Chapter 23.

Not even thinking, I ran to Jesse's room. I opened the door and jumped on Jesse's bed. He shot his head up and looked at me. "J what are you-" he started. "I am sleeping here tonight, no questions asked," I said. "Okay" he said, rolling over. "I am scarred for life," I said, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Why?" said Jesse, mumbling. "Luka and Becca were doing it on my bed," I said. "Good for him," said Jesse. "Are you kidding me?" I said, turning to him and smacking his arm. "I mean… that's horrible," said Jesse, sarcastically. Jesse yawned and turned back around. My mind was going a mile a minute. I didn't know what to think, and Jesse didn't seem to care. In his defense, he was pretty intoxicated. Why didn't Becca say anything to me? How long have they been involved with each other? The number one question in my head… why in my bed?

The next morning, I woke up and Jesse was gone. I didn't want to face the world. I didn't want to leave Jesse's bed, which was ten times more comfortable than mine. The sun was shining through the curtains. I rolled over to see what time it was, then I would decide whether I should get up or not. The clock said it was eight thirty. I tossed the covers aside and stood up. I walked to Jesse's bathroom and looked in the mirror. My hair was a mess. I looked at my throat and noticed there was only a small, barely noticeable scar.

I walked out of Jesse's room and walked down the hallway. I could smell Lacy cooking. When she cooked the entire house was filled with the smell. "Hey Lacy," I said walking in the kitchen. "Mornin' J," she said, turning around. "Coffee's on if you want any". "Thanks," I said, grabbing a cup. "Hey Lacy," I started. "Have you noticed anything odd about Luka?". "Nothing out of the ordinary, why?" said Lacy as she stopped what she was doing. "No reason," I said, smiling at her. "Thanks for the coffee".

I could hear loud music coming from downstairs, so I walked down to see who it was. Once I made it down the stairs, I walked down the hallway to the gym. I opened the door and saw Andi and Jesse fighting. Andi was throwing blows at Jesse while he continued to dodge them. "Morning J," said Andi, throwing a punch. "Hey Andi," I said, leaning against the wall eyeing Jesse. I took a sip of my coffee and watched them.

An alarm went off on Jesse's phone. "Alright, that was two hours," he said, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He gave Andi a high-five and walked over to me. "Morning gorgeous" he said, kissing me. "Hi" I said, smiling at him. "Are you hungry?" he said, pointing upstairs. "Lacy's cooking". "Yeah, I'll be up in a minute," I said. Jesse smiled at me and walked upstairs. Andi was unwrapping her knuckles across the room.

"Hey Andi, can I talk to you?" I said. I knew I could talk to Andi, but I didn't want everyone to know about Luka and Becca. "Sure J, what's up?" said Andi. "Last night, I saw something…" I started. "What do you mean?" said Andi, looking confused. "Becca and Luka were ya' know…" I said. Andi's face turned white. "No way," said Andi. Andi immediately knew what I meant. "Yeah" I said. "But I've only told Jesse, and now you," I said. "Oh no, I'm not going to tell anyone. Since when have they been a thing?" said Andi. "She hasn't said anything to me," I said. "Are you going to talk to her about it?" said Andi. "Probably not," I said. "That would just make her uncomfortable, then things would be awkward between us, and I don't want to ruin anything. Plus, they both had some drinks last night,". "I understand that J," said Andi. "I promise I won't say anything". "Thanks Andi" I said. "C'mon, let's get something to eat," Andi said, walking up the stairs.

Once we got upstairs, Lacy had the table decorated in food. "What's the occasion Lacy?" said Claire, yawning, coming out from her room. "I had a burst of energy this morning, so why not?" she said, putting a plate of pancakes on the table. Everyone sat around the table and started eating. I looked over and still didn't see Luka or Becca. "I had an idea," said Jesse. "I want to go to Italy". "Why Italy?" I said, taking a sip of my coffee. "Because I want to," he said, smiling at me. "We need a vacation, and I want to go".

Of course, Lacy and Elena were all over Jesse's idea. Just then, Becca and Luka walked in together. "Hey guys" said Becca, smiling at us. "Hey" I said, looking at her. "What's up Jesse?" said Luka, sitting down. "I'm taking us to Italy," said Jesse. Suddenly Becca spit her coffee everywhere. "Wait what?" she said, choking. "You heard me, we need a vacation," said Jesse. "Well, when are we going to go?" said Becca. "Tomorrow night" said Jesse. "That soon huh?" I said, laughing at him. "Well yeah, I want to leave this place" said Jesse, stretching his arms, yawning.

When we finished breakfast, I helped Lacy clean up breakfast. I tried to avoid Becca and Luka the best I could. Once we got the kitchen cleaned up, I decided to go lay out on the beach. I walked to my room and put on my swimsuit. I put on my maroon bikini, grabbed a towel, and walked outside. "What are you doing, J?" said Andi, walking towards the house. "I wanted to go down to the beach," I said. "Well enjoy yourself, don't stay out too long, it's supposed to be hot today" said Andi. "I won't Andi" I said, laughing at her.

I walked to the beach and laid down my towel. The sun was hot, but it felt wonderful. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the beach. I could feel myself starting to get tired, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

I awoke to a cold hand on my shoulder. I put my hand over my eyes and looked up. "J, 'c'mon" said Becca. "We have to pack". "Wait what?" I said, sitting up. "Jesse was serious, he wants to leave tonight" said Becca, laughing. "No way," I said. I picked up my towel and got up. We walked to the house together and opened the door. Everyone was running around like crazy. "Where is my passport?" shouted Elena from her room. "I already have them all on the table" shouted Andi back at her. "What time is our flight?" said Claire, walking in. "In two hours!" shouted Andi. "What kind of moron only gives us two hours to pack all of our stuff?" shouted Lacy. "My brother!" shouted Andi. "Okay, one suitcase per person, Jesse booked our flight in two hours, pack enough for two weeks, make sure you have warm clothes just in case, and swimsuits" directed Andi.

We walked to our room and I grabbed my suitcase. "Okay, two hours, I can do that," I said, trying to comprehend what Andi said. "J, there's no way either of us can do that," said Becca, laughing at me. I rolled my eyes and started packing. I grabbed handfuls of clothes and stuffed them in my bag. Becca was acting completely normal, as if nothing had happened. Which don't get me wrong, I was totally fine with. I'd rather not relive what I witnessed the night before.

"Hey Becca, can you help me with this?" I said, trying to shut my suitcase. I packed it to the brim, and I could barely close it. She walked over and used all of her weight to close the top while I zipped it up. "Thanks," I said. "Now can you help me with mine?" said Becca, laughing at me. Just then, Andi came in. "Are you guys almost done?" she said, leaning against the door. "Yeah," I said, picking my bag up. "Are you done?" Becca asked. "Girl, I've been done for hours" said Andi. "You knew we were going, and you didn't say anything?" I said. "Well I promised Jesse I wouldn't" said Andi, winking at me.

Jesse and Luka came into our room and grabbed our bags. "I can carry it," I said, as Jesse grabbed my bag and started walking out the door. "Or not," said Becca, laughing at me. As we walked out the door, I thought to myself why Jesse wants to go on vacation so sudden. So, I figured I would ask the one person who knows him best. "Hey Andi," I said, turning to her. "What's up, J?" she said. "It seems awfully sudden to be going on a vacation, just out of the blue" I said. "I know, but Jesse has good intentions. When he wants to do something, he does it, and doesn't hold back" said Andi.

Andi and I walked to the kitchen where we were met by everyone else. "Thanks for giving me no time at all to pack Jesse," said Claire, rolling her eyes. "Well that sounds like a you problem," Jesse said. "Does everyone have everything they need? I'm ready to go". "I've been ready, let's get this show on the road," said Andi. As everyone walked out the door, the only two left in the house were Jesse and I. "Are you ready to go?" he asked me. "Yes," I said, "I'm excited". "Good," said Jesse. Something was off with Jesse, I couldn't pinpoint it, but something about his attitude and the way he carried himself was off. He seemed nervous, and that's not like Jesse.

We got in the car and drove to the airport. Lacy took Elena, Luka, Claire, and Conner in her car. I rode in Jesse's car with Andi, Becca, and Jesse. When we arrived at the airport, we all got out, and walked inside. "I'll meet up with you in a few," said Jesse. "Who is sitting with who?" said Elena. "It doesn't matter to me," said Lacy. "Where's he going?" I said to Andi. "Probably to make the flight attendants feel better about themselves". I scoffed at Andi, not knowing if she was serious or not. "Is he seriously in one of those moods?" I said. "Oh yeah, I haven't seen him like this in a while," said Andi.

We walked through security rather quickly, Andi pulled aside the security guard, talked to him, then somehow, we were able to fly through security. "What did you say to him?" I asked as we walked towards our gate. "Nothing important" Andi smirked. Just then, Jesse walked up to us. "I'll give you two a minute," said Andi, winking at me. I walked over to Jesse and said, "Hey, where have you been?". "It's not important," said Jesse, getting aggressive. "What's your problem?" I said. "I don't have a problem," said Jesse, clearly bothered by something. "Whatever" I said, walking back over to Andi.

"Something clearly is up with him," I said to Andi. "I don't know-" started Andi, interrupted by the loudspeaker. Barely audible, I could hear the flight attendant call for our flight. As we boarded the plane, I could hear Luka and Jesse talking behind me. Assuming they were going to sit together, I played it safe and decided to sit with Becca. Once we got to our seats, the plane took off. Luka sat with Jesse across the aisle from us. Lacy sat with Andi in front of us. Elena sat with Claire behind us. And Conner sat diagonally behind us. I sat back in the chair, and before I knew it, I was asleep.