Chapter Five

She's My Girl

Conner McDermott

Whenever something bad happens, why is that it keeps getting worse?

It's bad enough that Elizabeth is pregnant, but her dad kicking her out of

the house? How much can she take? I feel horrible, because this is

mostly my fault. You're saying, why? She had the right to say no. Well, she

did, but that's not the point. It's not like she can get herself

pregnant. Okay, that sounded bad. But you know what I mean. I just feel so

bad for all that's happened.

Jessica Wakefield:

I can't believe that dad kicked Liz out of the house. I knew that he'd

be mad, but I never thought that he'd kick her out. Come on, he's going

to have to try to realize what she's going through. Thank God Mrs.

Sandborn is helping them out so much. Conner called and said that it was

okay that Liz could stay there for as long as she needed. Thank God for

that.

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Conner woke up on Thursday morning, and for a few seconds, everything

seemed normal. But then reality hit, and he got out of bed to get

Elizabeth up. He opened up the bathroom door, and crossed through to her

room. She was still asleep, curled up under a blanket. He sat down on her

bed.

"Liz, sweetie, wake up." Conner said, gently shaking her shoulder.

Elizabeth rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.

"Go away."

Conner sighed, and pulled the blanket down. "We have to go to school."

Elizabeth sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I don't want to."

"Neither do I, but we have to." Conner wrapped his arms around her, but

Elizabeth pulled back.

"I don't feel so great."

Conner looked at her, his green eyes filled with concern. "Are you

going to be sick?"

Elizabeth didn't answer, but got up and made her way to the bathroom. A

few seconds later, he heard her gagging. He walked in, and silently

kneeled down next her. Conner waited until she was finished.

"Are you okay now?"

Elizabeth nodded weakly, then leaned against him. "I still don't feel

the greatest."

Conner nodded, and helped her up. "You need to go back to bed. I'll

have mom call you in sick. You really don't look well enough to go to

school."

Elizabeth shook her head, about to protest that she'd feel better in a

few minutes, but another wave of nausea hit her. "Okay."

Conner hugged her and kissed her forehead. He felt bad for her,

especially since she felt so sick. "I've got to get ready for school, so I've

got to go."

Elizabeth nodded again, and waited for him to leave. This sucked.

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Conner searched the hallway, hoping to see Jessica before homeroom.

He'd called her last night, after Elizabeth had gone to sleep, but she

needed to know that her sister was sick. There she was at the end of the

hall.

"Hey, Jess!"

Jessica turned around, and smiled to see Conner. "Where's Liz?"

"She hurled twice this morning, so she stayed home sick."

"Oh. Is she okay?"

Conner shrugged. "I guess it's just morning sickness. My mom said that

she'd call her in sick."

Jessica nodded, and slammed her locker shut. "I've got to get to class.

Tell Liz that I have to work tonight, but I'll come over afterwards.

Okay?"

"Sure."

*****************************************************************

Jessica turned the Jeep quickly into the House of Java parking lot. She

had spent to much time talking to Melissa after school, and was now

late for work. She hopped out and rushed in the door, and into the back

room. "Ally, sorry I'm late."

Ally smiled. "It's okay. It's slow out there."

Jessica walked out, and saw Jeremy walk out of the back room. "Hey

Jess." he said, putting another box of cheesecake in the refrigerator.

Jessica smiled. "I didn't know that you were working today."

"Oh, Danny called in sick this morning, so Ally asked me to fill in."

he said, leaning over to give her a kiss.

"I wasn't complaining."

Jeremy laughed, and quickly kissed her again. At that point, a crowd of

girls walked in, and Jessica pulled back so she could take their

orders.

********************************************************************

Jessica looked anxiously at the clock, waiting for it to hit six. Then

she could leave. She and Jeremy had had a continuous stream of

customers over an hour, and she was exhausted. A few minutes later, Nancy and

Suzanne walked in, signaling that she and Jeremy could leave. She walked

into the back room, and put her apron on the hook. A few seconds later,

Jeremy followed suit. "Hey Jess, do you want to get some drinks then go

out and sit in the courtyard for awhile?"

Jessica nodded. "Okay."

Jeremy smiled. "I've got to refill the Expresso machine, then I have to

use the men's room. You go and get a table. I'll be out in a second."

Jessica nodded, and walked to the door. Even though it past six, the

sun was starting to set, so no one was outside. She chose a table off to

the corner and sat down, breathing in the night air.

"Hello Jessica." A deep male voice said. Jessica spun around, her jaw

dropped when she saw Will Simmons standing in front of her.

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

Will tried to walk towards her, but she stepped back.

"Jess, please. All I'm asking for is a second chance." He placed a hand

on her shoulder. Jessica tried to move away, but Will held firm.

"I have a boyfriend. Now let go of me." Jessica protested, but Will

pulled her towards him.

"I never stopped loving you."

"Yeah, well, I never started." Jessica said. At that moment, Will

pressed his lips against hers. Jessica pushed him back. "Get away from me!"

She spun around, but Will wrapped an arm around her. His hand landed

squarely on her chest.

"Aames could never care about you the way that I do." He forced her to

turn around, moving his hand down to her hip. Jessica tried to move

away, but couldn't.

"You never cared about me. Jeremy loves me." Will pulled back his

hands, then gave her a shove. Jessica stumbled and nearly fell down.

"Leave her alone Simmons. Now." Jeremy walked around him, and help

Jessica steady herself. "Are you okay?" he asked her softly. Jessica

nodded. Jeremy turned back around.

"Listen Will, stop bothering Jessica. She's made it perfectly clear

that she doesn't want you interfering with her life." Jeremy said in a

calm voice.

"How do you know what she wants?"

"Because she's my girlfriend." That did it. Will back away, then pulled

back and punched Jeremy square in the face. Jeremy stumbled back, but

then recovered.

Will moved back, but it was too late. Jeremy delivered a punch right in

the jaw. Will didn't even pause before he hit Jeremy again.

Jeremy paused, and looked to make sure Jessica was okay. Then he sent

Will flying.

Jessica watched as her boyfriend and her ex battled it out. She bit her

lip, praying that Jeremy would be okay. She drew in sharply when Jeremy

stumbled backwards.

"Jeremy…" She said, but then she saw her boyfriend give Will a punch

that knocked him down. He tried to stand, but it was apparent that Jeremy

was winning this one. He delivered one final punch before Jeremy hit

him so hard Jessica heard a cracking sound. Will fell backwards, and

didn't stand up.

Jeremy turned around and hugged Jessica. "Are you okay?"

Jessica nodded. "But you don't look like you're okay." There was a

slight smear of blood on his cheek.

"Jess, I didn't mean to do that. I can understand if you're mad at me."

Jessica shook her head. "Why would I be mad? He threw the first punch.

Now let's go and get you cleaned up."

Jeremy wrapped his arm around her waist, and they walked towards the

courtyard gate. At that moment, Will shakily stood up. Limping, he tried

to move towards him.

"I'm going to hurt you, Aames. You're going to regret that you ever did

that to me."