"Beca, opened the door!" Jaiden winced as Chloe pounded on the door loudly and called for her girlfriend. The redhead had forced her to get out of bed and helped her to pack up all of her clothes and belongings into the two suitcases and one duffel bag she had brought them in. The task didn't take long, considering Jaiden hadn't even fully unpacked to begin with, and Chloe was intuitive enough not to push anything with the younger girl. She kept their conversations light and trivial, using the time to get to know other parts of Jaiden's past.
Chloe had just been about to knock again when the door opened and a very bewildered looking Beca was looking between herself and Jaiden.
"Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to let us in?" She prodded with the hand that wasn't holding one of Jaiden's suitcases and her girlfriend finally stepped aside, allowing them into the apartment. Beca watched her sister shuffle in, her comforter drawn around her shoulders and found herself once again at a loss for words.
Jaiden looked towards Chloe for direction as Beca shut the door behind them. She refused to look at her sister, not wanting Beca to catch onto her fear about the following day. She didn't want to admit to the older girl that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't trust her enough to protect her from her step-father. Not after she had promised to before and failed.
Chloe nodded towards the closed door across their apartment and started towards it, knowing that the younger girl would follow. Beca followed hesitantly, fully aware of her sister's unwillingness to so much as glance towards her, and stood at the doorway to their spare bedroom.
"So, this room is yours and totally feel free to do whatever you want with it. I was just going to order some pizza and then we can all sit in the living room and watch movies." Chloe set Jaiden's suitcase down and turned around to gauge her reaction, beaming. The 18 year old offered a forced half-smile and nodded at her.
"Thank you. Can I actually just grab a shower?" She asked quietly.
"Oh, yeah, of course. The bathroom is down the hall, on the left, and there's already towels and everything in there." Chloe replied quickly. With that, she turned around and ushered Beca back out into the living area.
"How'd you manage that?" Beca arched an impressed eyebrow as she and Chloe sat down on the couch together. The redhead instantly swung her feet into Beca's lap and pulled out her phone.
"I have my ways. And you totally owe me a foot rub, so get going." Chloe winked as she dialed the nearest pizza shop's number and held her phone up to her ear. Beca grimaced, but her love for the older girl beat out her mild fear of feet, and she begrudgingly started to massage. While Chloe was halfway through giving their new address, Jaiden walked quietly out of her new room and down the hallway. Just as Chloe hung up, the sound of the shower running filled the silence of the decently sized apartment.
"It should be here in 25 minutes." Chloe announced finally. Beca nodded and continued to rub the redhead's feet, smiling at her thoughtfully. "What're you looking at me like that for?"
"Thank you for going over there. I…I didn't know what to do." Beca explained herself softly. Chloe nodded in understanding and slid closer to her. She climbed the rest of the way into her lap and draped her arms around Beca's neck, while the slightly younger girl hooked her arms around her waist.
"It's okay. It'll take some time for you to get, I don't know, confident with her again. But you'll get there." Chloe assured her. Beca gazed up at her warmly and pulled her in closer, nuzzling into her neck.
"You're my favorite nerd in the entire world." She planted an affectionate set of kisses up the older girl's neck and then rested her head back against the cushions.
A full half an hour later, there was finally a knock at the door and Chloe was forced to get up to go and get the pizza. Just as she did, the bathroom door opened and a wet-haired Jaiden walked into view from the hallway with a towel draped around her shoulders.
"Hey, the food's here." Chloe announced as she spotted the younger girl. Jaiden nodded slightly and followed her into the kitchen, pushing her hair back out of her face and sitting down on one of the stools at their new counter. Beca hesitantly took the spot next to her and offered a small smile. Jaiden made half an attempt to return it before glancing off to the side. The kitchen was filled with a vaguely uncomfortable silence as Chloe reached into the cupboards and pulled out a few plates. The redhead set them in front of the two other girls before taking the last stool and turning to look at them both.
"One of you should just say something because this is getting super tense," She deadpanned, giving her girlfriend a look that screamed 'you first'. Beca let out an annoyed huff before slapping a piece of pizza down onto her plate and looking towards Jaiden.
"What can I do to make this easier for you?" She asked, drumming her fingers on the counter nervously. She never knew what to say when people were dealing with something. Maybe it was because she liked to be alone when she was struggling. Maybe it was just because she was bad with people.
"Nothing. You're fine. You guys are fine." Jaiden replied quietly. The teenager stared down at her empty plate and rested her chin in her hands.
"You don't even have to go in, Jay. Just tell Chloe and me what you want us to grab and you can stay in the car, doors locked." The brunette offered. Jaiden glanced towards her for a second, considering the new option, before nodding.
"Yeah." She decided.
"That's a really good idea," Chloe spoke up, staring at her girlfriend approvingly. She had been toying with the idea for a while, but wanted to see if Beca would come up with it on her own.
"Okay. Then that's what we'll do." Beca said firmly.
"I don't really need a lot. Just my guitar, a couple books, and my car keys." Jaiden seemed to liven up a bit, no doubt feeling safer about the possibility of the next day. She looked at Beca with a newfound gratitude and then sighed guiltily.
"I'm not really that hungry and I think I'm just going to go to bed. Thanks for, you know, everything." She stood up from the stood and put her plate back into one of the cabinets. Chloe and Beca watched, mildly concerned, as she walked out of the kitchen and into her room. The door shut behind her softly and she relaxed now that there were no eyes on her. The 18 year old had caught sight of a picture of the Bella's hanging on the wall behind her sister when they had been sitting at the counter, and it hit her that she had been ignoring Stacie for days. Jaiden took a deep breath before pulling out her phone and dialing the older girl's number.
"Jaiden?" She picked up on the third ring.
"Yeah, hey."
"Where have you been? Is everything okay?" Jaiden could hear the worry in her voice and bit her bottom lip guiltily.
"I'm fine. Everything's okay. I just…I had to deal with some stuff."
"What stuff? Did I do something wrong the other night or?"
"God, no," Jaiden shook her head and started to pace around the room. "You're great, seriously. I just…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly.
"What is it? You can tell me." Stacie told her gently.
"I've told you that there're some issues with my family, right?"
"Yeah, once. Did something happen with Beca?"
"No, no. I actually just moved into an apartment with her and Chloe. But…but I have to go home tomorrow to grab the rest of my stuff and it's just…it's freaking me out. I'm sorry." Jaiden explained herself awkwardly, still a bit hesitant to be this honest.
"Don't apologize. I was just really worried. Is there, like, anything I can do?"
"No. Well, not with this. But do you want to grab coffee on Sunday?" Jaiden asked hopefully.
"I would love to," Stacie paused for a moment. "I'm glad you're alright. I had a really nice time the other night."
"I did too. Thank you for, um, being so understanding. I'll see you soon." Jaiden breathed out in relief.
"No problem. See you soon." Jaiden heard the call drop on the other end of the line and sat down on her bed, feeling immensely better about that situation. Though her nerves were still shot from days of worrying, Beca had managed to calm them slightly with the whole 'staying in the car' plan. Just as she plugged her phone into her charger and sat it on her nightstand, there was a gentle knock at the door. A few seconds later, Beca poked her head in.
"Hey, can I come in?" She asked. Jaiden nodded and sat down on her bed with her legs crossed. The older Mitchell let herself in and closed the door behind her before sitting down beside her sister.
"You okay?"
"Mmhmm. I mean, obviously I'm a little on edge about the whole thing." Jaiden admitted. Beca laid a hand on her arm and squeezed it encouragingly, hoping she could offer at least some sort of comfort to the younger girl.
"Understandable. I was thinking we could leave around 8? That way, you know, we can get in and out and still have most of the day?" Beca suggested, making sure to keep her voice optional. She wanted Jaiden to know that she had complete control over the situation, and all of her plans were completely optional.
"Okay." The younger girl agreed and then tried in vain to suppress a yawn. She looked absolutely exhausted and it was obvious she was fighting off sleep.
"Alright. You should get some sleep then. I'll get you up at like, 7:30. Except it'll actually probably be Chloe getting us both up." The smaller girl gave her sister's arm one last squeeze before standing up from the bed and starting towards the door.
"Thank you, Beca. I'm…I'm sorry-"
"Don't apologize. I don't know what you were even going to say, but there's nothing you need to be sorry for. I'll see you in the morning. Love you." Beca cut her off firmly and fell silent. She nodded instead of trying to argue and watched the brunette turn back around and open her door.
"I love you too." She murmured, just loud enough for Beca to hear. The brunette managed not to turn back around, and felt heat rush to her face as she closed the door behind her. Beca started towards her and Chloe's bedroom with a tiny smile upturning the corners of her lips. By the time she was crawling into bed, however, it had disappeared at the thought of the following day.
"How's she doing?" Chloe asked, rolling over in bed so that she could look at her girlfriend. Beca shrugged and scooted closer, until their noses were practically touching.
"She's scared. Tired."
"And you are too?" Chloe prodded.
"Yeah. Can we just go to sleep?" The younger girl replied, feigning a yawn for effect. Chloe nodded in understanding and kissed the brunette's forehead.
"Goodnight, Beca. I love you."
Stay tuned for the next chapter: it's going to be an angsty one. I hope you guys are digging the story so far and feel free to tell me what you think?