't feel obligated to make fun of you just because of something you did." Jessimae smirked in agreement. Yeah, he did make a good point.
The bell rang and everyone poured out of homeroom for first period. Of course, as everyone was walking out, they had to take a glance at Jessimae and whisper to each other. Never had she felt this insecure before. Also, she knew the only reason Mr. Colter greeted her the way he did was because he watched news the other week. Usually, he was a dick to all his students. "You going to be okay?" Roman whispered, after they walked up to her locker. "I wish you had classes with me…then I would be." She chuckled. "Chin up, baby. The day will go fast." He smirked, leaning down and pecking her lips. She looked up at him and smiled shyly. "I love you." Roman looked over and saw Tyler coming up with a couple of their buddies. "I love you, too." He whispered back, before getting smacked on the back really hard. "Roman! What's going on brotha?" Tyler shouted. "Nothing much man." He replied. Tyler looked at Jessimae and smiled. A few months ago, he had no idea who this girl was, and listened to his friends make fun of her in the hallways, but there was always something about her that he admired. "Hey Jessimae, what's up?" he asked, hugging her tightly. "Hi Tyler, it's good to see you." She smiled back.
Instinctively, Tyler put his arm around her shoulder and walked a couple feet away from the group with her. "What's up?" she asked. Tyler looked down at her and held her hand tightly. "Listen Jessimae, I know we haven't known each other long and haven't gotten a chance to be very close, but I do care about you. With everything's that's happened…If you need anyone to talk to I'm here for you. If there's anything that you might be too ashamed or embarrassed of to say to anyone else, I'm here for you girl." He whispered, to the now sad looking girl. She bit her bottom lip and played with the zipper on her bag. "Um…Thanks Tyler. I really appreciate that." She smiled very weakly. Tyler gave her another big hug, knowing he made her feel a little uncomfortable. "Come over my house someday…I'll be sober. I swear." He laughed. Jessimae couldn't help but smile for real now. Tyler was such a cute jokester. "Definitely." And with that, he walked back over to his crew and they all made their way to class. "What was that about?" Roman asked. "Nothing, just wanted to see if I was okay. I told you it wouldn't be long until people started checking up on me." She jokingly scoffed. "It'll be over soon. I got to go now. We're already about four minutes late." He chuckled, kissing her forehead and catching up with Tyler. He felt bad for Jessimae. He knew how much she was hurting being here. How much she feared these people, and how bad she tried to keep this a secret. Roman just wanted to take her home and cuddle her.
"Did you hear about what happened to her?" "Hey, she kind of looks better than she did before." "I feel so bad for her. I can't imagine what she went through." "Eh, I still don't like her."
As Jessimae was still standing in front of her open locker, all she could hear left and right were whispers from the other students. She didn't know what was worse, the fact that they were all whispering about her or the fact that they didn't even bother to be quiet about it. She just wanted to crawl up into a dark space and binge on ice cream and cigarettes.
While walking through the hallway, she noticed something. Jon wasn't anywhere to be found. He was at his locker everyday around the same time she was, and constantly walked through the halls to avoid class. However, he was nowhere in sight. Something in her really wanted to see him. She hated that Jon was always trying to put the moves on her, but she liked it at the same time. He just gave her that kind of attention that any girl couldn't get enough of. Suddenly, the light bulb went off in her head. Where better to find Jon during first period than under his secret hiding place. So off she went.
"Jon? You there?" she whispered, while looking under the steps. Unfortunately, he wasn't there either. Jessimae sighed deeply and slid down the wall. Jon should know better than to move in on a girl who's in a relationship, but she felt really bad for the way she acted towards him last night. Jessimae was kind of worried. Jon hated school and barely showed up to classes, but was always there. Oddly, under that staircase was like his second home.
…
"Ms. Miller! I called for you in English class but you weren't in there." The guidance counselor shouted when she saw Jessimae in the hallway, going back to her locker. "Oh, sorry about that." She mumbled, not making eye contact with the woman. "I would write you up for skipping classes, but I understand why….I'm very sorry about what happened to you, Jessimae. My office door is always open as are my ears, sweetheart." She smiled, softly. Jessimae was annoyed now with everyone bringing this shit up. She knew some of them meant well, but she just wanted everyone to shut up that this point. From the moment she walked in the building, people were confronting her or talking about her and she, now, has had enough. "Thanks I uh…Appreciate it." She faked smiled. When the counselor walked away, Jessimae ran upstairs and waited outside Roman's class for the last ten minutes.
…
The sound of a loud bell and kids laughing and shouting filled the hall and drew Jessimae out of her deep thoughts as she sat on the floor. When she stood up she saw Roman and pulled him aside in a hurry. "I'm leaving Roman. I can't fucking take this anymore." She angrily stated. Roman sighed and looked at her in concerned. "Alright. I'll come over after school." He said. Jessimae shook her head quickly. "I most likely won't be there. I don't know where to go, but I'm tired of sitting at home." She muttered. "Just…Go to Tate's house or something." He suggested. Jessimae's eyes nearly popped out of her head, and her lips slowly parted. *Tate! Oh my God! I completely forgot about Tate!* She screamed to herself. "You okay?" Roman asked, causing her to snap out of it. "Y…Yeah, I'm fine. Um…I need to leave now before someone really pisses me off." She scoffed, watching all the ignorant people walk past her. "Okay, I'll see you later then. I love you." He whispered, kissing her plump lips softly. "Love you too." She replied, and quickly made her way out of the building.
…
Jessimae was nearly running to Tate's house. She could not believe she managed to forget about him like that. Yeah, she had a lot going on, but Tate was very important to her and he didn't deserve to be left hanging like that. When she reached the gate, she stopped and looked up at the mysterious house worried. Was he going to be mad at her? How would he react when he saw her again? Jessimae took a deep breath and climbed over the gate. She had no idea why this gate was locked sometimes, but left open at other times, but most of all, she prayed that no one saw her. Neither she nor Adeline could deal with police at the house again. She slowly walked up to the door and opened it slowly. The floor creaked loudly as she walked in.
"…Tate? It's me, Jessimae! You home?" she shouted, but got no reply. She continued to walk through the house when she suddenly heard footsteps following her. She bolted around, but no one was there. Now she was starting to get scared. There was something odd about this house, she knew that, but had something happened to him? "Who's there?" she called out to the empty space behind her. "What are you doing here?" a voice broke out. She turned back around and saw Tate standing there with a blank look on his face. It was almost like magic. Like he literally came out of nowhere. "TATE!" She screamed, running into him and tightly hugging him. Tate returned the embrace, but wasn't happy about it. He felt completely forgotten about by this girl. She looked up at him and cocked her eyebrow. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Where have you been, Jessimae?...And what happened to your face?" he asked, turning completely concerned for her now as he thoroughly examined it. "My dad got ahold of me, but he got arrested Tate! I'm going to be fine…forever!" she cheered, hugging him again. As hard as he tried to be, Tate couldn't stay mad at this girl, he loved her. She was his best friend and he'd be there for her no matter what. "That's great, Jessimae. Let's celebrate with some pancakes. HEY MOIRA!" he happily shouted to his ghost maid. There truly was nothing that could freak Jessimae out anymore. That's part of the reason why Tate was drawn to her so easily. Especially when she said: "Normal people scare me." Hearing that was proof that he was going to be best friends with this girl.
…
"So why aren't you in school?" he asked, drowning his pancakes in syrup. "I ditched. I couldn't take all the pointing fingers and sympathy speeches anymore." She scoffed. "Well, I hope you don't punch me, but I really am sorry about everything with that guy. I'm really happy that you're free now." He smirked, putting his hand on top of hers at the table. "Thank you, Tate." She smiled back, but immediately remembered something. She remembered what Moira said the evening they met.
"Hey Moira, when we first met, you told me I should get away from my dad…How did you know?" she stammered. Moira dried off the dishes and looked at the small girl. "I know everything dear. I see everything too. The reason I left you alone about it later on was because I saw what your friend was doing for you." She explained. "Wait, Jon? You knew he was doing all that?" she asked, fascinated by this woman. "Yes I did. And that was by far the sweetest thing I've ever seen a boy do. He really loves you, Jessimae." She winked at her, making Jessimae blush.
"You okay?" he asked, noticing Jessimae's face got low. She took a deep breath, trying to buy time and think about if she should really talk to Tate about something like this. "…What would you do if you really loved two people at the same time?" Tate was caught by surprise with that one. Unbeknownst to Jessimae, he had no idea what love was. The only thing he feels even remotely close to love would be his friendship with Jessimae. "Um…Well, what is it about these guys that you love?" he asked. "I mean, how couldn't you love Roman? He's a sweetheart; he was there for me when no one else would be, and he actually plans on doing something with his life which he makes pretty obvious that he wants to take me along with him for whatever that is. Then, there's Jon. He's um…different. He admitted to being in love with me since the sixth grade, but never even bothered to talk to me or anything all those years. He's kind of a womanizer and doesn't really know what he wants in life…I think. Jon's really cute, he's got that special charm that just draws you to him and…I don't know. As much as he claims he loves me, he sure as hell shuts me out a lot." She explained. "He's probably scared. A lot of guys who might not have had the best childhood grow up to be scared to fall in love. Try talking to him." Tate suggested. Jessimae raised an eyebrow from his statement. That made a lot of sense and maybe Tate was right. She never heard Jon talk about his parents or his childhood or really anything about his life at that. "Go do it now." Tate said. Jessimae looked at him a tad surprised. "What do you mean?" "That Jon kid…you should go talk to him right now. If you don't do it now, then you're going to over-think it and never want to do it." He stated. "I don't know about that, Tate." She tried to explain, but was cut off. "No, no. Go talk to him. You said you love him right?" Jessimae nodded. "Then go talk to him. I'm not going anywhere, he's not in school. It's perfect." He shot. "I'm scared." She whispered. Tate grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. "Don't be. If he doesn't want to talk, the worst he'll say is to leave him alone, and I doubt he'll be a dick about it." He reassured her. "Now go. Before that Samoan hottie gets off school." He joked. Jessimae got up and kissed Tate on the cheek and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Tate. Hopefully I won't come back crying." She chuckled. "You're welcome. Just be patient with him too because he's probably going to be hesitant." He added. "Okay, I'll be back."
She was excited, but incredibly nervous at the same time. What was going to happen? Were they going to leave on good terms? Were they going to argue? Was he even home?
…
"Dude, are you sure you want to do this?" Jon's older friend asked him while loading boxes into the car. Jon took a deep breath as he taped the box shut. "Yeah…Yeah, I'm sure." His friend, who went by the name Chris, looked at him thoroughly. "What's this about, man? What happened here that you want to get a move on with this so quickly?" Jon was silent for a few minutes and finally blurted it out without really even thinking coherently. "…She doesn't love me, Chris." "What?! This is about a girl? You're dropping out of school and moving to Philadelphia to start your wrestling career early because of a fucking girl?!" Chris freaked. Jon stood up and glared at him. "She's not just a girl to me…I love her. Possibly more than wrestling." He added. "Then why aren't you with her?"
That was a tough question for Jon to answer. It was bad enough that he had to watch her with Roman every day, but now he had to talk about it. "She's with another dude. Some big ass Samoan dude who's good at football and has a badass tattoo." He scoffed. Chris rolled his eyes as well. "Ah, I see. Well, have you tried talking to her?" he asked. Jon shook his head almost rapidly. "I'm not even going to bother with that." Chris cocked his eyebrow. "Well…if I loved a girl, even if she was with another guy, I'd talk to her. Especially if you're about to leave…I think you need to tell her exactly how you feel." Jon knew he was right. He knew talking to Jessimae was the right thing to do, but he wasn't good at that type of stuff. Chris walked up to his friend and made him stop doing what he was doing so he could pay attention. "Listen, Jon. When my mom and dad were getting a divorce when I was a kid, my dad realized the night that my mom was moving out that he made a mistake and he still loved her, and wanted to be with her. He never told her that though, and a couple months later, he found out she was getting serious with this other dude. To this day, my dad is still an alcoholic, pill popper. Don't make that same mistake, dude." Chris insisted. After hearing that, Jon heard him. He heard him, and he understood.
"Hey Jon? You know who that is? She's hot!" Chris laughed, as he observed the small girl making her way down the sidewalk, just moments after their talk. Jon looked up and his heart skipped a beat. "That's her, dude." Jon said without hesitation.. "That's really her?...What are the odds." Jon picked the box back up and pretended as if he didn't even see her.
As Jessimae got closer to Jon, Scotty, and Sami's apartment, she slowed down and looked worried. All she saw was Jon loading boxes into a car with another guy. She didn't want to believe this, but she had no choice. Was she really witnessing Jon…moving away? Because of her? Was this all her fault? Where was he going? Her mind was swamped.
She walked up to the car that Jon was at with his boxes with an almost scared look. "W…What's going on?" she asked, so quietly that Jon almost asked her to repeat it. "Why aren't you in school, Jessimae?" He couldn't look at her. Hearing her voice and feeling her presence was already too much for him. "I couldn't take all the 'that's her' looks." Jon finally looked at her with sympathy. "That's my fault. I'm sorry, Jessimae." He mumbled. "No, you did the right thing. I would've done it for you." she stated. As Jon was putting a box into the car, he thought about what she just said. 'I would've done it for you.' Would she really do that for him? Knowing the way his mom was and how devious she could be?
"So, I'll ask again. What's going on here?" she mumbled. Jon looked at her up and down and cherished this last time he was going to be looking at this beauty. He loved her naturally wavy black hair that now had red streaks on the bottom. Jon always admired that she constantly changed the tips of her hair to every color imaginable. Not to mention the fact that she looked the way she wanted to, no matter where she went without a care in the world what people thought. Jon loved that. He loved a confident girl. She didn't give herself enough credit for that quality that she had. "I'm leaving. With my friend here." He replied. Chris walked up to Jessimae and stuck his hand out. "Hi, nice to meet you." Jessimae took his hand and returned the gesture. "Nice to meet you too." Chris started the car and looked back at Jon. "Hey man, I'm going drive this over to my house and get them loaded in the truck. I'll be back." Jon nodded and brought his attention back to the saddened girl.
"What do you mean you're leaving, Jon?"
"I'm moving to Philadelphia. Chris is going to bring me into a wrestling school and I'm going to start my career." He answered. Jessimae was kind of shocked. Brianna, AJ, and her always talked about being in WWE one day, but always kept it between the three of them. The fact that Jon shared that same dream made her fall for him a tad more.
"So…Just like that you're up and out?" she asked, as Jon nodded in response. "Well, what about Sami and Scotty?
"They're big boys! They can handle it!" he chuckled, walking up to the house.
"Jon this isn't funny! You can't leave." She shouted, slamming the door behind her.
"Why? There's nothing here for me, sweet cheeks! Staying here is pointless!" He shouted back.
"Well…What about me?" she whispered, tears started to well up in her eyes.
"What about you? You've made it very clear to me what really matters to you, Jessimae." He shot.
"If I made it so clear then why am I here?"
That particular question actually stunned him for a second. He didn't know how to answer it. Jon had no clue as to why she was there. Did she want to talk? What about?
"I don't know, Jessimae. Why are you here? Something you're trying to say?" he retorted.
"…Because I wanted to talk to you. But beings that you're leaving…I don't think what I have to say really matters." She pouted.
"What Jessimae! You gonna stand there and beg me not to go just so I can sit back and watch you suck face with Roman?! You gonna beg me not to go so I can continue to suffer without you?" he finally snapped.
"Jon that's not it…I don't know I…" she began to speak but was cut off.
"THEN WHAT JESSIMAE?! WHY ARE YOU HERE? WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME THAT'S NOT GOING TO CONTINUE TO BREAK MY HEART?!"
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU NEVER TOLD ME, JON! ALL THOSE YEARS YOU HAD A CHANCE, BUT WAITED UNTIL I GOT WITH ROMAN TO TELL ME! WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME LIKE IT'S MY FAULT!?" she sobbed.
Jon hated to admit it, but Jessimae was right. He had so many chances to befriend her and be with her, but he decided to not take the chance. It truly was unfair to yell at Jessimae.
"…I gotta be in Philly by tomorrow." He calmly changed the subject, walking to his room. He tried not to acknowledge Jessimae crying in front of him. He just wanted to hold her tightly in his arms and kiss her all over.
"Jon, don't leave, please!"
"HOW IS IT GOING TO BENEFIT ME IF I STAY?! WHAT IS THERE LEFT FOR ME IF I STAY, JESSIMAE?! YOU OBVIOUSLY WANT ME TO STAY SO BAD! WHY?!"
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU JON!"
Jon's lips slowly parted, as he repeated what she said over and over again in his head. He had to make sure he understood her correctly, because that came out of left field.
"…W…What did you say?" he whispered, walking closer to her, baby steps at a time.
"That's what you have if you stay…Knowing that I do love you, Jon." She sobbed.
Jon walked up to her and clenched onto her hips, instinctively. "You do?" he whispered. He could feel his heart pick up speed. Jessimae nodded, holding tightly onto his bulky biceps. "How long have you felt that way?" She wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to keep eye contact with him, but it was very difficult. "When you kissed me under the steps at school that day…I believe that's where it all started." "…But if I stay…You won't leave Roman will you?" he mumbled, hoping that he now had a chance, beings that she confessed. Jessimae didn't say anything. She wanted to be with Jon, but couldn't leave Roman. There was proof enough over the past few months that anything with Jon was too risky. Jon knew when she didn't say anything what her answer to that was, and that was it for him. "Jessimae, I'm leaving for Philly after Scotty gets home. I'll be back by this weekend to see Sami, but that's the only time I'll be back here." He stated, with tears starting to well up. Jessimae started to sob harder and walked over to the kitchen sink and leaned over it. She was so confused, hurt and lost. She wasn't sure if she should've even come here, but at the same time she's glad she did. Jessimae didn't know what she would do with herself if she found out he moved without saying goodbye.
Jon walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he nuzzled his face deep in her hair. "Please, don't go." She cried. "I have to. I can't stay here." He whispered, turning her around to face him. He kissed her forehead and laced his fingers with hers. "I can't stay here and continue to watch what I can't have. If you're going to stay with Roman, then there's no reason for me to stay."
Jessimae couldn't take the tension between the two anymore. The feelings that she had for Jon for so long has her over the edge now. The looks in each other's eyes, the holding and caressing, and tones in the voices…she couldn't take it with this kid anymore. She pulled his head down to hers and locked their lips together heatedly. Jon knew when she made this move, what this was leading to. And he was making sure he accomplished this shit this time.
He gripped the hem of her shirt and pulled it off in one quick swoop as she did to him right after. She traced his fingers down his chest and abs earning little moans from him. Jon leaned in and passionately kissed her again, but this time picking her up and taking her to the bedroom, remembering to pick their shirts up as well. Not that he wanted to waste time doing that, but just in case Chris came back.
He layed her down on the bed, never breaking the heated kiss, as they both kicked their shoes off and fidgeted with their belts. They didn't want to waste any time with each other. Jon kicked his pants off as he sat up and pulled Jessimae's off, then throwing them behind him. She felt a little overwhelmed when she saw his erection through his boxers, but she wasn't stopping it this time. She couldn't. Even if her conscious told her to, it wasn't happening. He kissed her neck gently, licking up to her earlobe and nibbling it as she reached down and grabbed his hard cock in the confinements in his boxers. Moans and deep breaths escaped both of their lips as they toyed with each other for minutes before they finally got tired of the foreplay. Quickly, they shed off their underwear so they were now completely naked on each other. "Make love to me, Jon." She breathlessly whispered when she felt his cock brushing against her soaking wet mound. "What was that?" he smirked, rubbing his head in between her lips and circling around her opening. "I want you to make love to me." she moaned, grabbing his shoulder blades even tighter. Jon smiled at her with his forehead laying on hers and gave her one more long kiss before he sunk himself into her. "Mmm, you feel so good." He nearly growled, savoring her wetness. Jessimae couldn't even find the words for this kid. He felt amazing, everything about him. His gentle touch, his soft kisses, his slow movements, his sweet nothings that he kept whispering in her ear that were making her so dizzy that she thought she was levitating. Jon picked up his pace as he held her tightly underneath him and took one of her alluring nipples into his mouth and let it go with a loud pop, causing her to go over the edge. He loved what he was able to do to this girl. All the faces she was making were showing him that she did not want him to stop, and the wetness in her pussy that was increasing rapidly was now driving him over as well. She clawed at his back with her right hand and slipped her left hand through his honey blonde locks as he sucked the sensitive spots of her neck again. Jessimae felt her body start to quiver underneath him when she felt him pick up more speed. "I love you, Jessimae." He whispered into her neck. She wanted to say 'I love you too', but she was far too busy trying to contain herself and stop gnawing on her bottom lip as her orgasm was washing over. Jon felt her walls tighten around him incredibly and not too long after came all over his cock. That was his cue and finally emptied himself inside her right after she was done.
He was glad she did because he didn't know how much longer he could hold out on this girl, and he definitely didn't want to let go before she did. He continued to lay on top of her, cherishing this beautiful moment with the girl of his dreams, but then it hit him quick after. That was just a hook up. Yeah, there was love there, but he was leaving and she was with Roman. Now he felt down in the dumps again. It was Jessimae's turn for feeling down now. She felt sad for the same reasons as Jon, but most of all…How the fuck was she going to tell Roman this? "Thank you." He whispered, brushing her hair out of her face. Jessimae smiled at him and pecked his lip as they stared into each other's eyes for the longest time. "I'm going to miss you, Jon." He slowly shook his head. "Shhh, don't say that. Let's not talk about that." He replied, rolling over on his back and holding her tightly into him.
…
It was awkwardly silent as they dressed themselves. They didn't really know what to say to each other, because they both knew they were going to have to say goodbye soon.
"JON! I'M BACK DUDE! WHERE ARE YOU?" Chris called out, after barreling through the front door. Jon looked over at Jessimae wide eyed and smiled. "Well, that was fucking close." He chuckled, and danced his way out the door. Jessimae just giggled at him when he left. He was too adorable without even trying to be. That silly dance he always did, even in school, where he held up his hands and moved his shoulders back and forth as he bounced his way out the door. She couldn't get enough of him and his lunatic ways. "What were you doing?" Chris asked. "I was talking to Jessimae." He replied, pulling a beer out of the fridge. "Is she okay?" Jon nodded while taking a big sip. "That's good. She seemed sad when she walked up to the house." He added.
Jon looked over when he saw her walking down the hall way, adjusting her shoe. "Scotty should be home soon." Jon said to her, looking at her up and down meticulously, letting it sink in that he just made love to this girl. "Will you come outside with me?" she quietly asked him. Jon followed her outside and leaned against the railing. "I should go. It'll be awkward if Scotty comes home and…ya know." She trailed off. "Come here." He mumbled, extending his arm for her to approach him. Jessimae gladly did, and wrapped her arms around his thick torso as he held onto her tightly. You could tell by his grip that this was for sure the last time he was going to see her. "Sounds cheesy, but today was the best day of my life." He chuckled, inhaling the scent of her hair. "I'm glad." She replied. Jessimae looked up at him and cracked a weak smile. "I'm really going to miss you. As much as you annoyed the hell out of me, and pissed me off…I could never get you off my mind." She whispered. Jon kissed her forehead and stayed silent for a few minutes, just holding her.
…You know, I took your dad away from you because I remember when I was exactly like you, Jessimae." She looked up at him confused. "What are you talking about?" Jon cleared his throat and began to tell his deepest darkest secret to the only person that he knew he could tell it to. Something that he's wanted to tell her for a long time, but wanted to wait until the right time. Jon had no choice but to make this the right time.
"When I was fifteen, I was just like you. I came home to an ass beating by my mom every single night. Just cause she was a woman didn't mean shit. That woman knew how to deliver. She was a drunken heroin addict who didn't even know which way was up half the time. …I had so many chances to run away, but I had a little sister that I couldn't leave there alone…Well, one day, I couldn't take it anymore and finally called the police on her. She was getting way too violent for me to handle. I was afraid that she was going to start up on my sister soon. Unfortunately, when the police came, they noticed my underage sister and took her away from me. I told them I had a friend over eighteen that we could live with but they didn't trust me. They allowed me to go…but they weren't letting me have her at all. It was the most difficult thing I've ever experienced in my life. It was hard for me to do that to your dad, because I was just watching my life all over again. Thankfully, Adeline is eighteen and very mature so they let you stay with her." He confessed, not realizing the tear coming down his cheek.
Jessimae was absolutely stunned. She had no idea that Jon was so much like her. They shared the same history, they shared the same dreams, everything. "Where was your dad during all this?" She asked, wiping his tear away. "Prison. He's still there…for beating my mom."
The only thing she could do what shake her head slowly. "I…I don't know what to say." She whispered. "You don't have to say anything." She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. "I'm sorry, Jon." She said, feeling even more down. "You should uh…Probably go now. This is hard enough as it is." He blurted, trying to chuckle to feel better about it. Jessimae started to sob now as she held onto him tighter. "Jon, please don't go." She cried. "Jessimae, it's already booked. I called the owners of the company already. They're expecting me." She sighed and played with the string of his sweatshirt. "I really hope you succeed. And you accomplish every dream you have." She smirked, with tears streaming down her face. "Thank you. Same to you." He replied, rubbing her chin with his index finger and thumb.
She leaned up and pressed her lips to his for the longest time. They didn't need any tongue or moving involved. They just wanted each other's simple touch right now. He pulled away and took a long look into her eyes. "I'll remember how beautiful you are forever." He smiled, making her cry harder, but never breaking her smile. "…I love you, Jon." He kissed her one last time and hugged her tightly. "I love you, too." He mumbled into the crook of her neck. She pulled away and noticed Jon was fighting tears, but he wasn't doing too well with that fight. "Here, have this." She said, pulling her heartagram necklace off and putting it in his hand. Jon cocked his eyebrow at her. "Jessimae, you never take this off." He chuckled. "…It's off now." She smiled. "Well, now I'll never take it off." He laughed, putting it around his neck. "Looks better on you anyway." Jon sighed heavily and took her hand in his. Both of them just trying to buy time.
"Goodbye, Jess." She wiped her tears away and cherished his beautiful presence for a few more seconds. This was really happening. This was the last time she was ever going to see him again. "Bye, Jon." And with that, she walked down his front steps to go back to Tate's house, until she heard him call her name. "Jessimae!" he shouted. She turned around curiously. "I meant to call you Jessimae…I accidentally called you Jess earlier." She just laughed and shook her head in amusement. "Jon, you now, can call me Jess if you'd like." She shouted back. "Good, cause I get lazy." He winked.
No matter what situation, Jon always brought that damn charm back. He was certainly one of a kind.
…
Tate was laying on his couch reading some of the magazines that Jessimae left there a few weeks ago when he heard the front door open and sniffles entering the house. He looked up and saw Jessimae completely down in hysterics as she shut the door behind her very slowly. "Jessimae, what's wrong?" he asked, cupping her face gently. "He's leaving, Tate…Jon's moving to Philadelphia tonight." She sobbed. "Oh Jessimae, I'm so sorry." He whispered, pulling her in for a hug. She cried, and cried and cried in his chest for what seemed like an hour. Tate didn't know how to comfort someone like this, but Jessimae was his best friend and he'd do anything for her. "C'mon, let's go upstairs and watch movies. You'll be okay." He whispered, pulling the sobbing girl upstairs.
Jessimae watched Tate go through his stack of movies as she was deep in thought. "…I had sex with him, Tate." she confessed. Tate stopped looking through movies and walked over to her. "What are you talking about?" She didn't even bother to look at him. "I cheated on Roman…again. Jesus Christ! Tate I'm such a fucking whore! What's wrong with me?!" she cried, sitting on the bed and running her fingers through her hair. Tate towered over her and pulled her hands down so he can look at her face.
"Jessimae, don't talk about yourself like that! You're far from a whore. You're a young girl who's just very, very confused. I'm sure it's not easy loving two people at once. Especially when they're practically fighting over you. You were overwhelmed that he was leaving and it just happened. And guess what? Shit happens, Jessimae! That's life!" he preached. She shook her head and pulled his hands off her. "You don't get it, Tate. You're not in my shoes so you can't talk me into thinking everything's fine! Roman already broke up with me before just from kissing Jon. I fucked up everything."
Tate just stared at her blankly, observing all the tears sliding down her face. In the world of Tate, there was one 'good' way out of this. "I know what you need. The previous owners of this place left this stuffed in the floor boards." He said, getting excited and making his way over to the closet.
He walked back over to her with a baggy of white powder in his hands. Jessimae was completely stunned. "I…Is that cocaine?" she stammered. Tate nodded with a proud smile on his face. "Yeah, c'mon! I'll do it with you!" "Tate I should fucking slap you right now! Are you out of your mind?" she freaked. "What's wrong with this?" he asked, surprised at her reaction. Jessimae's jaw was nearly to the floor. "Are you trying to kill me, Tate Langdon?" Tate sighed and dumped the bag of powder onto his desk and made lines with his pinky. "You're really going to do this?" she asked, barely able to finish her sentence as Tate took in a whole line in one snort. He looked at her completely woozy and smiled, handing her the straw. "Please? This one time! It'll be fun, and most of all, it will definitely make you feel a lot better.
After about four minutes of thought, Jessimae knelt down by the desk, inches away from the line. She was very unsure about this, but never did well with peer pressure. Finally, tired of all the over-thinking, she took one big snort of the thick line of white powder under her nose. Almost immediately, Jessimae practically lost her sense of smell, she could barely even swallow. She was overcome with an intense amount of paranoia as well. She almost didn't know where she was at, but oddly, she kind of liked this. Never had she done something like this before, and you would think that it would be awful, but the feeling really intrigued her. "How do you feel?" Tate smirked, snorting another line. Jessimae smiled back and ran her fingers through her hair. "My head feels weird, but I…I feel great."
Minutes, and minutes went past of Tate and Jessimae going to town on this dangerous substance, and forgetting reality more and more. "I feel like someone's watching me, but I can't see them." She laughed. "Probably Moira!" he joked, making them both laugh hysterically. Jessimae held her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't feel right." Tate looked at her emotionless. "You okay?" he asked. "I don't know. First time jitters, I guess." She chuckled, feeling worse as she spoke.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the front door. It was three o' clock, which meant school was over, and only one person could know she was here. Only Jessimae was so fucked up right now that her brain wouldn't allow her to process anything. "I wonder who that is!" she jumped up quickly, literally, not knowing that it was Roman coming to pick her up. It didn't even occur to her that earlier that day, Roman was the one who suggested Tate's house. Definitely should have thought that one through before she accepted Tate's offer.
As she was making her way to the hallway, trying to follow where the knocks were coming from, she felt her eyelids getting heavier and the hallway getting narrower. "What the fuck." She breathlessly whispered to herself, as she tried to use the wall for leverage. Roman was starting to get worried after the tenth knock and decided to let himself in for the search of his girlfriend. "Jessimae!" he shouted, looking around the huge house. She tried to call for Roman, but suddenly fell to her knees, then slowly fell face first onto the floor, and without any control of her body, her eyes slowly closed and Jessimae was nothing but black, and heard nothing but pure silence. Roman ran up the steps and nearly fell backwards down the long staircase. "Jessimae!" he screamed, running over to her pale, motionless body. "Jessimae! Baby wake up! Look at me! Jessimae!"