Chapter Eighteen
(March - Spring Break)
Jason and Nick sat in separate desk chairs as they watched their girlfriends prepare for their spring break trip. Mimi was fighting with the slightly stuck zipper on her suitcase, as Rory was flitting about the room pulling things out of the drawers and the closet to throw into her own luggage.
Jason shook his head in shame at both of them. "Why are men always finished packing before the women?"
Mimi paused and stuck her tongue out at him. "Because this woman had class all day today. And Rory..."
Rory threw a pair of shoes into her suitcase and finished Mimi's sentence. "Rory put it off until the last minute -- as usual. Plus, women have a lot more to pack."
Nick looked at her skeptically and shook his head. "That's only because women are more high maintenance than men."
"You bet we are. I mean, come on, Nicholas... I can probably guess what's in your suitcase right now. Five pairs of shorts, all in varying shades of tan, two pairs of jeans, and enough solid colored t-shirts to fill an entire Gap store."
"Are you saying my wardrobe lacks variety?"
Rory paused her packing to frown at him and nod. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I mean, your whole laidback artist look works for you, but you'll never be on the cover of GQ, baby."
Nick grabbed on to her arm and pulled her towards him, so he could wrap his arms around her waist. "At least I don't own what... like FIVE bathing suits?"
Rory leaned in and gave him a brief kiss. "You shut up."
Nick kissed her back and shook his head. "Nooooooo... You shut up."
Mimi rolled her eyes and finally locked the zipper on her suitcase with a groan. "Geez... FINALLY! And, yes, I appreciate everyone's complete lack of help."
Jason smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry, Meems... I thought you had it handled."
"Right, cause I sure looked like I had everything handled." Mimi sat on the edge of her bed with a loud sigh, and brushed her fingers through her hair. "You know, it really is extremely nice of Josh to invite all of us down to Daytona Beach for Spring Break."
"It was just lucky that there are two extra bedrooms in this house he rented with his roommates."
"I'm glad... I would have hated to have to leave Rory and Nick behind."
Rory was now sitting on Nick's lap, playing with the ends of his wavy hair and grinning, instead of finishing her packing. "So that means, we get one room... And the two kids with the chastity belts get their own room. All equipped for hours of romantic card games, tickle fights, and oh yeah, sleeping. Or whatever it is that two pure chaste virgins do when they're alone together..."
Mimi stared at her roommate in shock, her jaw dropping open. "Rory! If I had something to throw at you, I would... What Jason and I choose to do, or not do, when we're alone is none of your business."
Jason crossed his arms defensively and stared Rory down. "Just because two people in this room happen to have a little thing called 'will power', doesn't mean that the other two sex-crazed lunatics in the room should look down on them."
Nick planted a kiss on Rory's neck and nodded in agreement with Jason. "He's right. Just because YOU happen to be *easy* and Mimi isn't... doesn't make her a bad person."
Rory quickly slid off of Nick's lap and smacked him on the arm. "Easy? I'm not easy!"
"I know. I just wanted you off my lap so you'd finish packing." He grinned wickedly and gave her a pat on the bottom, pushing her towards her luggage.
Rory didn't reply, she just huffed angrily and went back to shoving her clothes into her black suitcase. Mimi looked at them in amusement and shook her head. "You two are turning into like the R-rated version of Shawn and Belle. Connected at the hip."
Jason snickered and nodded in agreement. "As long as they don't get cutesy little pet names for each other, I think we'll be okay."
Nick shook his head adamantly. "I call her 'evil', and she calls me 'pain'. That's as close as it gets to cutesy pet names. Besides, you really shouldn't be talking. You two are just as sappy as Belle and Shawn."
"That may or may not be true. But, at least we do it in private..."
Mimi smiled proudly and nodded. She knew that her and Jason were just as sappy, head-over-heels in love as the rest of their friends; they just weren't as public about it. "We do that to promote the health and safety of others. It's vomit-inducing enough when the rest of you do it. Jason and I refuse to add to that."
Rory was growling at her suitcase, trying desperately to fit everything in as she zipped it, and all heads turned to watch her. Nick stood and held it down for her, while she finished zipping it up, falling to the floor with a sigh when it was finally shut. "Whew... Got everything in there. I'm ready to go."
Mimi and Jason stood and started grabbing their stuff to take the car, as Nick helped Rory up off the floor. He helped his girlfriend with her suitcase and muttered as they walked down the hallway. "God help us if you buy any souvenirs."
Rory giggled and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, I've got it all covered. I'll just buy another suitcase."
Mimi and Jason shared a glance of fear from the front of the walking group. If her bargain hunting rituals at Salem Place were any kind of indicator, they knew they'd be bringing back TWO extra suitcases, and not just one.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Daytona Beach International Airport)
Mimi laid her head on Jason's shoulder with a sigh. They had stepped off the plane, expecting to find Josh waiting for them, but had seen no sign of him. Jason had suggested they sit at the gate for a few minutes, thinking that Josh was just running late and would be there shortly.
Jason was frowning, his forehead creased with worry. "It's not at all like Josh to be late."
Mimi rubbed his arm gently, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine. It's a little wet outside, and it is rush hour, so he's probably just stuck in traffic."
"I know. You're probably right. I'm worrying for nothing, when I should be thinking about how great this week is going to be."
Mimi lifted her head up and smiled at him. "Do you think we'll get plenty of time alone? Not that I don't want to hang out with Josh, Nick, Rory, and everyone else... I just... I want you all to myself for a little while."
Jason smiled back at her and kissed her on the forehead. "I think that can be arranged. It may take some effort to ditch Rory and Nick though."
"As long as she has Nick around to keep her in line, I think we can prevent seeing her in the next commercial for those 'Girls Gone Wild' video tapes."
Jason chuckled softly and changed subjects. "The house that Josh rented... it's right on the ocean, Meems. He said the view is absolutely to die for. And, it's one of the few areas on the coast that won't be completely filled with tourists."
Mimi sighed contentedly and gave Jason a brief kiss on the lips. "I can't wait, especially since our last trip to the beach ended pretty badly. What with all of the death and the hurricane and Phillip's coma, and oh yeah, did I mention death?"
"Not to mention the fact that I could have been spending my summer with you, instead of getting drunk and following Jan around."
"Oh, no, you couldn't have... I didn't like you back then, remember?"
Jason nodded and looked somewhat guilty as he was reminded of how much he had changed in the time since Puerto Rico. "I remember. And, you had every right not to. If I had half a brain, I would have noticed then how amazing you are, and actually treated you the way you deserve to be treated."
Mimi shook her head and smiled at him. "Don't feel bad about it anymore, Jason. The past is the past. I don't carry any grudges about it anymore. Besides, neither of us were ready to fall in love back then. I mean, God knows, Kevin and I *tried* to be 'in love', but we never were. I wasn't ready for those kinds of feelings... But, I definitely was the day I fell in love with you."
"Oh, well, I guess I lucked out then. I snagged you at the exact right moment."
Mimi wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled closer. "You certainly did."
Rory came skipping merrily up to them with a shopping bag in her hand, as Nick trudged behind her, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Rory was swinging the bag around in her hand and smiling happily at Mimi and Jason.
"Hey guys... Guess what I got?"
Jason shrugged in confusion. "I can only guess it's something extremely tacky."
Rory reached into her bag and pulled out an umbrella, wrapped in plastic. "It's bad luck to open it inside, but it's got a multi-colored map of Daytona Beach with all the important landmarks printed on it."
Mimi wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "Well, whaddya know? Jason was right."
"Plus, I got an assortment of refrigerator magnets."
She opened up the bag so they could see inside, and Mimi stared into it like it was the black hole of death. "Ror... Our fridge is not that big."
Nick nodded and put his arm around Rory's shoulder. "Nobody ever said she was subtle. That's for damn sure."
There was a pause, and Nick looked around for a moment before speaking again. "So, no big brother yet?"
Jason nodded and frowned slightly. "Maybe we should go get our luggage from baggage claim... We might even run into him on the way down here."
Mimi nodded and released her embrace, standing up from her chair. Everyone picked up their carry-on bags and headed towards the airport's baggage claim carousels. They kept their eyes wide open for Josh but saw no sign of them on the way there, or while they were waiting at the carousels.
They got their luggage and walked outside to stand on the sidewalk while Jason found a payphone to call Josh. Minutes later, Jason joined them, still with no sign of Josh. Mimi was starting to get worried by this time, and looked at Jason with concern.
"Still nothing?"
Jason shrugged slightly. "I called the beach house and talked to Eddie, Josh's roommate. He thinks I must have misunderstood the plans, he told me we should just take a taxi to the house. Josh will probably be there by the time we are."
"Did you try his cell phone?"
"Yeah, but I just got his voicemail. That's not really a surprise though, he leaves it off all the time."
Mimi nodded and grabbed on to his hand. "Okay, then off to the house we go. You've got the address, right?"
Jason nodded and went forward to hail a taxi. It only took a moment for one to pull up, and the group loaded all of their belongings in to it and quickly jumped inside to get out of the rain that was gradually beating down harder as each minute wore on. Jason gave the address to the house to the driver, and they started off towards the beach.
They were quiet as they drove down the rainy roads of Daytona Beach, and Nick looked at Rory curiously. "Rory, baby... You're kind of abnormally quiet."
Rory put her hand on the rain soaked window and frowned. "Rain. My first day in Florida and it's raining."
Jason looked towards her and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. Florida has the strangest weather. It could be like a hurricane one second, and then an hour later it's beach weather. Josh said they were predicting perfectly sunny days the rest of the week."
Rory smiled happily and clapped her hands together. "Oh good... I didn't want this to be all for nothing. If I wanted crappy weather, I could have just stayed in Salem."
The taxi stopped at a red light, and the gang could see an accident being cleaned up on the other side of the road, ahead of the light. There were a few cop cars with their lights on, and a large tow truck. Traffic was backed up behind it as people slowed down to get a glimpse at the accident scene.
Jason looked at the black SUV being loaded on to the tow truck, it's front end smashed into oblivion, and felt his heart freeze in his chest, as his veins turned icy cold. He waved his hand frantically at their taxi driver.
"Pull over. You have to pull over right now."
Mimi grabbed on to his arm nervously. "Jase... What is it?"
Jason looked towards her, and she could see the fear flashing across his green eyes. "It's Josh's car."
"Are -- are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
Mimi felt her entire body go numb as their worst fears became confirmed. There was no misunderstanding, and Josh wasn't just running late. He had been in a car accident. The cab driver pulled over and Jason got out of the car as fast as possible, with Mimi following quickly behind him. They ran through the pouring rain across two lanes of traffic, until they found an available police officer.
Jason's words were full of desperation, and Mimi had never seen him that scared before. It scared her to see him that way. But, also, it made her want to be strong, so that she could be his rock to lean on through whatever was to come.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! I think that's my brother's car... What's going on?"
The officer spoke to him calmly, even though he had to shout through the rain that was pouring down. "Are you sure it's your brother sir?"
Jason nodded and Mimi gripped on to his hand tightly. "Yes -- Yes, I am. I recognize the bumper sticker and the license plate. His name is Joshua Masters, he looks a lot like me. Right? What happened? Is he going to be okay?"
"I don't know. He was conscious when the ambulance left. He was driving a little too fast and hit the water on the road and hydroplaned into that light pole over there."
"Oh my God... Tell me. Where did they take him? What hospital?"
The police officer pointed down the road and replied. "St. Lukes... It's about five miles down the road there."
"Thank you..."
He turned and gave Mimi a brief glance of despair before they ran back across the street and got back into the cab. Jason leaned over the seat to instruct the driver to head to the hospital in a hurry and then sat back in his seat with a sigh. Rory and Nick sat in stunned silence, holding on to each other's hands as they observed Jason.
Mimi started to wipe the raindrops off his face, smoothing his soaked hair back with her hand. "It's okay, Jase. Everything is going to be okay."
She fought back her own tears of worry and kissed him on the cheek and the forehead. Mimi laid her head on his shoulder, and hoped that she wasn't lying to him. Everything would have to be okay. Josh had always been the most important person in Jason's life, and his world would crumble if he lost his big brother.
Jason shivered slightly and Mimi tried to warm him by wrapping her arms around him. She kept repeating herself, thinking that if she said it enough, it would have to be true. "Everything is going to be okay..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sorry y'all... I HAD to do it. I will try to get the next chapter up quicker than I have for the last few, so you won't be in suspense for TOO long. :) I make no guarantees on the physical condition of Josh Masters however. He's mine. I made him, I can break him too. MUAHAHAHAHA! (I am very evil... All the people from the Broe board know this already.)
And, I don't think there's a hospital in Daytona Beach called St. Luke's. I just made it up because I thought it sounded nice.
(March - Spring Break)
Jason and Nick sat in separate desk chairs as they watched their girlfriends prepare for their spring break trip. Mimi was fighting with the slightly stuck zipper on her suitcase, as Rory was flitting about the room pulling things out of the drawers and the closet to throw into her own luggage.
Jason shook his head in shame at both of them. "Why are men always finished packing before the women?"
Mimi paused and stuck her tongue out at him. "Because this woman had class all day today. And Rory..."
Rory threw a pair of shoes into her suitcase and finished Mimi's sentence. "Rory put it off until the last minute -- as usual. Plus, women have a lot more to pack."
Nick looked at her skeptically and shook his head. "That's only because women are more high maintenance than men."
"You bet we are. I mean, come on, Nicholas... I can probably guess what's in your suitcase right now. Five pairs of shorts, all in varying shades of tan, two pairs of jeans, and enough solid colored t-shirts to fill an entire Gap store."
"Are you saying my wardrobe lacks variety?"
Rory paused her packing to frown at him and nod. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I mean, your whole laidback artist look works for you, but you'll never be on the cover of GQ, baby."
Nick grabbed on to her arm and pulled her towards him, so he could wrap his arms around her waist. "At least I don't own what... like FIVE bathing suits?"
Rory leaned in and gave him a brief kiss. "You shut up."
Nick kissed her back and shook his head. "Nooooooo... You shut up."
Mimi rolled her eyes and finally locked the zipper on her suitcase with a groan. "Geez... FINALLY! And, yes, I appreciate everyone's complete lack of help."
Jason smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry, Meems... I thought you had it handled."
"Right, cause I sure looked like I had everything handled." Mimi sat on the edge of her bed with a loud sigh, and brushed her fingers through her hair. "You know, it really is extremely nice of Josh to invite all of us down to Daytona Beach for Spring Break."
"It was just lucky that there are two extra bedrooms in this house he rented with his roommates."
"I'm glad... I would have hated to have to leave Rory and Nick behind."
Rory was now sitting on Nick's lap, playing with the ends of his wavy hair and grinning, instead of finishing her packing. "So that means, we get one room... And the two kids with the chastity belts get their own room. All equipped for hours of romantic card games, tickle fights, and oh yeah, sleeping. Or whatever it is that two pure chaste virgins do when they're alone together..."
Mimi stared at her roommate in shock, her jaw dropping open. "Rory! If I had something to throw at you, I would... What Jason and I choose to do, or not do, when we're alone is none of your business."
Jason crossed his arms defensively and stared Rory down. "Just because two people in this room happen to have a little thing called 'will power', doesn't mean that the other two sex-crazed lunatics in the room should look down on them."
Nick planted a kiss on Rory's neck and nodded in agreement with Jason. "He's right. Just because YOU happen to be *easy* and Mimi isn't... doesn't make her a bad person."
Rory quickly slid off of Nick's lap and smacked him on the arm. "Easy? I'm not easy!"
"I know. I just wanted you off my lap so you'd finish packing." He grinned wickedly and gave her a pat on the bottom, pushing her towards her luggage.
Rory didn't reply, she just huffed angrily and went back to shoving her clothes into her black suitcase. Mimi looked at them in amusement and shook her head. "You two are turning into like the R-rated version of Shawn and Belle. Connected at the hip."
Jason snickered and nodded in agreement. "As long as they don't get cutesy little pet names for each other, I think we'll be okay."
Nick shook his head adamantly. "I call her 'evil', and she calls me 'pain'. That's as close as it gets to cutesy pet names. Besides, you really shouldn't be talking. You two are just as sappy as Belle and Shawn."
"That may or may not be true. But, at least we do it in private..."
Mimi smiled proudly and nodded. She knew that her and Jason were just as sappy, head-over-heels in love as the rest of their friends; they just weren't as public about it. "We do that to promote the health and safety of others. It's vomit-inducing enough when the rest of you do it. Jason and I refuse to add to that."
Rory was growling at her suitcase, trying desperately to fit everything in as she zipped it, and all heads turned to watch her. Nick stood and held it down for her, while she finished zipping it up, falling to the floor with a sigh when it was finally shut. "Whew... Got everything in there. I'm ready to go."
Mimi and Jason stood and started grabbing their stuff to take the car, as Nick helped Rory up off the floor. He helped his girlfriend with her suitcase and muttered as they walked down the hallway. "God help us if you buy any souvenirs."
Rory giggled and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, I've got it all covered. I'll just buy another suitcase."
Mimi and Jason shared a glance of fear from the front of the walking group. If her bargain hunting rituals at Salem Place were any kind of indicator, they knew they'd be bringing back TWO extra suitcases, and not just one.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Daytona Beach International Airport)
Mimi laid her head on Jason's shoulder with a sigh. They had stepped off the plane, expecting to find Josh waiting for them, but had seen no sign of him. Jason had suggested they sit at the gate for a few minutes, thinking that Josh was just running late and would be there shortly.
Jason was frowning, his forehead creased with worry. "It's not at all like Josh to be late."
Mimi rubbed his arm gently, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine. It's a little wet outside, and it is rush hour, so he's probably just stuck in traffic."
"I know. You're probably right. I'm worrying for nothing, when I should be thinking about how great this week is going to be."
Mimi lifted her head up and smiled at him. "Do you think we'll get plenty of time alone? Not that I don't want to hang out with Josh, Nick, Rory, and everyone else... I just... I want you all to myself for a little while."
Jason smiled back at her and kissed her on the forehead. "I think that can be arranged. It may take some effort to ditch Rory and Nick though."
"As long as she has Nick around to keep her in line, I think we can prevent seeing her in the next commercial for those 'Girls Gone Wild' video tapes."
Jason chuckled softly and changed subjects. "The house that Josh rented... it's right on the ocean, Meems. He said the view is absolutely to die for. And, it's one of the few areas on the coast that won't be completely filled with tourists."
Mimi sighed contentedly and gave Jason a brief kiss on the lips. "I can't wait, especially since our last trip to the beach ended pretty badly. What with all of the death and the hurricane and Phillip's coma, and oh yeah, did I mention death?"
"Not to mention the fact that I could have been spending my summer with you, instead of getting drunk and following Jan around."
"Oh, no, you couldn't have... I didn't like you back then, remember?"
Jason nodded and looked somewhat guilty as he was reminded of how much he had changed in the time since Puerto Rico. "I remember. And, you had every right not to. If I had half a brain, I would have noticed then how amazing you are, and actually treated you the way you deserve to be treated."
Mimi shook her head and smiled at him. "Don't feel bad about it anymore, Jason. The past is the past. I don't carry any grudges about it anymore. Besides, neither of us were ready to fall in love back then. I mean, God knows, Kevin and I *tried* to be 'in love', but we never were. I wasn't ready for those kinds of feelings... But, I definitely was the day I fell in love with you."
"Oh, well, I guess I lucked out then. I snagged you at the exact right moment."
Mimi wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled closer. "You certainly did."
Rory came skipping merrily up to them with a shopping bag in her hand, as Nick trudged behind her, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. Rory was swinging the bag around in her hand and smiling happily at Mimi and Jason.
"Hey guys... Guess what I got?"
Jason shrugged in confusion. "I can only guess it's something extremely tacky."
Rory reached into her bag and pulled out an umbrella, wrapped in plastic. "It's bad luck to open it inside, but it's got a multi-colored map of Daytona Beach with all the important landmarks printed on it."
Mimi wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "Well, whaddya know? Jason was right."
"Plus, I got an assortment of refrigerator magnets."
She opened up the bag so they could see inside, and Mimi stared into it like it was the black hole of death. "Ror... Our fridge is not that big."
Nick nodded and put his arm around Rory's shoulder. "Nobody ever said she was subtle. That's for damn sure."
There was a pause, and Nick looked around for a moment before speaking again. "So, no big brother yet?"
Jason nodded and frowned slightly. "Maybe we should go get our luggage from baggage claim... We might even run into him on the way down here."
Mimi nodded and released her embrace, standing up from her chair. Everyone picked up their carry-on bags and headed towards the airport's baggage claim carousels. They kept their eyes wide open for Josh but saw no sign of them on the way there, or while they were waiting at the carousels.
They got their luggage and walked outside to stand on the sidewalk while Jason found a payphone to call Josh. Minutes later, Jason joined them, still with no sign of Josh. Mimi was starting to get worried by this time, and looked at Jason with concern.
"Still nothing?"
Jason shrugged slightly. "I called the beach house and talked to Eddie, Josh's roommate. He thinks I must have misunderstood the plans, he told me we should just take a taxi to the house. Josh will probably be there by the time we are."
"Did you try his cell phone?"
"Yeah, but I just got his voicemail. That's not really a surprise though, he leaves it off all the time."
Mimi nodded and grabbed on to his hand. "Okay, then off to the house we go. You've got the address, right?"
Jason nodded and went forward to hail a taxi. It only took a moment for one to pull up, and the group loaded all of their belongings in to it and quickly jumped inside to get out of the rain that was gradually beating down harder as each minute wore on. Jason gave the address to the house to the driver, and they started off towards the beach.
They were quiet as they drove down the rainy roads of Daytona Beach, and Nick looked at Rory curiously. "Rory, baby... You're kind of abnormally quiet."
Rory put her hand on the rain soaked window and frowned. "Rain. My first day in Florida and it's raining."
Jason looked towards her and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry about it. Florida has the strangest weather. It could be like a hurricane one second, and then an hour later it's beach weather. Josh said they were predicting perfectly sunny days the rest of the week."
Rory smiled happily and clapped her hands together. "Oh good... I didn't want this to be all for nothing. If I wanted crappy weather, I could have just stayed in Salem."
The taxi stopped at a red light, and the gang could see an accident being cleaned up on the other side of the road, ahead of the light. There were a few cop cars with their lights on, and a large tow truck. Traffic was backed up behind it as people slowed down to get a glimpse at the accident scene.
Jason looked at the black SUV being loaded on to the tow truck, it's front end smashed into oblivion, and felt his heart freeze in his chest, as his veins turned icy cold. He waved his hand frantically at their taxi driver.
"Pull over. You have to pull over right now."
Mimi grabbed on to his arm nervously. "Jase... What is it?"
Jason looked towards her, and she could see the fear flashing across his green eyes. "It's Josh's car."
"Are -- are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
Mimi felt her entire body go numb as their worst fears became confirmed. There was no misunderstanding, and Josh wasn't just running late. He had been in a car accident. The cab driver pulled over and Jason got out of the car as fast as possible, with Mimi following quickly behind him. They ran through the pouring rain across two lanes of traffic, until they found an available police officer.
Jason's words were full of desperation, and Mimi had never seen him that scared before. It scared her to see him that way. But, also, it made her want to be strong, so that she could be his rock to lean on through whatever was to come.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! I think that's my brother's car... What's going on?"
The officer spoke to him calmly, even though he had to shout through the rain that was pouring down. "Are you sure it's your brother sir?"
Jason nodded and Mimi gripped on to his hand tightly. "Yes -- Yes, I am. I recognize the bumper sticker and the license plate. His name is Joshua Masters, he looks a lot like me. Right? What happened? Is he going to be okay?"
"I don't know. He was conscious when the ambulance left. He was driving a little too fast and hit the water on the road and hydroplaned into that light pole over there."
"Oh my God... Tell me. Where did they take him? What hospital?"
The police officer pointed down the road and replied. "St. Lukes... It's about five miles down the road there."
"Thank you..."
He turned and gave Mimi a brief glance of despair before they ran back across the street and got back into the cab. Jason leaned over the seat to instruct the driver to head to the hospital in a hurry and then sat back in his seat with a sigh. Rory and Nick sat in stunned silence, holding on to each other's hands as they observed Jason.
Mimi started to wipe the raindrops off his face, smoothing his soaked hair back with her hand. "It's okay, Jase. Everything is going to be okay."
She fought back her own tears of worry and kissed him on the cheek and the forehead. Mimi laid her head on his shoulder, and hoped that she wasn't lying to him. Everything would have to be okay. Josh had always been the most important person in Jason's life, and his world would crumble if he lost his big brother.
Jason shivered slightly and Mimi tried to warm him by wrapping her arms around him. She kept repeating herself, thinking that if she said it enough, it would have to be true. "Everything is going to be okay..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sorry y'all... I HAD to do it. I will try to get the next chapter up quicker than I have for the last few, so you won't be in suspense for TOO long. :) I make no guarantees on the physical condition of Josh Masters however. He's mine. I made him, I can break him too. MUAHAHAHAHA! (I am very evil... All the people from the Broe board know this already.)
And, I don't think there's a hospital in Daytona Beach called St. Luke's. I just made it up because I thought it sounded nice.