Too Young (The Jewel Project #1)

Chapter 24.2 Broken

Jimmy came out of Kyle's tent, feeling exhausted. Another trance left his brother even more pissed off. Jimmy started to envy him. At least he had hours in which Sam, Tom and Billy were not dead. He'd do anything for a brief escape from reality.

He walked towards her tent, feeling the need to see her. The smallest of her smiles gave him hope.

The tent was empty so he headed for the river, sure he'd find her there. He stopped before entering the crescent moon clearing and checked for Jessie. She was there, leaning against a tree, playing a very complicated piece on her guitar.

Jessie gave up on the song and leaned her chin against the body of the guitar. A stray tear ran down her cheek.

He made to step out, but stopped once Jessie turned the guitar around and started playing again, this time a much sadder song. A few seconds into it, she started singing. The lyrics were depressing on their own, but the heart she put into them made Jimmy shudder. She spoke of being mistreated, ignored, abandoned and she seemed to really mean it. Unable to stand there, listening, he stepped out of the shadows.

It took a few seconds for Jessie to notice him and stop singing. She put her guitar away, blushing.

"Beautiful song." He sat in front of her. "Never heard it before."

"Thanks." She stared at her hands. "You couldn't have. I wrote it."

Jimmy's stomach did a somersault. What had the poor girl been through? "It's really good. Sad, but good." He hesitated for a second before adding, "You seemed to mean it."

Another tear rushed down Jessie's face, but she immediately wiped it away.

"Bad boyfriend situation?" he asked, moving closer to her.

"It doesn't matter." She grabbed her guitar again and leaned against it, looking away from him.

"Jessie, it's not worth suffering over. If he doesn't know you're there, don't be."

"It's not that easy," she mumbled.

"Yes it is. We want to make it complicated, but it's not. You deserve to be happy. I can't stand to see you like this."

Jessie looked at him for a second then returned to the guitar, stroking the engraved letters on the headstock. Jimmy followed her fingers.

"What do the R.S and J.S stand for?"

Jessie didn't answer for a few seconds as she wiped another tear from her eyes. "The R.S stands for Rachel Stefáni. J.S is for Jessica Stefáni. That's me."

"Is Rachel your mother?" Jimmy asked. Seeing how Jessie felt about her parents, it was a wonder she stroked the letters with such tenderness.

"No, she was my aunt. My father and Uncle Eric were brothers. He and my aunt died when I was five. They're the ones who raised me until my parents got their business going. For a while, I thought they were my parents. This is the only thing I've left of them." She smiled at the guitar and hugged it, resting her forehead against the neck. "You should go. I have to... have to..." Her voice was drowned in tears.

Jimmy put her guitar away, pulled her towards him and hugged her. "It's okay to cry, Jessie."

"I don't want to break down in front of you," Jessie said between tears. "I promised I'd be there for you."

Jimmy shushed her, squeezing her tighter. Jessie needed someone. She'd suffered enough. Her body trembled with the force of her sobs and Jimmy felt even guiltier for forcing her to keep this in. He had to make her feel better somehow.