Happy Place || A Jerrie Fanfiction

XXXII - PEOPLE PLEASER

It's hard to ignore what she said, and it's even harder to ignore the pain in her voice. My mouth opens and closes; my thoughts are too overwhelming for me to grasp onto something to say.

"I wasn't trying to be —"

"Did Leigh tell you about Mom?"

"I —"

I hesitate and she takes that as an answer.

Perrie scoffs and proceeds to walk away. "Fucking Leigh."

"Hey, it wasn't Leigh, I swear," I pant as I reach for her hand, only for her to pull away again. "Perrie, listen to me!"

Thankfully when I tug at her hand, she doesn't pull away this time. She just stops without facing me. At this point, it is already dark, the people have already left, and it's just the two of us. This is the perfect time and place to say what's on my mind.

"Leigh didn't tell me about your Mom," I start carefully. "It doesn't matter who did. What matters is that I'm here for you. I went through what you went through. I felt what you felt. I . . ."

I halt when Perrie slowly turns to face me. Tears are streaming down her face, engendering the ache inside me once more. Tentatively, I reach out to cup her cheek and swipe at the tears with my thumb. She sniffles pathetically but she doesn't flinch at the physical contact.

I couldn't bother to hide the relieved smile from her anymore.

"I want to be dear to you." My voice devolved into a raspy whisper that was caused by the tightness in my throat. "Only a few weeks, and you're driving me crazier than anyone else. And I love it."

Another sniffle on her end. "I'm sorry — I'm pathetic."

I shake my head and peer into her soft blue eyes, gently rubbing the pads of my thumbs against her cheeks. "No, you're not."

"You were talking about your mom — the first time you opened up. And I still managed to make this all about me."

"It is about you," I counter, pulling her in for an embrace. My smile widens when she proceeds to wrap her arms around my neck and bury her face under my chin. "Perrie, I want to get to know you better."

She doesn't say anything in response. A few sniffles here and there, but she's slowly calming down now. I wish there's a way for me to check what's going through her head so I can fully grasp her feelings right now.

I tilt my head sideways to rest my cheek against the top of her head. "Tell me about your mom. Or dad." She never mentioned her father, and I was curious.

She pulls away. "Just my mom. Dad left us when Cait was born." I wait as she composes herself; drying what's left of her tears, taking deep breaths. And then she gives me a small smile. "She's the worst mother. And I hate her for ruining our lives, Jade."

XXX

The conference situated at the tenth floor of Plus Entertainment was my favorite room not only because it's the only room that has wall to floor windows that showcase the breathtaking view of Manhattan, but because the room is at the end of the hall; it provides the kind of privacy and security that I need.