Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing. I know, it's very sad, the story of my life. I especially don't own the quote at the end. I'm not really even sure who it's written by.
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Joan turned off the tap in the bathroom sink and threw the dirty towel into the pile that had accumulated on the floor. She had just spent the last forty-five minutes soaking in the bathtub and was feeling much better. Grace and Luke had waited a half hour with Adam and Joan as the repairman fixed the tire. They had won their first game today by thirty points, thanks to Glynis and her knowledge of health and hormones. They had all been extremely surprised. Miss Lishek however, had still not arrived yet and Joan was starting to worry. She closed off the light and entered back into the room that she shared with Glynis and Grace. Seated on the two beds, amid a pile of books were Friedman and Glynis.
"Oh, ummm, Joan, Miss Lishek telephoned and her sister had a baby girl and she's now on her way here," Glynis said timidly.
"That's good. Uh, where's Grace?" Joan asked.
"She and Luke went swimming half an hour ago, i.e. they went to make out," Friedman smirked. I look of sadness washed over Glynis' face and she busied herself with her books.
"I'm sure that's not what they're doing, I mean, common, it's Grace and Luke," Joan babbled, trying to comfort Glynis, who gave her a small smile.
"So…ummm…what exactly are you guys doing, because you're on my bed."
"We're studying, what does it look like," Friedman stated, as if Joan should know that.
"I'm sorry Joan, we just really want to be prepared for tomorrow!" Glynis apologized.
"Oh, ummm, ok sure," Joan nodded.
"That's cool, I guess I'll just…go do something else for a bit." But Friedman and Glynis were already buried in their books again and Joan felt like she would have been better to talk to a wall. A knock came on the door and Joan went to answer, as it was clear that neither of the other them were going to.
"Room service," answered a perky waiter when Joan opened the door.
"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong room, none of us ordered room service," she explained. The waiter held up a little slip of paper, squinting at it slightly.
"It says your name on it right here Joan," he smiled. Her expression immediately changed and she quickly stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
"What do you want now! I did what you asked, I joined the team!"
"And you're doing a fine job. But it's not over yet. Grace is going to talk soon, so make sure you listen. And Glynis, just be kind to her Joan, she needs a friend right now," God explained.
"That's it?" she asked, surprised.
"That's all."
"Oh…ok, that doesn't sound too bad. Wait, this is too easy-" But God cut her off.
"Look at that! I did have the wrong room! Sorry about that. Well, I should be off, get this to the right room," and he began to walk down the hall leaving Joan standing out there in her pyjama bottoms and t-shirt.
"Oh and Joan, trust him."
"Wait! What's that supposed to mean?! And that can't be it?! It's too easy!" she called after him. But all God responded with, was one of his signature waves, not even turning around. Joan rolled her eyes and went to go back into her room, but then remembered Friedman and Glynis.
"Great," she groaned. She walked to the room next to hers and knocked.
"Yo Luke I thought you had your own key, I- oh, Jane it's you," Adam smiled as he opened the door. He was wearing flannel pyjama pants and a white t-shirt, his hair tousled. He beckoned her inside and shut the door.
"Sorry, were you sleeping?" Joan asked.
"No, not this early," Adam laughed. He picked up the remote and flicked off the TV.
"Is it ok if I hang out here for a while? Luke and Grace went to the pool and Glynis and Friedman have occupied my bed," she saw a look of surprise cross Adam's face.
"Oh no! Not like that! They're studying and their books are on my bed!" Joan assured him. Adam looked very relieved and they both burst out laughing.
"Ew, I now have a totally nasty picture in my head because of you!"
"Sorry, but that was entirely your fault" Adam said as they both attempted to calm down. Still laughing, Adam excused himself and went to the washroom. As he disappeared into the bathroom, Joan wandered around the room. She opened up the sliding door and stepped out onto the balcony. The warm air enveloped her and she rested her hands on the steel railing, staring off into the distance. So many things had happened in the last twenty-four hours, some that she wasn't sure how she felt about. She felt a pair of arms encircle her waist and Adam's warm breath on her cheek.
"Nice night."
"Yeah," she sighed and leaned back, resting on him.
"Adam?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked, Joan could hear the confusion in his voice.
"For how I treated you, you know with Iris and everything. Telling you I wasn't ready, but not wanting you to be with anyone else, wasn't fair to you. I still don't know if I'm ready though," her voice lowered to a whisper as she said the last part. She slowly turned around to face him, tears in her eyes.
"You're too important to me to make another mistake."
"Jane," he breathed. Adam had never been very good with words and saying how he felt, but if there was a time that he needed to be, this was it. He pulled her into his arms and held her. God she smelled good. He kissed the top of her head as she rested it on his shoulder.
"I…I think that us not even trying this would hurt me more than anything you could ever do to me. That thing with Iris was kind of my fault to. I mean, sure, I liked Iris and all, but she wasn't you…" Joan pulled back to look at him. He searched her eyes for some type of sign.
"And what I wanted and still do…is you." He let go of her and walked back inside. Joan ran a hand through her hair and sighed.
"Adam," she followed him in and watched as he paced the room.
"Joan, I don't want to feel like this, like I have to wait all of the time! I want to be able to see other people, but I can't!" His voice began escalating as he continued.
"I know," she whispered, tears running down her cheeks. She was turned away from him, she couldn't look at him.
"All I keep thinking about is you! You've hurt me so badly, and I know I said I was over it and I am! But even then, even then, I couldn't be mad at you! I tried so hard!! But I couldn't do it because I still…" Joan could see his bottom lip trembling. He turned away from and she heard him let out a soft sob, thinking she couldn't hear him.
"Adam…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," she breathed and flew out of the room before he could stop her. Slamming the door behind her, she fell back against it. She buried her face in her hands as she listened to him cry. It was more then she could handle, she'd never heard him cry. Even when they read the letter from his mother, he hadn't made a sound. Joan listened, knowing that she had done this. She had to get away; she bolted down the hall in an attempt to escape. She felt herself run straight into someone and instead of falling down, she felt their arms come around her. She looked up to see God, as she had for the very first time, smiling down at her. Joan burst into tears all over again. But instead of giving her some words of wisdom, he just held her, letting her cry.
The man looked and saw that during the darkest hours of his life, there was only one set of footprints. "Lord, why in the most troublesome times of my life would you abandon me?" the man asked. God smiled and answered: "My child, I would never leave you. The times when you see only one set of footprints in the sand, that was when I carried you."
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Author's Note:
Alright, there it is. Hope you enjoyed. This took me forever to write because I had it all written and then I changed it cause I liked this better. What can I say; I've got to go with the creative juices! I was also a little slow because of the lack of reviews that I received for the last chapter. It was actually very upsetting and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue after this chapter because there are only a few people expressing an interest in reading this story. And well, what's the point of writing this if no one is going to read it? Anyway, for those of you who are reading, enjoy! And to those of you that did review, thanks SOOOOOOO much!!!! You have no idea how much it meant to me! You guys rock! Well, REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!
*Arwen5* aKa SkEtChY jAnE