I couldn't sleep that night so I just laid there in my bunk, crying. Joe had asked me about a hundred times before he fell asleep if I was all right and I told him yes each time even though I wasn't.

The next morning, I got out of bed around 9:30 and everyone was still asleep. I went in the bathroom, brushed my teeth, took a shower, etc. then went to the driver and asked him how long it would take us to get to New York. He said only a couple hours so I called Carry and she gave me the address to where the funeral would be and I gave it to the driver.

After about 20 minutes, my phone started ringing and it was Meaghan.

"Hey Megs." I said when I answered. "What's up? I miss you."

"Hey Jael. I miss you too. I just wanted to see how you were. Are you and Joe still fighting?"

"No. We're fine now. We talked last night and everything's okay."

"Good. Listen, I know your mom's funeral is today and I just wanted to give you my condolences." I smiled. "And so does Miley and Selena."

"Thanks. Are they with you now?"

"Yea. We woke up early cause we knew you would probably be the only one awake right now and this would be a good time to call." I laughed.

"Hey guys." I said to Selena and Miley. "I miss you guys so much."

"We miss you too." They said in unison. "I can't believe we won't be able to see any of you guys for two whole months." Selena said.

"Yea. Oh, are you coming to the Teen Choice Awards?" Miley asked.

"I don't know. When are they?"

"August 10. Connect 3 has to go but we really want you to come so we can see you."

"I'll try. And even if I can't, we can always hang out afterwards or before or something."

"Okay, well, we hope you can. And guess what!" Miley said.

"What?"

"I'm gonna be hosting it!" She said excitedly.

"Really? I'm so happy for you. I'll try my best to come then." I heard some talking in the background.

"Thanks. Listen, we got to go. My dad is calling us to have some coffee and breakfast with him. Oh, and Justin says hi."

"Okay. Tell him I said hi back! I miss you guys a lot and I'll talk to you soon. Bye."

"Bye." They said then hung up and I sighed.

It was about 10:30 when everyone finally started waking up. I was really tired since I didn't sleep at all last night so when Joe woke up, he sat on the couch and I sat next to him and fell asleep on his lap.

I don't know how long I was asleep for, but I woke up to the sound of people talking.

"Is she alright?" Someone asked.

"Yea. She didn't get much sleep last night." Joe replied. "Jael, you awake?" I opened my eyes and nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine." I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"

"12:00. We're gonna be there soon."

"I guess we should start getting ready, then." I stood up and went to the back lounge that also had the closets in it. I took out my outfit for the funeral when Caity walked back here too.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked me and I shook my head, no, as the tears started sliding down my cheeks. She walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. "It'll be okay, Jael."

"You guys don't have to come." I told her after I pulled away and wiped my tears.

"But we want to. We're here for you and if the people that love you are around you, you'll feel a lot better."

"Is Nick and Kev coming too?"

"I don't think so. They have to talk to the driver about all the places we have to go for the tour and stuff. And Demi will be in Canada before us since she isn't stopping here."

"Okay. Umm, I'll be right back. I'm gonna change." I went to the bathroom and changed into the dress I would be wearing to the funeral. I did my hair and left my face makeup less. I walked out of the bathroom and into the backroom to see Caity and Kiwi already dressed.

"Is everybody else ready?" I asked them and they nodded. I went to my bag and took out my jewelry. I put my bracelets, necklace, and rings on then my shoes. Since I knew I couldn't walk in heals, I just wore black flats.

A few minutes later, Joe walked over to me. He was wearing dark grey jeans and a black button down shirt with his leatherjacket on top.

"Hey," He said and sat beside me and kissed my forehead. He put his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into his side. Caity and Kiwi said they would see us in a bit then walked out. After a couple minutes of just sitting there, my phone rang. It was Carry.

"Hello?" I said when I picked up.

"Hey Jael. Are you guys almost here?" Joe put his hand in mine started twisting the rings on my fingers.

"Umm, I don't know. Did you already start?"

"We're about to. Let me just give you the address to the cemetery since you'll probably be a little late."

"Okay. Umm, hold on." I grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the side table next to the couch. "Okay, what is it?" She gave me the address and I wrote it down. "Alright, I got it. I'll see you soon." I hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Joe asked me.

"We're gonna be late so Carry gave me the address to the cemetery." I got up and walked to the front of the bus and gave the driver the paper with the address on it. "Sorry for the change." I told him.

"It's alright." He told me and I walked to where everyone else was in the living area and sat on the couch next to Matt.

We hardly talked at all on the way there. As soon as the bus stopped moving, my heart started racing and my eyes instantly filled with tears. We stood up and stepped off the bus and as soon as I did, the cold air of New York hit me. I wrapped my arms around myself but Joe took off his jacket and gave it to me. I looked at him and he gave me a soft smile. I took the jacket and put it on and we walked to where Carry told me to go.

As we were walking, I heard someone say my name. I turned around and saw Carry. I smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey Carry." I said softly as the tears slid down my cheeks.

"Jael, you look beautiful." She said and pulled me into a hug. "I'm very sorry sweetie about what happened. We did everything we could but it was too late."

"I know." I said as more tears came in my eyes. "Thank you for taking care of her. Umm, I'll introduce you to everyone. Come on." We walked to where the guys and Caity were. "Everybody, this is Carry. Carry, this is Evan, Matt, and Jesse. We've been friends since Middle School. Umm, this is Caity and Kiwi, we met at Camp Rock. And this is Joe. My boyfriend."

"It's very nice to meet you all." Carry said.

"Same here." Joe replied.

"Come on. Let's go to where everyone else is."

"Who came?" I asked Carry as we were walking.

"Umm, your father." I stiffened and Joe put his hand in mine and I relaxed a little. "There's this one guy. Your mother told me to invite him whenever she passed but she never told me who he was. Maybe you'll know when you see him." I was confused about who she was talking about but I ignored it and followed her.

We finally got to where they would be burying her and Carry pointed to the guy she was talking about.

"Do you know him?" She asked me. I stared at him and he looked vaguely familiar but…I couldn't quite place it. I shook my head and said no.

"I don't know him." I told her and she nodded. The man was young. Maybe around mid to late 30's. He was around Joe's height and had light brown hair and blue eyes. There was something about him…I feel like I've met him before.

He turned his head and when he saw me, he looked…shocked? I don't know. I just shook it off and looked down and let everything pass. Before I knew it, they were putting her casket into the ground and tears were running down my cheeks. I squeezed Joe's hand tight and he put his arm around my shoulder and I turned my head into his chest.

We took Carry's car back to her house and we would meet Kevin and Nick there with the bus.

"Where's Bill?" I asked Carry as we drove back to her place.

"He went out of town for some business work. He tried to make it but there was no way he could."

"It's okay."

We finally got to the house. I introduce Kevin and Nick to Carry and she recognized the three of them instantly from Connect 3. There wasn't much talking done when we got to the house. Carry had to go outside to do something and I got up and walked to the room my mother slept in.

I was leaning against the side of the door when I noticed something under the pillow on the bed. I walked over to it and picked it up. It was a letter with my name on it in my mother's handwriting. I sat on the bed as my eyes begun to water and opened the letter.

Dear Jael,

By the time you read this, you're probably at Carry's house after my funeral. The truth is, I knew I was going to go. I felt myself getting weaker and weaker and that's why I'm writing this letter. You're probably wondering why I didn't call but that's because I knew you would come here and I wanted you to finish what you started. I don't want you to blame this on yourself at all because none of this is your fault.

But you need to know that I love you and miss you very very much and I will always be watching over you. But there's something you should know-

I looked up when I heard someone at the door. It was Joe. He walked over to me instantly when he saw my face drowned in tears. He sat beside me and pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and cried on his shoulder.

Joe pulled away from the hug and kissed my forehead.

"I love you." I whispered.

"I love you too. Always."

We went back to the living room after I put the letter back in the envelope. I noticed there was something else in the envelope but I told myself I would check it later. A few minutes later, Carry walked back in the house with a bag in her hand. She gave it to me.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"It's your mothers jewelry box. She told me to give it to you." I nodded. I was standing next to Joe, leaning against the wall. All of a sudden, there was a loud banging on the front door and everybody jumped.

"LET ME SPEAK WITH JAEL!" I heard my father yell. Joe tightened his arm around me and I looked at him.

"It's okay. Let me go." I noticed something in his eyes. Fear. "I'll be fine. I promise." I took a quick look at the others then looked down.

"I'll be right back guys." I said then walked outside to see my father walking back to his house. I followed him inside and as soon as I closed the door, he turned around and looked at me with cold, hard eyes.

"Why'd you let your mother stay with them?" Before I could say anything, he slapped me. "It's your fault she's dead! If she stayed here-"

"If she stayed here, she would've died faster than she already was! Don't you dare say it's my fault when it's yours and you know it! If you just got another job, we would have money and been able to take her to the hospital and she would be alive right now!"

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"Why dad? What, are you gonna beat me again? The day of mommy's funeral-are you gonna kill me too?" He slapped me again. Hard. Hard enough to make me fall to the ground. He left a print that stains me long after it's faded. I glare at him as the tears sting in my eyes and get up. I was about to walk out the door when he grabbed my arm very tightly.

"You're coming back here." I scoffed and turned around to face him.

"Bull."

"He's using you. Your boyfriend."

"I love him and he loves me."

"Yea?" He scoffed. "He won't after I tell him what you used to do to yourself." My eyes widened.

"He would understand."

"Understand my ass! He doesn't love you. The moment I tell him, you'll be all alone. He won't love you anymore, if he even does now." Tears were sliding down my cheeks.

"You want to tell him? Fine. Go ahead. But wait till I tell him what you did to me."

"I didn't do shit to you." I scoffed and literally, almost started laughing.

"Really? Because the last time I checked, abusing your children is illegal! But he already knows about that. I'm talking about something else." He grabbed my arm and I pulled them away. "Don't you dare touch me again! Not like last time." He glared at me. "I'm leaving and I'm not coming back."

"We'll see about that."

"Rot in hell." I said before I walked out of the house and slammed the door.

Joe's POV (While Jael is at her dad's house)

I was thinking about Jael and how I told myself that I would ask Evan about her.

"Evan, can I talk to you for a second?" He nodded and stood up and we both walked to a separate room. I closed the door and sighed.

"What's going on, man?" He asked me.

"I wanted to talk to you about Jael." He nodded. "Has she been this way before? When you guys used to hang out?"

"Honestly? She was worse but in a different way. She's changed a lot and the guys and I figured it was cause she met you."

"What do you mean worse? When I first met her, I didn't think she could get any worse but everyday I see her, I feel like she is."

"She was pretty depressed. Not even 'pretty', she was very depressed. She used to cut herself and she wouldn't sleep at night or anything. She never told us that her dad abused her. We found out one time because she had bruises on her face and arms. She tried lying but we caught her. We thought she told us everything but she changed a lot and we had no idea why."

"It's just…I feel like I don't know her. And I was hoping you could tell me anything that would help me understand her more." He sighed.

"She'll try to hide everything from you. No matter what, even if she talks to you about something, there is always something else hiding in her that either she's afraid to spill, or she just doesn't think anyone can help her with so she keeps it locked in herself."

"Was she as thin as she is now?"

"No. But she was getting there. She didn't starve herself she just lost her appetite and never ate. When the guys and I first saw her the other day at Audition Session, we were so shocked by how thin she got. She's changed, man. And it was all her dads fault. He fucked up her life and…she just needs someone for her. Even if she doesn't talk to anybody, as long as she has people there for her, she'll know she's not alone and that there are people that love her."

Jael's POV

I walked back to Carry's house. The pain from my cheek came back and I knew it was probably really red. When I opened the door, everyone was already standing up.

"Can we go now?" I asked, keeping my face at an angle so they couldn't see the cheek that was slapped. Everyone walked out of the house and into the bus but Joe waited for me by the door of the bus with the jewelry box in his hand.

"It was good seeing you again, sweetie." Carry said.

"You too." She noticed the redness on the side of my face and her smile wiped away.

"What did he do?" She asked as she turned my face with her hand so she could take a look.

"I'm fine. It's not a big deal. Nothing I'm not used to." She sighed.

"You look so much like your mother." I smiled. "You do know that she loved you very much, right?" I nodded.

"I know. I love her too. More than anything in this world." Carry looked at the bus.

"I guess you have to go now." I nodded. "Be careful, Jael. I know you're famous now and it can be dangerous."

"I know. I'll be careful. Walk with me to the bus." I told her and she smiled. "I'll keep in touch. I promise." I told her when I reached Joe.

"Okay. Stay safe, Jael. I'll miss you very much."

"Me too." I pulled her into a hug. "Bye." I stepped on the bus and heard Carry tell Joe 'Take care of her' and Joe saying 'I will'.

I walked straight to the back lounge. I took out sweats and a t-shirt, changed into it, then put Joe's jacket back on and pulled my hair in a ponytail. I took a seat on the couch, took the envelope back out and re-read the letter.

-there's something you should know. I know I should've told you this long ago, but I didn't. And I hope you forgive me for telling you this so late but…your father…he's not really your father.

Before you were born, I went out with this guy when I was 17 and we were so in love. We mated but I never told him I was pregnant and when I was going to, it was too late because we had just separated. Something was going on with his family and he had to leave me. I haven't spoken to him in so many years but we still kept in touch at the time and we were close friends.

Jael, he is your father. His name is Luke Pierce and he's from Scotland. In the envelope, there is a picture of him. It's the most recent one I have.

I know you're probably mad at me right now. But…I knew if I told you recently, you would be mad because it's too late, especially after what Josh (Jael's non-biological father) had done to you. But listen to me, Luke is a good man. He would never hurt you and he would be an amazing father. Do me a favour and talk to him. Even if you don't want to consider him as your father, at least just talk to him.

I love you and miss you so much, lovebird, and I would never do anything to hurt you. In the envelope, there's also a necklace. Luke gave it to me and I've worn it ever since. I'm passing it down to you now and if you wear it, I will be with you at all times. Through the hardest and happiest. Just think of me and I'll be there.

Arise and be all that you dreamed, babygirl. I love you more than rainbows. Always.

I didn't realize it but I was crying so much. Harder than I have ever cried before. I folded up the letter and opened the envelope. I took out the picture my mom was talking about in the letter and my heart stopped when I saw the person in it. It was the guy I saw at the funeral. He looked younger in the picture but he still had the same features.

I put the picture to the side and took out the necklace. It was beautiful. It had black pearls and a cross.

I decided to put the picture of Luke in my wallet. I took it out of my bag as I was still crying hysterically and put it inside. I took the necklace and put it around my neck then picked up the cross and stared at it.

"I love you too, mommy." I whispered and continued to cry with my head buried in my hands.

I hope you guys liked the chapter. For Jael's necklace, it's really long, so she can either wear it regular, or wrap it once or twice around her neck. Here's a link to the picture. It's not long but just pretend it is. Review please!

And pretend 'Jesus' isn't on the cross. Thank you!

http :/ s249. photobucket. com/albums/gg227/brokenontheinside/?action=view¤t=27. jpg&newest=1

erase the spaces!