31.𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆.
Yasmine Davenport sits in the back of her car after leaving her daughter's home and waits to reach her own destination. Her fingers glide over the screen of her phone and her lips are pressed in a thin line, refusing to show any emotion.
The drive goes over thirty minutes before they can finally reach their location and the driver quickly climbs out of the car and opens the back door to let her out.
Walking up the minimal stairs to the front door, Yasmine doesn't wait to be let in before she's inserting a key into the slot and going in herself. The threatening beep of the alarm goes off and she types in the code just as steady steps are head coming down the stairs right towards her.
"Yasmine." She turns around and faces the owner of the home, who is wearing black flare yoga pants and a white off the shoulder sweatshirt, looking incredibly casual yet ready to step out even at this time.
"Hi Riley." Yasmine lets her bag slip loose from her fingers and land on the ground and the other woman watches with a word, until her eyebrows furrow and Riley has to ask,
"Is everything okay?" Yasmine shrugs and breaks their gazes, bringing her hands to be strung together in front of her as she stares at the light grey walls in the house.
"Come here." Riley plops down right on the wooden stairs and Yasmine's heels click as she goes to join the other woman. "What is it?"
"Things with Jamie..."
"What about them? Did you get into a fight?"
"No...I just..."
"Hey, talk to me." The soothing voice makes the mother of four nearly melt and she nods slowly and begins explaining the events of the past couple of months, with Emerson and Connie Prescott.
"Jamie took it oddly, her emotions were all over the place and I can't help but blame myself that she wasn't better prepared on how to deal with her birth parents regardless of whether or not she wanted to find them."
Riley listens without saying anything, watching the way the mother's blue eyes shine with guilt and regret. "She'll never know Connie now and I just... I just feel so bad because I never brought it up. What if she was doing it for me but deep down it's why she wanted?"
"Have you spoken to Jamie?" Riley questions softly and she nods.
"Of course."
"What did she say?"
"That is was okay–"
"So?" Riley continues to cut Yasmine off and her eyes flash slightly at the interruption but she bites her tongue and stares into the bright green eyes silently. "If she said it's okay, what–do you not believe her?"
"It isn't that."
"Then I'll ask again, so?"
"Riley, I kept this from her for her entire life. As her mother it was my job to inform her of the possibilities that could happen once her biological family came back into the picture–"
"It was your job to give her home. Did you?"
"Yes."
"It was your job to love her. Did you?"
"Yes but–"
"And it was your job –still is your job like everything else– to be there for her when she needed you. Yasmine I know these things are true because my daughter tells me everyday that even if I didn't come back...she would have been okay because of you. Those girls trust you, okay? So I don't doubt that for one second that Jamie hasn't figured her heart out for herself.
"In case you haven't realised, that girl is you in the sense of her bluntness so she would have told you by now. Just like you're itching to yell at me for interrupting you when you came to me for advice." Yasmine laughs sadly and Riley smiles slightly.
"So what's really wrong?"
"I don't know how to tell her the rest."
"Does it matter?"
"Of course it does, Ry, you know it does."
"But is it relevant?"
Silence. "Is it still important to tell Jamie or will it just be an unnecessary problem of which nothing comes from? What will telling her help with?"
"I don't know...make her more cautious for the future? I don't know."
"So figure it out. Figure out what you need to tell her before you go out on a guilt filled whim. You wouldn't have kept it if you didn't feel it was important."
"Yeah..." Yasmine sighs. "It's just...she's finally okay."
A hand reaches out and grabs her own and Yasmine squeezes it gently. "We'll figure it out."
"I'm sorry..." Yasmine whispers and Riley shakes her head silently. "For everything with us. You've always been there for me and I want to be able to give us a chance but my girls–"
"Are old enough to understand that you deserve to find happiness too. You don't have to push everyone away just because of him, I'm so much better than Mario anyways."
Yasmine laughs again and nods, slowly leaning in until all that's left between the two women is a sliver of space. "You are."
"Is that guy still around?"
"Yeah." Riley groans teasingly then kisses Yasmine softly and the other woman feels herself relax as though a huge weight has been physically lifted off her shoulders.
The truth is, she isn't even sure where she'd begin with telling Jamie everything but once she figures it out, she wants to trust that her little girl will understand why she had to keep it to herself for so long.
Riley pulls back to look at Yasmine who smiles gently. "Again." The Davenport mother remarks, making Riley laugh but give into another kiss.
"Thank you."
"Always."
*****
Jamie traces her finger over the bridge of Wolf's nose as he lies beneath her, his lips slightly parted as his breathing comes out heavily and evenly, his eyes closed, curtained by his dark lashes while he sleeps.
His eyebrows are just as dark and thick as ever, the shape giving him a smouldering look, even in his slumber.
Letting her finger go down, Jamie runs is over his chest and around everyone single of his pecks, the feel of his body firm underneath her touch.
"I don't like being tickled." She withdraws her hand and looks up into his eyes, which are staring at her intently, a blank expression to them not allowing her to see what he's thinking.
"Sorry." Jamie rests her arms on his chest and looks into his eyes as she kicks her legs behind her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good." Jamie blinks, not removing her gaze from his pink lips until he slides a finger under her chin and tilts it up for her to look at him. "Sorry."
He smiles and brushes her blonde hair behind her ear. "Are you growing it out?"
"I don't know...do you think you'd like me with longer hair?"
"Sweetheart, I'd like you even if you had no hair."
Jamie laughs and shakes her head. "I had a pixie cut when I was in high school." Wolf's eyes move to her head as he tries to imagine her with it. "My hair was black, and it was cut into a pixie cut."
"Hm...interesting."
"My natural hair is black." Jamie squeezes his cheeks with an amused smile when he stares at her darkly, then kisses his pursed lips and pulls away with an even bigger grin.
Staring at Jamie now, Wolf thinks about what Yasmine had asked him, the question of whether he was in love with her daughter was true or not. Deciding in this moment as she smiles down at him this morning, he knows it is.
"You're precious to me."
"You're precious to me too." Jamie echoes, her hands cupping his jaw as she taps his lips playfully like a drum. He lets her, because it's making her smile, and it's all he wants to see her do.
"You're okay, yeah?"
"This is the best I've felt in months." She confirms, laying her head down on his chest and hugging him tightly.
.....
Jamie gets up an hour later to shower and officially get ready for the day after she was told she had a surprise waiting for her by her boyfriend. While she's busy doing that, Wolf uses this time to call Crow, sitting on the edge of the bed, he dials his sister and waits for her to pick up.
"What's up?"
"Have they contacted you in any form since I came back from Argentina?"
"No. Like I told you though, they didn't say or mention you, they were asking about me so I don't know why you're so worried." Crow insists and Wolf stands, running a hand through his thick hair and pushing it away from his face.
"I mean this in the nicest way possible, our parents probably don't care about you. Crow, all I've tried to do is protect you from them, can you promise not to reach back out to them, no matter what?"
"Just saying, mom and dad actually cared for us before you screwed them over by going to the police–"
"I was a teenager who saw his parents kill someone right before their eyes with no explanation! You have no idea how I felt and what I went through. I did that for us."
"I didn't ask you to. I didn't do anything, so maybe they're actually genuine towards me since you took me away before I could decide for myself." Crow snaps, making her brother narrow his eyes angrily.
"I'm gonna ignore how much you sound like such a selfish brat right now. Like crap they are genuine! They're just trying to get to me through you."
"They're still my parents."
"Who are criminals."
"What do you call the brother I'm talking to right now? I let you handle Jamie the way you wanted when I knew if could possibly compromise our living situation. I asked you to trust me once and you didn't, after I've trusted you for our entire lives, let me handle this the way I want."
"This is different—"
"I don't care!" Click. The line goes silent and Wolf turns and hurls his phone at the wall, using all his strength.
"Wolf!" Jamie steps away as the device slams into the wall next to her. His features immediately soften once his eyes land on her and he sighs, taking a seat on the bed. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, sorry."
"Don't nothing me." She warns him, tucking her white towel into itself and lowering herself onto his thigh. "Talk to me." Jamie holds the back of his head and makes him look at her.
"Stuff with Crow." His arms wrap around her waist and he draws her nearer, inhaling her freshly bathed skin. "We're fighting again."
"What about?"
"Our parents...they reached out."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because they reached out to her and not me."
"What do they want?"
"I don't know. But I don't trust them." Wolf kisses Jamie's cheek then stands, her bare feet on top of his. "I'm going to go shower, then we can head out and grab breakfast."
Jamie nods then steps back, calling out for him before he closes the bathroom door, "You can talk to me, Wolf. I wanna be there for you as much as you are for me."
"I know, thank you." Once he's shut the door, Jamie changes into a nude mini dress and jacket co-ord with blue flowers and bright green leaves. Lightly curling her hair, Jamie pins it back and does her makeup, adding some gold jewellery accents.
~•Jamie•~
I put my shoes on then sit on the bed and wait for Wolf to finish getting ready. I can't stop thinking about what he told me about his parents reaching out through Crow... I don't want to believe the worst, but his parents don't sound like the type to randomly contact their daughter. They haven't tried to put in effort of finding out what happened to her over the years so why now suddenly?
At the same time though, Crow has a right to want to want to have them in her life. I stand and grab my phone, walking to my balcony doors and stepping out to make a call.
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