Michael was seated at the dining table with his entire family. He expected to see Jessie seated at the dining table, but she was not. He wondered if she was alright. He wanted to go check on her, but he doesn’t want a repeat of what happened in her room before.
He sighed softly as he watched Elena and Ariel set the dining table. He glanced at the stairs waiting for Jessie to show up but to his disappointment, she didn’t.
“I’ll go call Jessie to join us for breakfast,” Elena said.
Michael wanted to tell Elena he would go call Jessie, but he kept his mouth shut and watched Elena climb the stairs and make her way to Jessie's room.
****
Jessie lay on her bed looking at the ceiling. Her mind was continuously drifting to her sister. She didn't have a good night's rest.
“I don’t know if these angels will keep to their promise in assisting me to find my sister,” Jessie stated quietly. “The more time my sister spends in the demon zone, the more she is in danger.” “Oh God please protect my sister, she is the only one I have left.”
She heard a knock on her door. She stood up from the bed to answer it.
“Good morning,” Elena said.
Jessie didn’t even reply to her, she just waited for Elena to speak.
“Breakfast is ready.”
“I'm not hungry,” Jessie muttered. She was about to close the door however Elena positioned her hand on the door stopping it from closing.
“Are you all alright?”
“I'm fine,” Jessie murmured while she crossed her arms.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Jessie yelled. “Can you simply leave me alone,” Jessie demanded as she slammed her door shut.
Jessie sat on her bed as tears moved down her face. She brought her knees up to her chest as she continued to sob quietly. She remembered all the moments she spent with her sister and it made tears run down her face.
“Please be strong for me, I will find you soon,” she whispered.
****
“What was that noise?” Raguel asked immediately Elena came downstairs.
“It's Jessie,” Elena answered with an unhappy expression.
Michael heard Jessie's name and turned his full attention to Elena.
“What happened?” Michael asked.
“She looked upset.”
“Really? What could be wrong with her?” Michael asked.
“I don't know, she didn't say,”
“Is she coming downstairs?” Raguel asked.
“No. She said she’s not hungry.”
“That's a lie,” Michael said without thinking, making the entire family turn their heads to look at him. He refused to meet any of their eyes. “I’ll go talk with her.”
“Wait, Michael,” Raguel said. “ I don't think it's a good idea.”
“But why?”
“She’s upset about something we should let be, for now,” Raguel said.
“But...”
“No.”
“Fine,” Michael said as he sat down.
Michael stared at the meals on his plate. He was worried about Jessie. He needed to know what was bothering her.
“Michael,” Raguel called.
Michael raised his head to look at him
“Eat,” Raguel said softly. “She’ll be fine.”
Michael nodded his head as he picked up his spoon and dug it into his plate.
After breakfast, Michael made his way to the living room. He sat down as his mind drifted to Jessie. What made her so upset?
Michael stood up from the couch, made his way upstairs, and headed for Jessie's room. He knocked softly on the door and waited for a response. However, he did not get any. So, he knocked again.
“Jessie,” Michael called softly. “Please open the door.”
Within seconds, the door flung open. “What?” Jessie yelled, crossing her arms.
“I want to talk to you,” Michael said.
“So, you want to talk now, after avoiding me for two days?” Jessie shouted.
“I wasn’t avoiding you. I just have a lot on my mind that I wanted to sort out.”
“Whatever! I don’t care.”
Michael sighed softly. “Can I come in?”
Jessie didn't reply to him. She just left the door open and went to sit down on her bed.
Michael took that as an invitation and entered the room. Immediately, he was inside, and he shut the door behind him.
“Are you angry at me?” Michael asked.
“Why would I?” Jessie shot back.
“You said I avoided you, and I guess you are angry because of that.”
“I'm not angry because of you,” Jessie said. ‘Well, some part of me is mad that you avoided me,’ she wanted to tell Michael but kept that thought to herself.
“Then why are you upset?” Michael asked.
“I woke up at the wrong side of my bed,” Jessie said.
“Really?” Michael raised his eyebrows.
Jessie sighed softly. She was not able to keep a stern face at Michael. ‘Why does he have to be this handsome?’ she thought.
“I was up all night, thinking about my sister,” she muttered. ‘And you.’ She kept the last part to herself.
“I know you miss your sister a lot. However, you need to eat well to keep up your strength,” Michael said. “Punishing yourself will not fix anything.”
“I know; it's just that I want my sister here with me,” Jessie said. “I don't even know if she is still alive,” she said as a tear slipped down her face. She brought her hands to her eyes and wiped them off.
“She is still alive,” Michael said. “Have faith.”
“I don’t know if I'm strong enough to hold myself together,” Jessie whispered.
“Yes, you are,” Michael said.
Jessie nodded her head, unable to form a sentence. “I'm sorry,” Jessie said.
“You don't need to express regret for anything,” Michael said.
Jessie nodded her head and remained quiet
“Are you hungry?” Michael asked.
“Very hungry,” Jessie said with a smile
“Come on, let's go downstairs,” Michael said as he turned to open the door.
“Wait!”
Michael turned back to look at Jessie.
“Is Elena angry with me? I spoke rudely to her.”
“No,” Michael answered. “I'm sure she understands.”
“Okay, let's go,” Jessie said.
Michael turned and led the way out of the room.
Raguel's eyes met Michael’s as soon as they went downstairs. Jessie left Michael's side and went to the kitchen. She saw Elena standing there.
Jessie cleared her throat to get Elena's attention.
“Hey,” Elena said with a smile.
“Hi,” Jessie replied. “I'm sorry for the way I yelled at you.”
“It's okay,” Elena said.
“No, it's not. I shouldn't have raised my voice at you,” Jessie argued.
“Well, it's fine,” Elena said. “I'm just happy you are alright. Do you want to eat now?”
“Yes, please,” Jessie said with a smile.
****
“I wonder what you said to Jessie,” Raguel said, looking at Michael, who sat next to him.
“Nothing much.”
“I think it's something much,” Raguel said, gesturing toward Jessie, who had a smile on her face.
Michael turned to look at Jessie, and he could not stop the smile that crept on his lips.
“Then something much,” Michael said with a snicker, which made Raguel laugh.
“I'm happy she is okay,” Raguel said.
“Yeah, me too,” Michael agreed as he rested his back on the couch.