2.21 – Healing

Chapter tune: Def Leppard – Love bites

Right after Skye passed out in front of him in that disgusting so-called house, Jesse was sure of one thing. No matter how badly she had hurt him, no matter how much she had prostested against it, he knew he couldn’t leave her in that place for one second longer. He quickly grabbed some of her stuff and rushed her to the last available bedroom of his apartment which was conveniently located right next to his own, and which everyone else avoided staying in – for obvious reasons.

Fortunately, the doctor that arrived first thing in the next morning, reassured him that Skye had nothing extremely severe, just a mild infection due to her months of malnutrition and general hardship. Her passing out was probably caused by some sort of emotional shock, as the doctor put it. He tried to suggest that it would be better for the patient to go to the hospital for more proper care, but didn’t insist after sensing Jesse’s denial – as well as a fat envelope of cash in his pocket.

From now on, it would be up to Jesse to make her better; by giving her food, a bath and her medicine regularly.

“Jesse! What are you doing here?” Calla asked him that afternoon “I thought you had plans with the boys to go promote your concert. Everybody has left already.”

Jesse scoffed. Of course. He thought he was going to be alone with Skye for the day but his sister didn’t seem to have any plans to leave the house.

“Yeah…” he replied “I’m feeling a little under the weather today… I think uh… I might have the flu or something.”

“Is this why you called a doctor here? Gosh, you’re such a baby sometimes! And why did you sleep in the other bedroom last night?”

“Gee Calla, nothing escapes your attention, huh?” Jesse murmured a bit irritated “I uh… had a guest.”

“Couldn’t she sleep in your bedroom? You know Dylan and I might have to move to that one when mom and dad come here for your show – I want them to stay at the big bedroom!”

“Well… my room was uh… a total mess. Yeah, that’s it. And I didn’t want my uh… guest to feel uncomfortable or weird.”

“Okay… you know, what’s weird is that you’re calling her like that. Doesn’t your guest have a name?”

“Uh… I’d rather not say.”

“Ooooh, is she someone famous?”

Jesse thought about it for a while and decided it would be a good idea to play along. “Yep… you got me.”

“Then why on earth didn’t you just say so? Is it Tiara Angelista? Or maybe Johanna King? Ooooh!!! Tell me it’s Lola Belle! Oh my gosh! If it’s her, I’m gonna scream!”

“Hey!” Jesse snapped his fingers in front of his sister’s face “Why are you acting like a little girl, sis? I’ll tell you another time, okay? Right now it’s a bit uh… complicated.”

“Why? Oooh, is she married? Please Jesse, I have to know!” Calla exclaimed enthusiastically, but promptly took a more serious look as soon as she caught her brother’s glare. “Sorry, I don’t know what came onto me. So… Is this the real reason you didn’t wanna go with the guys? Because you know you shouldn’t blow your career for random women, no matter how famous or hot they are.”

“What? No! I’m really not feeling very well Calla! I called a doctor here, remember? In fact, I was gonna call mom and ask her the recipe for that soup she used to make when we were sick.”

“Oh, don’t bother Jesse, I can make it for you” she smiled and made her way to the kitchen “it’s a bit complicated and I’ve never seen you cook anything other than pancakes or the occasional spaghetti. But you can watch and learn if you’d like.”

“Thanks… I guess. I uh… I also meant to ask you about something else…”

“Sure Jesse, go ahead.”

“Could it happen that you’ve brought an extra pair or two of underwear you don’t really uh… need?”

“Ummm… what?!”

“Well, my… guest can’t return home just yet, and all the shops are closed until Monday so…”

“Ew. I really, really don’t want to hear more, Jesse.”

“Yeah well… if you also had some extra sleepwear and clothes to spare, it would be ideal.”

“I honestly don’t know how to respond to that. Your guest is weird.”

–

Fortunately for Skye, Jesse ended up convincing Calla to give him some of her clothes – she shed some tears for them, but was also strangely satisfied that a celebrity would get to wear her outfits. 

Jesse washed the few clothes that belonged to Skye which weren’t completely destroyed, he “borrowed” a couple of Meadow’s makeup kits – even though he had no idea what exactly he was taking -, and spent most of the following week taking care of Skye, who was almost unconcious that whole time. He even learned to make his mom’s soup all on his own.

One afternoon though, instead of having to stand by her side while she was in deep sleep once more, he entered the bedroom to find her up, fully dressed and reading a book, apparently waiting for him. “Wow… you’re finally awake” he beamed at her.

Skye raised her eyes to meet his and he, as cliché at it sounded in his head, felt his heart skipping a bit. There was the girl he knew – a little skinnier and still weak, but she was finally there. “Jesse…” she muttered.

He desperately wanted to sit next to her, but ultimately decided to take the seat at the other side of the room. “Hey… how are you feeling? I’ve brought you some soup.”

“Thank you… I know I’ll probably sound ungrateful but… is there any possibility that I could have something else… like a pizza? I remember eating that same soup for quite a few days” she asked with a reluctant smile.

Jesse laughed. “Sure… it’s good that you have an appetite at last. I’ll order one for you right away. Bacon, blue cheese and onions, right?”

Her smile became a little wider. “You remember…”

“Of course I do.” For a couple of seconds he remained silent, completing the order through his cell phone. “Done” he grinned at her for just a moment before his face became all serious. “Look Skye, about me bringing you here…”

“I’m not mad Jesse” she cut him off “…how could I be mad? I mean… I vaguely remember being angry at you when you first brought me here… but you were right. I would be so dead now if it weren’t for you. You saved my life Jesse… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it… But, for the record, I want you to know that you’re not a prisoner in this house… I just lock the door so that nobody finds out you’re here. I won’t do it though if you don’t want me to and… I guess it goes without saying that you can leave whenever you want to. I’d prefer it if you stayed though… at least until you get better. This building is heavily secured, I have personally taken care of it.”

Skye smiled again. It was nice to see her smile but, for a strange reason, it also evoked a strange mix of sadness and anticipation inside him. “Of course, I know that… thank you Jesse, for everything. So… you probably suspect the real reason for me leaving that day…”

“Yeah… I believe I do. Don’t worry though, it’s going to be fine pokerface…”

Skye stared at the floor for a couple of seconds before looking at him again. “I missed you calling me that. When I saw you again the other night… I thought you hated me. I thought you would say what you had to say and then leave and never come back.”

“It occured to me, I won’t lie…” Jesse mumbled, this time it was his turn to stare down at the floor. “Maybe it was for the best that you got sick in front of me, otherwise… I probably would have left, Skye.”

She stood up and came closer to him. Only then Jesse realized that her eyes looked watery, like she was fighting to keep her tears inside for too long.

“Hey… what’s up? It’s alright now.. ” he went to hug her, but stopped when he saw the hesitation in her own moves.

“You came back for me and I pushed you away once more… I was always pushing you away…” she muttered, her words barely audible.

“Hey, hey… Don’t think about -”

“I am so sorry for what I did to you…” she cut him and this time she almost pulled him into a hug, closing the distance between them.

Jesse could hear his own breathing become heavier. His mind started going full speed, trying to process the overload of new thoughts and emotions.

“Skye… please don’t think about all that… right now you need to focus on getting better” he said, surprising even himself with how deep his voice sounded and with the small groan that followed his sentence.

Skye gently pushed her body onto his. He realized he probably didn’t have much time until all the blood that still remained inside his brain would finally abandon it. At that moment, there was nothing he wanted more than take her into his arms and throw her onto that very conveniently located bed.

But he knew it would be a mistake. He knew how she got when she was upset. He knew what happened next. His mind went briefly to Travis. Could that little shit have taken advantage of her whenever she got this way for those past two years? He quickly turned that thought away as it made him sick to the stomach. And what was happening now wasn’t right for her, and it wasn’t right for him either. He still didn’t fully trust her and, although he already ached for her, he couldn’t risk his heart breaking into a million little pieces all over again. At least not until he found a way to help her.

“Skye… please don’t do this…”

“I love your hair like that” she whispered like she hadn’t heard a word he said, brushing her hands against his chest and his waist “and your new tattoos… Jesse, I’ve missed you so much…”

That was it. He distanced himself as gently as he could. “Skye… this is a bad, no, the worst idea, at least for now. I should go downstairs and wait for your pizza… I’ll be here in a little while, okay?”

Skye looked at him disappointed. “Sure… I… I’m so sorry…”

“It won’t take long to arrive” he smiled at her, protectively caressing her cheek “I have somewhere to be tonight, but I’ll bring you more books and a tv to keep you company… and on Monday I’m gonna buy you some painting equipment, what do you say?” Everything that little shit Travis couldn’t bother to do for two whole goddamn years, he thought bitterly.

“Thank you” she finally smiled back “I know you’re really busy, but I hope I’ll see you again before Monday…”

As Jesse looked at her, he knew he had to take care of her problem as soon as possible. Or else it wouldn’t take long until he lost all control over his desire for her. And if she left again when her problem came back with a vengeance, he knew it would kill him.

He was determined. He was fearless. The only issue was, he had no fucking clue where to begin.

–

A/N: Hello!! 🙂 Guys, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m finally back!! 😄🎉🎉 I’m soooo sorry for the lack of updates for these past… what, two months? My game is not fully repaired but it’s definitely better, so I think I’ll have another update very soon! And yes, I know that I’ve said those things before (boo..! 😂) but now I have so much more free time, it’s ridiculous – finally some extra quality time for sims related projects! I missed everyone so much! 😀 Thank you so much for reading! ❤❤