Jane slept in – or at least she tried to which was really hard with two brothers who were early risers and parents who couldn't have one day without yelling at each other. She lay still and listened to the voices that were filling the hallways.
The door to her room flew open and her father walked in, followed by her mum who clearly wanted to protect her. Jane closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. It was the best tactic to just wait until the storm passed. She didn't even care what he wanted from her this time. A quick mental check told her that she had done all the chores properly.
Giving no reaction would take the wind out of his sails quickly as she knew, so she just waited and breathed.
Her holidays were almost over ,and he yet still told her to get a job instead of laying in bed like a lazy ass. Jane had heard the speech before. She began to loathe her father. He waved a sheet of paper telling her that he was most definitively not going to pay for her drivers' license. Obviously, taking care of everything wasn't enough for him. Who did he think mowed the lawn regularily? Who brought the boys to bed after doing homework with them every night while he was out having fun?
Because if Jane was sure of something, it was that her father wasn't at work every evening. She had never intended to ask him for the money, so it must have been her mother. She gave Angela a quick glance. The matriarch was flustered and held up a hand in an attempt to stop him.
Her eyes caught the movement in the hallway. It was Maura who had come to witness the commotion. Well, Jane thought, Maura would most certainly like it, thinking that Jane deserved that.
The brunette sat up and pulled her legs closer, eying her father who was running out of rage to her non reactional behavior.
"Is that all?" she muttered after he had finally turned silent. Her voice was calm and composed stating that he could do her nothing. Never show your pain, Jane thought, being anything else than calm and composed.
He glared at her and then threw the papers to the floor before stomping out of her room. Her mother shooting glancing between them, as if figuring out who to follow.
Jane waved her off, standing and reaching for her jeans.
"Janie, I didn't mean to…" her mother began with a helpless expression on her face.
"I know." Jane said, walking past her and Maura after getting dressed.
"See you later." She shouted over her shoulders as she made her way down the stairs into the garage for her bike. She was listening all the while, hoping that no one would follow her, and they didn't.
She cycled down the road, noticing that it would be the perfect day under different circumstances. The sun was shining bright, and the temperatures were just warm and nice.
She stayed out much longer than she usually did. The pain in her chest was just too much but she didn't cry. Jane Rizzoli never cried because she was too proud for that. By the time she returned to her home the house was dark. She wondered how the boys had gotten to bed and who had tugged them in. Despite displaying a huge trait of macho during the day they could turn pretty mushy at night.
Janes feet were heavy as she walked upstairs, checking on them. Her father had shot her a simple glance as she had passed him. The TV was on but he didn't pay it any attention as he fumbled with his mobile. Jane assumed that he had a girlfriend or so judging by the smudge grin on his face.
The boys were fast asleep and she silently closed the door to their room, walking into her own. She sat down at the desk and took a sticky note, scribbling a few words before bringing it together with a make-up gift to Mauras door.
She didn't want to be friends, but she somehow didn't want to be enemies either as mentioned before. With a sigh she turned when the door opened behind her. Maura glanced around, noticing the gift and glancing at Jane who simply shrugged before walking back into her room.
You probably don't need this anymore – at least not now – but maybe next month.
These were the words she had scribbled onto the sticky note which soon appeared in her vision after Maura had walked in and sat down to the edge of her bed again.
Jane was afraid that these nightly visits were becoming a habit and groaned.
"What?" she asked, sounding slightly defeated. "Just wanted to say that I'm sorry for yesterday." She added with a shrug. She was trying really hard to read Mauras mind but couldn't decipher what the blonde was thinking. Was she mad? Was something wrong with the message? Jane who had no period had no idea how that worked.
Maura gave her a curious look. The silence was eerie, and Jane tried not to bite her lips. Show no emotions she reminded herself.
"You bought tampons for me?" Maura asked, sounding slightly curious and Jane shrugged again.
"Guess so." She mumbled thinking of how complicated it had turned out to be with having no clue. All the different brands and sizes had made things very complicated, and she had ended up making a fool of herself when asking a female clerk to explain the differences. BUT, she wanted to choose the right ones for her peace offer in fear to further the insult that Maura obviously felt.
"As a what? Peace offer?" now Maura sounded slightly amused, and Jane rolled her eyes before giving another shrug.
"Take it or leave it, I don't care." She muttered, feeling like a fool now that Maura had pointed out to her how silly it was.
"No, no no no no no! This is really…. Well, I think its somehow…" Jane watched as Maura was looking for words. She couldn't help but notice how the soft light from the bedside table made Mauras hair shine golden.
"Stupid." Jane offered, feeling stupid indeed. A slight blush crept up her neck and reached her cheeks.
"I wouldn't call it silly." Maura said as a small, yet warm smile broke out on her otherwise so serious face. "More interesting and stunning… and well, original. You definitively know that a woman hates the usual stuff like chockolate or flowers. At least me." Maura was now grinning which made Janes heart jump a little.
Jane was speechless, trying not to ruin everything by saying something stupid like "They do?"
"Anyways. Apology accepted and thank you. I'm also sorry, things got out of hand and…" Maura broke the silence. Now it was Maura who suddenly blushed. Jane would have loved to hear the rest of the sentence, feeling like Maura had wanted to say something important.
Jane waited a moment, hoping that Maura would finish the sentence and then said: "Well, I'm glad you like it... the idea I mean."
It only occurred to her that the petite probably might not be the spoiled rotten brat if she was delighted by such a humble present. At least she had achieved to make her smile which in turn made her lips curl up a bit.
Sleep came easy as she was exhausted due to hanging around all day and her emotional distress that always caused her to get very tired. In her dreams she was on holiday by the sea, having a good time with Maura. The thought of Maura stuck to her for a great part of the following day, when she found her favorite spot on the park deck of the mall.