A/N: Alright, I'm dead. You guys have gotten, what, like four updates in the last two days? Of course, I'll probably get another one out tomorrow--no guarantee, though. Major thanks to everyone who's reading, and especially those that leave me those wonderful reviews! I'm addicted to them! And I can't go into withdrawal, now, can I?

xx

Chapter 8

"I still don't understand." I said as I gestured at the papers in the man's hands. "What's this all mean?"

Mr. Donovan sighed, obviously frustrated with my lack of comprehension. Well excuse me for not going to law school for half of my life. It's not like any normal person would understand all the terms he's using, anyway. I thought my life couldn't possibly get any worse ten minutes ago when I was sobbing in Tommy's arms...

Famous last words, because then this lawyer walked in.

The look on his face--besides the obvious frustration--made me immediately wish that Tommy was still in the room. Since these were supposed to be legal matters, though, and everything had to be confidential, Tommy as forced to leave, and I could practically imagine the laps he was doing in the hall. The nurses would go crazy.

"First of all, you've inherited everything from your late father and sister--cars, houses, personal belongings, and even bills. It's all yours, now. Mr. Harrison's will clearly stated that all of his assets would be given to his children in the event of his passing, and you're the only child left." Mr. Donovan explained in a calm voice.

The last thing he said hit me hard--only child. That's what I was now. Funny thing was, I'd practically wished to be one my entire life. I was always overshadowed by my perfect older sister, Sadie--she was smart, beautiful, talented. Everyone just viewed me as her loser younger sister, at least until I won Instant Star. But even then, Sadie still managed the claim the spotlight pretty often.

The guilt was eating at me, though--all those years of despising not necessarily my sister, just her accomplishments, and wishing I was an only child...and here I actually was one. Life had taken biting me in the ass to a whole new, unbelievable level. Mr. Donovan began talking again, and I finally tuned back in.

"...Sadie had never made a will before, so by law all of her assets go to the next of kin--which would be you."

I squeezed my eyes shut--of course Sadie hadn't ever made a will. She was only twenty years old; she wasn't supposed to be dead yet. She was supposed to have a successful career, get married, have kids, have grandchildren, anything but this. I'd always imagine Sadie would die peacefully in her sleep when she was eighty-five years old after she had lived a long, happy life. She wasn't supposed to die on the way to the Grammy's. The Grammy's...oh God, she wouldn't have been going there if it wasn't for me. It was all my fault; I killed my family.

Sure, that was crazy talk. But I couldn't force myself to believe otherwise. If it wasn't for me and my music, Sadie and Stuart would still be alive.

The lawyer was talking again. "Also, as Sadie's next of kin you're going to have to make some major decisions." Mr. Donovan released a deep breath, and I knew the worst was still yet to come. "You obviously know that Sadie's brain is dead but her body is still alive." No shit, thanks for the reminder. "The policy is that she was supposed to be taken off life support after six hours of no brain activity. That time was up last night, but considering the...circumstances, the doctors decided to hold off on it. Because they did that, they now can't do anything to her without her family's consent, which at this point has to come from you. Basically, Sadie will remain on life support until you sign a release allowing them to take her off of it."

A beat passed before I began shaking my head slowly. I suddenly felt a repeat of last night coming on. "No. No!" I screeched before bolting for the door. They couldn't, they wouldn't do this to me. I'd already killed my sister once--now they wanted me to do it again?

Tommy must've heard me because he caught me as soon as I escaped the confines of the room with Mr. Donovan in it.

"Jude? Jude, look at me. What happened in there?" I struggled in his grip but remained mercifully silent. "Come on, girl, talk to me. Please."

Realizing that my squirming was useless, I shrank to the floor, taking Tommy with me. In a heap on the floor, I said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I have to kill my sister..."

Tommy's eyes widened in shock; I could tell he wanted to ask me again, to have me repeat what I had just said, but we both knew I wouldn't be able to say it twice. Plus, he'd heard me the first time. If there was anything in the world I couldn't stand, it was being redundant.

Mr. Donovan appeared in the open doorway, looking unnerved. Unnerved. Hell, I'd take that any day. I still couldn't get over how...professional he had been in there. Like it was just another day for him. I wondered if all lawyers were like that? You know, like it was no biggie when they told someone they were being sued, or divorced, or convicted of a felony. To the lawyers, it was just another paycheck. To everyone else, it was the end of the fucking free world. To put it blatantly, lawyers and the news they brought sucked. More than sucked, actually. It didn't take a genius to figure out why there were so many jokes against them.

Of course, I wasn't finished talking to Mr. Donovan, the damn lawyer whom I was now going to call the Grim Reaper, or Angel of Death, or something really really really inappropriate to actually say. I hadn't decided which yet, but whatever I decided on for his nickname was definitely not going to be flattering in any way, shape, or form.

I untangled myself from Tommy and went back into the room, muttering a quick "Sorry" to Mr. Donovan as I went by him. As he closed the door behind us, I caught a glimpse of Tommy still sitting on the floor staring after me, looking completely lost and helpless. Yeah, well, he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Once the door was firmly shut, I turned back to the lawyer as a sudden thought occurred to me. "Wait--why am I the one who has to give consent? I know it's next of kin, but what about our mother? Shouldn't she make the decision instead of me?"

"Technically, yes, but Sadie..." As he answered, comprehension began to dawn on Mr. Donovan's face.

"But Sadie what?" I asked impatiently. Abruptly stopping in the middle of a very important sentence was not a good thing to do, here. In fact, I could feel the grip I had on my control beginning to slip, and I was positive I would lost it again if he didn't answer in the next millisecond.

"I thought you knew." He went on, still seeming flabbergasted of my apparent unawareness.

"Knew what?" I practically shouted, ready to strangle the man if he didn't finish this thought. What didn't I know?

"Sadie disowned Victoria Harrison about nine months ago. She emancipated herself from her; in the legal world, they're not related anymore." Mr. Donovan finally stated, causing me to collapse into the nearest chair.

What?

How could...how could Sadie have done that and never said a word? Yeah, I was pissed at our mother for not contacting us in almost a year, but I'd never even considered going that far. Sadie must've been more hurt than I'd ever realized...unless there was something she knew that I didn't?

"Miss Harrison? Are you okay? Is there something I can get for you?" He asked, looking nervous about my stunned silence.

I shook my head, finally able to give him an answer. "Um, no...I'll be okay. I hope." I added under my breath, not loud enough for him to hear.

He nodded and stood up. "I'll just leave you to digest this for a while, then. I'll be in touch." Mr. Donovan produced a card from his suit pocket. "Here's the number for my office and cell; give me a call when you've figured things out. If not, I'll talk to you soon again anyways."

Wordless I took his card, and then he left and I was alone in the room...for a total of about three seconds, that is. As soon as Mr. Donovan was gone, Tommy rushed into the room, looking worried.

I was getting really sick of that worried look.

"How'd it go?" Tommy questioned cautiously, slowly lowering himself into the chair next to mine and scooting it closer. He grabbed my hand, waiting for a response.

But I couldn't give him one. For what felt like the millionth time in an hour, I shook my head back and forth. I swear I could've felt my brain moving around in my cranium--I guess I had a loose screw.

Tommy finally figured out that I wasn't going to answer him, so we just sat there in silence, him all the while becoming more anxious. I knew he wanted to know what had happened, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone...not yet.

x.xxx.x

Sometime later--I'm not really sure how long--Tommy left to go get some coffee. Looking around at the empty, bare room, I decided that I couldn't stay in here any longer. After ditching my chair I quickly rushed out into the hallway and ran right into Mitch--again.

He caught me (again), and once I was steady on my feet I noticed the bouquet of cheerful-looking flowers in his hand. They had the opposite of the desired affect on me; they were depressing in their brightness. Like a bunch of pretty flowers would do anything. All you ended up doing was watching them die--yeah, that's real helpful for the sick person.

"Mitch, um, hi." I said, finally noticing the pinched and drawn look on his face. There were bags under his eyes, and the telltale spark I'd noticed in his gaze had become very dim.

"Jude." He stated simply in a tired, voice. Still, I detected the slightest note in his tone that alerted me to the fact that he was happy to see me again.

"Uh, sorry about that. And about, erm, last night." I stumbled out, not meeting his gaze anymore. As for how much he saw--or heard, more likely--I didn't know, but I figured 'last night' could cover several things, including how I tripped into him then, too.

"No worries." I suddenly found all of his attention focused on me as he peered down at me, an intense yet caring look in his gaze. "You okay?"

Automatically, I almost spat out the standard 'Fine,' but I stopped at the last second. I was anything but, so why lie about it?

"No." I choked out before tears welled in my eyes and spilled down my face. My frame soon became engulfed in a hug by a larger one, and it surprisingly made me feel better, if only marginally. My breathing couldn't even be called breathing--it was heaving gulps of air, a fruitless attempt at trying to calm down. I knew I wouldn't be able to calm down for a long time; I needed to get all of this out, once and for all.

So I sobbed my heart out in the arms of a near stranger, not caring about anything except letting some of my pain out.

Funkyicecube -- I couldn't help but laugh at your comment. All the great fics do put Jude through hell, huh? We live in a world that's addicted to drama and tragedy, I guess. And smut, if you're from DLS. :P

tampabay15 -- Aw, thank you! I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can. I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story!

MyCrAzyWorld -- Sorry, it was neither Mitch nor Jude's mom that walked in, as you've already figured out. But they were both mentioned in this chapter, and Mitch was actually in it, lol. I'll try and keep up the good work--hopefully I won't disappoint!

Tanya50801 -- Lol, I'm with you on that--it's all about Jommy. I can't even fathom writing a story where they don't end up together. But it's fun coming up with how they get there!

mandy1485 -- Glad things are clear for you now. Thanks for reviewing!

Duddley111 -- I'm sorry it's so sad. I promise it will be happy eventually...like maybe at the end? hides But I'll try and get some good moments in there for you.

bunnypook -- Haha, I didn't mean to make you mad! Did this chapter help?

Thanks for all the reviews, everyone--I truly appreicate them, more than you know.