Chapter 28

I must have somehow fallen asleep because next thing I knew I woke up to a still dark room. The digital clock next to the bed cast a red glow through the room and said that it was just going on four in the morning. It was a rare thing for me to sleep through the night these days so it was hardly surprising. I closed my eyes again, willing myself to go back to sleep when I noticed the sound of quiet breathing behind me.

I turned over to see Jess’s sleeping form right on the edge of the bed. I hadn’t even heard her come in tonight and although I was still a bit angry about earlier, my heart melted at the sight of her. As my eyes adjusted I could just make out her features lit up by the glowing digital clock. Honestly, I don’t even think I could stay mad at her at this point. I know that she loves me and that alone is the reason she brought up the subject of speaking to a psychiatrist.

I moved over slowly so that I wouldn’t jostle her, and carefully pulled Jess toward me. She must have been in a dead sleep because all she did was fidget slightly as I held her against me. Her breathing stayed slow and even, as she unconsciously wrapped her own arms around me. I was instantly flooded with this feeling of security but I also felt guilt. I knew I had overreacted earlier and that it was mostly my fault that we argued. I could hardly blame her for retaliating like she did, however hurtful it may have been at the time.

I very lightly kissed her forehead and snuggled into her, hoping that now I could get a bit more sleep. I was so exhausted I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to sleep. I can’t even remember the last time I had a proper night’s rest.

I laid there for what seemed like forever, focusing on the sound of Jess’s steady breathing, but try as I may, I could not make myself fall asleep. When I opened my eyes again I noticed that the room was now slightly lit by the rising sun. Looks like this would be another mostly sleepless night.

I sighed out and idly played with Jess’s hair while I waited for her to wake up. She was always an early riser and I expect today to be no different. Mostly I just wanted to talk to her about last night. I wanted to apologize for being a complete bitch more or less. I had to consider that everything has been hard on her as well as me and I couldn’t just disregard her feelings.

Sometime later, Jess finally started to stir a bit. I traced the side of her face gently with my fingers in an attempt to wake her slowly. I felt her arms tighten around my waist as her eyelids fluttered slightly before opening.

“Good morning, beautiful,” I whispered, determined to get a smile out of her. Which of course I did much to my delight.

“Isn’t that a song?” she said sleepily as she pressed her face into my neck.

“Yes it is. I never struck you for a country music type of girl,” I laughed. I heard her scoff slightly before I felt her lips press to my neck a few times. “You’re cuddly this morning,” I mused.

“I’m always cuddly,” she mumbled. I felt her tighten her arms around me again before her tone suddenly fell serious. “Hey, about last night. I’m sorry about bringing all that up.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I overreacted and I shouldn’t have,” I said as she pulled away slightly so that we could see each other. “But you were right and I promise I’ll think about seeing someone, okay?”

She didn’t answer me but instead pressed her lips onto mine. The butterflies in my stomach suddenly came alive as my fingers tangled in Jess’s hair. I felt her fingers trace softly up and down my sides until her hand slipped under my shirt slightly. That’s where she stopped, much to my disappointment.

“So I was thinking,” she said in between kisses.

“Hmm? That’s a dangerous sign,” I joked, earning a hard smack on the arm.

“I was thinking we could go visit my parents today. I haven’t seen them in a while and they’ve been talking about how I haven’t brought you around in a while.”

“I’d love to,” I said honestly. I really liked Jess’s parents and I do have to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.

“Plus Hannah is supposed to be there, and her two children,” she continued.

“You mean your sister, Hannah?” Surprisingly, I still haven’t met either one of Jess’s sisters which I hadn’t thought about until just now.

“Yeah. Rachel couldn’t make it but my parents wanted us all together since we don’t get to see each other that often,” she explained. “You’re okay with that right?”

“Of course. I need to meet them eventually anyway. It’s not like I can avoid your whole family my entire life,” I joked.

“No, you can’t,” she laughed, pecking my lips one more time before we finally got out of bed.

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A few hours later, Jess and I had arrived at her parents’ house. It seemed as though we were the last to arrive since there was already another car parked out front which I assumed belonged to Hannah. The nerves were kicking in now, but I wasn’t scared or anything like that. I just hoped that Hannah approved of me. I know how close Jess is with her sisters and I knew either of them would be protective considering she’s the baby.

“How are you feeling?” Jess asked just as she turned the car off. It was something she seemed to be asking me a lot lately.

“I feel okay,” I said honestly. “Kind of nervous about meeting your sister, really.”

“Don’t be nervous,” she said, leaning over to kiss me briefly. “She’ll love you just like I do.”

We got out of the car and Jess held my hand the whole way up to the house, just as she always does. Before we even reached the porch the front door suddenly flew open, revealing a tiny girl behind it. I knew that her name was Scarlett as Jess had talked about her nonstop on the ride over.

“Auntie Jess!” she yelled excitedly as she raced down to meet us. Jess let go of my hand and crouched down to catch her, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Hi, sweetie,” Jess greeted her sweetly. “I haven’t seen you in so long. You’re getting so big!”

“Did you bring a friend with you?” Scarlett asked suddenly as she caught sight of me.

Jess stood up then and her arm went around my waist, pulling me forward.

“Yep, this is Elena,” she told her. “She’s very special to me so be nice to her.” You could tell Jess was smiling by the tone of her voice.

“I’m always nice,” Scarlett said, rolling her eyes which completed the attitude perfectly. She just reminded me of Jess so much I couldn’t help but laugh.

A woman walked out of the house then calling for Scarlett. I looked up to see that it was obviously Hannah. The resemblance between her and Jess was actually incredible. They looked like they could have been twins if I’m honest.

“Hannah!” Jess ran up to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Hey, sis.” Hannah glanced over to me then and smiled. “Is this your lovely lady you never stop talking about?”

“Yes, this is Elena. Be nice to her,” Jess said sternly. Hannah ignored Jess and walked straight over to me, pulling me into a hug immediately.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said genuinely. “I was starting to think Jessica was hiding you from us,” she winked.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said politely.

With all the formalities out of the way, we finally headed into the house where I was instantly greeted by both Rose and Stephen. Jess’s family is honestly so warm and welcoming that it was almost refreshing to me. It was something I was never used to before and they really made an effort to make me feel like part of the family.

Within a few minutes Jess was already being dragged away by the two kids to go play. I just let her go since I had no problem sitting with everyone else. We all made general conversation and I was really enjoying being with Jess’s family. I felt more at ease than I had in days and it was such a wonderful change. Hannah was lovely as well. She and Jess had pretty similar personalities so it was hard not to like her immediately.

Our peaceful conversation was then interrupted by the two kids running into the room screaming followed by Jess chasing them while crawling on all fours. Jess was so amazing with kids I couldn’t help the smile that took over my entire face. I think seeing her with her family was one of my absolute favorite things.

Instead of continuing chasing the kids, Jess suddenly started crawling toward me until she was eventually kneeling in front of me with her arms rested in my lap. She rose up and kissed me which took me by surprise at first but I returned it. I heard the predictable “eww” from one of the kids and couldn’t help but smile at that, effectively breaking our kiss. Jess laid her head in my lap then and sighed out.

“Auntie Jess is tired now,” she announced.

Jess didn’t move for some time after the kids ran off again to play. I played with her hair absentmindedly as we all sat in comfortable silence. Rose excused herself to go check on the food cooking in the kitchen while Stephen left to see what the children were up to. There were just three of us left in the living room up until Rose called Jess into the kitchen a while later to help, leaving me alone with Hannah.

“You really seem to love my sister,” Hannah said once Jess was out of the room.

“I do love her. A lot. I’d do anything for her,” I said honestly. I’ve already proven that.

“Good,” she said with approval. “She’s needed someone like you in her life. I can tell you both make each other happy.”

“That’s all I want really, to make her happy,” I smiled. “She deserves all the happiness in the world.”

“You know, when Jessica told me she was seeing someone new I was a bit worried for her. She’s been used so much in the past, I’m sure you know that,” Hannah said, looking me directly in the eyes. “But I don’t think I have anything to worry about with you.”

“That really means a lot. Thank you,” I said genuinely. “I wouldn’t dream of doing anything to hurt her.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” she smiled before getting up. “Let’s go see if they need any help.”

I followed Hannah into the kitchen then, seriously feeling like I was on Cloud 9 at that moment. I couldn’t even express enough how wonderful this family was and I was so happy to be considered a part of it.

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Half an hour later we were all sat at the dining room table together eating the huge dinner that was made for us. I was seated across from Jess and between Hannah and Rose. Jess was seated between the two kids. I literally could not get enough of watching Jess interact with her niece and nephew. It was a side of her I hadn’t seen before and I loved it.

The atmosphere at the table was so carefree and I relished every minute of it. The conversation flowed easily between all of us and just like Jess, they could all talk all day long. I was just getting ready to finish what I had on my plate when the house phone rang suddenly. I jumped at the sound and I could immediately feel those tell-tale signs of panic coming on. Jess’s gaze locked on me the minute I jumped but I wanted to get away from everyone before an episode actually started.

“Excuse me,” I said shakily, leaving the table quickly and heading straight to the bathroom.

The pain in my chest was already starting as I headed down the hall and into the bathroom. I shut the door behind me quickly, careful not to slam it, and locked it. I sunk onto the tile floor as I tried to steady my breathing and calm my throbbing heart. I wanted to scream but I held everything inside. My thoughts were going insane and I knew I needed to try to redirect my thoughts.

I felt like I was alone, floating in my own little world as my body started to tingle almost to the point where I felt numb. My hearing was a bit muffled but I heard a few soft knocks on the door before Jess’s voice filled my ears.

“Elena,” she called worriedly. “Let me in please. I know what’s going on just please let me help you.”

Shakily, I reached up and unlocked the door before slumping back onto the floor, curling up slightly into a ball. Jess opened the door slowly, I assume so she wouldn’t startle me, and immediately shut it behind her. She sat down beside me and I felt her grasp one hand with mine while the other stroked my hair in a comforting manner. Just her presence alone helped me immensely and I took deep, steady breaths in an attempt to calm down.

Jess had started to sing to me softly although I wasn’t really focusing on the words, more so than just the sound of her voice. Time felt like it was moving so slow but I eventually had enough strength to sit up slightly. I leaned against Jess and felt her arms wrap around me tightly as she continued singing.

For the next who knows how long, we sat just like that. Jess seemed to be my only connection to reality once again. I didn’t acknowledge the cold of the tile floor or even the fact that we were sat locked in a bathroom. There was just her and for right now, that was enough.

A/N  It's now 3am and I am so sleepy. I found so many mistakes while I read through this so hopefully I got them all o.o Thanks for reading guys and thanks for all the feedback and stuff <3