Chloe awoke the next morning with a massive headache. She sipped some water from the glass on the side of the bed and slowly sat up and stretched. Still not used to this new body, she unconsciously ran her hand through her hair, now very curly instead of long and straight like she used to have. She sighed sadly, and the door to her hospital room opened. A young doctor carrying some sort of overnight bag walked in and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Good morning, Jan... How are you feeling today?"
Chloe turned her head slightly to get a glimpse of the name embroidered into his jacket. "Good morning, Doctor... Fisher. I've got a pretty big headache, but I'm okay."
"Well, we'll get you some aspirin to take care of that before you leave. I brought your things in, your driver Benjamin brought them along. A change of clothes, and some other necessities that you might need."
Dr. Fisher laid the leather bag on the end of the bed and grabbed her chart. He looked at it for a moment and then smiled again at her. "Everything looks good to me. Looks like the nurse took you off of your IV before you went to sleep last night. All your vitals are great. All I have to do is sign the forms and you're home free."
Chloe smiled widely. "That such good news."
"You're making a great recovery so far, Jan. I've got an appointment set up for you with a physical therapist here at the hospital, and I'll be giving you some prescriptions that will help with the pain. Besides your arm being broken, you've sustained some pretty nasty back and neck injuries, so you're going to have to stay away from physical activities for awhile."
Chloe nodded in understanding, "That's okay... I'm banned from sports and cheerleading anyway. So, I won't be missing anything."
Dr. Fisher nodded and walked towards the door. "I'm going to take your paperwork up front, so feel free to take a shower and get ready to leave. It will be a while, but I'll send a nurse in to help you to your car once the paperwork is signed and finished. Take care of yourself."
Chloe smiled again. "I will... thank you, doctor."
The doctor left and Chloe got to her feet. She walked into the bathroom dragging the overnight bag with her. Chloe took a quick shower and tried not to think about the fact that this wasn't her body, it was Jan's. She silently wondered how long it would be before she would get used to all the physical differences between her former body and this new one. She quickly dried off and got dressed in the jeans and top that the Benjamin had brought her. As she looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted her top, she spoke her thoughts out loud.
"Geez... I wonder if Jan owns a bra that DOESN'T push her breasts up." Chloe laughed to herself and finished with, "Probably not."
She paused as she glared at her reflection in the mirror, suddenly remembering the way that the real Jan had acted. Chloe rolled her eyes and nearly laughed at her reflection, having seen Jan do the same thing to her so many times.
"Oh, look at me. I'm Jan. I hate everybody, and everybody hates me. That's because I think I'm so much better than everyone else. Blah blah blah blah blah." Chloe crossed her arms and rolled her eyes again before she burst out laughing.
Through her laughter, she managed to mutter, "Oh wow, this is so weird."
She gathered her things together and walked back into the hospital room as the door was opening. It was a nurse coming to let her know that she could leave and that the car was waiting for her outside. She nodded and followed the nurse out. Chloe took the elevator downstairs and walked to the front entrance where a black luxury car was waiting for her. She stepped inside the vehicle and immediately slumped in her seat. Benjamin started the car and drove away, briefly turning back to smile politely at her.
"Good morning, Miss Spears. Glad to see you are doing better."
"Thank you, Benjamin." Chloe muttered from the backseat.
The rest of the drive home was spent in silence. Chloe quickly jumped out of the car when they reached Jan's house and walked inside. The house was large and impressive, and decorated very tastefully. She thought to herself what a waste that nobody was ever here to enjoy it. She turned to Benjamin and pointed up the stairs.
"My room is... which one?"
Benjamin raised his eyebrows in shock. "You don't remember?"
Chloe hesitated and decided to give him her best impression of the patented Jan snarl. "I have a head injury, okay? I'm a little fuzzy."
"Oh... yes, of course. Up the stairs, third door on the right."
Chloe nodded and smiled weakly. "Thank you..."
Chloe spied a copy of the Salem newspaper on the table in the foyer and snagged it for herself. She walked up the stairs and found Jan's room. The door was open and she stepped inside admiring how nice it was. The room was at least two, maybe three times larger than the one Chloe had at her house, and was decorated more like a museum than a teenager's room. She threw the closet open and realized that Jan owned more clothes than every store in Salem combined.
Chloe sat down on the large fluffy bed with a sigh. "Guess it proves that you can have every advantage in the world, including being beautiful on the outside, but still be a rotten person inside."
Chloe reached over and flipped through the newspaper looking for the Obituary section. She found them in the second section, and felt a knot in her stomach as she realized there was nothing more strange than reading your own obituary. The paper said that her memorial service was tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., and Jason's was the following day at noon. It was at that moment she changed her mind about her previous thought, going to your own memorial service was probably much stranger. She sighed sadly, folded the newspaper and laid it on the nightstand beside her. Chloe had no idea what to do with herself all day while other people were at school and work, but the pain in her back only gave her one option. She laid down on the bed, finding the most comfortable position available and took a nice long nap.
***
(A few hours later...)
The phone beside her began to ring and in her half-awake state, Chloe lazily reached over to grab it.
She groggily answered, "Hello."
"Oh, Jan. My baby girl, you're home from the hospital!" a high-pitched voice rang out over the line.
Chloe wiped the sleep from her eyes, "Uhh... Mom?"
"Yes, of course. You don't recognize your own mother's voice now? I haven't been gone that long, have I?"
"Long enough..."
"Now, how are you feeling sweetheart?"
Chloe instinctively rolled her eyes at the over usage of affectionate names for a daughter that Jan's mom barely cared for. "You mean... you actually care?"
There was an awkward pause, and the reply came over in a less chipper tone, "Of course, I care. You are my daughter after all."
"Could have fooled me."
"What else do you want from me? You got the best care that money can buy, didn't you?"
Chloe sighed sadly, feeling the full brunt of the pain that Jan must have endured on a regular basis. "It's not about the money, mother. You could have at least come home to see me in the hospital, but you didn't even bother. I sure hope you're having fun on your vacation."
"Jan... You know that I couldn't get away. Besides, you're fine, aren't you? Nothing to worry about."
Chloe couldn't believe that someone could act that way towards their own child. "NOTHING to worry about? I could have been killed. Don't you understand that? I could be dead right now. Would you and dad have even bothered to fly in for the funeral or would you just have the maid bury me in the backyard? I got lucky, because I'm still alive... but two other people didn't. Now their families have to suffer a loss of someone they care about, while my family gets to keep their little inconvenience. Isn't that what they call 'irony'?"
"Janet Lorraine Spears... don't speak to me like that. I am still your mother, and you need to show me some respect."
Chloe groaned in frustration, "And why is that? You don't show me any respect, you don't do ANYTHING for me except throw money at me. Do you think that's love? Because, it's not. Have you ever wondered why I act the way I do? Or have you even noticed that your daughter is considered the hellspawn of Salem High School?"
"I'm not going to talk to you about this right now, Jan. I will see you in two weeks, and we can discuss it then. I just wanted to call and check on you, and you had to turn this whole thing around as an attack on me. I won't listen to it any longer."
"Of course you won't... See you in two weeks." Chloe hung up the phone and burst into tears. Even though her relationship with Nancy had been less than stellar, this brief conversation with Jan's mom made her miss Nancy more than she thought she could. She tried to stop the tears from falling, but she realized that she would now never be able to have the kind of relationship with Nancy she had once wished for. There was a quiet knock at the door and Chloe walked to the mirror and made sure all evidence of her tears were gone before opening the door. Benjamin was standing on the other side.
"I didn't wake you, did I?"
Chloe shook her head and replied, "Oh no, I just got off the phone actually."
Benjamin smiled hesitantly. "Oh good. You have a visitor downstairs. A girl from school, Mimi Lockhart."
A look of surprise came over her face as she replied, "Well, I don't really want any visitors. But... send her up, I guess."
Benjamin left as Chloe took another walk to the mirror and glared at her reflection. The last thing she wanted was for Mimi to know she had been crying, so she wiped her eyes one last time. Mimi and Chloe had just begun to put their differences aside a couple months before the accident, and even though they weren't the closest of friends, Chloe felt they were making progress. Chloe sighed at another opportunity lost because of one drunk driver. She sighed softly and turned around as Mimi walked through the bedroom door. She gave Chloe a half smile and laid a couple of books on the desk near the door.
"Hey Jan..."
"Mimi..." Chloe was suddenly overcome at the sight of a familiar face and grabbed Mimi in a hug. She knew that Mimi was probably shocked at this action, something that the real Jan would have never done. Chloe let her go and took a few steps back.
"Uhm... are you okay, Jan?"
Chloe chuckled softly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. So, what are you doing here?"
"I came to bring you some of your homework."
Chloe's expression dropped. "Oh."
"Well... and I came to see how you were feeling too. The homework isn't that bad, mostly some reading. The teachers just want to make sure you're not too far behind when you come back. So... how ARE you feeling?"
Chloe sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Fine. I guess. I have to restrain from all physical activity for a while, and go to therapy for my back and my neck. But, I'm mostly fine.
Mimi sat down next to her and nodded. "That's good. But, I meant... how are you doing inside? I'm really sorry about what happened to Jason."
Chloe turned her face away from Mimi and nodded. "It's not easy, Meems. But, thank you for asking. So far, you're the only one who's asked me and meant it."
"You always act like nothing bothers you, but I know that can't be true. I know that we're not really friends anymore, but I do know you a little better than most people. And one thing I do know is that things aren't as easy as they look for you..."
Chloe nodded in agreement. "You're right. They're not. But that's not an excuse for the way that I behave. Nothing is. It's just a factor, I guess."
"You can change, Jan. You're not a lost cause, you know."
Chloe laughed out loud and replied, "Oh, well, that's encouraging. I uhm... just don't think it matters though. I've kinda gone past the point of no return. Nobody will ever be able to accept that I've suddenly changed my colors. I'll never be forgiven for the things I've done."
Mimi shook her head vehemently. "Not necessarily. Look at me... I did some pretty rotten things, which you were definitely a part of... but I changed too. Belle, Shawn, Phillip... even Chloe eventually forgave me. They might never forget, but they can forgive. They are... the best people I've ever known, and the MOST understanding."
Chloe shrugged sadly. "I don't know. I think it's hopeless in my case. Maybe Belle and Shawn, but definitely not Phillip. Not after the conversation we had at the hospital last night."
Mimi gave her a smile of encouragement. "Don't say that. It's never hopeless. And, what kind of 'conversation' did you have with Phillip?"
"Well, maybe 'argument' is the better word for it. It was more like a 'Who's more selfish?' contest? The pot called the kettle black, and the kettle fought back. I think we both lost actually..."
"Hmm. I think I understand. So, does the 'no physical activity' thing affect your ability to clean toilets and showers with me?"
Chloe groaned torturously. She realized that this must be some sort of grand irony taking effect, she would now be serving Jan's punishment that she had created for her. "I don't know. I'm sure it limits what I can do physically, but I'm sure the powers that be will find some other way to punish me."
"Well, enjoy your week off while you can..."
Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, just me and myself and the servants in my big lonely castle. Should be like a vacation."
"Seriously, Jan... I know you're not the mushy, 'share your feelings' type, but if you ever need to talk to someone, just call me."
"Thanks, Mimi. Thanks for caring... I didn't think anybody did, but I was wrong."
Mimi shrugged it off sheepishly. "Hey, I know you, and I figured that deep down there was no way you're as evil as everyone thinks you are. Wait... that didn't sound good, did it?"
Chloe laughed and shook her head. "No, it didn't... but thank you anyway... I know what you meant."
Mimi stood and smiled at her. "Good, good, good. Listen, I gotta run home and watch my baby brother for awhile, but I'm serious about what I said. You've got my number, use it."
Chloe nodded and smiled weakly. "I will..."
Mimi left and closed the bedroom door behind her. Chloe sighed and laid back down on the bed with a smile. She was glad that Mimi had stopped by, and she felt encouraged by the fact that maybe she could have at least one friendship in her new life. Shawn, Belle, Phillip and Brady might not accept her, but at least she had Mimi. Mimi seemed to still care about Jan and Chloe figured it was Mimi's way of trying to find the humanity left inside Jan and save it. Chloe was grateful for Mimi's forgiving nature as it gave her the first glimmer of hope she had felt since the accident.
***
Chloe spent the rest of the day going through the things that had once belonged to the real Jan. Even though she felt like she was somehow invading Jan's privacy, Chloe knew this was the only way to learn more about who she was now supposed to be, and find the reasons that caused Jan to act that way. Flipping through Jan's journals and photo albums, her fears and assumptions were turned into facts. Jan must have had a miserable childhood. Photos of Jan with her parents were few and far between, and the ones that did exist didn't show a smiling young girl in them, but a child who was obviously miserable.
Chloe wondered aloud, "I wonder if she was ever happy..."
Chloe sighed sadly and read to the end of Jan's most recent journal. Although Chloe could never forgive what Jan had done to her, she now felt like she understood her. By no means, was Jan a lost cause, her journals proved that to Chloe. Jan seemed to want nothing more than acceptance, like every teenager, but she went about it by bringing others down and exerting power over people who she perceived as weak.
Chloe closed the journal and chuckled softly, "I guess my only mistake was not taking any of her crap."
Chloe laid the journal on the nighttable and glanced at the clock. She hadn't realized it, but aside from the meal that Benjamin brought her for dinner, she had been at this all day. It was getting quite late so Chloe turned off the light and slipped under the covers. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, dreaming of her real life as Chloe Lane, not this twilight zone life she had slipped into now.
***
[Sorry this is taking so long, but I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and muscles in my chest, so typing at the keyboard hurts. It's starting to get better so the chapters should be coming quicker now. Thanks for your patience. :)]
"Good morning, Jan... How are you feeling today?"
Chloe turned her head slightly to get a glimpse of the name embroidered into his jacket. "Good morning, Doctor... Fisher. I've got a pretty big headache, but I'm okay."
"Well, we'll get you some aspirin to take care of that before you leave. I brought your things in, your driver Benjamin brought them along. A change of clothes, and some other necessities that you might need."
Dr. Fisher laid the leather bag on the end of the bed and grabbed her chart. He looked at it for a moment and then smiled again at her. "Everything looks good to me. Looks like the nurse took you off of your IV before you went to sleep last night. All your vitals are great. All I have to do is sign the forms and you're home free."
Chloe smiled widely. "That such good news."
"You're making a great recovery so far, Jan. I've got an appointment set up for you with a physical therapist here at the hospital, and I'll be giving you some prescriptions that will help with the pain. Besides your arm being broken, you've sustained some pretty nasty back and neck injuries, so you're going to have to stay away from physical activities for awhile."
Chloe nodded in understanding, "That's okay... I'm banned from sports and cheerleading anyway. So, I won't be missing anything."
Dr. Fisher nodded and walked towards the door. "I'm going to take your paperwork up front, so feel free to take a shower and get ready to leave. It will be a while, but I'll send a nurse in to help you to your car once the paperwork is signed and finished. Take care of yourself."
Chloe smiled again. "I will... thank you, doctor."
The doctor left and Chloe got to her feet. She walked into the bathroom dragging the overnight bag with her. Chloe took a quick shower and tried not to think about the fact that this wasn't her body, it was Jan's. She silently wondered how long it would be before she would get used to all the physical differences between her former body and this new one. She quickly dried off and got dressed in the jeans and top that the Benjamin had brought her. As she looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted her top, she spoke her thoughts out loud.
"Geez... I wonder if Jan owns a bra that DOESN'T push her breasts up." Chloe laughed to herself and finished with, "Probably not."
She paused as she glared at her reflection in the mirror, suddenly remembering the way that the real Jan had acted. Chloe rolled her eyes and nearly laughed at her reflection, having seen Jan do the same thing to her so many times.
"Oh, look at me. I'm Jan. I hate everybody, and everybody hates me. That's because I think I'm so much better than everyone else. Blah blah blah blah blah." Chloe crossed her arms and rolled her eyes again before she burst out laughing.
Through her laughter, she managed to mutter, "Oh wow, this is so weird."
She gathered her things together and walked back into the hospital room as the door was opening. It was a nurse coming to let her know that she could leave and that the car was waiting for her outside. She nodded and followed the nurse out. Chloe took the elevator downstairs and walked to the front entrance where a black luxury car was waiting for her. She stepped inside the vehicle and immediately slumped in her seat. Benjamin started the car and drove away, briefly turning back to smile politely at her.
"Good morning, Miss Spears. Glad to see you are doing better."
"Thank you, Benjamin." Chloe muttered from the backseat.
The rest of the drive home was spent in silence. Chloe quickly jumped out of the car when they reached Jan's house and walked inside. The house was large and impressive, and decorated very tastefully. She thought to herself what a waste that nobody was ever here to enjoy it. She turned to Benjamin and pointed up the stairs.
"My room is... which one?"
Benjamin raised his eyebrows in shock. "You don't remember?"
Chloe hesitated and decided to give him her best impression of the patented Jan snarl. "I have a head injury, okay? I'm a little fuzzy."
"Oh... yes, of course. Up the stairs, third door on the right."
Chloe nodded and smiled weakly. "Thank you..."
Chloe spied a copy of the Salem newspaper on the table in the foyer and snagged it for herself. She walked up the stairs and found Jan's room. The door was open and she stepped inside admiring how nice it was. The room was at least two, maybe three times larger than the one Chloe had at her house, and was decorated more like a museum than a teenager's room. She threw the closet open and realized that Jan owned more clothes than every store in Salem combined.
Chloe sat down on the large fluffy bed with a sigh. "Guess it proves that you can have every advantage in the world, including being beautiful on the outside, but still be a rotten person inside."
Chloe reached over and flipped through the newspaper looking for the Obituary section. She found them in the second section, and felt a knot in her stomach as she realized there was nothing more strange than reading your own obituary. The paper said that her memorial service was tomorrow morning at 11 a.m., and Jason's was the following day at noon. It was at that moment she changed her mind about her previous thought, going to your own memorial service was probably much stranger. She sighed sadly, folded the newspaper and laid it on the nightstand beside her. Chloe had no idea what to do with herself all day while other people were at school and work, but the pain in her back only gave her one option. She laid down on the bed, finding the most comfortable position available and took a nice long nap.
***
(A few hours later...)
The phone beside her began to ring and in her half-awake state, Chloe lazily reached over to grab it.
She groggily answered, "Hello."
"Oh, Jan. My baby girl, you're home from the hospital!" a high-pitched voice rang out over the line.
Chloe wiped the sleep from her eyes, "Uhh... Mom?"
"Yes, of course. You don't recognize your own mother's voice now? I haven't been gone that long, have I?"
"Long enough..."
"Now, how are you feeling sweetheart?"
Chloe instinctively rolled her eyes at the over usage of affectionate names for a daughter that Jan's mom barely cared for. "You mean... you actually care?"
There was an awkward pause, and the reply came over in a less chipper tone, "Of course, I care. You are my daughter after all."
"Could have fooled me."
"What else do you want from me? You got the best care that money can buy, didn't you?"
Chloe sighed sadly, feeling the full brunt of the pain that Jan must have endured on a regular basis. "It's not about the money, mother. You could have at least come home to see me in the hospital, but you didn't even bother. I sure hope you're having fun on your vacation."
"Jan... You know that I couldn't get away. Besides, you're fine, aren't you? Nothing to worry about."
Chloe couldn't believe that someone could act that way towards their own child. "NOTHING to worry about? I could have been killed. Don't you understand that? I could be dead right now. Would you and dad have even bothered to fly in for the funeral or would you just have the maid bury me in the backyard? I got lucky, because I'm still alive... but two other people didn't. Now their families have to suffer a loss of someone they care about, while my family gets to keep their little inconvenience. Isn't that what they call 'irony'?"
"Janet Lorraine Spears... don't speak to me like that. I am still your mother, and you need to show me some respect."
Chloe groaned in frustration, "And why is that? You don't show me any respect, you don't do ANYTHING for me except throw money at me. Do you think that's love? Because, it's not. Have you ever wondered why I act the way I do? Or have you even noticed that your daughter is considered the hellspawn of Salem High School?"
"I'm not going to talk to you about this right now, Jan. I will see you in two weeks, and we can discuss it then. I just wanted to call and check on you, and you had to turn this whole thing around as an attack on me. I won't listen to it any longer."
"Of course you won't... See you in two weeks." Chloe hung up the phone and burst into tears. Even though her relationship with Nancy had been less than stellar, this brief conversation with Jan's mom made her miss Nancy more than she thought she could. She tried to stop the tears from falling, but she realized that she would now never be able to have the kind of relationship with Nancy she had once wished for. There was a quiet knock at the door and Chloe walked to the mirror and made sure all evidence of her tears were gone before opening the door. Benjamin was standing on the other side.
"I didn't wake you, did I?"
Chloe shook her head and replied, "Oh no, I just got off the phone actually."
Benjamin smiled hesitantly. "Oh good. You have a visitor downstairs. A girl from school, Mimi Lockhart."
A look of surprise came over her face as she replied, "Well, I don't really want any visitors. But... send her up, I guess."
Benjamin left as Chloe took another walk to the mirror and glared at her reflection. The last thing she wanted was for Mimi to know she had been crying, so she wiped her eyes one last time. Mimi and Chloe had just begun to put their differences aside a couple months before the accident, and even though they weren't the closest of friends, Chloe felt they were making progress. Chloe sighed at another opportunity lost because of one drunk driver. She sighed softly and turned around as Mimi walked through the bedroom door. She gave Chloe a half smile and laid a couple of books on the desk near the door.
"Hey Jan..."
"Mimi..." Chloe was suddenly overcome at the sight of a familiar face and grabbed Mimi in a hug. She knew that Mimi was probably shocked at this action, something that the real Jan would have never done. Chloe let her go and took a few steps back.
"Uhm... are you okay, Jan?"
Chloe chuckled softly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that. So, what are you doing here?"
"I came to bring you some of your homework."
Chloe's expression dropped. "Oh."
"Well... and I came to see how you were feeling too. The homework isn't that bad, mostly some reading. The teachers just want to make sure you're not too far behind when you come back. So... how ARE you feeling?"
Chloe sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Fine. I guess. I have to restrain from all physical activity for a while, and go to therapy for my back and my neck. But, I'm mostly fine.
Mimi sat down next to her and nodded. "That's good. But, I meant... how are you doing inside? I'm really sorry about what happened to Jason."
Chloe turned her face away from Mimi and nodded. "It's not easy, Meems. But, thank you for asking. So far, you're the only one who's asked me and meant it."
"You always act like nothing bothers you, but I know that can't be true. I know that we're not really friends anymore, but I do know you a little better than most people. And one thing I do know is that things aren't as easy as they look for you..."
Chloe nodded in agreement. "You're right. They're not. But that's not an excuse for the way that I behave. Nothing is. It's just a factor, I guess."
"You can change, Jan. You're not a lost cause, you know."
Chloe laughed out loud and replied, "Oh, well, that's encouraging. I uhm... just don't think it matters though. I've kinda gone past the point of no return. Nobody will ever be able to accept that I've suddenly changed my colors. I'll never be forgiven for the things I've done."
Mimi shook her head vehemently. "Not necessarily. Look at me... I did some pretty rotten things, which you were definitely a part of... but I changed too. Belle, Shawn, Phillip... even Chloe eventually forgave me. They might never forget, but they can forgive. They are... the best people I've ever known, and the MOST understanding."
Chloe shrugged sadly. "I don't know. I think it's hopeless in my case. Maybe Belle and Shawn, but definitely not Phillip. Not after the conversation we had at the hospital last night."
Mimi gave her a smile of encouragement. "Don't say that. It's never hopeless. And, what kind of 'conversation' did you have with Phillip?"
"Well, maybe 'argument' is the better word for it. It was more like a 'Who's more selfish?' contest? The pot called the kettle black, and the kettle fought back. I think we both lost actually..."
"Hmm. I think I understand. So, does the 'no physical activity' thing affect your ability to clean toilets and showers with me?"
Chloe groaned torturously. She realized that this must be some sort of grand irony taking effect, she would now be serving Jan's punishment that she had created for her. "I don't know. I'm sure it limits what I can do physically, but I'm sure the powers that be will find some other way to punish me."
"Well, enjoy your week off while you can..."
Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah, just me and myself and the servants in my big lonely castle. Should be like a vacation."
"Seriously, Jan... I know you're not the mushy, 'share your feelings' type, but if you ever need to talk to someone, just call me."
"Thanks, Mimi. Thanks for caring... I didn't think anybody did, but I was wrong."
Mimi shrugged it off sheepishly. "Hey, I know you, and I figured that deep down there was no way you're as evil as everyone thinks you are. Wait... that didn't sound good, did it?"
Chloe laughed and shook her head. "No, it didn't... but thank you anyway... I know what you meant."
Mimi stood and smiled at her. "Good, good, good. Listen, I gotta run home and watch my baby brother for awhile, but I'm serious about what I said. You've got my number, use it."
Chloe nodded and smiled weakly. "I will..."
Mimi left and closed the bedroom door behind her. Chloe sighed and laid back down on the bed with a smile. She was glad that Mimi had stopped by, and she felt encouraged by the fact that maybe she could have at least one friendship in her new life. Shawn, Belle, Phillip and Brady might not accept her, but at least she had Mimi. Mimi seemed to still care about Jan and Chloe figured it was Mimi's way of trying to find the humanity left inside Jan and save it. Chloe was grateful for Mimi's forgiving nature as it gave her the first glimmer of hope she had felt since the accident.
***
Chloe spent the rest of the day going through the things that had once belonged to the real Jan. Even though she felt like she was somehow invading Jan's privacy, Chloe knew this was the only way to learn more about who she was now supposed to be, and find the reasons that caused Jan to act that way. Flipping through Jan's journals and photo albums, her fears and assumptions were turned into facts. Jan must have had a miserable childhood. Photos of Jan with her parents were few and far between, and the ones that did exist didn't show a smiling young girl in them, but a child who was obviously miserable.
Chloe wondered aloud, "I wonder if she was ever happy..."
Chloe sighed sadly and read to the end of Jan's most recent journal. Although Chloe could never forgive what Jan had done to her, she now felt like she understood her. By no means, was Jan a lost cause, her journals proved that to Chloe. Jan seemed to want nothing more than acceptance, like every teenager, but she went about it by bringing others down and exerting power over people who she perceived as weak.
Chloe closed the journal and chuckled softly, "I guess my only mistake was not taking any of her crap."
Chloe laid the journal on the nighttable and glanced at the clock. She hadn't realized it, but aside from the meal that Benjamin brought her for dinner, she had been at this all day. It was getting quite late so Chloe turned off the light and slipped under the covers. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, dreaming of her real life as Chloe Lane, not this twilight zone life she had slipped into now.
***
[Sorry this is taking so long, but I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and muscles in my chest, so typing at the keyboard hurts. It's starting to get better so the chapters should be coming quicker now. Thanks for your patience. :)]
