Nope, don't own anything. But thank you to my reviewers. I love you all and hope you had a merry xmas. I did. This is only going to be another few chapters. I was going to end it here, but I'm not that mean. There will be a sequel though, and I promise you'll like it if you like this.

-Mary

Emma's POV

Well, I can't do much about Jay's breakdown, except to be a good girlfriend. What does that mean? That means I'm gonna sit here and hold him, take care of him, love him, and be a good friend. He's broken right now. I guess all of the shit since the shooting has killed him. I knew he and Spinner and Alex were the ones that pushed Rick over the wall, so to speak, but I can't blame them. Rick had problems. But the point is Jay can't handle it anymore. He's broken down in shambles and I'm holding his hand, pulling him through the darkness.

Mom and dad are on their way over here to save us both. I think I'm going to ask the parents if Jay could stay with us for a while. We can't leave him in this place and he needs somewhere stable. I watch him, and I see that his eyes have fallen and he's sleeping. His breathing has slowed and he's out of the pain temporarily. I lay his head on the couch and find his room. Its not that much of a challenge; the dirty clothes on the floor and car posters on the wall are a dead give away. So I walk in and pick up a spare bag off the floor. Then I walk to his dresser and open the drawers.

You can tell he's a typical boy; his clothes are tossed in and wrinkled, so I decide to fold them and put them in the bag nicely. I've got about five outfits put in the bag, including boxers, when I decide he might want a few books that I see on his desk. I know, I know. Jay Hogart knows how to read? He's actually pretty intelligent. So I pile four books in and a few of his magazines, intentionally leaving playboy magazines in their spot under the desk. I tie the bag and head to the living room. Jay is still sleeping, so I set the bag down next to him and walk to the kitchen for a drink.

Just as I presumed, half of it is filled with bear, but there are a few Dr. Peppers there and I grab one. The kitchen is filled with dishes and the garbage needs to go out, so I put the dishes in the dishwasher, start it and take the garbage out. When I come back in I can here a car pulling up, so I go to the door to meet my parents. Sure enough, they're getting out of the car as I walk to meet them. My mom grabs me and pulls me into a hug. No tears spill this time as I hug back.

Snake puts his arm around me and I can tell he's not upset with me anymore. So I figure this is the perfect time to ask.

"Mom… Dad?" They nod. "I was wondering… I mean, I'll understand if you say no, but Jay has no place to go but here and his mom just killed herself on his couch…"

I couldn't go on, I had tears falling down faster than ever before and I knew this had affected me as much as the Rick thing had. Mom squeezed me tighter and Snake spoke up.

"Of course he can stay with us. Just promise us you won't mess around with him."

"I promise."

Sure, I wanted to get in his pants again but this isn't the time and my house isn't the place. I wiped my tears away and we walked into the house. Jay was awake, I have a strong suspicion that he only pretended to be asleep so I would relax. Its sweet of him to do things like that. He was looking at a picture of his family, when his dad was still around, and he didn't notice us come in. I walked behind him and wrapped my arms around him. Mine. No one else can have him. That's the message I'm going to send out to the world.

I felt his hands reach up and stroke my arms. He needed the comfort; I can give it to him. Snake cleared his throat and we both looked up. Jay's grip never left my arm.

"Spike, I mean, Mrs. Simpson and I have been talking about this. You aren't in the best of situations, and this is a bad place for you to be in your position, so we want to invite you to stay with us."

I don't think I've ever seen a look in Jays' eyes to rival the need and sadness he felt when he looked at dad and responded.

"I'd really like that. I think I even need it."

Mom smiled at me and I smiled back. I think this situation will work out well. Jay stood up (my arms were still wrapped around him) and I let out a yelp as he pulled me up. I guess I sounded pretty funny because every one was laughing at me. I felt my face growing red and Jay pulled me from his back to in front of him and kissed me. He grabbed his bag and we all walked out. I have to think that this was a blessing in some ways, and I know Jay agrees. I can see it in his eyes as we climb into his civic and he pulls out and heads to my house. I can't wait until Jay recovers from all of this. I'm going to surprise him in ways he could never imagine.

Jay's POV

After crying into my lovely girlfriend for what seemed like hours, I started to feel the anxiousness in her so I pretended to fall asleep. She caught on and in a few minutes she was off my lap and exploring my house. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she had found my room. I just hope she hasn't found my porn magazines. She wouldn't be able to tell that the tapes are porn, but she'd flip out over the magazines.

She was in there for about ten minutes and I wondered what the hell she was doing. She came back in the living room with a bag full of stuff and set it not to far away from me. Then she walked to the kitchen and grabbed a soda. I kinda wonder if she would have drank the beer if it was all that was there. But I'll never know. I could see her looking around the kitchen and see the disgusting mess. Mom really outdid herself before leaving me here. It hurts. Emma started to load the dishwasher and I couldn't help but think, why?

When I heard the door slam as Emma took the trash out I moved quickly to pull the condoms out of the coffee table's secret drawer. I shoved them in the bag to where Emma couldn't see them and pretended to fall asleep again. When I car pulled up in the driveway it didn't take me three guesses to figure out who was here. I watched my girlfriend go outside to great her parents and I reached for the picture next to the television. It was a picture of the family, when my dad was still around.

Dad's been gone for about three years, physically, but he was gone long before that. I remember when I was little, mom and dad would fight for hours. They'd tell me it wasn't my fault, but I heard them shout about me after they thought I was sleeping. Eventually, mom started shooting up. I think I was about thirteen back then, but I don't remember exactly. One day, when she was completely out of it, he came home and didn't want to deal with her anymore. I watched as my dad shook her violently, trying to get her to wake up. It did no good.

He couldn't take it. He went to the fridge, grabbed a beer from the fridge. I watched as he drank, then drank the rest of the pack, and grabbed his keys. I tried to stop him, I begged him, but he was too drunk to hear my pleading cries. Hours later, when mom realized what was happening, she called every hospital in the city. After the third call, she found out he was dead. Drove strait into a tree. Mom died inside that day. I think I did too. After the funeral and everything, mom started drinking heavily. I'd come home and she'd have a new boyfriend every week.

It was about that time I met Alex. She distracted me from my pain. She would take me to parties, and one day we got drunk and had sex. We were fifteen. Alex ended up getting pregnant and my mom freaked. I think she got the hint from my mistake that she needed to shape up. She went to rehab and hasn't drank since. When Alex came to our house crying when she was five months, mom knew right away that we needed to call the cops. Alex's dad had beat her to the point of unconsciousness. By the time the paramedics got there we already figured she had a miscarriage. We were right. Alex tried to kill herself that night, in my bathroom. Mom found her and cleaned her up. Alex promised not to do it again. But I think my mom got the idea from that.

Now, I'm seventeen, and parentless. This house is technically mine now, but it reeks of death. I won't get over it anytime soon. I need to get away. I suppose I could stay with Towerz, but I don't want to impose. He's never had to run to my place, so I don't want to run to his. I can hear Emma walking in with her parents but I can't bring myself to look up. I feel her arms wrap around me and I move my hand to hold her right arm and stroke it. We sit there for a few minutes before Simpson speaks up.

"Spike, I mean, Mrs. Simpson and I have been talking about this. You aren't in the best of situations, and this is a bad place for you to be in your position, so we want to invite you to stay with us."

I could feel the desperation in my eyes showing, but I think my need to be saved was greater than that of my need to be proud.

"I'd really like that. I think I even need it."

I could feel Emma's smile against my hair and I knew I made her happy. I stood up, holding her arms to me and she let out the funniest squeak I'd ever heard. We all laughed and I pulled her around to face me. I kissed her and set her down. Mrs. S said it would be fine for Emma and I to take my car, so I grabbed my bag and Em's hand and led her to my car. Both Emma and I knew that this was a new beginning, and as I pulled out, I could feel the love radiating off of her. I can't screw this us, I just can't.

I want to tell her I love her but I'm too cautious of scaring her away. So I sit here, still, and just grab her hand. This won't be too bad, I'm thinking as we pull into her drive, and I kiss her once more for good luck.

I hope you liked this. About 4 pages again. And 2,000 words. All for you guys, so R and R please!!!