Setting: Mae's house in Hidden Hills, California
Mae listened for the front door as she rolled her mother's suitcase into the living room. She was still unsure where her parents would be going but she packed the clothes that would be appropriate for any occasion. She had already called up Chi and explained that her parents would be gone and made arrangements to stay at her house for the time being.
The sound of the alarm played through the house, indicating that someone had entered through the front door. Mae walked to the foyer to greet her parents with the suitcase in tow. A confused look washed over her face when she became face-to-face with Demi.
"Where are you going?" Demi asked with a slight bit of humor in her voice. Mae laughed at the fact that Demi thought this was for her. It seems like she was just as clueless as Mae was.
"The real question is where are you going?" Mae shot back at Demi. Demi scrunched her face up and looked back and forth at Jesse and Mae. Jesse had bent over to pick up the suitcase and Mae stood there staring at Demi with a smirk on her face.
"What the hell is happening?"
"Believe me when I say, I don't know. Dad asked me to pack you a bag and I did. I guess you're going on vacation... again."
Demi still couldn't connect the dots from Mae's explanation. When she looked back at Jesse, he had disappeared into the kitchen.
All she wanted from Jesse was for him to show that he still loved Demi. She didn't want to shoot down his plan because at least he was trying. She just wanted her husband's love back and a romantic getaway wasn't going to do that. They couldn't be isolated from the rest of the world because all their problems existed in the real world. Running away from them wasn't the answer.
Jesse walked back into the foyer from the kitchen with the car keys in hand and his other held his phone pressed against his ear. He was staring at the ground when he walked in but as he ended the phone call he looked up to find Demi and Mae both staring at him.
"Mae you should pack a bag for the week too, Madison is on her way to pick you up." Jesse explained as he walked closer to them. Mae wanted to roll her eyes because she didn't want to stay with Madison. She loved her aunt but she wasn't as much fun as being with Chi. Nonetheless, Mae sucked it up and went upstairs anyway. Just because she was supposed to be at Madison's house doesn't mean she had to be.
Once the sound of Mae's bedroom door closing could be heard, Demi turned to Jesse with an unsure look on her face. "Jesse, what is happening?"
"We're going on a trip." Jesse watched as Demi began to shake her head.
"No Jesse, that's not what I meant in the car—"
"Demi, do you trust me?" Jesse asked. Demi looked into his eyes but didn't answer. Her trust had been tested by him and she wasn't sure how this question was relevant to their situation. Eventually, Demi nodded her head. "Okay then. This is going to be good for us, I promise."
Jesse kissed Demi's forehead and grabbed the suitcase to put them in the car. Leaving Demi in the foyer alone. She made her way upstairs to Mae's room. Mae had a suitcase on her bed and was in her closet throwing various clothing options onto the floor behind her.
"Did your dad tell you anything about where we're going?" Demi asked from standing in the doorway of Mae's closet.
"Nope." Mae said while popping the p. "Which ultimately made it hard to pack clothes for you because I didn't know what the weather was going to be like. But Dad's surprises are always great, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"They are but he knows how much I don't like surprises. They make me anxious..." Demi picked at the skin around her nails while she tried to think about where Jesse could be taking her.
Mae paused from packing to look at her mother. "Well, isn't this a good thing? Dad is trying to do something to help your relationship and you're just pushing him away. This is exactly what I was talking about in the car."
Demi could feel her heartbeat speed up as she looked at Mae. Demi took a second to collect her thoughts before speaking. "This entire time you've been blaming me as if marriage isn't a two-person thing. I've tried making peace with your father Maeve but he can't keep his end of the deal! Babygirl, I'm sorry that this has affected you so much and we haven't been thinking about you, but you can't continue to blame me over your father."
Mae's face fell at the end of Demi's rant. She had been so upset that she didn't look at the full picture. Her intentions weren't to make Demi feel like this was her fault but things had turned out that way.
The sound of a car horn came from outside and Demi looked out Mae's window to see Jesse waiting outside. "Alright, I guess we're leaving now. I love you, okay? Please don't cause trouble while we're gone."
Mae nodded, although she couldn't make any promises to avoid getting in trouble. She hugged Demi goodbye before continuing her packing. Mae could only pray that whatever her father had in mind was going to work. She couldn't handle living with her parents arguing whenever they were around each other any longer. This vacation had to work. It was their last option.
Setting: Laguna Beach, California
Tiny snores escaped Demi's lips as she lay her head against the window peacefully sleeping. After she had given up on guessing where they were going, she got comfortable and had the best sleep she had gotten in a while. Jesse felt bad for having to wake her up because she looked at peace for the first time in a while. It was obvious that she hadn't gotten much sleep the past few weeks. The dark circles under her eyes became darker day by day and her movement had become sluggish and slow.
Nonetheless, Jesse rubbed Demi's shoulder which eventually caused her to wake up. As Demi's eyes adjusted to the sun beaming down on them, Jesse took the opportunity to get their bags out of the trunk. Demi stepped out of the car to stretch her legs and realized where they were.
"Did you bring me here to kill me?" Demi joked. She stepped out of the car and stretched her arms above her head. Jesse closed the trunk and approached Demi, wrapping his arm around her waist. Demi felt her body tense up as Jesse engulfed her with his arm. She didn't want to push her husband away anymore but the act had become so foreign to her, she couldn't help it. He pressed a kiss to Demi's temple and this time she couldn't help but pull away. She still had a lot of things to discuss with Jesse and acting like they didn't have any problems wasn't going to help them.
Jesse didn't want to call out Demi for pulling away because that would lead to an argument. Whether Demi liked it or not he was going to be affectionate to her. Jesse grabbed their suitcases in one hand and Demi's hand in the other as he lead them inside the house.
This house was their first big purchase together. After getting married, they visited Laguna Beach numerous times, and renting out on Airbnb each time was costly. Jesse suggested that they buy a house in the area for whenever they wanted to visit and they would let other people rent it out in the meantime. It became their safe place. Whenever life got too hard, they would escape to Laguna Beach, turn their phones off, and live in the moment, with each other.
By the time Jesse had finished unpacking, he came downstairs to find Demi singing 'Moon River' at the piano. Her hands flowed with the keys as she lost herself in the music. Jesse watched her from afar.
"Moon river, wider than a mile. I'm crossing you in style, someday. Oh, dream maker. Heart breaker. Wherever you're going, I'm going that way..." Demi sang. Jesse was mesmerized by how she let the music take over her body. It was like the world around her disappeared and she became one with the music.
Jesse readjusted his weight to his other leg and the floorboards creaked beneath him. Abruptly, Demi stopped playing after realizing that she had been caught. She looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with Jesse across the room.
He made his way to Demi as she made enough space for him to sit on the small stool. Jesse sat down next to Demi and she put the fallboard down on the piano to cover the keys.
"I didn't mean to disrupt you," Jesse apologized.
"It's okay." Demi looked around the house. "I forgot we had this place."
"Me too. But I'm glad it's still here." Although Jesse was talking about the house, his focus remained on Demi. All the memories they had here couldn't fix the damage that had been done, but it gave him hope thinking about the old memories and the new ones they were going to make.
Demi pulled out her phone and Jesse immediately stopped her. "Uh uh, no phones, remember? That was the rule you made." Jesse took Demi's phone out of her hands and slipped it into his back pocket.
"I just need to check on Mae."
"I already did that, she's fine." Jesse smirked. Demi was a creature of habit. Whenever they went on vacation without the kids, the first thing Demi did when they got to their destination was check on them.
"Why'd you bring me here, Jesse?" Demi asked while picking the skin around her nails. Jesse took notice of how short her nails had gotten. Demi was never someone to have long nails but they were nubs. Jesse could only assume that her anxiety had gotten the best of her. Jesse held Demi's hand to stop her bad habit.
"Because this is our spot." Jesse rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. A moment passed between them and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the waves crashing against the shore outside. "I don't want to sit here and talk about what I'm going to do to make it up to you. Actions speak louder than words and I know you believe that more than anything."
Demi kept her daze focused straight ahead but let Jesse know she was listening by nodding her head. She remained quiet and let Jesse do the talking. "I don't want to ignore what happened in the past. If we ignore our mistakes, then we can't learn from them. There's no excuse for what I've done to you and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but that's only if you let me."
Demi leaned into Jesse and held his hand back. "You get one strike and you're out. If you fuck up, I'm out the door, Jesse. For real this time."
"Deal. I'm not going to lose you again." Jesse wrapped his arm around Demi, holding her tight. He wasn't going to put his family at risk again, if he lost them he would never forgive himself. "But, if I see Wilmer again, I'm going to kill him. Literally."
"Max told me you broke his nose. That's not enough?" Demi asked, half joking and half serious. Jesse shook his head no while Demi laughed at his antics. "You don't have to worry about him anymore, I can promise you that."
Jesse didn't respond instead he kissed the top of Demi's head. Holding her was something he hadn't gotten to experience in a long time. He wanted to stay here until they both grew tired. The familiarity of her body intertwined with his was something he knew all too well. They connect like the last two pieces of a puzzle. There was no denying they were meant to be with each other.
"I love you. More than words could describe." Jesse said.
Demi leaned more into Jesse. This was all she ever wanted. This feeling of being loved by the one that you vowed to be with for the rest of your life is a feeling that couldn't be beaten. Recently, they consumed themselves in their work and all of their vacations involved their kids. They forget that their marriage was the foundation of this family and needed maintenance.
Being fully present at this moment was the remedy Demi and Jesse needed. They couldn't erase what happened in the past but they could change the future.
~
They had been playing rounds of 'BS' for hours now and Demi had refused to stop playing until she won. They sat across from each other on the ground with the coffee table between them. Jazmin Sullivan's sultry voice played in the background as Jesse put the last two cards in his hand face down on the coffee table.
"Two queens." Jesse said with a smile. Demi looked up from her cards and tried to study his face.
"Bullshit," Demi stated. Jesse continued to smirk and gestured toward his cards. Demi flipped them over to find he wasn't lying. She threw the rest of her cards on the table in defeat.
"You cheated! There's no way you win five times in a row without cheating." Demi argued. She was a competitive person and losing was not her forte.
"I didn't but we can keep going since you don't believe me, I'll just beat you again—" The doorbell rang and interrupted Jesse. He got up to answer the door while Demi stared at it in confusion.
"Who's that?" Demi asked.
"Dinner," Jesse stated. He grabbed his wallet off of the kitchen counter and pulled out a 50 dollar bill. "Shuffle the cards!"
Demi gathered the cards and waited for Jesse to return as she couldn't see him from her point of view. Looking at the time, it was nearing nine o'clock and Demi didn't realize how late it was getting. She had lost track of time while playing cards with Jesse but that made her feel good. It was easy to lose track of time with Jesse because he made her forget about the world around her.
Demi hummed along to the music as she shuffled the cards. She scanned the room for her phone but Jesse had hidden it so Demi wouldn't spend most of her time with her face in her phone. It was getting late and she needed to call Mae and wish her goodnight. She spotted Jesse's phone and grabbed it since that was the next best thing. After unlocking it, Demi dialed Mae's number and put the phone up to her ear. She picked up by the fourth ring.
"Hello?" Mae answered.
"Hi baby girl, it's Mom."
"Oh, hi Mommy." Mae greeted. Demi could hear voices and music blasting in the background of wherever Mae was. Demi sighed at the sound because whatever it was meant Mae isn't where she was supposed to be.
"Are you at your Aunt's house?" Demi asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, is that all you called for?" Mae snapped back. Demi cringed at her tone and took another deep breath. She didn't want to punish Mae over the phone while she was on vacation but Mae was making it hard not to.
"Why are you in such a rush to get off the phone? And why are you lying about where you are? Don't make me check your location, Maeve." Demi threatened.
"Go ahead!" Mae shot back.
Demi removed the phone from her ear and put it on speaker. She opened the 'Find My' app on Jesse's phone and before it could load, the phone was snatched out of her hands. Demi looked up to see Jesse hovering over her with the food in one hand and his phone in the other.
"Goodnight, Mae. Stay safe." Jesse said before hanging up the phone.
"Why the hell would you do that?! Mae is probably somewhere she's not supposed to be!" Demi and Jesse had different parenting styles but when it came down to punishing their daughter, they were always on the same page.
"Knowing our daughter, she probably is, but what are we gonna do? Drive two hours away to punish her?" Jesse put the food down and sat down next to Demi. "We raised a smart kid, Mae wouldn't put herself in a situation she doesn't feel safe in. Listen, I don't want you to be worried about what's going on outside of us. I brought you here so we can get away from our lives, but I can't do that if you're constantly worrying about everything else. We have to focus on ourselves."
Demi's gaze softened as she took in Jesse's words. She failed to realize how much effort and planning Jesse had put into this staycation and she couldn't even give him the attention he asked for.
"I'm sorry, Jesse. I'm a mother, it's my job to worry. But I can promise that from now on, I will do my best to not worry about anything else but us. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help this relationship."
Jesse couldn't help but smile as he heard Demi's promise. From that moment, he knew that they were going to be okay. "Thank you, my love."
Demi's heart jumped at the sound of the pet name. She couldn't remember the last time Jesse had called her that. She had forgotten how much she loved the sound of it. In her mind, it was better than being called "Babe" or "Baby" because those were pet names you could give to anyone. "My love" was something that felt special to their relationship.
Demi cupped Jesse's face to make him look at her. They held each other's gaze for a moment before pulling each other in for a sweet kiss. Demi melted into Jesse, recognizing the familiar touch of his arms around her body. Jesse pulled Demi on top of his body and Demi's hands played in his hair. Jesse kissed her deeper, not wanting to let her go.
Demi pulled away but kept her forehead pressed against Jesse's. "I love you so much"
"I love you more."
Setting: Laguna Beach, California
(one week later)
Their staycation had been everything Demi could ever ask for and more. Each morning, they would reflect on their relationship in the past few months and talk about where they went wrong, then how they would fix it. It sounded childish but talking through it together without the help of a marriage counselor made it easier.
Today was the last night before they left, and Jesse made it extra special. It started with an early morning hike-- which Jesse typically hates but Demi loves them so he sucked it up because it made Demi happy, so he was happy. After, they ate breakfast, and Jesse took Demi to do a few of her favorite things. It felt like they were on their honeymoon. Now, they were on their way to a fancy dinner at their favorite restaurant in town.
Jesse had taken a detour and now he lead Demi down a small trail near the restaurant. Demi had assumed that Jesse had taken the scenic route but now she was walking down stone steps in her Jimmy Choo heels.
"Jesse, I thought we were going to dinner. My feet are starting to hurt." Demi complained. She held tight onto Jesse's hand so she wouldn't lose her balance. If she knew they were going to take the rocky route to the restaurant, she would've worn different shoes.
"Okay, we can stop right here." Jesse stopped walking down the steps and stood a step below Demi so they would be eye to eye. Jesse wrapped his arms around Demi's waist.
"I wanted to say that this past week with you has been amazing and I loved every second of it. You are my best friend, soulmate, my other half, and any other terms that describe how perfect we are for each other." Regardless of the tears forming in Demi's eyes, she couldn't help but laugh at Jesse's loss of words. "It's no secret that our relationship has struggled these past few months but here we are, powering through."
Jesse removed his arms from around Demi's waste and reached for something in his pocket. "As we go back to the real world, I want this to be a fresh start..."
Jesse stepped back and kneeled on one knee. Demi cocked her head to the side as she watched Jesse kneel and pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket. "Demetria Devonne Lovato, will you marry me? Again?"
Demi tried to speak but nothing came out. She put her hand over her chest, feeling how her heart rate sped up. Renewing her vows with Jesse felt like the perfect ending to their problems. Demi didn't bother to look at the ring before saying yes to Jesse. She wrapped him in her arms and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. Everything was perfect, she wanted to live in this moment for forever.
This could be the end of everything,
So, why don't we go somewhere only we know?
omg this chapter is so long, almost 4k words! you guys deserve it tho, remember to vote and comment!!
love you <3
-k