Marc came back from talking to the doctor, a big smile on his face "the doctor said surgery went fine. They removed the bullet and he'll be ok. He'll be walking with a cane though for a while. You can teach him the tricks of the trade though right Jessie" Jessie gave a half-hearted nod and went back to staring at the floor. Marc looked at her sadly for a second before addressing everyone again "the doctor said we can see him in about an hour". Everyone began talking excitedly, except Jessie. She was sitting off to the side, staring at the floor lost in her thoughts.
'It's all my fault' Jessie thought to herself 'Stacy was right if I hadn't come along everyone would be happy right now. I should just leave, no one is gonna miss me they'll all be better off'. Jessie was brought out of her thoughts by a nurse coming in the room to tell everyone they can go see John. Everyone rushed off, not noticing that Jessie didn't follow. She got up and went over to the window, it was pitch black outside but Jessie could hear the rain pounding against the window and a low rumble of thunder. She had always loved thunderstorms, they made her feel alive. A song came to her mind and she started singing.
Never gone, never far
In my heart is where you are
Always close (always close), everyday (everyday)
Every step along the way
Even though for now we've got to say goodbye
I know you will be forever in my life (in my life, yeah) CREDIT TO BSB PLEASE DONT REPORT ME FOR USING THESE LYRICS
John looked up as everyone came into his room. He was still groggy from the anesthesia but was ready to get out of the hospital. He was sitting on the table, still in his clothes from the trial minus the jacket and his pants leg had been cut off by the doctors so that they could get to the wound. While he was waiting John had gotten hot so he unbuttoned a few buttons and rolled his sleeves up on his shirt. He kissed Trish who rushed over to him and embraced him and hugged his mom. He looked around, confused "whur's muh babygirl?"
Marc looked behind him "she must still be in the waiting room I'll go get her" he made as to leave the room but John stopped him.
"Nah man. I'll see her when we get to go for a ride in that thing" John said, pointing at a chair that his dad was sitting in.
"Uh, hon. I think you mean to point at that" Trish said gently, directing John's hand towards the wheelchair that Alexis was standing next too.
"Yeow, thas wha I said. She's jus prolly freuked from me gettin shot in der uh, whatever." John slurred, the grogginess kicking into effect.
"Thigh" Trish said gently.
"I'm moruva bres' man akshly" John said smiling cheekily. Trish blushed heavily and turned her head away. John's mother rolled her eyes and shook her head while everyone else in the room almost busted out laughing. A nurse came in then and told John he was free to go. He stood up and almost fell down again because his leg was still numbed so he wouldn't feel any pain from the bullet being removed. Maven and Marc rushed and caught him before he hit the floor "woah muh leg gaved out on meh" John said, looking down at his leg like it had turned green and started smoking. Maven and Marc guided him to the wheelchair, sitting him down in it gently. Once he was sitting Maven started pushing him out of the room.
Jessie was staring out of the window at the storm when she heard movement behind her. She turned around and saw John in a wheelchair being pushed by Maven, everyone else was making their way to the lobby "hey babygirl" John said once Jessie had turned around "red tuh go". Jessie nodded faintly "well den hop un. I wan' you tuh ride wimme. Jump on. Not thu bad leg though unless yuh wann' be mean an' hear me screm like a little girl". Jessie looked at him weirdly, not knowing why he was acting like he was.
"Meds" Maven said, noticing Jessie's look. She nodded.
"C'mon babgirl" John said, motioning her over with his hand "I tired an' red tuh go". Jessie slowly walked over to John and he pulled her down on his good leg. She put her feet above John's on the foot rest and Maven started rolling them down the hall to the elevator.
"One of you needs to lose some weight" Maven joked, acting like the effort of pushing the wheelchair was huge.
"You jus' nid tuh workout more" John said looking back at Maven. "I min yuh need guns like dese" John said flexing his arms, Jessie almost fell off his lap at the movement but Maven caught her before she did. "Sorr' babgirl" John said looking sheepish "I'll be good now" and he put his arms around Jessie's waist to keep her steady.
After John was let out of the hospital most everyone decided to go back to West Newbury, Randy and Mark stayed back though because they were still upset because of what happened at the trial. On the way home John was a nuisance to everyone in the SUV. He kept singing songs like the ABC song, Hakuna Matata, Sesame Street's theme song, and It's A Small World. John's brothers kept threatening him, even going as far as to say they'd burn all his Hip Hop albums, but he said he'd buy more and kept right on singing. Finally Trish started making out with him to shut him up.
Marc looked back from his position in the passenger seat to Jessie who was sat all the way in the back to see her reaction to her fathers antics but she had her headphones on, head leaning against the window. Marc thought he saw a few tears making their way down Jessie's face but couldn't tell for sure. They finally got to John's house and everyone was glad to be out of the SUV. Jessie got out and walked hurriedly into the house. Marc was going to go after her but Sean stopped him so he could help him get John out of the SUV. Once John was out and inside Marc again was going to go check on Jessie but John pulled him down beside him on the couch. "You memmer when we did dat zb? Man dat waz zum fun shit dere man. Oh man is Jessie hur? I dint meanna cuss". Marc rolled his eyes.
"She's upstairs" he said.
"Oh dat's good. I bet she's like real tird from da tril an' shit" John said nodding. John kept Marc beside him a little while, doing the drunken rambling thing. Marc kept his mind on Jessie and what he saw in the car. He didn't want to worry John with it especially with his mind fuzzy on pain medication but he made up his mind to go check on Jessie as soon as he could get away from John. Finally after about 1/2 an hour the medication got to John and he dropped like a fly. Marc snuck up upstairs saying that he had to go to the bathroom, really he was going to go check on Jessie. He walked up to her room and knocked on the door. When he didn't get a response he opened the door, expecting to see her asleep or something. He got shocked when he didn't see her, Marc looked over at the window and noticed it was open and rain was spilling in. He went and closed it. He slowly made his way downstairs thinking what he could do. He sat down on the couch thinking, pushing at John when he turned in his sleep and kicked Marc in the stomach. Marc was startled when Jessie's puppy, Muffin, hopped up on the couch and snuggled up on John's chest. Trish cooed at the scene saying it was 'the cutest thing' she had 'ever saw'.
"I'm hungry" Alexis spoke up suddenly. Trish, who was sitting beside her laughed.
"Hun you're pregnant and eating for two I'm not surprised" Alexis hit her with a cushion that was lying on the couch. "HEY! I was about to say I'm hungry too though. Last time I ate anything was this morning and it was only a bagel and small coffee".
"I'll go get us something" Marc spoke up when everyone else made comments about being hungry. "Sean and Maven can come with me" both Sean and Maven were startled a bit when Marc suggest they come but both shrugged and stood up with Marc. As they were going out Marc pulled them to the kitchen "Jessie's gone" he said "I went up to her room and looked in on her and she wasn't in there she snuck out the window". Both Maven and Sean were shocked at Marc's words. "Here's the deal" Marc said taking out his keyring and taking a key off of it. He handed it to Maven before speaking again "there's the key to John's car. Go to a few places and see if you can find her. Sean and I will go and get some food and bring it back here we'll make up a story that you met up with an old friend and stayed to have a few beers with them" Maven nodded and ran to John's car. He started it and drove off. Alexis, who had been on her way to get a soda and overheard the conversation came into the kitchen then.
"She's gone?" Alexis asked of Marc. Marc nodded sadly "oh man. Well I'll keep Trish occupied while Maven's out looking. When Maven finds her tell him to sneak her in the way she snuck out and I'll talk to her when she gets back and see if I can find out what's up. I'm thinking this one needs a woman's touch". The three guys nodded, leaving the house. Sean and Marc got in the SUV and took off to get some food, each worried about Jessie.
Jessie walked down the street and a hurried pace, the cold and rain were chilling her to the bone and her legs were starting to ache and become numb. She looked ahead and saw the train station that she had arrived at when she first got to West Newbury up ahead. She took off running and hurried inside. It was empty except for the man at the counter, he looked up when Jessie entered "train's not running tonight".
"I know sir" Jessie said to the man "I just need a place to stay out of the rain for a bit". The man nodded and went back to the newspaper that was spread out on the desk in front of him. Jessie sat down on a bench and put down her backpack, opening it and taking out her portable CD player that had her Good Charlotte 'The Young and the Hopeless' CD in it. She put on the headphones and got lost in the music, listening to Joel Madden's voice which always had a soothing effect on her.
Maven had been driving around looking for Jessie for about an hour. He had been to many places but she hadn't turned up. He saw a train station up the road and decided to check there. He pulled up to the station and parked in a spot. He got out and ran inside, trying to avoid getting soaked. He stepped inside the door and shook himself off. He looked and saw Jessie sitting on a bench, listening to music. She was off in her own little world, bobbing her head to the music. Maven went and sat down beside her, looking at the window at the rain splashing on the pane with a pit-pat sound.
After a few minutes Jessie felt someone's presence beside her. She looked and saw Maven sitting there, looking out the window with a serene look on his face. Jessie took off her headphones and looked at the floor "what are you doing here?" she asked.
"Been looking for you" Maven said "I got lucky and found you".
"Why you looking for me?" Jessie asked.
"Well because you went missing and I had to find you because if I didn't I have a lot of people who'd kick my butt" Maven said looking over at Jessie for the first time since he got there, she was wet and looked to be really cold even though she had on a thick RKO pullover.
"It's better this way" Jessie said, quietly. Maven looked at her, confused by her words.
"What do you mean it's better this way?" he asked "Jessie you leaving isn't going to make anything better. In fact it would probably be worse on everyone. You have alot of people who care for you, darlin''' Maven said looking Jessie in the eye "you got your dad who'd be heartbroken if you left, Trish would be right there with him cause you know she thinks of you as a little sister. Randy, he'd just be torn up if you left he loves you a whole lot. Mark, your uncles, your grandma and grandpa. Darlin', me, listen I know we haven't exactly been close but I like you Jessie. I think your a great girl and I'd miss you terribly if you left. What do you say? Let's go back and sneak you in and it'll be my, Marc's and Sean's little secret that you left" Jessie slowly nodded, not really wanting to go but knowing that Maven would never just leave her there. She followed Maven out to his car, they got in and Maven sped off to John's. Once they got there Maven turned to Jessie and said "just sneak back in the way you came in and everyone will be none the wiser to anything. Do you want me to bring you up something to eat?" Jessie shook her head, she wasn't hungry at all. Maven nodded and got out of the car, Jessie got out too and shimmied back up to her room. She changed out of her wet clothes and into a pair of flannel pj's. She snuggled up in her bed and just laid there.
Maven went in once he saw that Jessie was safely in her room. As he stepped through the door Trish looked up and asked "how was the talk with your friend?" Maven smiled nervously a bit before answering with a simple fine. He looked toward Marc and Sean when he knew no one was looking at him and looked upstairs and nodded to let them know Jessie was up there.
Alexis noticed the nod that Maven gave and knew Jessie was back in her room. She excused herself saying that she was going to the bathroom; she go up off the couch, pushing down her shirt when it rode up over her slightly protruding 3 month pregnant belly. She made her way upstairs then and to Jessie's room. She knocked on the door and heard Jessie call to come in. She walked in and smiled at her. Alexis sat on the bed beside Jessie "having a rough time huh?" she asked. Jessie simply shrugged her shoulders. "You know I know how you feel a bit. I mean that jerk of a lawyer that Josh had tried to make everyone that testified look like a bad guy but Jessie that's not true. You know it isn't".
"I know but if I had never been here than no one would be in the position they are. I mean look at Randy and Mark, they feel like crap because of what was said to them at MY trial. If I hadn't met Josh it wouldn't have happened. If I had never come here it wouldn't have happened" Jessie protested.
"Jessie everyone testified because they love you. We all do things we don't want to do for our loved ones because we love them. Its not a question of whether we want to do them or not we do them because we know it will mean alot to our loved ones. I mean do you really think I wanted to wear a sea foam green dress in Mark's wedding? No. I did it because he's my brother and his ex-wife asked me to. Then they got divorced. Oh I was happy about that believe me. I still had that dress, I burned it. I loved watching it burn too" Alexis smiled sadistically before continuing. "But honey you can't think like you are. Its not true people love you and want you in their life I promise and it wouldn't be easier on everyone if you weren't here".
"I'll believe you when everythings back to normal and it doesn't seem like people are alienating themselves from me" Jessie said, rolling over away from Alexis. Alexis got up and made her way down stairs.
"Ugh babies are pushing on my bladder something horrible" Alexis complained as she came back downstairs. She saw that John had woken up and seemed less medicated. She smiled and looked over at Marc.
"Will you take me back up to the hotel where my little boys are at? I wanna talk to them a bit and see if I can make them quit throwing a hissy fit" everyone laughed at Alexis and Marc agreed to drive her back.
Alexis walked down the hall of the hotel. She stopped when she got to the room Randy had been in. She knocked on the door. After a few seconds of waiting Randy opened it. "What are you doing back here?" he asked her. Alexis didn't answer though just simply pushed past him into the room. She walked over and picked up the phone, dialing a number.
"Hey come over to Randy's room" she said in a tone leaving no room for argument, hanging up. She then walked over and sat down on the bed. Randy looked at her like she had two heads but before he could say anything someone knocked on the door. He went and opened it, seeing Mark on the other side. Mark came in looking over at Alexis with a 'what' look. "I want to talk to the two of you" she said standing up. Mark and Randy sat down and looked at Alexis "are you two done throwing your little temper tantrum hissy fits? I mean oh my God I never knew I had loved ones that were such fucking drama queens. I just got through talking to Jessie. She ran away for a little while tonight. Know why? Hmm? Because of you two fucking idiots. She has it in her head that everyone would be better off without her in their lives. She mentioned you two specifically. She blames herself for what was said to you two and you aren't there to tell her any different. No you're here pouting because the mean lawyer hurt your feelings" Alexis put as much fake sympathy in her voice as she could muster. "Randy" she said looking at him "you aren't some sick, twisted child molester. You did EVERYTHING you did out of love for Jessie. And Mark" she looked at her brother "you AREN'T some weird, psycho lunatic dictator. Ok? So the two of you get yourselves together because you ARE leaving with me right now and we are going to John's and you two are going to make Jessie see that she is loved and needed and wanted or I will kick your asses so bad they will need dental records to identify you". Randy and Mark looked sheepish at Lexi's words.
"Man I feel like shit" Randy spoke up "I didn't know that Jessie would feel this way because of us" he looked over at Mark. "It's not her fault. Alexis is right we aren't bad men. We need to suck it up and get over it" Mark nodded.
"I agree. Now lets go and hug the shit outta Jessie and make her see the light" with that the 3 left, but not before Alexis could smack both of them really hard on the back of the head.