Running From It All - Jess, Open

[Jessica Pruitte]

Jessica scowled in the general direction of her parent’s voices. It was irritating how quickly they’d fallen back into the pattern after arriving in California and playing the concerned parents.

“We’re just glad she’s relatively ok,” her father had told the officers while writing a rather large ‘donation’ check to the precinct. Her mother had made a fuss over her general appearance and how “thin” she’d gotten. At least until they’d gotten ‘home’. Her parents had bought a house, immediately, never mind that she had her own place… paid for with stolen money. Once at the house, which had been furnished basically over night, they laid into her. Telling how disappointed they were with her wasted potential. Such a disappointment to the name Pruitte. How COULD she have done that? Told people they had been common privates in the military? Told them THEY were dead!

The rant had gone on for hours and when Jessica finally got off, she had gone up to what was ‘her’ room. Ouch was, at least, there. Having texted Felipe, to let him know she’d moved (not that she had a choice) she also let him know she was going to be ‘off grid’ for a bit. If he wanted to hang out email was going to be the best way to get a hold of her.

Listening to the argument downstairs, Jess buried her head under a mound of pillows and wished they would just go away. They had ruined everything. She was now KNOWN as a liar, if not a thief. Rolling over, tossing the pillows away, Jessica unrolled the emergency window ladder and flung it out the window. Screw this ‘tight leash’ her parents had her on, she needed to get out.

Once her feet touched grass, the rebellious teen was on the way to the beach. Her go-to spot by the cliffs where few people sat. She wanted the rocky shore as opposed to the more popular sandy bits. She just need… out.

[felipe]

Felipe wandered away from the bar and the somewhat odd encounter he'd had there. He'd been sure he'd seen that girl around school but then again his one day there had been amid a cartload of trouble so perhaps he'd been mistakem.

He headed for the beach in so small state of confuson, certain he'd made a total ass out of himself.

Yet again.

And then he saw her.

A face Felipe definitely knew.

He wandered over in relief, grateful to see a friendly face.

A secluded place but that was fine as far as he was concerned.

"Jessica..." he greeted. Maybe she didn't even remember him from a week or so again? For sure he knew her, though...

[Jessica Pruitte]

Her name came followed by a rush of the waves against rocky shore. If it hadn’t been for the unmistakable accent, she would have ignored it. Instead the girl in question turned her head and actually smiled. Finally someone who maybe wouldn’t hate her? She hadn’t… no she had lied to him along with everyone else. Just the lies given to him had been much closer to the truth. And she’d been rawly honest with him on another front. It sucked though.

“Felipe!” she called with a grin and a wave. “Missing home yet?” It was nice to see that he was doing well. At least as far as she could tell. He had seemed so unflappable when they’d met, had taken her teen angst drama in stride. He’d not only handled it, but he’d done so with a humor that had been unexpected.

He’d treated her to hot chocolate and treated her like an actual person. Jessica remembered that, with a fondness, but wasn’t sure how to keep it going. So many people gave up on her so easily, and she supposed she couldn’t blame them for it. It was, after all, her own fault. She kept people at arms length and never told them much about herself.

“How’s it been going?”

[felipe]

"How can I miss home when I am speaking to you?" he replied with a grin. Felipe shook his head. "No, you more than make up for the lack of sunshine." He shrugged slightly. "It has been going just fine but I've been worried about you. When I saw you arrested in the cafeteria... No one would tell me what happened and I have been unable to find you at school. I am doubly glad to see you now and know that you're ok!"

Was she ok, though? Felipe peered a little more closely at her and wasn't so sure that statement was correct. He wouldn't pry, though. She'd tell him if something was wrong - and if she wanted to.

"Are you going for a walk? Can I join you or did you prefer to be alone?" Sometimes even he liked to be alone. Those times, he had to admit, were few and far between though.

He took her smile to mean he was welcome and he fell into step at her side, offering her his arm to take if she felt that way inclined.

"Sooo... are you ok? I mean... really ok?" It wasn't prying, he told himself. It was caring for a friend.

[Jessica Pruitte]

Linking her arm through the one offered, Jess felt, strangely better. Felipe’s charming behavior did much to lift a girls spirit. A guys too, she would bet. Since she’d already been far more honest with him than anyone else, it seemed odd to turn back and shut down now. Nor did she want to. So when he asked her if she was ok for the second time, she felt the urge, hell the need, to tell him the truth.

“From the arrest? Yeah, it was taken care of,” Mostly. She couldn’t sneeze without her parents finding out about it. No more fights, or she’d be yanked and home schooled with private tutors. No actual freedom was allowed. That she’d been able to sneak out of the house had been nothing short of a miracle, but even she had noticed the driver who’d followed her. Her mother’s personal chauffer, apparently doubled as a PI. At least for the family. It didn’t really surprise Jess at all.

“Life’s just gotten a bit more restrained now that my parents are here.” Wincing inwardly, Jess ran a hand through her hair, tugging it at the ends to remind herself to be careful. She was treading dangerous waters. “I lied to a lot of people here about them, and they didn’t care much for having been killed off in my imagination.” She said it with a laugh and a smile, but inside, the teen was frozen as they walked. How would he react?

[felipe]

Felipe patted her hand lightly when she slipped her arm through his. He listened closely as Jessica answered his question, nodding slightly. "We have a saying... back in Brazil," he said when she finished speaking. "Se você poderia escolher sua família você seria com aqueles povos hoje?... It meaans something like if you could choose your family would it be the one you have... "

He smiled wryly. "Or something close to that. In other words it is impossible for you to choose your family... Your parents. You can't change them and are stuck with the ones god gives you. Not everyone sees them as such a gift but short of hiring a hitman..." He shrugged and grinned at her. "... there's little you can do about it but if changing facts help you deal with it then I see no harm. What truth you tell people about yourself and your background is no one's business but your own but..." He peered down at her. "... I feel the lies have now caught you and overtaken... and you don't seem all that happy about it."

He drew to a halt and Jessica had no choice but to follow suit as he still had hold of her arm. "Lies are hard to maintain," he continued in a soft voice. "They sap your energy and your will - and they always catch up. Yes, people might be upset at what you told them but they also are so self-centred that they will soon forget as they go on with their own lives. One thing is sure, though," he said.

She looked at him with what seemed to be question in her eyes.

"You will find out from this who your true friends are. The ones that stand by you and offer their love and support." He paused, adding, "I would find myself lucky to be included in that group."