Chapter II
"I met her Stace, she talked to me!" Chloe squealed as she danced around the kitchen.
Stacie chuckled as she shook her head. She smiled as she shot a short video of Chloe, sending it to Beca.
You did this! She's worse than a puppy!
"I'm glad you had fun." Stacie smiled sincerely.
"I don't think I met your cousin yesterday, actually I don't ever think I've met your cousin." Chloe stated looking over her shoulder at Stacie.
Stacie's eyes flew up, luckily, she had her back turned to Chloe, giving her a few seconds to come up with an answer. Stacie had talked about her cousin for a few years, but none of the Bellas had met her.
"I'm sure you have. Don't you remember that party a couple of years ago?" Stacie waved her hand dismissing Chloe's further questioning.
Chloe was about to speak again when Aubrey entered the kitchen. Stacie prayed to the gods above for her girlfriends perfect timing.
"Well, I better get going." Stacie announced clapping her hands together. Both Chloe and Aubrey raised a brow.
"I have that thing with some colleagues." She explained, as she kissed Aubrey goodbye.
The secret of Beca Mitchell was getting harder to keep. Stacie found herself spending most of the day with Beca. Stacie was tanning near the pool, while Beca was making some late lunch for them.
"Here you go." Beca smiled as she placed a salad and a smoothie next to Stacie.
"Thanks, Becs." She smiled looking at Beca over the top of her sunglasses.
Beca let out a satisfying sigh, as she descended into the water.
"You ready for the concert?" Stacie asked lifting her sunglasses. Beca turned back to Stacie.
"Yeah. Kind of I mean. I just got fitted for the wardrobe, and we are rehearsing on the stage next week. Wanna come?"
"Sure, why not." Stacie smiled. Beca returned the smile and splashed some water towards Stacie.
The rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool, chilling and tanning while listening to some music. Beca even got some work done, answering the phone every time it rang. As Beca used to say, there is no rest for the wicked.
"I need to get out of the city for a bit. Wanna go for a ride?" Beca sighed. Stacie raised a brow looking at her cousin.
"Sure, why not. Just need to go home to get some clothes."
It wasn't her first time her and Beca had taken a spontaneous trip. Beca owned a small cabin just a couple of hours outside the buzzling city of LA.
Stacie drove home in her car, while Beca followed on her bike.
Chloe and Aubrey were sitting on the couch, watching some romcom when Stacie entered the apartment.
"Hey babe." Stacie smiled kissing the top of Aubrey's head.
"Come sit down." Aubrey said patting the empty spot next to her.
"Sorry, I can't. I'm spending the rest of the weekend with my cousin. She's waiting outside."
"Why isn't she coming up?" Chloe asked. "I don't think we are that bad." She laughed.
Stacie gestured towards the window overlooking the street below. "She couldn't find a parking spot." Stacie simply stated pointing at the women casually sitting on the motorcycle.
Aubrey went into her and Stacie's bedroom, to help Stacie pack a small bag for the ride. However, Chloe was still looking at the woman straddling the bike. She watched as the mysterious woman removed her helmet, letting long brown hair cover her face. Chloe watched as the woman pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at the woman.
Chloe was pulled out of her train of thoughts as her phone vibrated in her pocket. She instantly smiled when she saw it was from her boyfriend, Tom. She was in the middle of replying when she heard the unmistakable raw of a motorcycle. Chloe looked up just in time to see Stacie ride away with her cousin.
Beca let out a satisfying sigh as she unlocked the cabin's front door.
"Man, I love this place." Stacie grinned as she walked past Beca.
"Me too." Beca mumbled as she followed Stacie into the cabin.
Beca was singing softly while cooking dinner. Little did she know that Stacie was listening for the doorway. Beca had been an emotional roller-coaster lately. She was stressed out, drinking during the day and Stacie could see that she was slowly falling apart.
"I don't think I've heard that song before." Stacie said, resulting in Beca jumping around clutching her hand to her chest.
"God damnit, you scared the shit out of me dude!" She exclaimed.
"Relax, I come bearing a gift." Stacie handed her a bottle of wine. Beca's eyes instantly lit up, she quickly found two glasses and poured the wine.
Stacie gladly accepted the wine.
"So, how are you? Really?" Stacie leaned on the counter, staring at Beca.
Beca huffed. "If I knew that I would be interrogated, I wouldn't have brought you."
Stacie slapped her arm playfully. Beca took a deep breath before continuing.
"I'm going to be honest. Things aren't good. Days seem to be getting harder, rather than easier, and I just want to give up." A single tear made its way down her cheek. "I feel trapped and claustrophobic. It's like I'm in a metaphorical bubble of existence and I can't quite figure out how the hell to get out of it."
Beca was full on crying now. Stacie was surprised when Beca pulled her into a tight hug.
"Shh, it's okay Becs. I got you." Stacie reassured as she softly stoked Beca's back.
Beca detangled herself from Stacie and reached for her wine. "Enough sadness for today." She sniffed before gulping down the rest of her wine.
"Whatever you say Becs." Stacie rolled her eyes but knew better than to push the topic.
Beca seemed content at dinner. They were mostly talking about Beca's upcoming bonus concert in LA.
"They girls are so mad at Aubrey." Stacie laughed leaning over the table. "She didn't get ticket to your concert and the funniest thing is, they don't know that I could get them in at any moment."
"You mean, I could get them in." Beca smirked looking over at Stacie.
"Sure, sure, whatever." Stacie waved her fork around.
Beca's phone started ringing, as they were cleaning the table.
"Mitchell speaking."
Stacie looked over her shoulder, when she noticed her cousin franticly walking around the kitchen with a towel thrown over her shoulder.
"I don't care. Fix it!" Stacie could hear how frustrated Beca was. Her hand kept running through her hair.
Beca let out a sigh as she placed her phone on the counter. She grabbed her bottle of wine, not even bothering with her glass. She took a long swig of the wine, while her other hand was searching for her cigarettes. Once she found them, she grabbed her phone and motioned to Stacie she needed a minute, before heading outside.
Once she lit her cigarette, she called Jesse.
"Don't kill me." Was the first thing Beca heard through the phone. She shook her head lightly, letting out a soft sniffle. A shiver rushed down her spine, as the cold evening wind moved swiftly across her skin.
"Sorry for biting earlier, I'm just frustrated." She admitted. Beca was not shy to admit when she was a bit too rough, especially to those close to her.
They talked about work for a while before the conversation took a more casual tone. The night was quiet, and it was exactly what Beca needed. She was used to having people around her almost 24/7, with work, interviews, traveling as well as seeing her friends and family, it was no wonder she felt drained from time to time.
It was nice to get away from the buzzling city, even if it was just for a day or two. Just talking about casual things with Jesse was a nice change of pace. They had been extremely busy with Beca's upcoming tour.
Beca let her shoulders fall as she entered the cabin. She couldn't help but giggle when she heard light snoring from the couch. Beca walked quietly towards her sleeping cousin, trying not to disturb sleeping beauty. Beca decided it was best not to wake Stacie, she had made that mistake in the past. She covered Stacie shoulders with a blanket and went to find her own bed.
In the middle of the night, Beca woke up with a jerk. She looked around the room, desperately trying to find something, anything, to focus on. She could feel her heart pounding hard against her ribs. She grabbed her shirt, in a frantic attempt to calm her breathing. Cold sweat dripping down her chest and back.
"God damnit." She mumbled once she had regained control of her body.
Once she had gotten out of bed, she slowly and quietly made her way to the kitchen. Looking toward the couch, she saw the neatly folded blanket. She shrugged her shoulder. Stacie must have woken up at some point and moved to her bedroom.
After drinking some water, Beca made her way back to her bed.
Early morning came around and Beca woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. She felt rested despite her little panic in the middle of the night.
"Smells delicious." Beca hummed as she grabbed the juice pouring both her and Stacie a glass.
"Thanks." Stacie smiled.
"So… I talked to Jesse." Beca started staring into the depth of her juice. "You and the rest of the Bellas are coming on the behind the mic tour next week, alongside tickets to the concert. However, only you, Aubrey plus one other can go visit me backstage after the concert." Beca said humbly taking a sip from her juice.
Stacie squealed and pulled Beca into a tight hug. She bounced up and down with Beca pressed into her chest.
"Okay. Okay easy." Beca smiled and snaked out from Stacie's deadly grip.
Breakfast went on without a fuss. They started packing right after. Now both standing in front of the motorcycle gearing up.
"Thanks for asking me to come with you Becs. For the tickets. Just for everything." Stacie said sincerely. Beca's smile disappeared under her helmet as she mounted her bike. She held out her hand for Stacie, to keep her steady while she got behind Beca.
"Let's go home." Beca said, making the engine roar.