When her birthday count brought Jessie in at under one hundred days left, she felt her heart speeding up. So many things seemed to be going right in her life now. The directors had approved her script, making only two changes to it, they had asked her to be on set when the production began, and she was less than one hundred days away from getting out of the Davis household.
School was quickly winding to a close, and when the first day of summer hit Jessie, she smiled broadly, unable to contain her excitement. She even spared the senior a few, polite parting words before she slammed her locker, grinning as she watched him flinch, and practically skipped towards the double doors at the end of the hall that secured her freedom.
"Goodbye school," she whispered, secretly thrilled that she had managed to graduate a year early and skip the graduating ceremony. After all, no one that she wanted to come would be there, and the Davises might not want to come at all, so why bother? With her diploma in her backpack, Jessie began her trek home feeling lighter than she had in a long time.
A week. That was all there was left until her birthday. Jessie rolled over on her bed, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to block out Diana's droning voice. Diana had a terrible habit of following Jessie around just to get on her nerves. She excelled at it.
"One more week," Jessie muttered to herself, pressing her face as far into her pillow as she could without suffocating herself. A while ago, she might have tried it, but now, there was too much to live for.
"Oh I know, and I told her exactly that, but do you think she would listen to me? NO!" Diana went on, waving her hands around as she spoke into her sleek little cell phone. Jessie couldn't help but smile whenever she saw that cell phone. Diana pranced around like her phone was the best, yet Jason had given her, Jessie, a newer, better model.
"There are just some things that people shouldn't know about," Jessie thought with glee. Diana would be furious if she knew that Jessie even had a cell phone, much less a better model than she did.
"And you know, she's just trying to worm her way up the ladder any way she can," Diana went on, no doubt talking to a nurse colleague about another nurse. With the way Diana was smirking, Jessie had no doubt that whatever news she was giving her friend would be all over the hospital in a couple of hours. She pitied the poor nurse they were talking about.
Six more days. Each day now seemed to drag on for an eternity before the sun finally set and ended the day. Jessie slipped out the door when Mrs. Davis wasn't looking and scrambled for the library where she could find some peace and quiet for a few hours.
The librarians knew her because she came in frequently, so Jessie waved and then headed towards the back aisles of the establishment where she knew she wouldn't get caught. Slipping her cell phone out of her pocket, Jessie switched the volume completely off and then checked for texts. There were three from Jason, one from Nate, and two from Shane.
Eagerly, she opened Nate's first, saving Jason's for last. "We can't wait to see you," it read. Jessie felt touched and quickly texted a thank you to the youngest Grey boy.
"Help me!" Shane's read. Jessie laughed and moved to the next text to see what Shane needed help with. "Jason's talking about you CONSTANTLY!!" Jessie laughed and texted back with a sweet, "LOL!" and moved on to Jason texts, her heart speeding up.
Though she hadn't known him for very long at all, Jessie knew that this was the boy that was destined for her. Perhaps it would take more time for him, but already she was thinking of what kind of wedding dress she might like.
"Stop it!" she mentally shouted at herself, turning back to Jason's texts. Now was not the time to be rushing into marriage after one date and an admitted love for each other.
"Miss you like crazy," said the first text. "Heading out across the US for you right now," said the second one. "Only six more days!!" crowed the last one. Jessie smiled broadly and texted a reply back to her boyfriend. She looked up and smiled as she caught sight of one of the librarians shelving books and discretely ignoring the fact that she was using her cell phone in the library. Yes, Jessie would miss this place of peace and quiet.
Five more days. Jessie gritted her teeth as Mrs. Davis handed her a bucket of soapy water and directed her out towards the two cars in the driveway that needed to be washed. She could do this, she told herself, resisting the urge to turn around and dump the water on her foster mother's head.
"Just five more days," she told herself in an effort to calm down. "You can do it. Just five more days." She glared at the two cars and set to work as quickly as she could.
Four more days. Jessie escaped to the park and spent the day swinging up towards the sky, dreaming about a certain person that would soon be coming for her. When the sun finally set, Jessie heaved a sigh and slid off the swing, her legs burning slightly from the strain of swinging most of the day. However, she was happier than she had been in a long time, which made the achy muscles worth it.
Three more days. Jessie tried to remain calm as she babysat her foster brothers while her parents and Diana went to dinner to celebrate Diana's sudden promotion.
"Simon, stop it," Jessie said authoritatively as she watched one of the twins try to choke his brother. Simon glared at her, but reluctantly let his brother go. Almost immediately, his brother Steven pounced, and Jessie had to start all over again, bribing them into good behavior by watching a movie. "Twerps," she muttered under her breath.
By the time the night was over, Jessie was exhausted and fell into bed stiffly. She drifted off into sleep, not even caring about Diana's dronings about how the night had been. She was too tired to care.
Two more days. Jessie began to feel anxious, excited, and nervous. The day passed in a blur and she had a difficult time getting to sleep. Just two more days and she would be out of this house and in Jason's arms. "Go to sleep," she commanded herself. "He'll come faster if you do."
One more day. Time felt as though it was never going to move again. The clock barely budged all morning, and Jessie escaped by slipping out the back door so that she could head to the park in order to relieve her nervousness. She ran a hand over the rungs of the swing, realizing that, if she could help it, she would never be back again. She kicked off the ground and gave her favorite swing one last chance to shoot her to the stars.
Jessie awoke on her birthday at seven, her heart pounding. She'd stayed up late last night and had therefore waited until Diana was asleep to pack her backpack full of her clothes, leaving everything her foster family had given her on her carefully made bed. She didn't want them accusing her of taking anything, no matter how small the item might be.
The clock read fifteen minutes past seven when she finally finished dressing and perched herself on her bed, taking deep breaths in order to calm herself. She whipped out her phone since she was alone and texted Jason to ask where he was. Almost immediately, she got a reply.
"I'm outside waiting for you," the text read. Jessie's heart gave a leap. She was really going to get away!
The clock was agonizingly slow as number after number flashed on its illuminated face. Soon, there was only one minute left, and Jessie stood, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. She looked around the room once more and then left, shutting the door in a decided manner as she left it behind and strolled down the staircase one last time.
With her heart hammering, Jessie strolled into the kitchen and found all the Davises eating breakfast. She cleared her throat to direct the attention towards herself and said, "Just wanted to say goodbye," just as the doorbell rang. Jessie grinned. Jason was right on time.
"What do you mean?" Mrs. Davis asked, confused.
"I'm leaving," Jessie said simply, heading out into the living room towards the door. If they cared, they would follow her.
She heard the sound of chairs being pushed back and then Mr. and Mrs. Davis, along with the twins and Diana were standing in front of her, glaring at her. "You can't just leave," Diana told her haughtily.
"As a matter of fact," Jessie said, opening the door to reveal Jason standing there, "I can. Since I'm sure you all forgot, today's my birthday and I'm old enough to leave you all. I thank you very much for your hospitality, goodbye!"
Diana gasped, and the Davises looked shocked. "This is a trick!" Diana screeched, outraged.
Jason spoke for the first time, and Jessie's heart trembled slightly as she heard him speak in person for the first time in months. "No trick," he said, and pulled Jessie in for a long kiss. When Jessie pulled away, Diana's face had turned an unbecoming shade of purple. She gave a little wave and let Jason escort her out to his car, knowing that the Davises couldn't do anything about it. She was her own adult, and she could do as she pleased now.
Jason held her hand tightly as he climbed into the driver's seat and pulled away from the curb, neither of them looking back as the house disappeared from view. "Happy birthday," he told her softly as his hand tightened lovingly around hers.
She smiled back at him and nodded. "The best," she assured him.
A/N: YES! I don't know about you, but I'M happy!! LOL! Hope you guys enjoyed it, and thanks for patiently waiting for this one. Hope it was slightly worth it! You guys are all awesome! :D