𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Althea

  "Okay, promise to come visit whenever you get the chance." Mallory's eyes glistened with happy tears as she wrapped each of us in a tight hug and placed a hand of Christmas goodies into our hands.
  Gemma already had a container full of chocolate chip cookies in her hands but happily accepted more. "We will definitely be back, Mrs. B. I have to see my best friend, Baxter again." She bent over and scratched the dog behind his ears. "No offense, Thea." She gave me a lopsided smile.
  I laughed and shook my head. "It's okay, Gem." I looped my fingers into Jonesy's and turned to her mom. "Thank you again for letting us stay the night."
  Mallory beamed and gave me a mischievous smile. "You're welcome; you guys were great guests, a little loud but it was wonderful to meet you."
  I blushed as Bela and Daria shared a look before laughing. I couldn't bring myself to meet Jonesy's eyes but I could imagine the tips of her ears turning a bright red.
  "Sorry for that," I said weakly, suddenly desperate to leave. I sent Gemma a look and her eyes widened, picking up the hint.
  "We should really get going before the snow picks up again, Thea's a horrible driver."
  "I am no!" Okay, maybe I was, but I valued safety over speed and some curbs just shouldn't have been in my way. The rest of the gang laughed as we made our way out the door, the cold December breeze flooding around us.
  "Alright now, don't be a stranger!" Mallory called as she waved at us. We waved back before crossing the street to our vehicles.
  "Why don't you ride home with me?" Jonesy asked from beside me. "Gemma can drive your car."
  I liked the idea and glanced over at Gemma who had her hand on the handle of the passenger door.
  "Me? Driving in the snow?" She shook her head. "No, I don't do snow."
  "Please, Gem." I pushed out my bottom lip and did my best pout. "For me?"
  She rolled her eyes before shaking her head. "Don't look at me like that, damnit." She walked around the car and plucked the keys from my hand. "Just this time, Beckett."
  "Thanks!" I called after her and laughed as she gave me the finger. I settled into the passenger seat of Jonesy's car and smiled when I saw the rug with my name on it was still in its place. "I don't know why, but I thought you would've tossed this out in anger."
  Jonesy turned the key and the engine purred to life. "Never." I smiled to myself and looked out the window as large houses flew past us, many with Christmas lights strewn across them.
  "How did your parents react when you told them?" Her voice broke the silence and I ducked my head, fidgeting with the sleeve of my coat.
  "They, uh, freaked out. At least my mom did, my dad didn't say anything. He's more afraid of her than Vinny and I are." I dug my nails into my palm as anger seethed through me again. "Mom practically disowned me, she cut me off and froze my trust fund."
  Jonesy reached over and took my hand in hers. I had started the habit of digging my nails into my palms as a child, the pain somehow soothed me. It wasn't healthy, but it was a hard habit to break.
  She wove our fingers together before bringing my knuckles up to her lips and placing a kiss on them. "It's going to be okay, but I can still kick her ass if need be." She laughed and I smiled.
  "It wouldn't be a fair fight."
  "They don't deserve fair, not after what they did to you." Jonesy's tone turned serious. "Does any of this have to do with what happened at the airport?"
  I had almost completely forgotten about the airport incident with Matteo. I lowered my eyes to my lap again and nodded.
  "Yeah," I exhaled. "Back when I was in high school, I was sort of a loner; I kept my nose in my studies and in my free time, I was on the ice. My mom didn't like the idea of me not having not any friends, so she hired someone to be my friend."
  I looked out the window and chewed on my lip for a moment. "I didn't find out until I arrived home early one day and my sister had caught them in her office. I was furious and basically ran away for a few days."
  I shook my head at the memory of me spending several nights in one of the luxury hotels and racking up my mom's credit card bill. "Anyways, the guy continued to work for my mom, feeding her bits of information about me and my life, because she knew she couldn't simply ask me.
  "I would purposely get into trouble a few times just so he would have something to give her and to cover up what I was really doing, like hooking up with Blake Kensington." I let out a deep exhaled breath and shifted in my seat.
  "She found out from someone at school that I was seeing someone, a girl, and she sent Matteo out to see if it was true. She was hoping he would catch us together and snap a picture to send back to her, but I convinced him to back off and let me tell them on my own time."
  I picked at the hole in my jeans. "He went back and told her that the mole was a liar and that there wasn't anything going on with me."
  I saw Jonesy's flex in my peripheral vision and I turned my face away. She deserved to know the truth, the whole truth this time.
  "I'm sorry," I muttered, preparing myself for an outburst. I deserved it but it never came. Instead she squeezed my hand and kissed my knuckles again.
  "I'm not mad, Thea. I'm glad you told me and I understand you a bit more; the dynamic with your parents and why you were so scared to come out." She sighed lightly. "I just wish you had told me sooner but I understand why you didn't."
  I finally met her eyes, relief flooding me. I was going to be more than okay as long as I had her. She was all I needed.
  "Like I said, it's going to be okay. Did they ever find the rat who gave Matteo the information?"
  I shook my head; it still gnawed at me, the fact that I still didn't know who it was. I wanted to know who was so concerned and obsessed with my life that they would go out of their way to try and ruin it. I needed to know.