Chapter 13

Sunlight filled Joey's hospital room causing him to finally wake up. He looked around him. He saw flowers and get well cards all around the room. Questions flooded his head. What was going on? What was he in doing in a hospital? Where was Allison?

He looked to his bedside table and there were small presents from the one's he loved the most. He saw Stephanie's drawing and cards from Jesse and Danny. And there, on top of them all was Allison's note.

My god, what could have happened to her? he thought.

He grabbed it right away and ripped it open. He read it quickly.

Joey,

You have no idea how sorry I am that I caused this to happen to you. You are the one person who means the most to me. I've never loved anyone as much as I love you. But I have to leave you now. I can't stay here knowing I might hurt you again. I realize what a huge sacrifice that was for you to be willing to give your life for mine, but I never want you to have to do that again. So I'm taking my problems with me and leaving you forever. Please know that I still love you and the rest of the family. You all will be better off without me.

I love you,

Allison

Joey was devastated after reading this letter. He read it over making sure he had seen it correctly. He panicked. How long had he been asleep? He needed to go find her!

He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his whole body. He looked down to see his entire torso wrapped up. Then all the memories of the fight came back to him. Shit, what was he going to do now? He called a nurse and told her he needed to call his family. She got him a phone and he called Jesse immediately.

"Jesse!" Joey said panicked, "Allison's gone!" Just saying it made him realize it was true and he started sobbing. He continued the best he could while crying uncontrollably. "She left me a note saying we were better off without her and she left town. You have to go find her for me. I'm…I can't move." He regretted saying that right when he said it. It made him sound so weak after all he did…last night? Two nights ago? A week ago? He couldn't even think of how much time had gone by since the fight.

"Okay, don't panic." Jesse said brow furrowed. He knew Joey wasn't kidding when he was crying like this. "Where do you think she could've gone?"

"I have no idea. She wouldn't go back to her family. She hates them, I should know." He pondered it for a second. Fearing the worst he cried, "you don't think she meant suicide, do you?"

"No," Jesse said firmly. "No. She was too strong for that. She fought to make herself a better life for so long, she wouldn't throw that away. Now, think! Where would she have gone?"

"I don't know…" Joey said sounding defeated. Then an idea came to him. "Maybe she told someone at the restaurant she works at."

"Okay, I'll go down and ask them what happened to her. You just relax and heal. I'll find her."

Jesse hung up the phone and ran out to his car. He drove down to Frank's Place and questioned everyone who worked with Allison about her whereabouts.

"Yeah, she came in yesterday to say she was quitting," one of her fellow waitresses said. "I didn't think she was being serious, but she looked very grim, so I asked her where she was going to go, but she didn't answer. She seemed distracted and in a rush to leave."

"Do you have any idea where she could've gone?"

"I'm not really sure. She wasn't really friends with anyone here. She mostly kept to herself. I'm guessing she left town with the way she was talking."

Jesse thanked her for the information and walked outside. He stood there pondering for a long time. If she had gone anywhere, she must have left by now. But where would she have gone? Then an idea came to him. It wasn't very good, but it may help out. He decided to check with her mother just incase she decided to go back there.

He walked to a nearby phone booth, looked up her mother's address in the phone book and drove to her house. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A woman opened the door.

"Hello, I was wondering if Allison is here," Jesse said.

"Allison hasn't lived here for two years." She started to close the door.

"But you're her mother right?" Jesse interrupted, pushing the door open with his hand.

"Yes, who are you?"

"Did she ever run away from home?" Jesse asked, ignoring her question.

"A couple times. Why are you asking?"

"Where would you find her when she ran away?" Anything to help find her, he thought.

"Before I answer you again," she said getting annoyed, "you have to tell me who you are."

Oh yeah, he had forgotten to introduce himself. "Right," he said. "My name is Jesse Cochran. Allison was a babysitter for my family. She lived at our house for a while, but she ran away and we don't know where she could have gone. We thought you might know where to find her."

Allison's mother stood silent for a moment, staring at Jesse taking it all in. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again and looked at him skeptically.

"Please," Jesse pleaded. "Don't you care about your daughter at all? Help us find her."

She looked down, debating if she should help or not.

She raised her head and spoke quickly and curtly. "When she was 16, she used to try to leave town to find her father. I found her a couple of times hitch hiking on the highway. Sometimes she would get further away."

"Does she know where her father lives?"

"No, I only told her that he lives in Arizona," she became agitated. "I never gave her specifics. I don't even know where he lives exactly."

"Do you know what city he lives in, so I can have a better chance on finding her?"

"Who cares what city he lives in if she doesn't even know," she said sharply. "Just start with looking in the city and then the highways. Call the police. They'll be better at finding her than you."

Jesse was startled at her rudeness, but thanked her for her time and left. Now he was out of luck. He wished Allison had more friends so he could get more information. How could her mother be so unconcerned? Her own daughter was lost and she didn't even care.

Sitting in the hospital bed that day, Joey had time to think over his life with Allison. He fidgeted all day, not knowing what to think or do. How could he help? He almost sacrificed her life for her, so why did she run away from him? He loved her and thought this would prove it to her. Apparently it didn't, though. He made her want to leave in the first place. He guessed he wasn't good enough for her. Why else would she write that letter to him? It's because he intervened too much in her life. He was too nosey. Otherwise he wouldn't have known any of her problems she dumped on them, or so she said was the reason she left. What was he to do? What was the reason for living without her? She was the most wonderful person he had met. He had never been so in love with anyone else before Allison. He couldn't stand being away from her like this. He needed to be with her forever more.

forever

He grabbed a pad of paper on his bedside table and started writing...

It was late by the time Jesse got home that night. Danny stayed up waiting for him.

"Any luck?" he asked. Obviously, Joey had told him what was going on. "I tried at her work and down by the homeless shelter, but I didn't know where else to look."

Jesse shook his head and told him everywhere he went that day.

"Wow, you actually went to her mother's? I wouldn't have thought of that."

"Not much good it did anyway. She was a jerk and didn't care about her daughter at all. She said she would go try to find her dad, but wouldn't tell me where he lived."

"Well, tomorrow we should go to the police," Danny suggested. "They might have a better chance at finding her."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

"What do you think we should do about Joey?" Danny asked. "Should we tell him we can't find her?"

"I think we should try looking more before telling Joey anything," Jesse said. "Let him think that we can try to find her before we have to break the news to him – that Allison is gone."

A/N: I did a few updates on these past two chapters. I think this is so much better than that other version I wrote. I kind of changed my ending of the whole story, so I had to make it fit better, but I'm almost done!