Chapter 12

Demi was exhausted. Her meeting had lasted much longer than she anticipated. In the middle of it, she had to shut off her phone as it started blowing up. Apparently some stupid paparazzi took pictures of her and Nick kissing which had gone viral. They could be such bottom feeders at times. At the end of the day, it was nothing she wasn't used to; however, she this caused her to have numerous side conversations with her publicist to determine how they would be handling the situation which ultimately elongated her day.

When she finally got home, she collapsed on the couch, completely exhausted. She took a deep breath and sighed as she turned on her phone again. Immediately, the counts on her texts and voicemails started to increase. Thank god for visual voicemail so she could go directly to the messages she wanted hear. She listened to a couple from her friends who inevitability wanted to know the story with Nick. She would return those later. She closed out her voicemail screen and switched over to bring up her texts. Nick had texted earlier and wanted to see her but frankly she needed to get some sleep and she was fairly certain that wouldn't happen if she invited him over. She texted him back that she would call or text him later as she didn't want to seem like she was blowing him off.

Demi yawned and leaned her head back on the sofa. Her thoughts drifted to Santana. She wondered how she was doing. Santana hadn't been very verbose on her latest texts so Demi was really clueless if she was doing better. It seemed like forever since she had talked to her and yet it had only been a few days. She scrolled down her phone numbers until she found Santana's number and hit send. She waited for Santana to pick up, but unfortunately only got voicemail.

"Hey San, this is Demi. I was just trying to reach you to see how you were doing. Give me a call. It has been a long day so I won't be up much longer. Maybe we can grab coffee soon. I miss you . . ." Demi hung up and put the phone beside her on the couch. A few minutes later she heard her phone ring. Demi smiled when she saw the familiar face flashing on her phone.

"Hey, Demi."

"Hey, Mom."

"You ok? You sound tired. Have you eaten? Are you sick?"

Demi chuckled, "Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm just tired but I'm going to be in bed soon. How are you?"

"I'm okay. I've been getting a lot of calls today."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes . . . so I have to ask if the rumors are true. Am I going to be a grandmother?"

"Shut up, mom! Really? Really?"

Dianna laughed and said with a pouty voice, "You mean it's not true? I was so excited! I had already started knitting booties." She loved teasing her daughter and she always had plenty of opportunities to do so since the rumor mill was always hopping.

"Ugh, mom. Trust me, you will be the first to know when I get preggers."

"Good! Ok, so let's head to the next one that I'm hearing. You and Nick?"

There was dead silence on the phone.

"Ok, I will take that as a 'yes'. Are you going to give me some details?"

"Well, mom, it all happened so fast, it's a little bit of a blur. I had no idea that Nick liked me like that. I mean, I just went to his house to do some writing and then one thing sorta lead to another."

"Demi, you just broke up with Wilmer. Don't you think this is a little quick?"

"I know, I know, but it's not like I haven't known him forever. He's a good guy. He really cares about me."

"I don't doubt that, Demi, but I'm just concerned about you. There is no need to rush into anything. If you won't listen to me, why not get a third party opinion and talk to Dr. Davis?"

Dr. Davis was Demi's psychologist. Demi had gone to her on and off since she had gotten out of rehab. "I'll think about it, mom, but right now, I need to go to bed," said Demi yawning. "I'm beat."

"Ok, daughter. Get some rest. Think about what I said. It couldn't hurt, right?"

"Ok, I'll think about it. I love you, mom."

"Love you, too, Demi. Talk to you soon, sweetheart."

"Bye, mom."


Santana was dripping with sweat. She walked away from the wake of opponents she had mercilessly defeated during her 6 games of dodgeball. After such an intense workout, Santana was ready to call it quits. Picking up her phone, she noticed she had a missed call from Demi. She listened to Demi's message and contemplated calling her back. She thought better of it, coming to the conclusion that she really didn't want to know the truth before she went to bed. She was still clinging on to a small bit of hope that these stories were all lies and just another attempt for someone to make a buck. Hearing what she feared would only make sleep more difficult. No, Santana wanted to live in her fantasy world for at least one more night. When Santana arrived home, she showered and crashed hard.


Demi woke up late morning the next day, catching up on some much needed sleep. As she lay in bed grappling with the decision of whether to go back to sleep or actually start her day, she began daydreaming about nothing in particular. She was quickly brought back to reality hearing her phone go off. She rolled over and grabbed it to see a text message waiting for her:

Wilmer: So, that didn't take long. Can you really forget about me that easily? I bet you had been cheating on me with Nick the whole time. Sure you were writing with him all those nights. I should have known.

Demi groaned and rolled her eyes. God, he's such a jerk. What was it that I actually saw in him in the first place? Demi was tempted to send back a flaming response but decided to play the adult and just not reply. Hearing from Wilmer did give her pause though. It wasn't that long ago that they were together talking about an eventual marriage, kids, etc. Things had moved quickly with Nick. But when it's right, time doesn't matter. Demi laughed nervously to herself. Maybe I will make an appointment with Dr. Davis.


The next morning, the kids came racing into Santana's room, effectively piling on her.

"Ooof!" Santana said wincing as her sore muscles screamed out. "Be gentle with me. I'm old."

"You're not old, Mom," said Jordy climbing off of Santana.

Santana smiled and ruffled Jordy's hair as she attempted to slide out from under Sophia and Gabby. "Have you guys eaten yet?"

"No, we want you to make us pancakes. Chocolate Chip pancakes!" screamed Sophia.

"Ok, ok. No need to shout, I'm right here. So chocolate chip pancakes for everyone?"

"Yes!" shouted the kids in unison.

"Alright then - If you want pancakes, all three of you are going to have to help me out of this bed."

The kids scrambled around Santana and pulled her up so she was in a sitting position in bed. Jordy and Sophia each got a foot and pulled them around so they were hanging off the bed. Lastly, Jordy and Sophia each grabbed one of Santana's hands and pulled as Gabby pushed on her back. With the team effort they were able to get Santana into an upright position.

Santana smirked at the determination of her kids. Wonder where they get that from? Her smirked soon turned into a grimace as she stretched her arms over her head attempting to loosen her tight muscles with little success. She walked gingerly to the kitchen to start breakfast. It was going to be a long, slow day.


Demi had reached out to Dr. Davis who had agreed to see Demi that afternoon - definitely one of the advantages of Demi's celebrity status. Demi had managed to get out bed, shower, and eat and although she would have loved to stay snuggled under the covers all day, she knew she would feel guilty if she did.

Shortly thereafter, she found herself at Dr. Davis' office. As she entered into the waiting area, a flood of memories came rushing back. She had definitely come a long way since her first visit. She was a very different person now. No, she wasn't perfect, but she was at least at peace with that fact.

"Hi, Demi. Good to see you." said Dr. Davis opening her office door.

"Hey, Dr. Davis. Thanks for seeing me today." said Demi taking her usual spot on one of her sofas.

Dr. Davis sat down and pulled out her notepad. "So, what brings you here today?"

"Well, a lot has been going on in my life lately, and my mom suggested it might be good if I talked to you about it."

"And you agree with your mom?"

"Not at first, but as I reflected on it, I thought it might be a good idea to get a little more perspective on things."

"Fair enough. What's been going on?"

"Well, I recently broke up with Wilmer."

"Oh? What happened?"

"I caught him in bed screwing another girl on the day I was planning a special birthday celebration for him."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Demi. How did that make you feel?"

"Angry, sad, confused, and probably a whole mess of other things."

"How long had you two been together?"

"On and off for about 4 years?"

"On and off? Why on and off?"

"I don't know. We just would break up and eventually get back together."

"Why do you think you always ended back together?"

Demi pondered that question and finally answered, "Because that's just what we did."

"But why?"

"I don't know, because I loved him and I missed 'us'?"

"Do you think perhaps you continued to go back to him more because it was comfortable?"

Demi frowned as she deliberated over Dr. Davis' question. "I never really considered that possibility. I suppose that could have been part of it, but I did love him."

"Demi, love is work. When two people really love each other they try to find a way to make it work no matter what. They don't run away from the relationship."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm just saying that maybe you and Wilmer were not supposed to be together. I think if you truly loved him, you wouldn't have gone through the series of break ups and reunitings. It became an unhealthy, easy pattern for the two of you."

This revelation hit Demi like a ton of bricks. As she was still trying to come to terms with what Dr. Davis had just said, Dr. Davis asked another question. "Are you seeing anyone now?"

Demi shifted uncomfortably. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. How long have you been seeing with this person?"

"Not long . . ." was all Demi could muster.

"And do you think you can love this person?"

"I-I-I think so . . . I mean, yes. I-I-I already love him. We have been friends forever. He's a good guy."

"How is he good?"

"Well, he's sweet and caring. He's a gentleman."

"Are you attracted to him?"

"Yes . . ."

"Are you in love with him?"

"It's still so new. So, no, not yet, but he's such a nice guy, I think it's inevitable."

"So, knowing what I know about Wilmer from our previous sessions, it seems like this person is the complete opposite."

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Have you considered that maybe he is too safe? That you are running to someone so different than Wilmer in order to help you forget the pain he caused you?"

Demi's eyes widened. Dr. Davis is out of her mind. Who is she to judge my relationship? Demi started to get defensive. "Nick is great. He's perfect for me." She said glaring back at Dr. Davis; however, she felt the beginnings of self-doubt creeping in.

Demi had problems focusing the rest of the session. She was too busy having an internal debate spurred on by what Dr. Davis had asked. She was glad when their hour was up but found herself a lot more confused than when she had walked in.