Fic: Come Away With Me (5/6)
Author: Gardenia1786 (Chloe)
Rating: PG, maybe PG-13
Feedback: As always, yes please! summery and disclaimers, please read the previous parts.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait. School and life have been pretty rough these last few weeks. But I promise, the last part will be up very soon!
And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling on a tin roof
While I'm safe there in your arms
Jessie awoke the next morning to the sound of rain falling on the roof above her. She yawned and stretched, while looking over at her still sleeping girlfriend who was lying beside her. Or partially on top of her would be more precise. She twisted herself around and grinned goofily down at Katie, who was just beginning to wake up. Katie blinked a couple of times then matched Jessie's goofy grin. She leaned over and kissed her.
"Morning beautiful." Katie whispered in Jessie's ear, causing the other girl to giggle.
"I could definitely get used to waking up like this!" Jessie said, causing Katie to laugh. She leaned her head against Katie's and yawned.
"Yep, I could really get used to this." She simply stated. Katie wrapped her arms around Jessie and held the other girl tightly. Jessie nestled her head in the crook of Katie's neck. They laid there for a few moments in silence, before it was broken by Jessie.
"Last night..."
Grace frantically searched the halls for any sign of Jessie and Katie. She wasn't a happy camper to say the least.
Karen had called their house the night before and asked Rick if he had heard anything from Jessie. Once they figured out she was missing, Grace had gotten the third degree due to her and Jessie's recent camaraderie.
After about an hour of questioning, Grace was finally able to convince Rick and her mother that Jessie was probably at Katie's house and that she didn't know the number. It wasn't a complete lie... she didn't know Katie's home number... but she did in fact know Katie's cell. As soon as the interrogation was over, Grace had dived at the phone and called Katie's cell... but she got Katie's messaging service. She left a brief message saying they better be at school the next morning, and that they had a lot of explaining to do.
Grace paced around in front of Katie's locker. Jessie's wasn't far from their, so she figured she would be able to spot them if they headed anywhere in the vicinity of either of their lockers. She tapped her foot on the ground and sighed impatiently. 'They better get here soon...' she thought. She checked her watch. In 4 minutes they would be late for third period. She looked back up and scanned the halls, crossing her arms and leaning against the locker. She though she saw them in the distance, and strained her eyes.
'Yes, that's them alright.' Her glare was icy.
Jessie could feel Grace's glare from all the way up the hall. She held onto her girlfriend's arm tightly, enjoying the safe feeling she felt. Katie kept her close, not wanting to let her go. Jessie took a deep breath as they walked over to Grace, who was still leaning against Katie's locker.
"Well, glad to see you've finally showed up." Jessie couldn't handle any of Grace's taunts or torments, so she leveled her gaze.
"Grace, just leave us alone. You have no idea what last night was like." She closed her eyes, trying not to let her voice break.
"My mother rejected us." Grace looked over at her quizzically.
"What did she say?" Jessie shrugged and shook her head.
"Nothing, but like they say, silence can be worth a thousand words." Katie nodded and Grace just stared.
"I thought it was a picture that was worth a thousand words." Grace said, feeling bad now, trying to lighten the mood. Jessie scowled up at her.
"Not funny."
"Sorry." Grace looked at the two girls in front of her who were hopelessly in love. She felt bad for them, knowing what was happening with both Rick and Karen. She had to choose. She had to choose which side, she couldn't be in the middle. It was either her step-father and his ex wife, or her step-sister... who had become more like her own sister.
"What can I do to help?" She asked. Jessie looked up at her, surprised.
"You'll help me?" Grace gave a soft smile.
"Of course, what are sisters for?" Jessie smiled and hugged Grace.
"Thank you." She whispered into her ear.
Jessie tiptoed into her mother's house. Hurricane Karen was about to hit and Jessie knew it. She wondered how much worse it would be than when Eli lost his job, then didn't tell their mother for over three weeks. Jessie quietly shut the door behind her, and peered down the hallway. She didn't see anyone, so she assumed it was safe to move. All she had to do was get up the stairs...
"Jessica Elizabeth Sammler..." She heard a steady voice call from the kitchen. Busted. Jessie closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Time to face the music.
Jessie slowly made her way into the kitchen, and faced her mother who was sitting down at the table... waiting. Waiting for the confrontation. It was amazing how it had come down to this. They used to be so close. After everything with her mother in the hospital, Jessie was afraid to leave her side, afraid that Karen was going to get hurt again. Jessie was so young and vulnerable then. But things had changed. She had grown up and fallen in love.
And here in front of her sat that same mother, with a stone cold face on, staring up at her with cold, but questioning eyes.
"Where were you last night?" Karen asked, keeping her voice firm. Jessie shrugged. She didn't have anything to hide.
"I spent the night at Katie's." Karen was taken aback by Jessie's honesty, but in a way was thankful for it. It made that part a whole lot easier.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Karen cocked her head sideways, her voice on the edge this time. Jessie winced at the tone.
"I didn't think you'd understand." Jessie had to keep breathing, steady breaths. That would get her through.
Karen shook her head and muttered something. "What was that?" Jessie asked, feeling fear grip her heart as she looked her mother straight in the eye.
Then the words came, the words that caused everything in Jessie's once perfect world to come crashing down. They were magnified and repeated in Jessie's mind over and over again.
"I don't want you to see Katie again." Jessie was speechless for a moment, taking in the foreign words, trying to understand them before she pounded her fist on the table, shocking both Karen and herself at the show of force. She wasn't going to loose this fight laying down. She was going to fight this to the end.
"No." Jessie stated through clenched teeth. Karen looked up at her, surprised by the show of force that her daughter was displaying.
"You aren't going to see her again. End of discussion." Jessie shook her head.
"I don't believe you. I'm talking to dad." Jessie said as she went to pick up the portable phone. Karen shook her head.
"It won't help you. I've already talked to him. He agrees." Jessie's hand hovered over the phone, not sure whether her mother was bluffing or not. If she was, her father might be able to help her. If she wasn't... then things could get touchy, even more so than now. She closed her eyes and grimaced. The only thing left was reasoning.
"What can I do to get you to let me see Katie again?" She asked, coming back around to face her mother, who was still sitting in the exact same spot as when she had come in. Karen avoided Jessie's gaze.
"As of right now..." Karen paused "nothing." Jessie couldn't take it anymore.
"Fine!" She yelled and ran as fast as she could up the stairs.
Jessie relayed what happened just moments before to her girlfriend, and Katie was speechless... for once. It didn't really seem like they had an option as of what to do. If they stayed, than she wouldn't be able to see Jessie out of school ever again... or at least a very long time. She sighed into the phone, and Jessie saw her opportunity.
"We could get away, like we've been talking about." Katie was silent on the other end of the phone. She really wished it wouldn't have come to this. She didn't really want to leave, this was her home. Her family was here, her friends, everything that she had known for all of her life. But Jessie was becoming her life, and she couldn't... wouldn't loose her. She would follow her to the ends of the earth if she had to, and if her mother was going to put such a harsh restriction on them, then so be it. They would leave, they would go away. And maybe someday, somehow, they would be able to come back and live here, years from now. And Katie could live with that.
"Katie?" Jessie questioned over the phone due to Katie's sudden silence.
"Ok." Katie stated quietly.
"What?" Jessie asked, hoping she knew what Katie was referring to.
"Ok, we can go away. I'll go away with you." Jessie beamed.
"Whats the soonest we can go?" Jessie asked. Katie thought for a moment. A pang of sadness swept through her. School would be over in 3 weeks, and she would be a Senior then. She would only have one year left, and Jessie would only have two. School would be something they'd need if they wanted to get good jobs later.
Money. She hadn't thought about that one. It shouldn't be too big of a problem for awhile, her parents where very well off, and she had a sizable bank account, one that they could live off for almost a year.
But the last weeks of school... she'd just have to sacrifice. It would do murder to her GPA, but it was going to have to be something she would live with. She shook her head.
"Whenever we got plane tickets."
"Where to?" Katie laughed.
"Isn't it obvious? Colorado."
Jessie sat the phone back in it's cradle and set off to find Grace. She walked down the stairs and down the hall, stopping in front of her step-sister's room. She knocked on the door.
"What?" Came the reply from inside.
"Grace, can I come in for a second please?"
"Sure." Jessie opened the door and peered in the room, finding Grace sitting over at her desk, working on some last minute homework. Jessie closed the door behind her and sat down on Grace's bed.
"I have a favor to ask of you..." Jessie started, Grace looking up at her intently. Jessie quickly relayed their plan, including their flight information. Grace just watched on in fascination. She didn't think they'd go that far, to run away... but apparently they were. Jessie had finished a few moments before, and stared at Grace, waiting for her reaction. Grace nodded slowly.
"What do you want me to do?" Grace asked, and a look of relief came over Jessie.
"I need you to cover for us."
So will they go away? Or will they stay? Hmmm... guess you'll just have to wait until I post the conclusion! ;-) Meanwhile, why don't you drop me a line, tell me what you thought.
TBC...