Little Green Apples (Ivan×OC)

Chapter 1

August 2000

The social worker drove Jessica further and further into the country. Beautiful scenery, sure, but nowhere near as exciting as her home back in Copenhagen.

'It's not my fault that my parents drove home drunk, but hey.'

They passed house after house, the suburban surroundings eventually growing more and more sparse as they continued their journey.

She had a handful of close friends and they were all close by, but none of them had room for her. The rest of her family were in London and didn't really want to be involved  fearing their elitist friends finding out about her situation.

'Well, who knows how long I'll be stuck out here, so better get used to it. Maybe this will be a good thing.'

The car started to coast to a stop.

"Why are we stopping?," Jessica asked.

"We're meeting someone along the road here to take you the rest of the way," the social worker said.

"You can't take me the last few of the drive...?," she asked sceptically.

"Unfortunately I have other cases to attend to. If it makes you feel any better, the guy who will be picking you up is extremely nice. ALWAYS chipper," the social worker explained.

"Swell... And just what kind of place is this again?," Jessica asked.

"It's a religious institution, and you're the first girl he's taken in. He's very well thought of in town, so we knew you'd be safe in his keeping for the time being," she explained.

The car finally halted, and they sat in awkward silence for a few minutes before another car stopped in front of them.

Out hopped a somewhat lanky dark-haired man with very chiseled facial features... High cheekbones, a strong jawline, and lips with a perfect cupid's bow, almost camouflaged by a beard and moustache. He was good-looking for a man of the cloth.

"Hi! My name is Ivan. You must be Ms. Larsen; pleased to meet you," he greeted, sticking out his hand.

Jessica placed her hand in his slightly taken aback... She wasn't used to someone being so outgoing with her. Her friends and she were all very introverted and reserved, even with each other.

"Let me get your bags," he offered, picking up her two suitcases.

She grabbed her backpack and closed the car door behind her.

"If there's any issues, just give me a call and we'll figure something out. Otherwise, Jessica, good luck. And we'll give you an update on your parents as soon as we
find anything out", the social worker told her.

After thanking her, Jessica hopped into Ivan's car when he opened the door for her. Ivan got into the driver's seat and the cars parted ways. The ride to the church was fairly quiet until Ivan broke the silence.

"So how was part one of the ride out here?"

"It was quiet," Jessica commented, lightly exaggerating the last word.

"Ah, sounds peaceful. You'll find that we're a bit far out from town, but what we lack in entertainment we make up for with lovely surroundings."

Jessica hummed in agreement. Maybe she can write to her friends and it would make the isolation slightly more tolerable.

"I promise I'll do all I can to make your stay as pleasant as I can. I'm not sure if you're spiritual, but it's a requirement to attend services on Sunday. The group is very small and it doesn't take long. After that, the rest of the day is yours to do as you please."