Caitie rolled out of bed with a groan, pushing her books out of the way. Apparently she'd fallen asleep somewhere during her history homework, waiting for Jamie to call. I take it he never did, she thought wryly. Why do I always believe him?

She wobbled over to her door on tired legs and listened to the silent house. Her father would be at work, as usual and she was supposed to meet her mother at one. So, she had the house to herself for a couple hours before she . Wandering down the hall, she pushed open the door to the bathroom and stepped inside for a quick shower.

As the water cascaded over her head and shoulders, she hummed quietly. Slowly the humming became louder and louder until she singing at the top of her lungs and dancing in the shower stall. Cuz I'm due for a miracle! I'm waiting for a sign!

At the end of the song, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. Quickly drying her hair, she headed back to her room to get dressed, but was interrupted by the phone ringing. A glance at the clock told her it was almost eleven thirty, which meant this was undoubtedly Jamie calling.

she said in a bored voice.

Hey, Caitie. Yep, it was Jamie. I'm sorry about last night.

She rubbed her temple, thinking, You're always sorry. Let me guess, a call went into overtime?

She could almost hear him squirm as he agreed. Yeah. I was supposed to get off at ten, but we got a call around nine thirty--

Jamie, don't worry about it, she interrupted swiftly. How was your shift?

It was okay. Caitie could see the look on his face, a frown at her tone no doubt. Well, that's too bad, because I don't have time to make you feel better today, Jamie.

Look, I gotta go. I'm supposed to meet-- she paused. How would I explain that I'm meeting my mother? I never spend time with her. I'm meeting a friend downtown.

Jamie's voice held mild surprise. he asked casually.

Rolling her eyes, Caitie grabbed a nice skirt out of her closet. Would she prefer purple or blue? Caitie thought, answering Jamie absently at the same time. No one you know. Look, I'm going to be late if I don't hurry. I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye, she said, hanging up before he could get anything out.

Choosing a blue shirt, Caitie dragged on the skirt and shirt, then set about carefully twisting her hair into a French braid. Finally, she applied a little makeup and stepped back to look at the final affect. Facing the mirror, she scrutinized her appearance.

Who is that? she asked herself. She looked nothing like her usual goth self. Her makeup was subtle and designed to brighten her features rather than darken them. Instead of all black, her outfit consisted of a pale blue shirt and a tan skirt and platform sandals, all of which her mother had bought her in the undisguised hope that Caitie would outgrow her negative phase.

I look like a poster child for prozac, Caitie thought disdainfully. Oh well, maybe this will make her happy.

On that note, Caitie grabbed her purse and keys and rushed out the door to meet her mother, Jamie far from her mind.
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Jamie stared at the phone in disbelief. She practically hung up on me, he muttered to himself. Still not quite believing it, Jamie trotted down the stairs to set the phone back on its cradle.

I didn't realize she'd be that mad, he thought. Okay, so, any other girl would have been that mad. I mean, Bobbi used to get pissed when I forgot to call. But this is Caitie. She's usually so cool about these things.

Trudging back up the stairs, Jamie pushed open his door and flopped on the bed. He stuffed his hands underneath his head and stared at the ceiling. Besides, he reasoned, it wasn't like I forgot to call. Things just got out of hand. She should understand that, right?

Disgusted with himself, Jamie lunged off his bed and towards the closet. He had to get out and do something. He'd been planning on asking Caitie to go over to Carter, the neighboring town, for a movie or something, but that seemed to be out.

I wonder who she's meeting? Jamie thought distractedly. Someone I don't know? I thought we always hung out with the same people.

Trying to convince himself he wasn't jealous, he turned back to his perusal of his closet. After pulling on a pair of ripped blue jeans and a black t-shirt, Jamie ran his fingers through his hair to spike it and grabbed his leather jacket of his desk chair. Running out the door and down to his motorcycle, he hopped on with relief and gunned the engine. Without any idea where he was going, Jamie sped off down the street.
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Caitie watched as the glass doors slid open in front of her and watched as they slid shut for the fourth time. Really, Caitie, the people inside are starting to stare, she heard a voice that sounded suspiciously like her mother's say in her head.

Walking a few feet away, Caitie leaned against a large column and sighed disgustedly. After moment, she pushed away from the concrete column and stepped back in front of the doors, this time forcing herself to cross the threshold into the cool lobby.

Glancing at her watch again, Caitie saw that she was still ten minutes early. Well, that's a first. Maybe dressing like Val makes me act like her, too. She was supposed to meet her mother at exactly one o'clock, and her mother was always a few minutes early. However, for once, Mrs. Roth wasn't in the lobby when Caitie walked in.

Sitting gingerly on the edge of one of the plastic chairs, Caitie fidgeted with her watch distractedly. Then she picked up a magazine from the table beside her and flipped through it, not really seeing the pictures blurring in front of her. Setting it down again, Caitie got up and began to pace through the almost empty room.

Something had to be wrong. Her mother was never late to anything, and every weekend she was here at the same time, the same place. It wasn't as if she would suddenly forget.



Caitie whirled around at the sound of her mother's voice, relief stretching across her face.

Her mother looked as if every nerve was set on end. I'm so sorry I'm late, sweetie. I just stopped to get some flowers and then the traffic was awful. As she spoke, they started down the hall. I never realized so many people lived here.

It was impossible for Caitie not to smile at the annoyance in her mother's voice. The audacity of people to actually live in Kingsport, Caitie thought, not daring to say it aloud to her mother. It's all right, Mom. I wasn't waiting long at all.

Mrs. Roth gave her a distracted smile. Well, that's good.

Both of them fell silent as they proceeded down the hall, unconsciously slowing their steps. As they got nearer the door, Caitie began to wring her hands and her mother fiddled with the ribbon on the flowers as if its bows weren't good enough. Finally, the reached the door and they couldn't delay any longer.

Mrs. Roth took a steadying breath, fixed a bright smile and her face and opened the door. Hi, Mom! she said cheerily, going to the bedside and leaning over to kiss the old woman's cheek.

Caitie waited a moment and then forced an identical smile onto her face and stepped inside after her mother. She watched the old woman's eyes carefully. Would this be a good day or a bad day? She knew her mother talked to the doctor on the phone before coming, but her mother rarely relayed any information to Caitie.

The woman turned to look at Caitie and smiled warmly from her bed. Caitie, my love, she greeted the teen.

Caitie grinned at her grandmother and hurried across the room to hug her and kiss her cheek, glad she had worn the outfit.
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Jamie knew he was near Tyler's neighborhood, but decided against visiting his friend. They rarely spent time together outside school or while on duty, it might seem weird if he just showed up one day out of the blue. Not that Tyler would mind, Jamie thought wryly. Tyler was too easy going to mind a friend showing up unannounced.

It still amazed Jamie sometimes that he had become friends with the people on his squad. How did a kid who was sentenced to probation for stealing ever become friends with a cheerleader and two football players?

His thoughts rolled back to what Caitie had said the day before. You're exactly their type, she'd said. Maybe I am, he thought with a strange feeling of detachment. As if this wasn't his own life he was talking about. Have I changed that much?

Thinking back to his last report card ruefully, he shook his head. No, he was still the same old Jamie. Alex had nearly suspended him for his grades, but Jamie had convinced him that two Bs, an A and a C were an improvement to what he'd been pulling before joining the squad. Luckily, that had been enough to save his butt. Next time, Alex might not be so kind.

Coming back to the present abruptly, Jamie stopped at a red light and checked his watch. Two hours until he was on call. Might as well get started on some homework, he thought with a sigh. Making a quick right, he headed home towards his history report.
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To My Reviewers:

Grinning Purple Chesire Cat-- My first reviewer!! You're so awesome! I'm glad you liked the first chapter, I hope you like this one, too. ^_^

winter*rose-- Thanks so much for the review! I take it you have a thing for Christopher Ralph? But then, who wouldn't, right?