Chapter 12.

As a few weeks went by, everything went by semi-normally. Jesse and I began to take walks every morning after his workouts. We'd then be home in time for breakfast, and my morning interrogation about Jesse from the girls. Becca started to move in on Luka, telling me how amazing he was, and how good looking he was.

Everyday seemed to be the same. After breakfast I would go for a morning swim, then tan in the afternoon. I would come up to the house for lunch, then go back to the beach afterwards. Once Lacy wanted to start making dinner, I would go in and try to help, instantly being booted from the kitchen. We would all eat, then help clean up afterwards.

After dinner, we would all disperse. I normally would stay in the living room and watch the news with Jesse. Andi suggested I go to the gym with her from time to time, so after the news I would go down and lift with her. She definitely takes lifting seriously. After we lift, she always cracks my joints to make sure they stay loose. Living with a doctor definitely has its perks.

After my workout with Andi, I would go back to my room and take a shower. Once I finished my shower, I would go back to the kitchen for a late-night snack, Jesse would miraculously have something waiting for me. Some nights, Jesse and I would stay up and watch something on T.V. before finally calling it a night. Often, I would fall asleep on the couch. Jesse would carry me to my room and put me in bed.

I can safely say, Jesse Marinos is certainly a gentleman. He knows how to make a woman feel appreciated. Just the little gestures were enough to make my heart sing. It seemed like he always knew what to say and at the right time. Nonetheless, I've been happy the last few weeks.

"Hey J!" shouted Becca. "C'mon let's go". "I'm coming" I shouted, not moving from my towel. Today was probably one of the hottest days ever. Everyone was out on the water. Jesse, Luka, and Conner were out on the jet skis. Becca, Lacy, and Elena were swimming. Andi was laying on the sand next to me. Andi and I have gotten closer over the course of a few weeks. "Andi, where's Claire?" I asked. "Probably drinking her life away" said Andi, laughing. "I honestly feel sorry for her, we've tried to include her in everything we do, but she has no interest in us, she just uses Jesse for his booze".

"Are you guys coming in?" shouted Elena. "Yeah, we'll be there in a few," said Andi. "C'mon J, we better get up" said Andi, reaching out her hand. We started walking towards the water. We dipped our toes in, and saw the boys riding towards us on their jet skis. As Jesse got closer to the shore line, I realized he wasn't going to stop. "Andi…. Andi he's not gonna stop!" I yelled frantically. "Jesse slow your ass down!" shouted Andi. Just as he was about to crash onto the beach, Jesse maneuvered the jet ski at such an angle, that a giant wave crashed into us. "Jesse!!" I shouted.

Andi stood there, soaked. Andi was like a cat; she hated the water. She only got in it when she was either forced into it or going in at her own leisure. Andi was livid, she stood there completely red in the face, and it wasn't from the sunburn. Quickly, Jesse drove away. "I'm going to kill you Marinos!!" Andi shouted.

The boys quickly sped away, while Andi ran back to the barn. "Oh God, Andi where are you going?" I said, nervously. Just then, Andi wheeled out a jet ski on a cart. "Oh boy here comes Andi" shouted Lacy. Andi put the jet ski in the water, then yelled "J come grab this cart!". I rushed over, grabbed the cart, and wheeled it away from her. Andi walked the jet ski out in the water and revved the engine. Just like that, she was off.

In no time, Andi caught up with them. In the back of Andi's jet ski, there was a compartment. Andi reached in the back of the compartment and grabbed out a giant water gun. Once she got close to Jesse, she aimed it right at his back, and pulled the trigger. All the way from the beach, we could hear Jesse scream, "damnit Andi!". They brought their jet skis back to the beach. Once Andi got off hers, she sprinted to the beach, grabbed a handful of sand, and waited for Jesse to dock his jet ski.

As soon as Jesse got off his jet ski, Andi snuck up behind him, and threw a giant clump of sand in his hair. "Andi!!" shouted Jesse. I looked at Jesse as he turned around, where Andi shot him in the back was all red, and the skin peeled back. "Jesse, are you okay?" I asked walking over. "Yeah J, I'm fine" said Jesse, wincing at my touch. "Oh man up, I barely shot you" said Andi. "C'mon you big baby, let's go put something on that before you infect us all".

Andi and Jesse walked back to the house, while the rest of us stayed back. As I started to walk towards Becca, Luka came up to me. "Hey Jenny," said Luka. "Want to go for a jet ski ride?". "Uh, sure" I said hesitantly. "Don't worry I'll go slow," said Luka, laughing. We started to walk towards the jet skis, then I felt my stomach drop. What about Jesse? How would he react if I were with Luka? Will this end up like last time? "Luka, I better not," I said. "I have a stomach ache, I'll sit this one out. Maybe another time?". "Oh, yeah sure Jenny, do you need anything?" asked Luka. "I just need to get out of the sun for a while," I said. I started back towards the umbrella above my towel.

As I was walking, I felt extremely light headed. I felt my legs getting heavy, and the air getting thin. Just then, everything went dark, and I felt my legs give way. "Jenny!" I heard Luka shout. "Jenny what the hell!" shouted Jesse, sprinting from the house. "Jenny?" shouted Andi. Becca, Lacy and Elena ran towards the beach. Everyone started to crowd around me.

"What the hell happened?" shouted Jesse. "Get out of my way Marinos" shouted Andi, putting her cold hand on my throat. "She has a weak pulse, she's hot… get her inside!". Jesse picked me up effortlessly and carried me inside. Once we got in the house, Jesse laid me down on the couch. "Whatcha' need Andi?" yelled Lacy, running for the basement. "Lacy get an oxygen tank, Elena grab the masks from the closet. Becca grab a bag of ice from the basement. Luka and Conner grab the industrial fans from the barn. Move people move!" shouted Andi. "Marinos out of my way NOW!" she yelled at Jesse, pushing him away from me.

"Andi what do you need?" said Jesse, desperate. "Jesse" sighed Andi, "You need to stay out of my way so I can help her". Andi strapped an oxygen mask to my face, while Becca threw bags of ice around me. I started to open my eyes, my head throbbing. "Jesse" I said weakly, "What happened?". "Heat stroke my friend" said Andi. "If you were too hot you should have told us". "I felt fine," I said. "Well clearly you were too hot girlfriend" said Andi. "You need to start taking breaks when you're outside".

"I'm freezing," I said, taking the ice packs off me. "Leave those on J" said Becca. "Guys, I'm fine" I insisted. "Jenny, please do what Andi says," said Jesse, practically begging me to listen to Andi. "Okay Jesse" I said. I didn't want to be treated like a charity case just because I couldn't stand up. "If you guys need me, I need to run to the barn… just holler if you need me" said Andi. "Thanks Andi" said Jesse.

"Want anything to eat or drink J?" said Lacy. "Thanks Lacy, but I'm okay," I said. "Bottle of water? Of course J!" yelled Becca. "I'll go get it," said Becca as she went downstairs. "Damnit B" I muttered. "Jesse I'm serious, I'm fine" I said to Jesse, who hadn't left my side. "We're just taking precautions," said Jesse. "I can't have my girl go down on me again can I?". His girl. I could get used to him saying that.

Just then, Becca came back upstairs with a bottle of water. "Really B? I'm fine!" I said. "Just drink it," said Becca, handing me the bottle. Angerly, I grabbed the water and took a giant sip. "I'm getting up," I said, swinging my legs around the couch. "Here Jenny, let me help you," said Jesse, extending his arm. "Jesse," I said, sighing. Reluctantly I grabbed his arm and lifted myself up. "Are you feeling okay, Jenny?" said Andi walking in. "Yeah Andi, I'm fine," I said. I let go of Jesse's arm, and stood up on my own. "I have to go to the bathroom; I'll be right back" I said. "Need me to go with you J?" said Becca. "No, it's okay," I said, leaving the room.

I walked back to my room, opened the door, and walked towards the bathroom. As I reached for the door handle, I saw a giant, disgusting arachnid crawling on the floor in front of me. Instantly I freaked out. "JESSE!!" I shouted. In seconds, he was in the room. "Jenny, what happened? Are you okay?" he said. "Jesse kill it!!" I screamed, standing on the bed. "What is it? Where?" said Jesse, confused.

Becca and Andi entered the room. "What's going on?" shouted Becca. Andi walked towards the bathroom and saw the spider. "JESSE!!" she shouted, joining me on the bed. "KILL IT!!". "You're afraid of this little thing?" said Conner, entering the room. Conner grabbed a mason jar and scooped the spider up. "Conner keep that little bastard away from me!" shouted Andi. "What, this little thing?" said Conner, shoving the jar in her face. "Conner… I will kill you!" shouted Andi. "Conner, kill it!" I shouted, panicking. "Jenny it's in a jar… it can't hurt you" said Conner. "It's hurting my eyes!" I shouted. "Just, take it outside, far away from here". Andi and I got off the bed after Conner left. Jesse just stood there, laughing at us. "Shut it Marinos," said Andi.

Andi left the room, leaving Jesse and I alone. "I'll leave you to go to the bathroom…" said Jesse, awkwardly. "Thanks," I said. "Hey Jesse" I started as he walked out of the room. "Yeah J?" he said. "Thanks, for everything," I said. "Of course" said Jesse. Jesse left, shutting the door. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My skin had disgusting peels from the sunburn. There wasn't much I could do about it anyway.

I left my room, still embarrassed about my face. I figured Elena would be able to help me with it. I was met by Andi in the kitchen, no sign of Jesse. "Hey Andi, have you seen Elena?" I asked. "If you are asking about facial cream, ask Claire… you can probably guess where she is" said Andi. "Man you're good!" I said, walking towards the stairs.

As I walked downstairs, I saw Claire sitting on a barstool, holding a bottle of tequila. "Hey Claire," I said. "What do you want?" said Claire, taking a drink. "I was wondering, is there anything you could do for this?" I said, pointing at my face. "Oh, the peeling," said Claire. "You're on your own". "But Andi said you have something for it," I said, getting annoyed. "Even if I did have something to help, I wouldn't give it to you" said Claire, turning to me. "Why do you hate me so much?" I finally said. "Oh sweetie, why don't more people hate you?" said Claire. Angerly, I walked back upstairs. "What a bitch!" I said to Andi. "Try not to let her get to you," said Andi. "Try just letting it pass… peel off what you can".

Just then, Lacy came in. "Oh girl, what is going on up here?" she said, getting up in my face. Lacy reached her hand to my forehead and pulled off a giant peel of skin. "Have you talked to Claire?". "Yeah, that was a bust," I said. By then, Andi, Becca, Lacy, and Elena were crowding around me. "Hey guys what are we looking at?" said Luka, walking in. Quickly, Becca turned around, "Uh hey Luka, nothing". "Luka leave" said Andi, not moving. "Geez okay I'm gone" said Luka, walking back outside. Just then, he opened the door again. "Can someone at least throw me a…" started Luka. "No!" shouted Andi.

"Hey Elena" shouted Conner through the window. "Can you get Jenny out here? Jesse needs her". "Tell him to wait" said Andi, trying to peel off as much skin as she could. "Just a minute!" shouted Elena. "What am I gonna do?" I said, worried. "Don't sweat it, he's used to seeing us peeling" said Lacy. "Yeah, it should be fine," said Becca. "She's coming" shouted Elena through the window.

I walked out the door, praying that Jesse wouldn't notice the peeling on my face. "Conner" I shouted, "What did Jesse need?". "Oh, I don't know, he's in the barn," said Conner. I started walking towards the barn, wondering what Jesse needed.

Once I got to the door, I peeked in to see what he was doing. "Come in Jenny" said Jesse, not looking up. "How do you do that?" I said, wondering how he knew I was there. "I'm a pretty smart guy Jenny," said Jesse. Jesse was standing at a table, cleaning a shotgun. "Conner said you wanted to talk to me?" I said, walking towards the table. "Jenny, I want to teach you how to fight," said Jesse. "Why?" I asked. "Because I want you to go on a mission with us," said Jesse.