"This place is huge" I said to Elena as we walked out the door. "How long have you lived here?". "I've been here for almost fifteen years. My mom and Jesse's mom were best friends. My mom died when I was ten, so Jesse's mom took me in. Jesse and I have grown really close, so we've lived together since then" said Elena as we walked past the beautiful roses I've ever seen.
"You and Jesse…" I said hesitantly. "Oh no, he is more like a brother to me. Claire on the other hand" said Elena. "How long has she been here? What's her story? She doesn't seem like she likes me too much" I said. "To Claire, you're a threat. I mean look at you, you're gorgeous. Claire thinks you're here to swoon on Jesse, the typical damsel in distress pity case. She's been here only two years; she lost her job then practically threw herself at Jesse to take her in" said Elena.
"What about Andi? She seems to be the bad ass" I said. "Andi had it pretty rough. Both of Andi's parents were killed in a car accident. It turned out that they had ties with Jesse's parents. When Jesse was younger, he begged his parents for a sister, but they couldn't have any more kids. So, they decided to adopt. Andi had already torn through six foster families before she got to Jesse. Once they met, they became inseparable, and she's been here ever since.
"And Lacy? I'm just so curious about who all of these people are, and I want to know all about who I'm living with" I said to Elena. "No, I totally get it. I would want to know too" said Elena. "Lacy is Lukas' adopted sister. Luka and Jesse were best friends growing up. Lacy and Andi were both in the foster care system. Andi was able to be adopted before Lacy. But shortly after, the building the kids were in caught fire, and Lacy was the only one who survived. Luka's parents instantly took her in after hearing about it". "That's awful, I'm glad she's okay," I said. "Yeah, me too. Lacy's my best friend, I couldn't imagine my life without her".
"What about Conner? He seems quiet" I said. "He is far from quiet, sometimes we can't get him to shut up," said Elena. "He can be shy at times, his parents abused him when he was younger. He and Luka became best friends in school. Then Conner and Jesse became best friends. He's lived here for as long as I can remember". "It seems like you all are very close," I said. "We're the only family each other has, so yeah, you can say that" said Elena.
By the time Elena showed me the ten-acre garden, filled with gorgeous flowers, a series of giant fountains, and a bird sanctuary, it was already around time for lunch. "Should we head back to the house?" said Elena looking at her watch. "Yeah, that's fine. I'm still pretty full of breakfast" I said. Everyone around here fends for themselves around lunch. Lacy cooks breakfast, usually. It all depends on the weather for dinner, if it's nice out, Jesse fires up the grill. But if it's rainy or windy Lacy cooks. Nonetheless, we never go without. Everyone in the house has a role to play.
"What exactly is your role?" I said to Elena. "I usually do all of the gardening. With help of course, but I normally take the brunt of it" said Elena. "Well, what about everyone else?" I asked. "Well, Jesse normally works outside, mostly on the heavy lifting. If you can't pick something up, or God forbid Lacy can't open the pickle jar, Jesse's there to save the day. Luka is big on cars, there isn't a vehicle he can't fix. Claire normally cleans the house, of course we keep our rooms clean, but she makes sure there isn't a speck of dust, her OCD keeps her that way. Conner is our tech guy. He always fixes our television, phones, or the radio if they stop working. Andi makes sure we're all healthy, she went to medical school, so she is basically our doctor. And as you know, Lacy cooks" said Elena.
"What will Becca and I have to do?" I asked. "How about we cross that bridge when we come to it?" said Elena. We got back to the house and went into the kitchen. "Hey Lace" said Elena as we walked in. "Hey guys! Is it nice out? I'm going out after I finish this pie" said Lacy. "Lacy, we live in California, it's always nice" said Elena, joking. "It's plenty warm out" I said. "What kind of pie are you making?" When Lacy stepped to the side, I noticed eight different pies. "Cherry for Jesse, blueberry for Luka, pecan for Conner, apple for Elena, chocolate for Claire, and raspberry for me. I wasn't too sure about you and Becca, so I made pumpkin and coconut" said Lacy.
"Lacy, you didn't need to make eight pies," I said. "That's what she does Jenny, she tends to go overboard with her desserts. She thinks someone will feel left out if she doesn't make them something, so she makes everyone something" said Elena. "I appreciate it, Lacy. Coconut will be just fine. Although, my favorite is lemon meringue" I said, winking. "I'll make you the best lemon pie ever next time" said Lacy. "I believe Jesse is grilling steaks for dinner". "Wonderful," said Elena.
Just then, Luka and Becca stood inside the doorway. "What have you two been doing all morning?" I said, winking at Becca. "Luka showed me the beach, and the garage. He's got like fifty cars in there!" said Becca. "J, want to go to the beach with me after lunch?". "Yeah, sure! Elena just showed me the huge garden" I said. "I smell pie!!" said Becca as she charged through the door well. "She's all yours Lacy" I shouted as I turned around.
"Where did Jesse go?" said Luka as he scanned the room. "I've been looking for him all day". "I've been in the kitchen all day," said Lacy. "I was with Jenny, we were walking through the garden, we would have seen him" said Elena. "Did you check the bar?" shouted Andi from the couch. "No, I was just there" said Claire walking up the stairs. "Not it," said Conner entering the room. "It's fine, I'll find him later. Becca what sounds good for lunch?" said Luka. "I could eat anything," said Becca.
We decided to just have a quick sandwich. We all sat around the table, and just ate our food. No one really said much, everyone was too busy eating. After we finished eating, everyone dispersed into different parts of the house. Claire went back downstairs. I thought to myself, does she ever go outside? Conner went off with Luka to the garage. Andi went out to the barn. That left Lacy, Elena, Becca, and I.
"Well, what do you guys want to do?" said Elena. "I could go for a swim," said Becca. "What about you guys?" said Elena. "Lacy and I both agreed with Becca. "Let's get changed then we can go" said Lacy. We all went off to our rooms to put on our swimsuits. Once we got back to our room, I turned to Becca. "So what did you and Luka really do?". "I have the slightest idea what you're talking about. We took a walk on the beach, then we went to his garage" said Becca. "So, you didn't give him goo-goo eyes the whole time? No staring?" I said, smirking at her. "I will not confirm or deny that accusation" said Becca.
I put on a dark purple bikini, and Becca put on a navy blue one. After we got dressed, we both left to find Elena and Lacy. Once we got to the kitchen, we were met by Elena and Lacy. Elena was wearing a dark green bikini, while Lacy was wearing a bright pink bikini. "Are you guys ready to go?" said Becca. "Yeah, let's go," said Lacy.
As we walked out the door, Andi was getting ready to walk in the house. "Hey Andi, what's up?" said Becca. "I just need to grab something. What are you guys doing?" said Andi. "We're going to the beach; do you want to join us?" I said. "Sure, let me finish my project then I'll be down," said Andi. "Great, see you then" I said. We walked down to the beach, the sand burning my bare feet. Becca was the first one to hit the water. "I'll get in soon, let me lay down for a bit," I said, laying my towel down on the sand. "I'll catch up with you". I closed my eyes and listened to the waves. Suddenly, there was a shadow over me. I put my hand up to cover my eyes and looked up.
"Can I lay here?" said Jesse. "Yeah sure, you don't have to ask me. It's your beach" I said as I closed my eyes again. "How are you doing, Jenny?" said Jesse. "I'm fine, I'm happy,". "Do you like it here?" he asked. "I do," I said, picking my head up. Then, I noticed Jesse had been staring at me. "Jesse, why am I really here?" I asked. "Jenny, you're here so I can protect you while your father works at home. His business involves much more than you realize. So, it is just best for you to stay here" said Jesse. "I don't get it my father works at a tax office… he takes care of people's taxes…" I said confused. "There's nothing dangerous about taxes". "Everything will make sense in time Jenny, but for now just try not to think about it" said Jesse trying to change the subject. After that comment, I was enraged. "How can I not think about it?!" I shouted. Everyone who was on the beach turned to look at us. "Jenny, please calm down," said Jesse. "Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down? For all I know my father's working for an illegal business, doing what?? Taxes??" I said angrily.
"Jenny, let's go inside. We can talk in there." said Jesse trying to keep his composure. "Fine" I shouted. As I stood up, Jesse put his hand on the small of my back and walked me inside. We walked in the house, then Jesse slammed the door shut. "Jenny I…" started Jesse. In the middle of his words I interrupted shouting: "Jesse what is even going on? Why are we here? What are you keeping from me?". "Jenny, I never wanted to…" started Jesse. "What Jesse?" I shouted. "Never wanted to what? Meet me? Force me to come live with you for who knows when!" I was on a roll, the words felt like fire coming off of my tongue.
Suddenly, I felt Jesse grab my face, forcing me to stare into his gorgeous blue eyes. "Jenny, listen to me," he said. I was intoxicated by the scent of his cologne; I couldn't help but be hypnotized by his voice. "I promise you Jenny when you're ready I will tell you everything. You can't know just yet" said Jesse. "Okay, Jesse" I said, calming down. "C'mon, let's go back outside," said Jesse. "Yeah" I said, not knowing what else to say, still embarrassed by the scene I caused. Jesse held the door open for me, and we walked down to the beach. "I'll see you in a little bit Jenny" said Jesse as he walked towards the barn. By then, being hot with embarrassment, I decided to finally join the others in the water.
"J, what was that all about?" said Becca as I stood on the shoreline. "Nothing, he just hit a nerve" I said, lying. "Well okay, come on, the water isn't that cold" said Becca. We swam for hours, Becca was right, the water did feel great. The way the waves crashed against my legs, the feeling of the salt water as it moisturized my face, and the way the sun reflected on the water. It was perfect. For once, I felt at peace. Confused, but still at peace.
As the sun started to go down, we decided to get out of the water. We could smell the aroma of steaks coming from the house. Jesse was obviously grilling dinner. Becca ran out of the water, leaving all of us behind. Andi, Lacy, Elena and I all walked out of the water, hair completely soaked, and clearly sunburnt. I wrapped myself up in my towel, and walked up to the house. When we made it to the house we all stood on the patio. "Well, I think I'm going to take a shower, then change out of this," I said to the girls. "I think I will too," said Elena. "I don't want to feel gross all night. Andi and Lacy both went to their rooms to shower as well.
I made it to my room, got out of my wet swimsuit, and got in the shower. I must have spent longer than I thought because when I got out the entire bathroom was full of steam. I dried off, put on some black cotton shorts with a white tank top. I dried my hair, then left. I walked back to the kitchen, joining the girls, and Luka. "Hey Luka" I said, "Where have you been all day?". "I've been working with Jesse in the barn," said Luka.
Just then, Jesse walked in holding a platter of steaks. "Holy…." said Becca pausing. "I've never seen so many steaks on one plate before". Becca was in awe of the plate. "Here Becca, everyone eats. No one is ever hungry" said Luka. Jesse gave everyone two of the giant steaks. "Jesse these are huge" I said eyeing my plate. "I won't be able to eat all of that". Jesse just looked at me and laughed. "I'm serious Jesse!" I said, staring at him.
We all sat at the table, enjoying the abundance of food. "J these people can cook for me anytime" said Becca, her words muffled by the food in her mouth. "It is really good, thank you Jesse" I said, turning to Jesse. "You people act like you've never been fed before" said Claire as she pointed her fork at us. "It's pathetic". I just turned and rolled my eyes, not wanting to deal with her attitude. Becca on the other hand, looked like she was ready to throw hands. "Chill out B, she's definitely not worth your time" I said.
Once we were done eating, we helped clean up the table. "So Jenny," said Elena "What do you want to do now?". "I'm not sure, what do you want to do?" I said back. "Actually, I was thinking you and I could go on a boat ride, Jenny" said Luka chiming in. "Oh, sure that would be fun!" I said excitedly. "Great, let me get some things around then we can go," said Luka. "I need to go to the bathroom," I said to Elena. "I'll be right back".
I walked to my room, not knowing where the other bathrooms in the house were. I was met by Becca, "Hey J, what are you doing?" said Becca, as she was drying her hair. "Luka wanted to take me on a boat ride" I said, nervous to see what her reaction would be. "Oh… just you?" said Becca. "That's what he said… is that a problem?" I said. "No, no it's not. You guys have fun" said Becca, leaving the room. I went to the bathroom quickly, made sure my hair looked okay, then I left. As I walked outside, Jesse was standing at the door. "What are you doing, Jenny?" said Jesse, eyeballing me. "Luka is taking me for a boat ride," I said excitedly. "Just you?" said Jesse, looking somewhat angry. "Yeah, why is everyone acting like that's a problem?" I said snapping back at him. "It's not have fun" said Jesse as he walked right past me. I walked down to the beach, waiting for Luka.