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Chapter 7

Jake was pretty neutral on the trip but once they were back at school everything was the same again. He continued to keep his distance but she always felt that he was watching her, searching for some distant memory that was just waiting to surface.

“I’ll see you Sunday night Natalie,” said Jessica, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

“Okay,” she said, looking slightly upset.

Jessica offered her a smile. “I’m sorry but it’s a family emergency. Next time I go I promise I’ll bring you.”

“Okay that’s cool. See you Sunday.”

Jessica let out a loud sigh but walked out of the room without another word. It sucked to hurt her friend’s feelings but she wasn’t ready to tell her who she was yet. The sorority would keep Natalie busy so she wasn’t really worried about that. She just felt bad that her family had extended the hospitality but she couldn’t do the same yet.

She pulled out of the school parking lot and dialed her Mom’s cell phone number. Her mom answered before the first ring ended. It was like she knew Jessica was calling.

“Hey mom, how are you?”

“Just great,” said Lilly. “Are you on your way?”

“Yup,” she nodded, even though no one could see, “Should be there in a few hours.”

“Oh I miss you so much sweetie. It’ll be great to finally see you!”

“I miss everyone too. Who’s going to be there?” asked Jessica.

Her Mom paused for a second and Jessica could picture her with her thinking face. She usually scrunched up her nose and chewed on the corner of her lip. Her dad said it was something Lilly did since the first time they met.

“Well your brother and sister both went out of town with Kevin so then only person you’ll see is Lizzy.”

“Okay cool and I need you to do me a huge favor,” pleaded Jessica.

“What’s that?” asked Lilly.

“I don’t want any of my friends to know I’m back. I don’t feel like being bombarded with a million questions. This is just a trip to relax and see you and dad.”

Lilly was thrilled. “Sounds perfect Jess. We’ll see you soon.”        

“Okay thanks mom.”

She hung up the phone and threw it into the passenger side seat. The real reason she was going back was to get answers that she felt she had a right to know. There were things people were keeping from her and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

It was a quiet drive up there and she was grateful when she finally made it back home. Even before she got out of the car her mom was already running forward.

“Hey Jess! You look just fantastic. Maybe a bit too skinny but still really good.”

She laughed and gave her mom a big hug. “Thanks mom you look good too. Where’s Dad?”

“Oh he’s on the phone with one of his co-workers. Something about a water heart blowing up.”

They walked inside and she was immediately pulled into a one armed hug. Her dad was still on the phone but he wanted to greet her anyway.

“Hey dad,” whispered Jessica.

He gave her a wink and walked back into the office he had built a few years ago. The last thing she heard was him shouting curse words that would make a sailor blush.