Chapter Two – Jessie's Decision

The next day seemed like a normal day on the surface. The human members of the Davis family were about their usual business with Andy at school, Molly at daycare and Mrs. Davis at work. However, there were two distinct differences between yesterday and today. Yesterday, the sun was shining, the toys were bustling and full of life, and everything seemed perfectly normal. Today however was a whole 'nother story…

Today, storm clouds lumbered over the city, and a nasty thunderstorm began to brew. The thunderclaps could be heard in the distance, slowly growing louder as the storm drew nearer to the house. This storm was a perfect reflection the storm that had erupted within the playroom yesterday. It was a pivotal moment for every toy in that room, but the events of yesterday affected nobody as much they had affected Jessie.

Earlier in the morning, still in the closet and distraught from Woody's fiery rant, Jessie tried to figure out what she could have done to cause this.

"I just don't understand… what have I done to make him treat me like this?" She asked, her voice still quivering. She winced each time she thought about the outbursts.

'When are you ever going to stop acting like a kid and grow up?'

This statement stood out more than anything else. She derived that she had been acting too childishly for Woody's liking. But that still didn't make any sense. Just the day before, she had acted very childish and precarious, and it seemed as if Woody couldn't get enough of it. He almost seemed to thrive off of her silliness.

'Maybe he's been faking all this time and only put up with me for the sake of my happiness. Maybe I've overstayed my welcome here…'

Later that day, Woody sat at the foot of Andy's bed, staring towards the closet to which his friend had retreated. The sheriff doll was overwhelmed with guilt and shame at his outburst at Jessie. He knew that Jessie was still battling the pain of Emily leaving her, and he was sure that his rage filled rant hadn't helped her in that regard.

"Who knows what she's going through right now…" Woody said with a deep sigh.

"Well, I can't say I know, but I think it's a safe bet that she's hurting really bad right now." It was Buzz.

"Buzz, I am so sorry. I didn't mean a word of what I said to Jessie, I swear I didn't! I don't even know what happened, it just seemed like I couldn't-… I mean, I understand if you hate me for this, but-"

"Woody, calm down. I know you didn't mean anything by it. But you may want to explain things to a certain cowgirl." Buzz's voice was calm and reassuring. "But first, do you think you can tell me what got you so mad at Jessie in the first place? It may help to have that cleared up when you go to apologize to her."

Buzz's words of wisdom helped Woody to settle himself. As the reason for his explosion surfaced in his mind, the sheriff doll sighed, his body pitching forward with guilt and shame. After a moment of hesitation, he proceeded to explain.

"I wasn't mad at Jessie because she had nearly killed me…I was mad at her because she had killed Andy…" The cowboy refused to make eye-contact with the space ranger, who stared at Woody with his face twisted in disbelief and confusion.

"Woody, what are you talking about? How the heck could Jessie have killed Andy when we just saw him leave for school thirty minutes ago?" Woody made eye contact with Buzz now as his stenciled brows dipped towards his pointed nose.

"I don't mean literally, I mean in a dream that I had yesterday…"

Woody's dream yesterday afternoon would register as either a bad omen or a good excuse to see a shrink. In his dream, Jessie was on another one of her adventures. She had walked across the street in an expansion her exploration territory. Jessie knew that this sort of risk was forbidden, both in the dream and in real life, but in the dream she disregarded it.

As Jessie reached the other side of the street, she heard a voice call out her name from behind. She looked back to see Andy stepping out from the front door of his house. Shocked by the sudden presence of the boy, she quickly fell limp on the opposite sidewalk. Andy spotted her and ran across the street without checking to make sure it was clear. The next thing Jess heard was the sporadic honking of a car horn and the squealing of tires on the worn asphalt. As the cowgirl pushed up on her arms to look forward, Jessie watched in horror as a van, despite its best efforts to swerve out of the way, hit Andy, sending him flying 12 feet in the air before coming back to earth. As Andy released a pain filled scream, Woody, who was sitting on the window ledge, snapped his head towards the street to see what was going on. His heart dropped like a rock as he saw his owner lying on the ground, lifeless as the ragdolls with which he once played.

As devastating as this sudden turn of events turned out to be, what really caused a blow to the toys' hearts was the fact that the van turned out to be none other than that of Andy's mom. She was on her way home when she remembered at the last second that she needed to pick up a new backpack for Andy – school was starting tomorrow, and it somehow slipped her mind. Andy had run into her blind spot, and by the time she saw the kid in front of the vehicle, it was too late. As it registered to Mrs. Davis what had happened, she ran out of her car to see if the person she had accidently hit was okay. She broke down in tears as she beheld the lifeless body of her only son on the pavement. Unbeknownst to her, the Woody's Roundup members had joined her in her sobbing, their hearts aching in sadness, anger and fear. For one, a best friend lost forever. A future suddenly made uncertain. For another, a painful reminder of a hideous past; an old wound made fresh again.

It was at that moment in the dream that Jessie had awoken Woody with a start. Woody was already full of anxiety and anger, due to the realism of the dream. Because he had awoken so suddenly, he wasn't able to completely disconnect from the dream he had. The rest was history.

"I understand now," Buzz said as he put a friendly hand on Woody's shoulder. "We better get to Jessie and explain this to her- the sooner, the better," the space toy reasoned as his eyes slinked to the closet.

"You're right" Woody said, as tears started to well up in his eyes.

They both went to the closet so that they could straighten things out, but when they went into the corner that she'd fled to, the cowgirl wasn't there. In her place was a sticky note. It was a bit hard to read because of the tear stains on the paper, but the sheriff was still able to make out the words.

Dear Woody,

By the time you read this, I will be long gone. I know that it hasn't been easy putting up with me and my silly shenanigans lately. I have dreamed for so many years that I would be able to be with a family that would be able to love me and care for me. I understand now that those wants are selfish. I am truly sorry and hope you can forgive me for all the trouble I've caused.

I know that you and Andy both deserve better, and I wish the best for you both.

Farewell forever…

Your friend,

Jessie

Buzz and Woody looked at each other in disbelief.

"What have I done..."