The weekend passed without incident, bringing them into Monday.
Metal tried to refrain from checking in too often with Jess and relied on his brothers to casually fill him in with information they got after taking turns texting her.
He didn't want to become a nervous mother hen, but after their 'mission' the previous Wednesday he found himself a little too preoccupied worrying about the girl. She was already falling back into old habits, her housemates weren't the sort to support healthier living choices and he hated how easily they got into the house without detection. Jess was one of the worst out of all the girls for not being remotely aware of their presence! The kid was oblivious. She would have been an easy HVT. In fact, if all of their HVT's were like her they'd be home by dinner every time they got spun up to go after one.
Still. Jess seemed happy, for now at least. Metal couldn't fault her for that. The moment she started to sing with Zoe he knew he couldn't tell her she was coming back to live with him, and the more she bantered and carried on with her friends he grudgingly had to admit this was where she needed to be. For now.
Deep down he promised himself it wasn't permanent. The second she wasn't happy anymore, or there was a whiff of her not feeling safe, she was back with him. He didn't care if it complicated his life a bit, her living with him. That could get figured out. He just needed to make sure it was her idea because there was no way he wanted her to feel like he was acting like her mother and telling her she couldn't make it alone.
"You coming out to the Bulkhead tonight, Big Guy?" Sonny asked as they headed home at the end of the day.
"I got a lot of whiskey drinking to catch up on, so yeah."
"You really did cut back while you had Jess with you, didn't you. Might help you get your mind off worrying so much, brother bear." Sonny commented coyly. "Between you and big Papa Bear Jase over there, we're all getting run ragged. Think we should drag him out too?"
Metal gave Sonny a steely glare and said nothing.
"Oh, don't get me wrong! I'm worried about our girl too! All I'm saying is it won't do us any harm having a night off from it here and there."
"Maybe." Metal grunted. Digging out his keys and nodding silently to the others as they began to part ways to their own vehicles.
Metal's phone buzzed with a distinct call pattern and he answered it without looking, staving off concern.
"Jess."
The dispersal of Bravo paused and they casually lingered. Jess didn't typically call any of them. She usually relied on texting.
"Hi,"
She sounded tight and shaky, like she'd been crying. Metal swore mentally, keeping his voice level.
"What's going on?" He asked with neutrality.
"So, you know how you said I needed to ask for help more and not worry about being a pain in the ass?"
"Yeah, I remember."
"Well…um…any chance you're headed home in the near future?"
"Yeah, I'm just about to leave base. What do you need."
Jess drew a long, shaky breath and her voice pitched a little higher, "My truckie…is done. Like…overdone…like burnt toast."
"What happened? You ok?"
Those two questions quieted the men around him further and they waited.
"I-I'm ok…but, remember when you were deployed and I mentioned my truckie was having issues…and then you told me I should just burn it? Well…you kinda got your wish…it caught fire."
Swearing, Metal rubbed his chin. "Is it still on fire? You better not be anywhere near it!"
Around him his brothers exchanged pained, worried looks, shifting from foot to foot.
"No! No, it's not on fire anymore. I put it out."
"What the hell do you mean you put it out !?" Metal ground out, ramming his forehead into the side of his truck.
"Um, well," Jess's shaky voice shrunk in response to his tone. "I didn't want it to blow up or something so I popped the hood just a little and used the fire extinguisher on it and it went out!"
Dragging in a long, controlled breath and exhaling with deliberate slowness, Metal counted to ten before saying in a barely controlled tone, "If you aren't far away from that damn death trap, get the hell back from it in case it starts up again. Don't grab anything from it. I don't want you within a hundred feet of it. If it starts burning again don't even think about trying to put it out yourself again. You got that!?"
"Yup."
"Good. Now, where the hell are you? I'm coming to get you."
"In the plaza just off Kempworth." Jess said, quietly.
"Did you call 911 for the fire department yet?"
"Am I supposed to when it's not burning anymore?"
"YES!"
He didn't mean to raise his voice so much. He really didn't, but there was something about the kid's lack of self-preservation that jabbed him too deeply, getting the better of his patience more than anyone else could.
"Ok. I'll go do that now."
The smallness in Jess's voice didn't help anything and frustration he'd usually been able to control boiled under the surface.
"I'll be there in 20 mins." Metal told her shortly before hanging up.
Slamming the door of his truck, he let the engine start, only pausing to put the window down when Jason approached.
"She ok?"
"That damn rustbucket finally caught fire, and then what does she do? She decides it's a good idea to try putting out the flaming engine by herself!"
"She's not hurt?"
"Said she was ok, but we'll find out."
"Ok, well, try not to bury her too deep," Jason said, the clipped tone and quick rub of his chin giving away his own spike of anger. "I get wanting to knock some sense into her, but we gotta remember she hasn't had anyone to teach her this stuff. There's bound to be gaps in her common sense."
The irony of that statement was that Ray had said something similar to them both the other night when they wanted to drag her ass out of Ingrid and back somewhere safer.
Metal growled a noncommittal response and drove off.
By the time Jess spotted Scott's truck pull into the plaza, she'd already been given yet another stern lecture from the Fire Chief, told she could empty out the vehicle (thankfully she'd cleaned it out recently and could fit everything into her bag), signed off her poor, tired old truckie to a scrap dealer and used that to pay for the towing fee.
Dealing with her engine on fire wasn't nearly as scary as seeing Scott's face when he got out of the truck. At first glance he seemed his usual self, but Jess was hyper aware of people's emotions and she could practically taste the fury around him.
She almost wished she'd called Trent instead, or Clay. Hell, any of them besides Jason and Ray might not be as angry as Scott was right now.
"Are you ok?" Scott asked in a neutral tone, glaring at the charred rust bucket that was being loaded up to get towed while the fire trucks pulled away.
"Yes." Jess told him, ignoring the way her one hand was throbbing. She realized later that she might have burnt it a little when she popped the hood, but there was no way she wanted to add to anything by telling him that. He hadn't been this mad since she told him about his ex telling lies about him at the Bulkhead and that hadn't been directed at her. This time she was pretty sure it was and every single one of her defenses rose, forcing her back on her old coping skills from back when she'd needed them on a daily basis.
Still not looking at her, he jerked his head at the wreck and the tow truck. "That's all been taken care of?"
"Yes."
"You don't need those paramedics before they take off?"
"No."
"Get in the truck."
Jess did as she was told, breathing shallow and back stiff.
They sat in silence for a while and Jess tried to ignore the growing stinging, throbbing pain of her hand that she kept carefully turned down against her quads. She couldn't press it down all the way though, which was what probably tipped off Scott.
What calm there had been starting to settle over him reignited into fury again as he pulled over suddenly, put the car in park and turned to her.
"I'm gonna ask you one last time if you got hurt when you put the damn fire out, and if you lie to me again I'm going to be unbelievably pissed off and I can't promise you I won't raise my voice."
Swearing multiple times in her head, Jess blinked rapidly and looked at the ceiling while slowly turning over her hand so Scott could see her palm.
His voice was so deadly quiet that it was worse than if he'd yelled at her.
"Why the fuck didn't you let the paramedics look at that?"
Voice shaking, Jess replied, "Because I can't afford an ambulance ride if they decided I had to go to the hospital…again!"
"Do you have any idea how easy it is for burns to get infected?!"
"They're not that bad! They haven't even blistered!"
"Give me your hand."
"It's not that b-"
"Jess. Hand. Now."
Digging deep into the rational side of her brain, Jess drew on her trust and repeatedly promised herself that he wouldn't hurt her no matter how mad he was. Slowly, she forced her upturned, burnt palm towards him.
As she should have predicted, he took it without an ounce of roughness and looked it over carefully before swearing and shaking his head with a deep frown.
"No blisters, my ass. You have four already. You're lucky they aren't bigger."
He let her go and put the truck into drive again.
"They'll be fine." Jess offered in a small voice as she looked at the burns herself, trying not to cry.
Scott didn't answer.
Instead of taking her home, they ended up at his place and Jess didn't dare question it when he wordlessly jerked his head for her to follow him inside.
Being back wasn't as cheery as when she'd been there last time, but the cleanness, the comforting smell and the quiet air lulled Jess's anxiety despite how pissed off Scott was.
"Sit." He ordered shortly as he disappeared into the bathroom and started to rummage through the cupboard.
It didn't take long and he was back, sitting on the coffee table so he was facing her on the edge of the couch.
"Hand."
Jess held it out without a word and watched as he set about cleaning it carefully with a weird looking liquid and then spreading something over the burn that numbed it a little.
"Don't wrap it, don't expose it to heat, don't pop the blisters. Put this on twice a day."
"Thank you." Jess offered in a small voice as she watched him pack up the kit he'd brought out. "And…I'm sorry."
"For what." He asked sharply, meeting her pleading look with steel.
"For…whatever it is that I did that you're pissed off about." Jess whispered. "I know I was dumb…with the fire…I'm sorry-"
"That's not what's got to me the most, Jess." Scott shut the lid of the kit with a little more force than was necessary. "Or do you forget the promise you made when you went back to your house."
"I remember."
"Do you?" Scott's tone got heated again and it rose just a little. "Then why did you lie to me about being hurt? I thought we were past that."
Jess didn't have an answer for that because in truth it sounded dumb to say she forgot she was hurt when he first asked and then when she figured out she was she thought he would be angry with her…which she was right about except he was more pissed off now than he probably would have been if she'd just told him at the start.
"I don't know." Jess said lamely and Scott didn't answer.
After he'd patched her up he took her home. Jess took it as a win when he didn't lecture her anymore that day and that she was free from his suffocating presence in her own home. Still, the lack of teasing, or any kind of words for that matter, when he dropped her off plunged a knife deep in her gut and she felt miserable for the next day until he texted her to check how she was doing in the evening.
Tuesday was her long day and it felt longer today than other weeks. She'd just finished up in the greenhouses on campus and was waiting for the bus. She hated taking transit, especially at night and was trying to keep calm when Scott sent the message.
~ How are you doing~
The simple phrase made Jess want to weep with relief and she nearly hit the call button to ask if he'd be willing to come get her so she didn't have to take the bus. She couldn't bring herself to ask and her response took four minutes of debate.
~ I'm ok. Are you still pissed off?~
Jess hit send quickly before she could lose her nerve.
~Yes~
The one word reply made her stomach drop and her chest welled with frustrated upset. The girls had noticed something was off about her, but all she'd told them was her truckie bit the dust and she was worried about not being able to make it to placement at the end of the week now without a car. She didn't feel like sharing that the person whose opinion mattered the most to her was furious with her for being dumb and breaking a promise to him.
~ How long are you going to be mad at me?~ Jess typed, tears dripping off her nose. She scrubbed at them angrily and flicked her attention round to see if anyone waiting for the bus with her noticed. They didn't care.
~ Not sure.~
~Have you eaten?~
The thought of food only made her stomach turn, but the last thing she wanted to do was lie to him again so she was honest.
~No. I'm not hungry.~
- You better get over that. I'll be there in less than five.~
~ I'm not at home. Still on campus waiting for the bus.~
~ I know.~
Tears crawled up her throat and Jess lifted her head to watch for his truck.
Usually the sight of his truck pulling up to places made her happy inside, but instead she just felt more sick to her stomach when she saw it pull up to the curb and she had to force herself to get in.
"Hi." She said in a small voice, not able to make eye contact as she put her seatbelt on.
"Hey," Scott pulled away from the curb and took them into the roadway.
"Thank you for picking me up." Jess tired, still only barely managing to keep her voice from wobbling.
"Uh huh."
They drove in silence for the next five minutes until Scott pulled into a plaza and parked the truck.
"Alright." He said. "Let's have it."
"Have what?" Jess asked, anxiety making her jumpy and shy again as she studied the dashboard.
Crossing his arms, Scott gave a half shrug of his shoulders and said shortly, "I know you won't eat until this is settled, so let's get it sorted. What do you need to say?'
Tears started to creep up her throat again with stinging force and Jess tried to hide her shaking hands in her pockets. That hurt her burns so they had to get tucked in her armpits instead.
"How do I fix things…so that you aren't mad at me anymore?" Jess asked tightly. She felt like someone else said the words and she was just watching.
"You can start by not hiding when you're in trouble or hurt." Scott answered a little more harshly than necessary. The big, fat tears that gathered on her lashes made him draw a long, slow breath and he added, "Just because I'm pissed off doesn't mean I don't still plan on putting up with you, pipsqueak."
She forced the sob back down with a gulp when he used the affectionate nickname and she nodded.
Sighing, Scott rubbed his chin and looked out the window. "Saying this is going to make me feel yucky and I'll deny it if you tell anyone, but…the fact that I'm so pissed off over this should tell you how much I really do love you, kid. I wouldn't be mad if I didn't."
That broke the dam open and Jess started to cry.
"I really am sorry!"
"I know that."
"I don't want you to be mad at me. Please, please can we fix this?"
Something flickered through his stone expression when he looked at her and it warmed ever so slightly. "There is nothing to fix, Jess. I am allowed to be angry with you lying to me about burns on your hands after I asked if you were hurt multiple times. It doesn't inhibit my ability to still care about you."
Gulping again, Jess shook her head and said a little hysterically, "I feel like we're not good…and I need to fix it because I know I screwed up and I totally deserve you being mad at me but I can't handle it and I just…I can't- I-I need us to be good-"
"You need to take a breath ," Scott growled while adjusting his hat and shaking his head before flipping the middle console out of the way. Holding up his arm and motioning with his hand, he ordered gruffly, "Get your ass over here."
Jess cried harder as she slipped over and into the hug.
"Have you even slept since yesterday?"
She shook her head miserably, hiding her face against him and unashamedly clinging to him tightly.
"And you haven't eaten anything today, am I right?"
Jess nodded and she felt Scott draw in another slow breath.
"Have you at least drank any water?"
Still crying, this time with relief and the torrent of emotion that she didn't even know what to do with, Jess whimpered, "I drank a glass this morning."
"A glass. As in singular? Over the course of your longest day of the week you've had one glass of water, nothing to eat and no sleep?" She felt Scott scoff a little and tighten his arms while growling deeply, "What in the hell am I going to do with you? Did you seriously not sleep, eat or drink because I'm mad at you?"
Hiccupping, Jess managed to say, "Maybe…I think so. I don't know. I hate it when people are mad at me!"
With a sigh, Scott clasped her head under his chin and said bluntly, "You need more healthy conflict in your life, pipsqueak."
Shaking her head adamantly, Jess sobbed harder, "I hate conflict."
"Conflict is not a bad thing, Jess."
"Yes it is!" Jess argued, shivering now and trying to get enough air as she cried. "People…people blame you forever and stop talking to you and get passive aggressive and stop treating you like-like normal and refuse to accept your apology, or they withhold affection and then you have to do everything in your power to earn everything back and even then they bring it up and use it against you later-"
"That is not what healthy conflict looks like, pips."
"It's the only kind of conflict I know!"
"Then it's time you learned something new. Consider this your first lesson. I am absolutely still mad at you for lying to me. I also still want to talk to you, I'm still taking your skinny ass out to eat something and you can bet I'm still going to give you the hardest time ever about not drinking enough water today or sleeping. Do you need to earn back some of my trust? Maybe just a little. Is it going to take much? No. Do I know you're sorry and accept that? Yup! Will I use this against you later? Nope." Scott snorted and tightened his arms again, adding with dry humor. "You'll undoubtedly do something new for me to get pissed off about, and we'll go round again. Once this is dealt with, it's dealt with."
"You said you didn't know how long you'd be mad at me." Jess whimpered.
"That is true." Scott told her calmly. "I usually deal with being pissed off at people I care about in a completely different way than this so it'll take a little longer to cool down."
"How do you usually deal with-"
"It's not an option in this case, pipsqueak." Scott told her firmly, but with a spark of amusement. "Not unless you're secretly able to spar hand to hand with multiple different disciplines under your belt."
"Spar…wait-" Jess slowly lifted her head and the gears started to turn. "Brock and Jason said a couple of weeks ago- when you get pissed off at them, you spar- does that mean-"
"I beat the crap out of them when they piss me off? Yeah." Scott patted her head twice before pulling it back in close again, saying a little too cheerfully, "It's ok though. They beat the crap out of me too. It's the quickest, most efficient way to deal with differences sometimes."
"Y-you…beat each other up…when you're mad at each other….and you're all still friends?" Jess's voice was alarmed and muffled.
"Yeah, sometimes that's just what we gotta do. They're my brothers. I'm gonna fight with them every so often. Bam, pow, shake hands and then it's over. Done. Dealt with."
"Boys are so weird." Jess whispered.
"Efficiency is not weird." Scott insisted. "Being back-stabbing, bitchy and passive aggressive is weird. I hate it when team members can't just figure their interpersonal shit out directly."
Sniffing, Jess hid her face and drank in the relief that came with reassuring contact.
"You gonna eat for me now?" Scott asked after a few minutes.
Jess nodded.
"Good." He growled. "Let's get going. I'm hungry."
Using her sleeves to clean her face, Jess started to get out.
"Wait." Scott paused, holding out his hand and flicking on the overhead light. "Let me see that hand first."
Giving it to him without the same need for a mental pep talk as she had yesterday, Jess waited for him to finish peering at the four blisters.
"Good." He nodded, satisfied. "Let's go."
She followed close beside him across the parking lot and into his choice of restaurant. She was surprised when he picked the stone baked pizzeria. She loved the pizza carbs and had been craving them for days now, but couldn't afford to get pizza on campus.
As she should have guessed he would, Scott paid for them both and Jess didn't bother to argue. She loved pizza too much and he pulled the 'you're a college student passing up free food?' card again.
"Feel better?" Scott waited till they were both done eating to speak again.
"Yes." Jess nodded sheepishly and looked out the window. It was starting to rain.
"Good." He poured her another glass of water and shoved it across the table to her. "We got stuff to talk about."
Jess's attention slid back over to him and she took the water, waiting and praying whatever he wanted to talk about wasn't anything that would make her cry again.
"The boys and I have been asking around on base and we've got a car lined up for you. You're going to have to learn how to drive standard though, if you don't already know how."
Jess's jaw dropped and she struggled to put words together.
"Wh- Scott I can't afford a car!"
"No." He agreed calmly. "You can't. Which is why I'm paying for it, it can go in your name, and you can pay me back when you can, interest free."
"You- I-"
"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't need a car to get to placement later this week." Scott challenged quietly without malice.
"I do, but, you can't- I mean, I can't let you-" Jess broke off helplessly because she didn't know what to say or what she was even trying to say.
"Ok." Scott shrugged while folding his arms and leaning back in his seat. "If you don't want to do that, then I'm still buying the car and I'll drive it. You'll take my truck. Either way you're driving something, Jess. I really don't care which one it is. I already test drove the car and it's a decent little thing. I'd be happy to drive it."
Emotion welled up again and Jess struggled to keep it together. "I don't know what to say!"
"Well, why don't we start with you telling me why letting me do this scares you, cause I know that look, Jess. Something about this has you spooked."
Blinking, Jess tried to make sense of what he was saying. Did she feel scared?
Shit, yeah she did!
"I don't know! I didn't even realize I was until you pointed it out." Jess whispered.
Squinting at her a little, Scott paused before saying, "What makes you more nervous. The idea of driving a car that you own, but owe someone money for, or driving a car that someone else owns and you're just borrowing. We figured on you wanting to be independent and wanting to car in your own name, but I'm starting to think we misread that one."
That stab of cold went through her gut at the blunt mention of owing money to someone and Jess confessed, "I think it scares me to owe people money. It scares me to owe people anything."
Nodding, Scott shrugged again, "Ok. So you don't owe anything. I'll own the car. You're driving it. End of story."
"But-"
"You can buy it from me at any time, but as of right now you don't owe a damn thing. Got that?"
"Are you sure?" Jess eyed him anxiously, knowing right after she asked that it was a silly thing to ask.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"I can't drive standard." Jess blurted.
"Guess you're gonna have to learn, pipsqueak." Scott told her gruffly, he motioned to her phone. "Any new messages from your mom that I need to look at?"
Distracted from the fact that Scott was buying a second car for the sole purpose of having something for her to drive, Jess looked at her phone and shook her head. "She's been quiet ever since I got back to Ingrid."
"Good."
"Jeremey texted me last week though, really randomly. Just asked how my day was and that was it."
Scott frowned and went, "Uh. Maybe you got through his thick skull during his last call."
"Maybe. I think I'll keep it neutral though. Just share vague stuff maybe, if he keeps actually trying to reach out? I…I don't want to get dragged into anything, but, if he really is trying..."
"Don't give him an inch, Jess. Make him work for it and prove it. You're a sweetheart, but you're too forgiving. Don't let him off that easily, please."
"Aren't I just making him earn my forgiveness then and doing exactly what my family always does? Isn't that toxic?"
"Depends. Has he asked for your forgiveness?"
Jess rubbed her arms and sighed. "No."
Scott jerked his head as if the answer to her question was obvious. "Then no, and even if he did, it's ok for people to have to earn back your trust. In his case, there's a lot of trust for him to earn back, kid, and I may never trust him, personally."
Jess nodded. "I guess. I don't know what to do. I'm still trying to decide about getting a restraining order against mom and maybe Harold too."
"You know where I stand on it already. If you want someone to go with you to do it, I'm happy to go along."
"I think I need to think a little more." Jess sighed. "Cutting ties is so hard, even when I know I have every right to and when all the evidence says to do it…why can't I just do it?"
"You are. One step at a time, remember?"
They got up from the table and headed out into the rain.
"Is driving standard hard?" Jess asked shyly as they got back into the truck. She was humbled and beyond grateful for what he'd done, especially after everything that went down yesterday.
"You'll find out." Scott told her. "I think it's fun. Oh. The boys wanted me to ask if you had plans this weekend. We're off Friday and every year a bunch of us do a weekend camping trip up at a park about forty minutes from here, in the mountains. Emma and Mikey will be there, Naima and the kids will be there one night too."
"Ohhh," Jess perked up with interest. "I love camping!"
Half nodding his head, Scott said, "We figured you did. You wanna come?"
"Yes, but, I don't have much in the way of camping stuff anymore-"
"We got you covered. You can share a tent with Emma, she already offered, and the rest we can figure out easily enough." Scott gave her a cocky grin and said, "If there's one thing we love collecting, it's gear."
Jess smiled properly for the first time that night and said with light sarcasm, "I would never have guessed that!"
She sobered seconds later as the reality of having a car to drive hit her again.
"What?" Scott asked, not taking his eyes off the road and still somehow knowing her mood shifted.
"You do a lot…for me." Jess murmured. "And I don't understand why…I don't do anything for you."
"It's got nothing to do with what you can do for me in return, Jess, and it never has." Scott glanced at her, a serious frown tugging at his mouth again. "We don't operate like that. You know that…or at least you really should by now."
"I do…I guess…but, I still don't understand why."
"Why what?"
"Why bother with me? Why do all this? Why put up with my bullshit and-" Jess cut herself off and wrapped her arms around herself as he pulled into the drive at Ingrid.
Once the truck was in park, Scott took another calming breath and turned to her.
"You need to get it out of your head that you're not worth the time, pipsqueak. I'm doin this because I care about you and want you to be happy and safe. The rest of the knuckleheads care about you and want to look after you too. Simple as that."
Tears threatened to surface again and Jess whispered, "Why me?"
"Why not!?" Scott was rubbing the side of his face now and the scruff scraped against his fingers. "Where's this coming from, Jess?"
Blinking rapidly, Jess shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes the reality of having you all looking out for me and doing so much kicks in and then there's knowing that I can never…never repay it all, and then I just don't get it because why would you guys even- I'm not wor-"
"That's your mom talkin right now, and I won't have her in my truck." Scott growled. "We've been over this. We love you for who you are , we care about you, and you are worth it. It's seriously that simple."
Heart stabbing deeply with the pain those words brought because she wanted so badly to believe them, Jess managed to look at Scott pleadingly, "Am I really worth all the time and trouble?"
"Yes." He didn't even hesitate. The word came out almost harshly, yet utterly sincere. "Now get your ass over here. You need another one of these."
"I'm sorry." The words left her mouth even as she accepted the hug and she felt Scott go still.
"I think you need sleep, Jess." He told her firmly. "You haven't apologized this much in weeks."
Tears sprang into her eyes once again and Jess nodded miserably, whispering, "I'm tired. I want to go to bed but I have work and studying that I still have to get done."
"Is anything due tomorrow?"
"No, but I'm behind in my one class."
"Go to bed. You don't have class until what, eleven tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"So do what you need to in the morning."
Jess made a soft grumbling whine as she pulled away again and cleaned her face with her sleeves. "I hate mornings. I can never get out of bed before eight without a fight. I can set alarms and still go back to sleep or sleep through them."
Scott snorted and then promised. "I'll call and wake you up at six before I head into work. Go to sleep."
Emotions raging dangerously beneath the surface and out of control, Jess gave in. "Ok."
Pausing before kicking her out of his truck, Scott studied her and asked, "Everything still going ok with the housemates?"
Shrugging, Jess said, "I think so. Pauline and Stacy are still a little ticked off about getting you guys to break in, but they're getting over it and I think they're trying harder to do the stuff you all told us to do. Zoe is great, but she usually is. She's talking about moving back home to Florida though, now that her program is done. She was going to work around here, but I guess she's starting to really miss her family and it's looking like a job that she's really interested in might open up."
"Who will take her place?"
"Stacy has a friend named Jodi who's been looking to get out of her current living arrangement. I don't know her though." Jess took a deep breath and gave him a brave smile, "It'll be fine. Just a new chapter, I guess. I'm sure if Zoe leaves then Jodi will be a good fit."
Scott considered her for a moment before saying, "You know where to find me if you need anything. Now go get some sleep."
It took all of Jess's willpower not to tell Scott she hadn't slept well since leaving his place, or that she missed the peacefulness of his home, or that she half wanted to bail on her housemates and come back to live with him.
She couldn't bear the thought of asking if she could come back permanently and having him say no, so she just bid him good night, thanked him sincerely for everything and went into her house with the heavy feeling that it wasn't quite home anymore.