Wanna Bet?

Chapter Twenty

Wednesday, July 3rd

"Can I watch TV?" Jamie asked. Jessica pursed her lips for a few seconds.

"If you change into your PJ's and brush your teeth first, then you can watch TV for a little while. Okay?" Jamie nodded eagerly before running off to her room. Jessica followed her and helped her change and brush her teeth. A knock on the door stopped Jessica from walking back to the living room with her sister.

"Who's that?" Jamie asked.

"No idea." Jessica shook her head.

"Mommy?"

"They're not supposed to be back yet." Jessica walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. She saw a dark figure standing there, covering their face with a hoodie and keeping their head down. Jessica swallowed hard and glanced back at her little sister. She immediately eyed around the hallway to find a potential weapon for self-defense. She chose an old walking cane would suffice, and cautiously opened the door.

"Hello? Can I help you?" She asked when the figure didn't talk.

"Maybe." She heard them speak in a soft tone. They pulled their hood back and tilted their head up a bit.

"Ren?!" Jessica's eyes went wide.

"Can I come in?" He pleaded with his eyes.

"I don't know." She bit the inside of her cheek.

"Come on, Jess. It's raining like hell out here." She hesitated for a while before silently stepping aside to let him in.

"Big butt man!" Jamie shouted and ran into Ren's legs, embracing them. "Ew, wet!"

"Well, that is what you get when you walk three blocks in the rain." Ren chuckled at her.

"You walked three blocks?" Jessica asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, couldn't park anywhere nearby." He looked back at Jamie. "Shouldn't you be in bed already? It's already past your bedtime."

"Sissy said I can watch TV."

"Just for a few minutes. Come on." Jessica extended her hand for Jamie to grab. Instead Jamie grabbed Ren's hand and pulled him along.

"I want Ren to watch with me!" Ren gave Jessica an apologetic smile. Jessica rolled her eyes. She followed after them sat on the couch, watching the two interact as Jamie explained the whole plot of the cartoon. She praised Ren for looking genuinely interested. Jamie finally started to feel tired and Ren helped carry her to bed. While Jessica tucked her in, Ren went to sit in the couch in the living room and waited for Jessica to come back out.

"That was the most boring twenty minutes of my life. And, that includes our principal's beginning of the year speech." Ren sighed. Jessica grabbed a glass and filled it with water for him.

"It doesn't look like it'll stop raining anytime soon." The two glanced outside, noticing the rain had actually gotten worse.

"You can sleep here. Jamie would probably kill me if you're not here in the morning." She handed him the glass.

"Does that mean I need to sleep on the couch, or am I allowed to share a bed with you?" He looked at her. She glanced awkwardly around the room. Ren sighed. "Jess, we're mature enough to share a bed without having to engage in amorous activities. We did that for like two months when we started dating."

"Fine." Jessica didn't look at him and went up the stairs to look for some clothes he could change into. Ren took his shoes off and put them by the door before following her. He grunted as he peeled the hoodie off of him. He knocked over the pencil holder on her desk as he took it off.