Jenna made it through her classes by the skin of her teeth. Concentrating was near impossible when she would be able to talk to her family later.
When she finally made it home she quickly changed into her work uniform for Juice Jubilee, a smoothie and juice bar, so she would be ready to leave and could maximize her phone time. Her shift didn't start for another two hours but she had lost out on phone time because she had to get ready for work before and wasn't willing to take any chances.
Killian showed up at 1 PM on the dot, as usual. He was the type of person that believed in being perfectly punctual. Never late, never early. Sometimes she wondered how he managed to do it every time. If he showed up early, did he simply wait in the car until he would be exactly on time?
"Do you have any letters for me?" Jenna asked eagerly, unable to hide the desperation in her voice.
"Yes," he replied in the same monotone as usual as he handed them to her. "One from each of your brothers, two from your mother, and one from your sister-in-law. You're very fortunate to receive so much mail from home."
Each word from someone she loved was a precious treasure but it never felt like enough. She was used to seeing them in person since they all lived in the same city and could get together on a whim.
Jenna would save the letters for later when she was alone. For now she needed to give him the ones she wanted to send out and take full advantage of the priceless phone time she was given. She held her hand out for the phone impatiently and received the same lecture as usual.
"You can't give any identifying details about your new identity, where you are living, or what is going on with the case. Speak in generalities and don't use specific names when talking about people you interact with. If you break these rules and get found, the program will kick you out and stop protecting you, Tessa," Killian said seriously.
She sighed internally; she had heard it all before. And did he have to call her Tessa all the time? He was the only one here that knew her real name and she missed it.
But Jenna knew he was only doing his job so she put on her best attempt at a smile for him. "I know. Thanks, Killian."
That was the one informality he allowed. Originally she had called him Agent Quinn but once they got here and he needed to be in contact with her regularly he said it would be safer to refer to him by his first name in case any of the neighbors happened to overhear.
"You're welcome," he said before stepping into the other room to give her a bit of privacy.
She found that funny considering she knew her mail was being searched to make sure she was following the program rules and not giving anything away. There was no privacy in the Witness Protection Program. Her entire life was laid bare and controlled by the FBI for her own safety.
They didn't care about her; she knew that. They cared about putting Anthony Shaw and his associates behind bars. Jenna Mitchell didn't matter…what she knew did. She tried not to be too resentful of that.
"Hello?" Sarah's tired voice answered on the third ring.
A lump formed in Jenna's throat. She had sounded so worn out lately and there was a good chance it was because she was worrying about the daughter that had fallen off the face of the earth.
"Mom."
Her voice immediately brightened. "Jenna! Oh, baby, it's so good to hear from you. How are you? Are you eating and sleeping well? How is school? Tell me everything."
Honestly, Jenna would rather hear about home than talk about her lackluster life. But she knew her mom worried so she had to tell her something to put her mind at ease. Letting Sarah know how much she was struggling right now was not an option.
"I'm doing great," she lied. "School is going well. I currently have straight As and I like my classes well enough even though I have to take a few over again because my credits didn't transfer over. Work is going well too, though things finally slowed down a bit now that it's getting colder. People don't want smoothies as much when it isn't hot out."
She had been allowed to tell her family she was working at a smoothie place because of how generic it was but couldn't give details such as the name of the chain. Trying to dance around telling part of the truth but not all of it could be exhausting.
"I'm so glad to hear it! We all miss you more than I can say," Sarah replied.
Jenna's heart twisted. So did she. "I do too. How is everyone? Did Evan propose? Is Lila walking? What's going on with Colton's cookie business?"
Her mother laughed. "One thing at a time! I'll get to it. How much time do you have?"
"A little over an hour. Fit in as much as you can."
That was exactly what she did. Jenna soaked up every scrap of news from home even though it hurt. The best medicine and the worst poison were the same when it came to homesickness.
Lila was standing rather than walking, Evan had not proposed justifying that he needed another week to get it perfect (he had already said a variation of that three times), Colton's cookie business was doing so well he was considering opening up a second shop, and her twin was having a hard time. Hearing that hurt the most.
The two of them had always been attached at the hip. Having her gone must be affecting him as much as it was affecting her.
"Is he around?" Jenna asked quietly.
Sarah laughed. "He is, actually. He didn't want to miss your call this week so he ditched class even though I told him not to. I'll get him on the line for you. In case he hogs the rest of the phone time, I love you so much, Jenna Benna. Hang in there, okay? You're so brave."
Hearing that from her mother nearly broke her carefully maintained composure but she held the tears at bay. "Thanks, Mom. I love you too."
The phone went silent for a minute before Jonas's familiar voice came on. "Jen! It's been months since I've heard your voice. Are you doing okay wherever you are? You may as well be on Mars for all the contact we have."
Two tears ran down her face even as she laughed. It had felt like a lot more than a few months. Jonas always knew how to crack her up even in the most ridiculous situations, which was why she was laughing and crying at the same time.
"Sure feels like I'm on Mars, JoJo."
He hated being called that and only allowed it from her and their mother. If any of their brothers tried calling him JoJo, he would give them a fat lip. But it had been his nickname when he was a baby and (unfortunately for him) it stuck.
"…do you know when you'll be coming back? I've never spent our birthday without you."
Jenna may as well have been punched in the gut. He always knew how to cut straight to the heart of the matter too. "I don't. I don't want to spend our birthday alone either but what can I do? The FBI won't let me fly home just for my birthday. It's too dangerous."
Jonas knew all about the danger, which is why he hadn't actually complained too much about the separation. He had been there when she was shot and it had really shaken him up.
He let out a heavy sigh. "I know. But it will be weird. Do you think they could set up some sort of secure video conference so we can still see each other? I don't want to take my first legal sip of alcohol without you."
She cracked a smile. Partying together over video call would be totally weird but way better than drinking alone. "I'll talk to my case agent."
"Awesome. Anything is better than nothing, you know. Are you really doing okay out there by yourself?"
Jonas knew her better than anyone. He knew how much she thrived off of being around people she cared about. He would see through the lies better than their mother did so there wasn't really a point in trying. It would only insult him.
"No," Jenna admitted quietly. "I hate being alone. I'm doing my best to keep busy but it isn't the same as it was back home."
Back home her busyness was partly because of school, partly because of friends, and partly because of family. Here school and work were the only things keeping her from going completely insane.
"I thought so," Jonas said sadly. "I still have everybody else and they've been extra nice to me since you've been gone, which is totally weird, but it isn't the same either. You're my best friend."
And the tears were back. Fantastic. "You're mine too. I miss you so much! I want to go home."
Jenna barely managed to keep her voice from shaking. She could not sob over the phone because it would only make her twin feel worse. He was already struggling enough without her since they had always been by each other's sides.
"You'll be able to come home soon enough," he said with all the false confidence he could muster. "They'll figure out what to do about Anthony Shaw."
She had to believe that too. The real question was when.
Glancing up at the clock, she saw that it was nearly time to go to work. She still had to get an update from Killian so she had to hang up. This little phone session would have to sustain her for the next week. At least she still had the letters to look forward to.
"Yeah. Listen, I need to go to work but I'm really glad I was able to talk to you today. I love you."
"I love you too. I'll give everyone a big hug on your behalf."
Jenna smiled. "You read my mind. Thanks, JoJo."
"Take care of yourself."