Chapter 27

The closer they drew to Jennie's house, the faster her heart started being, to the point that she was sure it would simply jump out of her chest. She hadn't exactly intended on telling her father about Kai tonight, but Lisa's offer to wait for her proved to be the most comforting scenario.

Jennie wasn't sure why exactly the thought of telling her father scared her so much. Maybe it was having to see her father worry. Maybe it was facing the consequences of his overprotectiveness. Or maybe it was just having to voice the situation out loud to someone who was already involved in it - as if speaking about it truly made the whole thing real.

Regardless, the longer she waited, the more Kai would try to get close to her. And she had no idea what her old childhood friend was even capable of she didn't want to know. Plus, he might actually be angry that Jennie told his parents about the previous incidents.

She shuddered to think about how he might want to get revenge.

Lisa seemed to notice Jennie spiraling into her thoughts, and the transfer student lightly squeezed her hand. They'd been holding hands the entire car ride, more out of comfort than romantic affection.

Lisa's touch and presence were really helping Jennie stay in her right mind - she was glad that she gave into her instincts earlier and insisted on meeting.

Eventually, they entered Jennie's neighborhood and pulled up to her house. Lisa parked the car on the curb beside the front lawn, then she turned to look at Jennie. She placed her hands on the brunette's cheeks, looking into her eyes.

"You can do this," Lisa told her firmly, but gently.

"This will make everyone safer."

Jennie nodded slightly and sighed. "I know. I don't know why I'm being such a baby about this."

"You're not. This is a serious situation, so it makes

sense that it's hard to talk about."

Jennie smiled lightly, warmed by Lisa's encouragement. The tall girl's green eyes sent a wave

of calm throughout Jennie, as if she was looking

through a quiet forest.

"Thank you, Lili."

Lisa's heart melted at the nickname. "Lili?" She asked looked at Jennie, a warm smile displayed along her face.

"Yep," Jennie confidently exclaimed whilst placing her hands on top of Lisa's. Of course, along with her gummy smile.

Lisa's inside burst. She smiled. "I'll be here when you're done. If you can't come out to meet me, then just text me."

Jennie nodded, and Lisa released her hands from her face. Sparing one last glance between the two, Jennie opened the passenger door and stepped out. In spite

of the cold, bitter air, Jennie found herself sweating as

she walked up her house's driveway to the front door.

Stepping in, the warmth of a heated home was almost too much for her, and she almost wanted to run back outside as quickly as possible. Closing the door behind her, she heard chatter in the living room and the sound of the TV.

Jennie headed further inside, hanging up her coat and placing her backpack on a dining room chair. She peered into the living room where her father and brothers were watching a baseball game.

They look so happy, Jennie thought, her mouth dry.

But she took a deep breath. No more dodging the issue...the problem wouldn't go away just because her father was in a good mood.

Hearing Jennie's footsteps, her dad turned his head from the TV and smiled at her.

"Welcome home," he greeted, "you're awfully late."

Jennie sighed. "I told you I was out with a friend."

"Yeah, I know."

"Hi Jennie!" her brothers said quickly in unison

before rapidly turning their attention back to the TV.

"Hey, boys," Jennie replied, though not with the usual

Vigor.

Her father smiled, but the happy expression faded as he noticed Jennie's nervous energy.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Jennie nearly broke down right there, but she needed to hold it together while her brothers were in the room. "Dad, can I talk to you real quick?"

Her father immediately seemed to read the situation, and he quickly stood up and wrapped an arm around Jennie's shoulders. "Of course!"

They went upstairs to Jennie's room. The two of them sat side-by-side on her bed, and she was reminded of all the talks they had in this exact place.

From the time Jennie got in a fight with her best friend in elementary school to the many times she broke down after her mother's death. Jennie had always found her father to be the most comfortable one to talk to, even when her mom was still alive.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?"

Her dad's gentle voice immediately caused tears to fall from Jennie's eyes. She buried her face in her hands, and she could sense her father's surprise. He placed a hand on her back for comfort.

"Hey, come on, Jennie, what's wrong?" The worry in her dad's tone was sharper now.

Jennie did her best to collected herself and sniffed, lifting her head once more. "Dad, I had something to tell you. I should've told you earlier, but I was just scared."

Her father watched her expression patiently. "Oh, honey, you know you can tell me anything."

Jennie wiped away a tear from her cheek with her sleeve. "I know, I just..."

Silence fell on the two as Jennie gathered all the words she needed to say, and her father waited patiently for her. Finally, she mustered the gall to just spit it out.

"Dad... Kai is back."

There was another wave of silence, but this one was

far more tense as her father took in what she said.

His arm dropped from her back. "What?" he asked, confused.

"Do you mean that Kai?"

Grace nodded, unable to look her father in the eyes. "He's been texting me and calling me from a bunch of different numbers.'

"You didn't respond to him, did you?"

"Of course not!" Jennie said, a bit sharply. She calmed herself down and sighed. "I block every number, but he keeps finding ways to contact me."

"How long has this been going on?"

The question that Jennie was dreading to hear. "Almost two months."

Her father was silent, and Jennie braced herself for the barrage of scoldings. However, they never came, and when she looked up, her dad looked far more troubled than angry. He returned her gaze, a look of heartbreaking sadness in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me, Jennie?" he asked quietly.

Jennie swallowed, trying not to burst into tears.

"Because, you've been so busy with work and you've

been in a good mood and I was just scared of things

changing. There's been so much going on and I guess

I've been trying to ignore the whole thing because I

just don't know if I can handle it."

In spite of the rambly nature of her answer, her father took it all in solemnly. "Have you told anyone about this, yet?"

"I told...a few close friends," Jennie answered. "They've been looking out for me."

Her dad sighed. "Well thank God for that, at least."

Jennie bit her lip, knowing that if she was going to talk about Kai, she'd have to explain everything that happened. "That's...not all."

"What?" her father asked, concern heavy in his voice.

"You... you remember that house party I went to a month or so ago?" Jennie asked.

Her father nodded, not seeming to like where this was going.

"Well, the reason I was so upset at that party was..."

Jennie gathered up her courage to speak the words that needed to be said. "Kai, he...I saw him there."

Now her father was concerned. He grabbed Jennie's shoulders, forcing her to face him. "Jennie, you saw him? Did he say anything to you? Did he do anything? God, if he so much as-"

"No, Dad," Jennie interrupted him before he could explode. "I just caught a glimpse of him and ran outside. Then, a friend stayed with me and calmed me down."

Her dad seemed a little relieved, but still not calm in the slightest. "What is he doing back here? Oh, Jennie, I told you we should've got that restraining order!"

"I know," Jennie agreed softly.

Noticing Jennie's vulnerability, her father swallowed

his rants, and pulled her into a tight hug. Jennie was a bit surprised at first, but she melted into the hug, grateful for her father's comfort. The smell of his usual cologne brought back memories of Jennie's childhood every time she ever caught wind of it, and she allowed herself to sink into those memories for just a few moments.

"Jennie, I know this is scary, but thank you for telling me," her father began. "I know I can be a bit rash, but let's try and figure this out together. I want to get you a restraining order as soon as possible. He's an adult now, so I don't know how much contacting his parents will do, but I'll do whatever it takes."

Her father pulled away from the hug, but kept his hands wrapped around her upper arms, looking her in the eye. "If anything else happens, you need to tell me. And I know you don't like it, but we're going to have to lay out some restrictions. For your own safety."

"But, Dad-"

"No buts. I won't be able to sleep at night knowing that something could happen to you because I didn't watch over you enough." Jennie's father's voice was almost wavering, and the sound of it prevented the honor student from arguing. His eyes were desperate, the  eyes of a man who had lost before and was terrified to lose again.

"Okay," she finally replied.

He sighed, releasing her arms. "It's just until this whole situation blows over. And I will get it fixed."

Jennie nodded, and her father stood up, offering her a hand. She took it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"Now, let's go join the boys," he said. "I'll be making

phone calls about this first thing in the morning."

"Uh, one more thing, Dad," Jennie said before he could lead the way out the door. He turned to look back at her. "Well... you know how I said that I told some friends about this whole..situation?"

"Yeah?" He turned to face her and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Well....I was really scared to tell you about all this, so one of my friends offered to wait outside while I talked to you. So I was hoping I could go see her off."

As expected, her father didn't look so pleased with that. "Sure, you can see her off, but she has to come up to the door and meet me first."

"Oh, okay, nevermind, I'll just text her to leave."

"Jennie." Oh god, not that stern fatherly tone. Jennie immediately regretted telling him about this - how embarrassing was it for Lisa to have to meet her dad?

Especially her dad!

But still, she understood how her father was on edge after everything she told him. And if he met Lisa, maybe he would trust her enough to let Jennie hang out with her in the future. Jennie could only hope that this whole ordeal didn't scare her off.

"Alright," Jennie sighed.

"That's my girl," her father smiled, much to Jennie's annoyance.

They made their way down to the front door and her father watched through the screen as she walked down the driveway to Lisa's car, still parked on the curb.

Jennie couldn't fight the embarrassment bubbling up within her, and she hoped she could convince Lisa to just drive off.

Approaching the driver's side door, the window rolled down to expose Lisa's face.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Lisa asked, obviously concerned.

"It actually went pretty well," Jennie said, bending down to be at eye level. "Um, so, I came to see you off, but my dad started getting all annoying, saying how he wants to meet you or whatever."

Lisa looked a bit taken back. "You didn't tell him that

we're-"

"No, of course not!" Jennie exclaimed, horrified. "I just said you're a friend."

Lisa raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Just a friend, huh?"

Jennie slapped her shoulder through the window.

"Enough! Now drive away quickly before he comes out here!"

"No, I'll come say hi," Lisa replied, much to Jennie's shock. The blonde opened the door and stepped out, ready to go. She didn't look bothered at all by the prospect.

"What? No! My dad's super embarrassing!"

Lisa chuckled a little. "Every girl says that about her dad. Come on."

Before Jennie could stop her, the taller girl was heading up the driveway to the front door where her father was still standing. Jennie ran after her quickly,

terrified at what would transpire.

When Lisa was close, Jennie's father stepped outside, closing the screen door behind him.

"Hello, I heard you're Jennie's friend?" He held out a hand to Lisa, and Jennie was dangerously close to dying of embarrassment.

Lisa took his hand and smiled at him. "Hello, sir. My

name's Lisa."

"You can call me Neil," her father replied. Once they released hands, he looked her up and down in a swift movement, his hands on his hips. "You're quite tall, aren't ya?"

The two of them stood at about the same height, though Jennie's father wasn't a particularly tall man in the first place. About average height.

"Dad!" Jennie yelled, mortified.

"Oh, calm down," her father said, looking over at her.

"You're acting all embarrassed like you're introducing me to your boyfriend or something."

Jennie and Lisa both blushed, taken aback, and Lisa coughed into her closed fist as if she was trying hard to regain her composure. Her father looked between the two of them, gauging their reactions, and Jennie really didn't like where this was going.

"Alright, Dad, you've met her, so go back inside before I have to disown you!" Jennie herded her father through the door, ignoring his protests.

"Alright, alright," he said. "It was nice to meet you, Lisa! Please take care of my daughter!"

Before Lisa could even respond, Jennie slammed the front door, leaving them in silence again.

Hoping the earth would rise up and swallow her whole, Jennie turned back to Lisa who had this irritatingly amused expression on her face.

"I'm really sorry about that," Jennie apologized.

"Nothing to be sorry about," Lisa laughed. They began to walk down the driveway towards Lisa's car.

"Though I guess it's a bit nerve-wracking, meeting the father and all that."

"Shut up," Jennie groaned.

Walking around to the driver's side door, which was faced away from the house, Lisa climbed into her car, leaving the door open. She sat sideways on the seat so she was facing Jennie, then reached to grab one of

Jennie's hands in her own.

"So, everything really went okay?" she asked.

"Yes, even a little better than I thought," Jennie replied. "Though my dad's probably going to make up some strict rules for me, so I might not be able to hang out with you outside of school for a while."

Lisa smiled up at her. "It's a bummer, but I understand."

Jennie shifted her feet a little, recalling back to when

her father mentioned a boyfriend. The whole issue

with defining their relationship came into her mind

again.

"Lili?" she asked, before she could really stop herself.

"Hm?"

"Are we....you know." Crap, this is embarrassing.

"A couple?"

Lisa blushed a little, but broke out in a wide smile. "A couple of what?"

"Oh my God, stop, you know what I mean!" Jennie retorted, blushing furiously.

Nope, you'll need to be clearer so there are no

misunderstandings," Lisa insisted.

Jennie was furious, but she was too far along to back

out now. "Am I...you know...your girlfriend?"

Lisa smiled so wide that Jennie wondered if her face

would get stuck like that.

"Do you want to be?"

"...yes."

Lisa leaned forward and pulled her into an awkward hug where her face was pressed against Jennie's stomach. "Then yes, you are. And I'm your's."

Although extremely embarrassed by this whole predicament, Jennie's heart pounded with happiness,

and she leaned down her wrap her arms around Lisa's head. All of Jennie's worries about being in a relationship seemed to drift away, and all she could think about was wanting to be together with Lisa. The whole thing seemed surreal.

They pulled away after a minute, but Lisa didn't waste

a second before pulling Jennie down by her arm and kissing her. Although brief, the kiss was more passionate than Jennie expected, and it was becoming

difficult to will herself back up to her house.

"Lisa." she muttered between kisses, "I've got to go."

Lisa separated their lips, but moved to press her cheek

against Jennie's, her hand holding the back of the

girl's head.

"Call me if you need anything," Lisa whispered into Jennie's ear, lighting the brunette's face on fire.

Jennie pulled away, straightening up, and Lisa smile at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

———

Thank you reading.

Pls provide me feedback whenever you have one.