4. Show

When Shane and Jess arrived at the theater they saw most of the performers arriving to get in their costumes and heading to the dressing rooms to get their make up done.

"How much is a ticket for the seat Kimee wants me to have?" Jess asked Shane.

"Why?"

"So I can pay for the seat, so I can watch the show," she looked at him suspiciously.

"You don't have to pay anything."

"Why?"

Shane pulled out a ticket from the bag that he had around his shoulder.

"Please don't tell me that you paid for this."

"Ok. I didn't pay for it," Shane smiled at her.

"Shane! I can't accept this! I can pay for my own ticket," she told him. "Let me at last pay you back," she started to reach into her purse to take out her wallet, but Shane grabbed her hand before she could get it.

"Don't worry about it. Remember that I work here," Shane said. "I get tickets for free if I need them."

Shane felt bad that he lied to her, but what could he do? He wasn't going to have her pay him back for something that he wanted to do. He actually thought that she would be flattered. The more that he gets to know Jess the more that she surprises him.

"Are you ready to see a kick ass show or what?" Shane asked her.

"Is it really that good, or are you making it sound like it's all that?"

"If you don't believe me then you'll have to see for yourself," Shane smiled.

"When do you come on?"

"Well I am in the middle of the show, so in the mean while you're going to watch a bunch of other great acts."

"Can you tell me what great acts you're talking about?" She asked.

"No."

"Why?" Jess whined.

"I promised Kimee that I wouldn't tell you anything since you haven't seen it," he told her smiling.

"Kimee," she whispered so low that he barely heard it. "Fine, well let me get inside so I can see what the big deal is about," Jess narrowed her eyes at him, but all he did was smile at her.

During the show Jess saw clowns, acrobatics, flying trapeze, and all other sort of things. It reminded her of a circus that little kids go to watch clowns and animals do tricks, but this was better! She saw Matt and Kimee walk on a high wire and then Kimee jump on Matt's shoulders and balance on his head with her hands. What she loved the most though was when she saw Shane flying through the air. He reminded her of an angel in so many ways. He would wrap his arms around the silk and then float through the air above the audience and land back on the stage with such perfection that it made her gasp for air.

When the show ended she was so out of breath that she didn't want to stand up. When the room cleared she saw Kimee and Shane walking to her. She stood up quickly, too quickly, and fell flat to the ground hitting her head on one of the cup holders.

"Jess, are you ok?" Shane called out, running to her side.

"Jess!" Kimee shouted.

Jess tried to manage enough strength to at least sit in one of the chairs. "I'm fine, really. I just got up too fast," she laughed at her clumsiness. "I have been sitting for a while you know. Not that I'm complaining. The show was awesome! Congratulations!"

As Jess was talking she felt something tickling the top of her forehead. When she reached up to swat away what ever was tickling her, she realized that it was something dripping on her head. She was thinking that it was some sweat but when she saw red liquid on her fingers, she realized that it was blood. Then she started to feel the throbbing pain on her head.

"Oh my God, Jess, you're bleeding!" Shane shouted taking her face in his hands and inspecting her head.

"I'm ok," Jess said, though everything was getting fuzzy.

"No, your not, I'm calling an ambulance," Kimee told her.

"Kimee, you know how I feel about hospitals," Jess whined.

"I don't care about that right now."

"Fine, call an ambulance, but I'm not going to the hospital."

"Jess, you should listen to Kimee," Shane told her.

It was too late to not listen to her now anyways since the paramedics had just gotten inside the theater.

"Look at the light and follow it," the paramedic said, while the other one talked to Kimee.

"She just got up and fell, and she hit her head on the arm of the chair," Kimee informed the paramedic.

"Look at the light and follow it," the paramedic repeated, with more force behind his words now.

While Jess followed the light she felt a hand grab hers and hold it. When the paramedic stopped with the light he took her blood pressure. When Jess could look at who ever it was holding her hand she was expecting to see Kimee, but it was Shane.

"She might have a concussion, and she has low blood pressure," the paramedic was conversing with the other paramedic. "We should take her in to do a full blood test and they might need to keep her for the night."

"No, no, no. No way. If you have to do something do it right here," Jess told the paramedics.

"I'm sorry, but we can't. We have to take you in," the paramedic explained.

"Can my friends come?" Jess asked, looking down in defeat.

"You can take on in the ambulance. The other one will have to follow behind," the paramedic told her.

"Kimee, you want to go with me?"

"No, take Shane. I'll be in the car right behind you guys."

"Are you sure?" Shane asked.

"Yeah, but Jess, don't die on me," Kimee laughed, but she had a worried look in her eyes.

Jess laughed. "I wouldn't count on it."

At the hospital Shane sat next to Kimee while the doctors were checking on Jess.

"Why is she so afraid of hospitals?"

"Her mom had been in this hospital two or three years ago for a high fever. The doctors miscalculated how much of a vaccine she needed. They gave her an overdose and she died on Jess's sixteenth birthday."

Shane looked down, thinking about his mother and how much it would affect him if he lost her.

"What about her dad?" Shane asked Kimee.

"She doesn't talk about her dad, so you're going to have to ask her for yourself."

"Hey you guys," Jess said in a really week voice, she sounded so fragile.

"Hey, Jess, can you go home tonight?" Kimee stood up to hold Jess.

"Yeah, I can. The doctor told me that I don't have a concussion, but that I need more fluids. He said that I am losing weight. He even asked if I'm anorexic! Stupid doctors," Jess said to Kimee, clearly mad.

"Jess, I'm sorry that I made you come. You just got me really scared," Kimee told Jess.

"It's ok Kimee. I'm the clumsy one, so I should be sorry, I just really hate hospitals," Jess said, looking down.

"I know, but at least you get to go home, right?" Kimee said, trying to cheer Jess up.

"The doctor said that he has to run some blood tests first, and then I can go home," Jess told her. "Can you guys be in the room with me?"

"Sure, Jess," Shane said to her.

Jess looked at Shane and blushed. "Sorry about what happened, I just got up to fast and got dizzy."

"Jess, don't be sorry, really. It's not your fault," Shane told her, taking her hand.

"Well, lets get this over with," Jess told them.

Jess looked at the needle that was about to be stuck in her arm and memories came flooding back to her. She saw her mom lying on a bed, her face and sheets soaked in sweat, her face was blood red. Her mom couldn't even open her eyes for the last couple of hours of her life.

"Mommy," Jess called to her.

Janet screamed in agony and writhed in her bed.

"Someone, please help her!" Jess cried.

The doctors came storming in the room, the last doctor had a syringe in his hand. While the first four doctors that came in the room held her mom down the doctor with the syringe injected the white liquid into Janet's arm.

"It's ok," the doctor told Jess. "She is ok now."

"Is she going to get better?" Jess asked with tears in her eyes, she was looking at her mother.

"We don't know Jessica, but there is a chance that she might."

"Please keep her alive, she is all I have left," Jess begged.

When the needle poked Jess's skin she jumped.

"OW!" she yelled at the doctor. "What are you doing? Stabbing me to death, you idiot."

The doctor looked at Jess and then at Kimee..

"She doesn't like doctors, or needles, or hospitals, or anything that has to do with any of the three. Sorry," Kimee looked like she was about to start laughing.

"It's ok. I'm not very well liked by most patients. I guess now I know why," he joked.

They all laughed at the joke, but not Jess. All she could do was glare at the doctor for being the vile villain she knew he was. All doctors were, not just picking on him. She saw her blood being sucked out of her arm and it stung. She grimaced at the feeling and it brought back more flooding memories that she forced away.

"Alright my dear, you're all finished," the doctor told her. "We'll run this sample through tests that will—"

"I don't care," Jess interrupted. "Just do what you need to and get it over with. Can we go now?"

"Yes, you may go," the doctor said as politely as he could, which made her want to jump on him like a lion attacking a zebra.

"Thank you," Jess said as sarcastically as she could, and got up to leave.

She walked out the door, not bothering to look behind her to see if Shane and Kimee were there.

"Jess, wait up!" She heard Shane shout in her direction.

She stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Are you ok?" Shane asked her, though it really irritated her this time.

"Will you stop, please? Stop worrying about me; I want everyone to stop worrying about me. Why can't you guys just leave me alone?" She started to walk away, but Shane grabbed her arm. "Let go Shane."

"No," Shane told her.

"Shane, if you don't let go, I swear, I will not talk to you again," Jess threatened, then regretted it. "Let me go, Shane," she told him, softer this time.

"I'm not letting go," Shane told her. "You can stop talking to me if you want, but I'm not letting go of you."

Jess tried to jerk her arm back but couldn't get out of his grip. She tried even harder then, still unable to even make him move. She felt her eyes start to sting and tears well up in her fury. "Let me go!" Jess yelled at him then slapped him as hard as she could.

Shane was shocked that Jess slapped him but he refused to let go of her. "Jess," he said in a calm voice. "I'm sorry about you're mom, I can't start to imagine how much pain you feel, but you shouldn't take it out on a man you don't even know."

"I'm not taking it out on you, and I know you," Jess snapped at him. "You're the guy who thinks you're going to save the damsel in distress who is grieving and is 'mad at the world'. Am I getting close? Or do you think that you're the prince charming come to swoop me off my feet. Does that sound pretty much right?"

Shane looked down and let go of her arm. "I wasn't talking about me, Jess. I was talking about the doctor, and no, you weren't close at all. I am the stupid guy who thought that he met someone who he could actually, maybe, make him happy just by looking into her eyes. I'm the guy who thought he could make the girl happy by telling her that it was ok, and that she didn't need to be sad because I knew what it was like to have no one. But I'm obviously not the guy for you in your eyes, and I'm sorry for interfering in whatever plan you had for your life," he said masking his face with no emotion. He then left and didn't look back when he heard her call his name.