[This chapter is dedicated to our new power stone fairy, Yolo90. Thank you! ]
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The idea in her head sounded like a better plan when she read the message from Luke. She already replied to him about what she wanted to do with her car. There was no way for her to back down.
She grabbed her stuff from her desk. There was nothing to prepare there since she would just carry the same bag she used yesterday.
She turned her head back to her closet then darted her eyes to the closed bathroom door. She took a deep breath and dashed to the bathroom. She opened the top drawer from under the lavatory counter.
She started putting her toiletries inside the pouch. She scanned the bathroom for something that she would need. She glanced at the towel, hanging on the towel rack - she doesn't need to bring a towel.
She got out of the bathroom, sure that she already got what she needed. She passed by her vanity table for her makeup.
She didn't need to touch any of her stuff on it because she has a separate pack of the same makeup and skin essentials. She bent over and opened the last drawer from her vanity table, grabbed a black pouch.
She always has packed extra makeup and skin essentials and other stuff for whenever she has to travel and doesn't want to waste time packing.
She threw the two pouches on her hands on the bed and opened her closet. She needed loungewear, pajamas, and clothes to wear for work on Monday.
She was choosing from the pile of her pajamas and decided she didn't actually need pajamas or loungewear.
She just removed a navy dress from the hanger, grabbed two pairs of underwear, and closed her closet door. Only to open it again. She reached her arm to the back of her closet and pulled out a cloth tote bag, big enough to put everything she needed for an overnight.
She walked back to her bed and put everything inside the cloth tote bag. Once she zipped up the bag, she took a deep breath. "You can't change your mind now, Jess."
She exhaled a deep breath and slung the tote back on her shoulder, walked to her desk to get her office bag.
She was at the door when she realized she forgot her phone. "Relax! You already slept there last night. What is another night or two!"
She slowly walked back to her bed, to fetch her phone that she left on her bedside table. She grabbed the phone and was about to put it in her pocket when she realized she wasn't wearing any pants!
Her shoulder dropped and the tote bag that was on her shoulder thudded when it hit the floor. She exhaled a deep breath, "Get a grip, Jessica Joy. It was just a freaking sleepover and not even your first! You were there last night."
She put down her office bag on her bed and dropped herself on the floor. She stretched her legs in front of her and remembered something. "I need shoes for work," she said, wiggling her feet.
She took another deep breath, "Shoes. I need to pack my shoes." She got from the floor and opened her closet once again. She pulled out a pair of jeans and put them on.
She turned around and retrieved her bags on her bed and on the floor. "Let's go," she muttered under her breath, pulling the tote bag to her shoulder.
"Shoes, don't forget your shoes." She said to herself as she opened her bedroom door.
She yanked her bedroom door open then slammed it back. She leaned against the door, palpitating in nervousness. "What will I tell, Papa? Should I ask for permission?"
She hit her head against the door when she heard what she said. She couldn't help but laugh at her stupidity. How can she even think of asking for her father's permission to sleep over in a man's house - alone!
She's a big girl. She doesn't need her father's permission.
She slowly opened her bedroom door and closed it softly behind her. She stood still for a minute listening for any sounds.
There was no noise coming from the living room, but there was a faint sound coming from the guest room. She hastened her steps knowing that her father was already inside his room.
She walked briskly to the door. She was in such a hurry, scared that her father would come out of the guest room and asked her where she was going. She was scared to lie.
"Shoes," she whispered to herself, then opened the shoe cabinet at the foyer, grabbed her Chanel flats, and got out of her apartment.
She released a deep sigh when she closed her apartment door behind her.
"What now, Jessica?" she asked herself loudly. Then dashed to the direction of Noah's apartment like a fugitive.
She took another breath when she reached Noah's apartment. She glanced at the electronic keypad on the door.
She knew his passcode, but she was thinking if she should knock. She didn't tell Noah that she was coming over. She has no idea what his opinion is about her running away from her place because she doesn't want to have another talk with her father.
With her bag and her shoes in her hand, she heaved a deep sigh, hugged her office bag to her chest, moved her shoes from her right hand to her left, then key in Noah's passcode quickly before she could change her mind.
When she heard the soft hissing of the electronic lock, she pushed the thick door open and let herself inside Noah's apartment.
Her heart was thundering in her chest, which she could hear clearly since Noah's apartment was too quiet. She wondered if he was at home.
She slowly made her way further inside his apartment. She passed by the empty living room and the kitchen. When she reached the hallway leading to Noah's bedroom she exhaled a deep breath and hugged her office bag tighter to her chest.
She held her office bag closer to her chest like a shield of a sort because when she was standing in front of Noah's bedroom, she heard a gun cocked behind her.