Power of Love

One

Gif above, Pogue Parry

Rising early in New York, allowed Jessica to hear the rowdy sounds of the city that included the distinctive muffles of the means of transportation as well as the people that busied the streets 24/7. Walking outside her dorm building while holding her only suitcase, she could see the view as she listened to the sound of wheels running through the new rain puddles that surrounded the pavements.

Jessica also known as Jesse for short, waited for her cab to arrive. Once the yellow car parked in front of her, she was able to greet the driver. The nice gentleman opened the trunk of the Taxi and helped Jessica with her luggage. He was nice enough to open the door for her as well.

"To JFK airport please," Jessica requested, once she was comfortably sitting down inside the cab.

On the way to the airport, she observed one last time the beautiful City of New York, her home for the last four years. She was ready to go back to where she belonged. She was finally going back to Massachusetts. Four years ago, her parents died in a terrible car accident. After she found out about the unexpected event, she became rebellious. Because she was still a minor, she was sent away to her aunt's house in NY. There, she was registered in an all-female academy.

She was obligated to go to therapy and to confront the struggles of everyday life by being not only away from home, but also by resisting the realization that her parents were gone. It was not easy to maintain a normal life away from her brother and close friends, but she managed to be sane over the years.

It was time for Jessica to go back home. She had behaved well enough to finish her high school years in her hometown. She had permission from her aunt back home a year earlier than the deal they had made in the past.

She felt both nervous and happy at the same time. She was more nervous than anything. Before she left, she had maintained a special friendship with a special boy named Caleb Danvers. He was her best friend.

After she left for NY, the first few months she felt as if he was with her, because they had constant communication with each other. They spoke on the phone in a variety of occasions, and they constantly exchanged letters as well.

Little by little the letters and the calls started to cease, until they completely stopped. Jessica felt sad and betrayed because her best friend had forgotten their special friendship. She was in love with him, something that she never dared to tell him either in person or through the letters or calls they often swapped.

So many questions traveled through her head related to the way she was going to react, if she ever saw him again. She was bond to see him anyways. She was coming home and there was nothing she could do about it. Caleb and Pogue were great friends and even brothers along with the other two guys that were part of the group. Jessica missed all her friends and her brother, but she struggled with the feelings she still had for Caleb.

~***~

After a few hours, Jessica finally arrived at her brother's place. She paid the taxi driver and noticed that Pogue's yellow motorcycle was parked in the driveway. He had moved out of his uncle's place when he was sixteen years old, so he lived on his own, near Spencer Academy. He was always an independent person. Spencer Academy was a very prestigious school located within the limits of Ipswich. Everyone in her family had attended, so it was part of a tradition to graduated just like her parents had done in their teens.

Jessica had plans to come back for her senior year of high school. Because she behaved amazingly in the city that never sleeps, she was permitted to come back. She wasn't the rebellious teen that left with a broken heart. She was grown. She was mature and she was a better person than she was four years ago.

Jessica wanted to surprise her brother. He didn't know she was coming. Holding her luggage, she slowly walked towards the doorsteps as her heels clicked on the cemented driveway. Jessica placed her suitcase down and knocked three times before she heard her brother's voice filled the other side of the door. Once her brother opened the door, he saw his baby sister and opened his eyes wide. He was indeed surprised.

After a few minutes of realization, Pogue embraced her in a tight hug, almost crushing her against him. "Happy to see me?" she questioned with a huge smile on her face.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming home today?" he asked.

"I wanted to surprise you," she responded, taking a step back to see her brother's reaction.

"Come in!" he explained, stepping aside. She grabbed her luggage and walked inside his small apartment.

"Nice place," she said, looking around. It was a small apartment that belonged to him. Even though it was not big, it looked comfortable.

"I thought you were coming back for your senior year, not this year" he said, grabbing the luggage from her hand and walking to the living room.

"After Aunt Claire spoke to the principal, she accepted my return for this year instead. I begged her of course. I missed you and I knew I was ready to come back," she confessed, biting her lower lip. She wanted her brother's approval. He was the only family she could count on in Ipswich, MA.

He smiled and hugged her one more time.

"I'm so glad you are back!" he exclaimed.

"How's Kate doing? When you two came to visit me in New York six months ago, I fell in love with her. You two look amazing together," Jessica said, speaking about Pogue's girlfriend.

He smiled and he couldn't hide the small blush that appeared in between his cheeks.

"She's good and I'm supposed to meet her at Nicky's, you should come with me because I know she will be happy to see you again," he stated and Jessica nodded her head with a smile.

"Yes I will love to go," she responded.

"The guys are going to be extra surprised once they see you tonight," he said, walking to his small kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water.

"All of them?" she asked with curiosity.

"Yes, Caleb was the one who suggested that we all meet there tonight," he responded, walking back to her side.

When she heard the name of Caleb coming out of her brother's mouth, she got nervous. She knew the moment of seeing him again was coming, but she didn't think it was going to be so soon.

Trying to avoid any more thoughts about him specifically, she grabbed her luggage.

"I'm going to change first, I don't want to keep this awful airport smell all night," she nervously replied as she smiled at her brother.

Pogue showed his sister the guest room, where she was going to stay for a few days. She had already managed to fill in for a room application at Spencer Academy. She needed to wait until she was called to move to the school's dorms. Jessica took a quick shower and got dressed. She walked outside where her brother waited. She sat in the back of his motorcycle and he rode off.

The entire time her brother was riding to Nicky's, she thought about seeing Caleb again. She thought about the way she was going to react. How was it going to be exactly? All kinds of questions related to him began roaming inside her head. She became more nervous when Pogue parked his motorcycle in front of the small bar that sparked the name of Nicky's sign on and off.

Biting her lips, she hesitated to move an inch. Pogue smiled and held her hand, and that was the reassurance she needed to get off the bike.

"This is it, Jessica," she whispered to herself as she made her way inside.