Are You Serious?

Chapter Nine - Extended Trip

(Edited)

Half an hour at the park, Jesse decided to continue their travels for food as her stomach began to groan with need. Jesse was also surprised that Jensen wanted to walk the rest of the way, he stood between Tats and herself and gripped both their hands as they made their way down the street.

"There are two things I missed since living in Washington; the beach and Margo's pizza place" her voice soft as she spoke each word as she reminisced on the life she had before she moved away.

When she looked up the sun was beginning to set, "Oh and the sunset, there's nothing like Californian sunset".

Jesse loved sitting at the beach for hours watching as the sun disappeared past the horizon and then watch the stars, something you couldn't really do in a city like Washington. With so much lighting the stars were impossible to view.

"Then why don't you move back?" Tats questions.

Jesse shakes her head, "I can't, my mother doesn't like me, and she doesn't know about Jensen" telling it exactly how it is.

"She a woman who doesn't approve of young mothers?" he questioned next.

Jesse again shakes her head, "No, no one in my family knows about Jensen's existence.

Tats stops walking and looks at Jesse with surprise, "Are they all like your mother?" he wonders.

Jesse just shrugs her shoulders and they start walking again "My father wouldn't care if I had a child, he is the one person I am closest too in my family, it's my sister and mother that I don't".

For the first time since knowing Jesse, Tats was getting personal information about the girl he was close too. "Why doesn't your mother like you?".

"My mother never wanted kids, when she fell pregnant with me, she was in her prime, as she calls it and I ruined her figure, then to top it off she had to have a c-section with me because she didn't want me she tried to get rid of me and did everything a mother shouldn't do, which meant I got sick and almost died at her own hand. But a few years later she had Tori and suddenly she wanted a kid", Jesse had never really told anyone that, she had thought about it so much growing up but never actually verbalised it.

"It isn't your fault, you know, she should have used protection if she didn't want a child" hoping to reassure her of a painful memory she has form childhood.

But all Jesse did was force a chuckle. "It was hard, watching my younger sister get all the attention from our mother and I was in the shadows as if I was never born. No matter what she did Tori was the child my mom always wanted, and she could do no wrong in her eyes, even when Tori embarrassed me in middle school and my mom did it too. It was when I reached high school, I realised I how stupid I had been spending my years trying to get my mother's attention when she never tried with me".

Tats again stopped walking, letting go of Jensen's hand he walks in front of Jesse and rests his hands on either side of her face, "You are not at fault, don't blame yourself for something you had no control over".

Jesse nods her head, and smiles, though part of her wanted to believe Tats, after two decades of pain from the one person who was supposed to love her inconsequently dented that belief.

Arriving at the pizza place, which was full Jesse stops walking, halfway up the steps to the building Tats turns to look at her. "Are you coming?" he questions.

Jesse was about to answer when her phone rings "I'll catch up in a minute".

Tats picks up Jensen and Jesse watches as he walks into the pizza place and the chatter that was loud in the place ceased, everyone turned to Tats and stared in silence.