Salut from France! Sorry for the long hiatus. The last 2 weeks have been a bit hectic for me. Last week was the first week of classes. It was also when the Office of International Relations at my host school organized a bunch of soirées for foreign students. The week before that, I was focused on moving into my dorm, validating my visa, opening a bank account, etc… But now I'm back and will hopefully be able to update at least once a week.

Without further ado,

Chapter 7

Lonnie picked up her phone. Her face paled as she read the message. Riley knew Jay was there. Lonnie assumed that he must have contacted her while he was gone. Her hands shook as she read the message again.

Send him home!

But this was once his home. Her tears came again. She couldn't keep going through this.

Jay leaned against the counter, still staring vacantly at the drink in his hands. Lonnie's sniffle pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he saw her looking at her phone with tears rolling down her face. Immediately, Jay set his coffee down and slowly walked over to Lonnie, concerned that she was getting more bad news. Jay gently took the phone from Lonnie and read the message.

Lonnie didn't look up at Jay as he scrolled through the messages she had received over the last several years. There had been one sent every few weeks. Jay kept reading each one until he stopped at the first picture he came across. Jay glared at the photo. He remembered this moment, but this photo was out of context. What actually happened was nothing like what was shown on the screen. The photo looked intimate. Romantic, even. But what actually happened was sad and depressing.

One Year Ago

Jay had walked out to the beach again. It was quiet and calm here. Jay really needed this. He was finally learning to control his temper and deal with his issues in much healthier ways. Going for walks worked best. He missed her so much. What he wouldn't do just to hear Lonnie's voice again. Or to hear her laugh, to hold her close. His eyes burned as the fist around his heart tightened. Jay hadn't figured out what went wrong between the two of them.

Riley and Melody had followed him since his apartment building. Riley had been making sure that Lonnie knew Jay's every move, but only from her point of view. Jay would be hers, but only if Lonnie was completely out of the picture and out of his mind. For four whole years, he was still holding on to the hope that Lonnie would come back to him. Riley was determined to make sure that would never happen.

She quietly walked over as Melody hid in the bushes, her camera ready to snap at the perfect moment. Riley sat down next to Jay and took his hand.

Snap. The first picture was taken. Jay looked down at their hands and frowned.

"I know you're upset," Riley said softly. "I just wanna help you through whatever you're dealing with, Jay. I really do care about you."

Jay swallowed hard and stared back out at the water. "You can't help, Riley. There's only one person that can fix this, and I screwed up so badly, I lost her."

Riley sighed and looked over her shoulder at Melody. Scooting closer to Jay, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Snap. Another picture was taken.

Riley slid her hands up and cupped Jay's face, resting her forehead against his.

Snap. Another picture. Leaning forward, she softly kissed Jay's lips.

Snap. Another one.

"I'm here if you need me," Riley said softly, then got up and left Jay to his thoughts. An evil smirk graced her lips as she walked to Melody and began heading home. "Did you get it"

"Oh yeah." Melody smiled. "Lonnie will hate him before you're done."

"That's the idea." Riley laughed as she sent the first picture. Jay and Lonnie will never get back together if she had any say in it.

Present

The texts he read through were bad enough, but the pictures told a story that wasn't true. He remembered that encounter, but not like this. He was upset and missing Lonnie. These pictures showed and intimacy with Riley that wasn't there, and it looked really bad. No wonder Lonnie was so hesitant to trust him.

"Who sent you these?" Jay asked. His anger was burning again. Lonnie felt her hear crumbling apart. "Lonnie? Who sent you these?" He had a feeling that he already knew the answer to his question.

"Riley," Lonnie said softly.

The whole group stopped what they were doing and converged in the kitchen. Ally and Jordan sat at the table while Tyler stood behind them with Aziz. Carlos and Jane stayed at opposite ends of the room. The connection between them was now very strained. Jane cautiously moved away from the doorway.

"You got another one?" Jane asked softly and she walked towards Lonnie. She was one of the very few people Lonnie had told about Riley. Lonnie nodded her head as she rubbed her temples. Jane reached over and gently rubbed Lonnie's arm.

"How long have you been getting these?" Jay asked as the missing pieces to this puzzle started to fall into place.

"Since… I went to see you once. About a month after Jaylian was born. Sian said you were having problems and that I needed to bring you home. Jane watched Jaylian for the night and told me where to find you. I went, but… Lonnie struggled to get her words out. The image was still so clear in her mind.

Jay rubbed his face. "The night you just told me about?" Jay asked Tyler, and Tyler nodded. "You saw Riley dancing with me. Lonnie, I was drunk out of my mind. I don't even remember that night."

"You kissed her. I saw it and left," Lonnie began to cry again. This pain just seemed to be neverending.

"But you didn't see him push her off, Lonnie. Jay chewed Riley out in front of everyone for that shit she pulled. We took him home to sleep it off right after. You missed that part, Lonnie."Tyler explained.

Jaylian pushed her way through the maze of legs and went to her mom. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she held Lonnie tight. Jay and Lonnie both looked down at the little girl. She didn't need to hear all this. Lonnie reached down and picked Jaylian up and held her.

"Don't cry, Mama. Daddy said he would make it better," Jaylian said against Lonnie's shoulder.

"I'm going to, pumpkin. Mama just has to trust me again. Sometimes that's hard." Jay stepped into them and wrapped them both into his arms.

He looked around at his friends and nodded at them. They were all affected by this. We all need to talk about this. Whatever everyone knows needs to be laid on the table tonight. Understood?" Everyone agreed. It was time for the whole truth to be uncovered.

They helped Lonnie put dinner together and then gathered around the table. They ate in mostly silence as Jaylian's voice lightened the tension in the room. She proceeded to tell them anything and everything that came to her mind. She started with an argument that two of her stuffed toys were having, then changed the topic of conversation to what she wanted for her birthday and the cake that Lonnie had promised to make for her.

"... and Daddy gave me breakfast this morning, Mama!" She was very animated and excited and had a mischievous grin on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Lonnie looked over Jaylian's head at Jay. He didn't know how to cook when they were together, and as far as Lonnie was aware, he never learned how. "He did? What did you have?"

Jay slid down a little in his seat. Jaylian grinned happily. "A big, huge piece of chocolate cake. It was so good, Mama. Daddy said that it has all the 'gredients of a healfy meal."

Lonnie raised her eyebrows at Jay. Her mouth opened to say something while their friends tried in vain to hide their laughter. Jay turned and looked down at his daughter sitting next to him who had just thrown him under the bus.

"Thanks for blaming me, kiddo," Jay muttered, knowing that Lonnie wasn't going to like this, judging by the look on her face.

"Oh Jay, bad move, dude," Aziz muttered as Tyler elbowed him in the ribs. "I think we can find and extra room at the hotel for ya, man."

"Nah, he's got a nice comfy couch here with his name on it. Cause judging by the look on Lonnie's face, he ain't sleeping with her." Tyler added as the laughter grew.

Lonnie couldn't help but smile a little. It was so nice to have her friends around her again. She had missed hearing them razz each other and laugh. Jay looked at her and felt it, too. That light that Lonnie used to have in her eyes flickered back to life for just a moment. For just a moment, the pain she was dealing with wasn't in her eyes.

"You're staying for my birthday, right Daddy?" Jaylian asked, her eyes big and hopeful as she looked up at her father, who nodded.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, pumpkin." Jay smiled at his daughter. He wasn't going anywhere ever again without his family. Somehow, they were going to work this mess out. "Kiddo, maybe you should get ready for bed before you get me in more trouble with mom.

"Your dad's right, baby. It's after eight. Bedtime." Lonnie got up to get her daughter ready for bed.

Jaylian went around the table, wishing goodnight to everyone. When Jaylian got to Jay, she flung herself into his arms.

"Sweet dreams, pumpkin." Jay planted a kiss on top of his daughter's head.

"I love you, Daddy," Jaylian said in his ear before she ran off into her bedroom. Lonnie stared at Jay for a moment with tears slipping down her cheek as Jay stared back at her. For that brief second, it was almost as if they were a family.

Once Jaylian was tucked into bed, the conversation turned serious and the tension returned. Jordan and Ally helped Lonnie clean up the dishes while they quietly talked about what everyone knew. Together, they began the painful trip down memory lane as they each recalled how everything crumbled.

"Sian saw how miserable you both were." Ally broke the tense silence. It really started with her and Sian, anyways. It wasn't just Jay and Lonnie's relationship that was affected by the events. "He felt like he needed to do something, anything, to make it better. That was when he talked to Ben about the job. Ben had offered it to Sian first since Jay wasn't living in Auradon City at the time, but Sina thought that if you two came back, then he could help you."

"Wait, my job was actually for Sian?" Jay asked.

Ally nodded. "We argued over it for weeks. He was supposed to be Ben's trainer. We had planned… we were going to get married, but Sian decided he wanted to wait. He didn't feel that he could give me what I wanted without the job. Int the end… we split up." That revelation hung in the air.

"And I had just gotten a new job at the academy. One of the gym teachers left to have a baby and be with her family, so I was asked to take her place. This also meant that I was guaranteed a job after I finished my degree," Lonnie added in. Jay frowned. He didn't remember that. "I never got the chance to tell you. When I got home, you were packing up and ready to leave this town and leave me. I couldn't just forget my dreams to teach, so I stayed, hoping you'd come back."

"Jay sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "You never told me. Lonnie, if I had known…"

"You were too excited about your new job. I couldn't take that away from you. You were so mad when you left, I thought I'd just wait until you calmed down." Lonnie spoke softly as she watched Jay look so sadly at her. So much could have been different if they had just talked a bit more openly with each other.

"You were long gone by the time I found out I was pregnant. Sian told me how happy you were with your new job, but you never called me. I figured you were still mad or… you decided you were better off." Lonnie looked at her lap. It's not like she wasn't to blame here either.

"I wasn't mad, Lonnie. I was frustrated There was so much that I wanted to give you, but I couldn't. I constantly caught crap about being who I am. I couldn't catch a break. Not to mention, the number of princes that kept asking you out. Especially that fucking Ethan. He never let up." Jay tried to keep his voice soft enough that he wouldn't disturb Jaylian, but his irritation and frustration were still very evident.

"So, enter Riley into the picture," Jordan added. "The Snob Girls never let up, and it was only a matter of time before one of them would wear you down enough to jump at the chance to land you."

Lonnie cringed. All this drama went back to high school. Jay reached over and grabbed her hand. He scooted his chair closer, he wrapped his arm around Lonnit's shoulders and pulled her against his chest. He wasn't going to let her go again.

"By then, I was pregnant with Jaylian and asked Sian not to say anything. I didn't know how to tell you or how you'd react." Lonnie took a shaky breath. "You were willing to walk away from me. You wanted this job more than you wanted me. I figured you wouldn't want a child, too."

"I didn't walk away, I took the job for us. I told you to call me when you were ready to come with me. You never called." Jay was starting to get more upset. He got up and paced around the kitchen. "You didn't even give me a chance. I thought I had lost you for good. I was such a mess, Lonnie."

"And that's when Sian convinced me to come to get you. He said you were a wreck and were drinking heavily. I had just had Jaylian a month earlier, so I called Jane to help me. She told me where you were and watched the baby for me. After I saw you at the club… I left the first thing the next morning. I couldn't watch that."

Jay rubbed his face. That one was on him. He was at his lowest point that night and could honestly say that it took several months before things got any better for him. There were plenty of other nights like that one that he didn't remember what happened, but he had been at home alone on those occasions and refused to see anyone.

"I was studying in my bottle one day when Riley and Melody came into the dorm. They were talking really loudly and Riley was really proud of what she had done that night at the club. She said Lonnie looked, well, devastated. I told Sian, too, but he said it had to be Lonnie's call. Sorry." Jordan looked down and Tyler took her hand.

"We all wanted to step in, guys. At one point or another, we all had a choice," Tyler said. "I was also told that it was Lonnie's call to make when I tried to talk to Sian about what happened at the club."

"Ever since Riley found out that Jay was single again, she's been sending me texts, emails, photos… she's even called me a couple of times, telling me to never come back and that you had moved on with her. And I believed her, and based on what I saw in those pictures, I didn't know not to. I didn't think you wanted me anymore." Lonnie looked at Jay and saw his heartbreak. She didn't believe in them anymore because of Riley and her mind games. Jay locked his anger down. He wouldn't throw a fit because Jaylian was sleeping only a few metres away, but he couldn't hide how hurt he was.

After that, the group decided to call it a night. Each one of them was emotionally drained from the conversation and exhausted from the travel. The boys planned their trip to get Sian for the first thing that morning while Carlos and the girls would continue to search for Mulan.

Now that almost everything was out in the open, they could focus on their search. Although, the healing process just beginning for them. So much was still very raw. Lonnie went to check on Jaylian, while Jay ushered everyone out. It was time for him to have his family alone for the night.

Lonnie was sitting on the edge of her bed, trying to find her next burst of energy to keep going, when Jay walked in. He watched her for a moment before he crossed to his side of the room, set his bag down by the bed, and began getting undressed. Lonnie looked up and felt her breath catch. No matter how many times she saw his body, no matter how long it had been, she was always in awe. Those butterflies in her stomach took flight each and every time. Her eyes travelled over his bare chest, down those tightly corded muscles of his torso and abs to where his boxers rested low on his hips as Jay removed his pants.

"Wh… what are you… doing?" Lonnie stuttered at the heavenly sight before her. She had forgotten just how much he could make her body tingle just by looking at him.

"I'm going to bed." Jay saw the blush in her cheeks and the glazed look in her eyes. He watched as she licked her lips and swallowed hard. Her breathing grew ragged and her chest reddened. I've still got it, Jay thought to himself.

"In here?" Lonnie asked. "I thought you would go to the hotel with the others."

"Why would I do that" Jay smirked. He knew just how badly she wanted to get her hands on him. "I have a perfectly good bed right here. I did buy it."

Lonnie nodded slowly. He paid for the mattress, too. She bit down on her lip and sighed softly as Jay turned around and bent over his bag. She couldn't help but admire his assets. Jay had kept in great shape. Lonnie heard herself moan softly when he stood up and stretched. He was still just as gorgeous. Her body hummed with the electricity that seemed to hum between them.

Jay crawled unto the bed and tucked his hand under his head. The sexiest smirk he could muster returned to his face as he watched Lonnie get more flustered. "Are you gonna change, or just strip? I'm good with you naked, figured I'd get you that way sooner or later. Sooner works for me."

Lonnie opened her mouth to say something, but no words came. She was flustered and horny, and on top of all that, the past few days had been such an emotional rollercoaster for her with little to no sleep. Her stomach just kept on flipping. The room had suddenly just gotten several degrees warmer. She hadn't felt these urges since before he had left. Lonnie could feel her body burning up. She could only nod as she went into the bathroom. Jay chuckled as she closed the door. He enjoyed the idea that he could still leave her hot and flustered.

Lonnie leaned over the sink and scrubbed her face with cold water. She needed to calm down. They were just going to sleep. That's it. It's not like they've never shared a bed before but that was years ago and Lonnie didn't expect all of those old desires to suddenly reappear. She closed her eyes and remembered what Jay used to do to her. The boy had such a talented mouth and his tongue, she shivered and felt the heat inside her rise even more.

"You okay in there?" Jay called out to her. "You need some help?"

"I'm good." Lonnie could barely squeak the words out.

Her nerves were certainly dancing all over the place. Lonnie paused at the door when she realized what she was wearing as pyjamas. Jay's old black t-shirt which came down to the top of her thighs, and a pair of pink booty shorts. Does this say 'pathetically waiting for you all these years'? Lonnie wondered. She rolled her eyes at herself. She had nothing else on hand she could throw on, so this was it.

Jay felt his breath catch as he watched her open the door. He recognized that shirt. She had never looked sexier than she did at that moment. Lonnie walked over and crawled into her side of the bed and turned out the light. She could hear his breathing mixed in with her own. Both of them were struggling to get their footing here.

Jay rolled to his side and faced her as Lonnie mirrored his position. Without saying a word, they just laid in the dark, watching each other. The need to touch was so high, it was painful to hold back. Jay reached out and took hold of her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. It was going to be a long and difficult time, but Jay was willing to do whatever it takes to win her heart back.