Don't hate me for putting up yet another chapter….Seriously, don't. I'm sorry. It's just, I LOVE this story.
Review? Please?
"James!" she giggled, trying to push his hands away as they traveled up her shirt.
"What?" he asked, his hands wrapping around to her back. He pushed her down onto her bed, his hands continuing to grope at her skin, and she stopped fighting now.
They had just started making out when a phone rang. James sat up, straddling Brylee's waist, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, sighing before pressing it to his ear.
As he listened to the person on the other end, Brylee traced over his jean clad thighs, and James tried to push them away.
"Yes, I'll be there," he said, smiling down at his girlfriend, whose hands were traveling higher. "Yes, I promise."
He was practically squirming, and Brylee bit her lip to keep from giggling.
"Alright, cya later!" James said in a fake cheery voice, then snapped hid phone shut. "Damn it," he said, letting himself fall onto the bed next to his girlfriend. She turned to look at him, propping herself up on her elbow.
"What?"
"My fucking math teacher called my parents and told them I failed my test," he sighed.
"James!" Brylee said, smacking his arm. "I was studying with you and you said you understood everything!"
"I know babe," he said, closing his eyes. "But you were distracting me with that button down shirt you were wearing. Seriously, who the hell wears a button down shirt without another one underneath it?" Brylee rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault. She was rushed that morning, so she just threw on a button down without putting on a tank top underneath.
"You," she said.
"Yeah, but that's different. I don't have boobs that are distracting to others." The teenage girl rolled her eyes again.
"These are starting to look like boobs, though," she teased, poking the boy next to her in the pec area. "What have you been doing since hockey season ended?"
"Getting up your shirt," he said, completely serious, but they both knew he was joking.
"God, you're such a pervert." She pushed his hands away from her, smacking them lightly when they moved back toward her.
"But a loveable pervert," he chimed in. Brylee leaned over and kissed James. Gosh how much she loved this boy.
James smiled a little despite himself. He remembered that so well, just like everything else that happened with Brylee. He was sitting out in the hallway as Ashley talked to John, even though he was completely unresponsive.
The small smile on the brunette's face fell as the present came back to him. His dad had half a chance. He could die, or he could live. It was all a guessing game right now. God, where was Logan when we needed him?
He sunk down into the chair, but only for a moment, then Ashley appeared next to him, eyes slightly red.
"How is he?" James asked softly. Ashley just shrugged, sniffling, then sat down where her brother just sat after he stood up.
The brunette walked the two feet to the door, then took a step in.
It didn't smell any different from the rest of the hospital, still that horrid sterile, sick and dying smell. The walls were a sickly gray, which only made James want to give up all hope about anything at the moment.
He fucking hated life right now.
Well, the only thing he had to look forward to was being an uncle…which was months and months away.
He walked further into the room, then sat down in the chair on his father's right, then took the pale, wrinkled hand in his own taut, tan one.
"Hey dad," James said, smiling. He knew he had to keep it positive; he had to spread the feeling of happiness and faith around the room even though on the inside, he was fighting that, wanting to do something totally different.
He wanted to cry.
He didn't know what to say.
Wait, yes he did.
No, he shouldn't tell his father that. That he's been thinking about the girl his father was sure would be his future daughter-in-law.
Or should he? Gosh, why the hell was he so conflicted?
Maybe it was because that's what that other thing he was feeling on the inside was. He felt conflicted. Like today would be an amazing day, but at the same time it would be horrible.
Just like that one winter day eight years ago.
They had been dating for one year and eight months. Brylee was waiting outside in the freezing cold, watching snow fall as she waited for James. Yeah, it was July, but some freak cold front had moved in and made fucked up the weather. It was about eleven o'clock, and he had called her half an hour ago, sounding hysterical, and told her to come meet him outside at eleven because he had something very important to tell her.
"Come on, James. Where the hell are you?" mumbled Brylee through clenched teeth. She was wearing a pair of thing pajama pants and James' hockey sweatshirt. She wore it a lot. She couldn't help it though. It was his- that beautiful boys - and it smelled so good, and it reminded her of the day he let her borrow it for the first time.
They weren't even dating, but very close to it, and they were in English 11, where they met, and Brylee was freezing her ass off because their crazed teacher had a window open in five degree weather.
She smiled at the memory, then she heard James' car coming down the driveway. He got out of his car a moment later, and he looked downright depressed.
"Baby, what's wrong?" she asked him as he walked toward her. James looked up with sadness in his eyes, then mumbled something about how he was useless and if they could go inside.
Brylee found out Gustavo Rocque had come to town on a talent search. Of course his best friends took James to the audition, but then Gustavo picked Kendall. She didn't even know he could sing. But, apparently he had the "fire" and James didn't.
But, she did give her boyfriend a…present since he was upset. She took him up to her room, and gave him the best sex they had ever had. And, after thinking they were going to get caught by her parents (they heard someone out in the hallway), and after making out outside in the falling snow at two am, James left, a stupid smile on his face.
Gustavo who?
"I've been thinking about Brylee. You remember her, right?" James asked, looking at the unresponsive man lying next to him. "Well, I've been thinking about her a lot…"
With the confidence he always had in confiding to his dad, James almost forgot about the older man's deteriorating health, and just ranted on and on.
And he almost forgot about that conflicted emotion.
Almost.
