Chapter 3

Bank

"Miss Jacklin, it is nice to see you."

"Hi, um, I would like to withdraw all of my savings account."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't recommend that." Alexis thought for a minute.

"Okay, um, can I take out $1000? And when I get where I'm going can you send me the rest?"

"Yes, of course."

"But I don't want anyone to know where I am."

"Don't worry, we are not allowed to tell other people customer's information."

"Thank you." The teller handed her the money.

"Alexis," she turns around. "Be careful."

"I will thank you. Bye." She walked over to the café and wrote a couple notes to Matt and the rest of her friends. She didn't explain anything, but told them not to worry. Then she wrote a letter to Jeff. She had to tell him how she felt and why she was leaving. She told him how she hated him for being an ass and how he had changed (and not for the better). She walked over and put the letters in the mailboxes and then walked back to her car. As she drove out of Cameron, a single tear slid down her cheek. For the first time she was leaving everything she knew and loved to start her life over. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she wanted to go north. Later on the second day she finally ended up in Wisconsin. While she was driving she noticed a sign for a small diner in a town called Lac La Belle. She decided to stop in the hopes of getting an idea where she could stop. When she pulled into the parking lot, she saw a sign for a waitress position. She walked into the diner and sat at the counter. She noticed a man walking over to her.

"Hello, welcome to Jade's Diner. My name is George. What can I get for you?"

"Actually, I was wondering about the waitress position."

"You aren't from around here are you?"

"No, I'm from North Carolina. If you're concerned about my qualifications, I worked in a small café for 4 ½ years."

"Wow, what brings you to Lac La Belle, Wisconsin?"

"Besides my car, I was just having problems with my family and I needed to get out on my own." George chuckled.

"Can you start tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course, whenever ya'll need me."

"All right, but before I say yes, I need to know one thing."

"Okay" Alexis said nervously.

"What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Alexis James."

"Don't worry about that. Welcome aboard Miss James. I will need you here tomorrow morning at 8:00."

"All right, thank you so much." She started walking out, but remembered she had no place to go.

"Oh Mr…?"

"Carver"

"Mr. Carver, do you know if there is any place that is renting out?"

"Well, there are a couple girls looking for a roommate. Actually, one of the girls is my daughter. Cassie, could you come here for a moment?" A tall blonde walked over.

"Yea dad"

"This is Alexis James. She is new to town and she is looking for a place to live. I know you and Taylor are looking for a roommate. I'll let you girls talk." They walk over to the booth that Cassie had gotten up from.

"So, where are you from?"

"I'm from North Carolina."

"Oh, wow, this November weather must be a huge shock."

"It's pretty cold, but I knew it would be, so I came prepared." Both girls laughed.

"Um, I'm sorry about Taylor not being here. She is always late."

"That's all right. I have…had a friend like that."

"Had? What happened?"

"Oh, um, we just grew apart." Cassie shook her head. A couple minutes later a girl with shoulder length light brown hair walked in.

"Taye, over here" Cassie yelled to the girl.

"Taye, this is Alexis James. Alexis, this is my best friend and roommate Taylor Brikes."

"Nice to meet you Taylor"

"Yea, nice to meet you also" They said shaking hands. The rest of the afternoon they spent getting to know each other. Cassie and Taylor showed Alexis around town with the last stop being their apartment. They helped Alexis unpack and then went back to the diner for supper. Alexis was becoming very comfortable with these girls. She also met half the town (which isn't hard in a town of 300). Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Alexis laid in bed thinking about everything. She started crying and soon fell asleep. The next morning she woke up early and quickly got ready for work. She made it to the diner by 7:00. She knew Mr. Carver said 8, but she figured she would get to know a little more about the diner and how it worked.

"Alexis, what are you doing here so early? You aren't starting until 8." George said when he saw Alexis walk in.

"I know, but I thought I would get used to the diner and get to know how it works around here."

"All right, let's get you started with things." He got her started taking orders and clearing tables. She had a busy morning, but there was no complaining. She was falling in love with the diner and all the people that came in. She had remembered a lot of people from the day before and she was beginning to feel comfortable. It was usually hard for her to feel as comfortable with people as she was. When her shift was over she stuck around and talked to the people at the diner. She had only been there one day and she already felt cared for. She finally left the diner with a complete meal for her, Taylor, and Cassie. After the girls were finished eating, they sat around the table talking about their days. After a couple minutes of silence Cassie decided to ask something that had been bothering her all day.

"Why did you really leave North Carolina?"

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked nervously.

"We mean, why did you really, in detail, leave North Carolina?" Taylor asked.

"Well, it is kind of a long story."

"We have time" Cassie replied with a smile.

"Let me first say that my real name is Alexis Jacklin. I changed it hoping that my family and friends don't find me."

"You don't want your family or friends to find you?" Cassie asked surprised.

"It isn't like I don't want my friends to find me, but…okay…here's the story. When I was 6 I met my best friends. We have been through a lot together. I mean my friend Jeff's mom died when we were 9 and then my friend Shannon's dad was in a huge car accident when we were 12. He was in a coma for 2 years and the doctors said he wouldn't live and he's still alive. There were so many times that we were there for each other. I come from a wealthy family, but I never really fit in with them. I was always hanging with Jeff and Shannon and Jeff's older brother Matt. There were always a lot of guys and I just hung out with them all the time. Well, a couple months ago I realized that I was beginning to see Jeff in a different light. I figured out that I was in love with him. I thought he felt the same, but he had to leave to go work and when he came back a couple days ago he had a girlfriend. He was ignoring me and he had just changed a lot. Well, I heard him talking to my mom and she said that he made the right decision by moving on with his life because I would just bring him down."

"What a jerk!" Taylor said after Alexis finished. Alexis just looked down wiping tears from her eyes.

"You still like him?" Cassie asked quietly. Alexis looked up.

"Yea, of course I do. I love him, not the guy he was when I left, but the guy that he used to be. I don't know if I will ever stop loving him."

"We're sorry Alexis. But don't worry they won't find you up here, even if you hadn't changed your name." All three girls burst out laughing.

From that day on Alexis felt like family. She spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Carvers. She thought about her friends, but every day it started hurting less and less, especially when she met Marshall Lovell. He had just moved to Lac La Belle a couple months earlier. They had talked that first day Alexis started working at Jade's and they started going out about a week later. After that they were almost inseparable. Before Alexis knew it, she was falling for Marshall. She still wasn't over Jeff, but she believed she was falling for Marshall. She was proven wrong a couple weeks later when she found out she was pregnant.

"Hey Marshall what are you doing?" Alexis asked as she walked into his apartment.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Are you leaving?"

"Yea, of course, why wouldn't I leave?"

"What about me?"

"God is everything about you? You expect me to stay here and take care of you and a baby? You have got to be shitting me!"

"But…"

"There is no way in hell I am going to ruin my life because you are stupid!"

"I'm stupid? Are you kidding me? I was the one that wanted to use protection and you said that you didn't have any, but we would be fine."

"Well, then you are still stupid for listening to me. I don't even care. You didn't mean anything to me anyway. Now if you would just show yourself the door I have to finish packing."

"You are such a jerk! Have a nice life Marshall." And with that Alexis shut the door on another person in her life. Alexis wasn't too heartbroken about the breakup though. She knew the whole town was on her side.

"Why am I not more upset about Marshall leaving?" Cassie and Taylor just stood there in shock. They couldn't believe that he had just packed up and left.

"We're sorry Ally." Taylor said thinking about what else to say.

"Maybe you aren't upset because you weren't in love with him."

"What do you mean Cass?"

"Maybe you weren't actually in love with Marshall." Alexis looked at the ground.

"Ally, you didn't love him?" Taylor asked surprised. "I thought you were going to wait until you were in love."

"I was in love." She said trying to convince herself.

"Quit lying to yourself Alexis!" Alexis was shocked. She had never heard Cassie yell. She continued looking at the ground. "Ally, look at me." Alexis looked up. "It's okay to not be over Jeff. He was your first love. You might never get over him."

"Who said I wasn't over him?"

"You can tell Ally, trust us." Taylor said.

"Guys, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm scared of everything. I just left everything and everyone I know and love because of this boy. How can I still not be over him?"

"Ally, you love him. It isn't that easy."

"I know, but what am I going to do? I can't go back home now."

"Were you planning on going back?"

"I don't know Taye. I was thinking about going back after a little while, but now what would I say? 'Hey, I got knocked up by some guy that I didn't love and now I have a kid'. There is no way they would accept that."

"If they were really your friends they would."

"I'm so scared. I don't want to go through this alone." She sank onto the couch and started crying. Both Cassie and Taylor walked over and sat next to her.

"Come on Ally, that isn't true."

"Taylor's right Al, you know that we are going to be here for you. Both our families will support you, hell the entire town will help support you. Everyone here loves you Alexis James and you know it."

"How am I going to tell your dad Cass? He's going to kill me."

"What do you mean? He won't kill you. You're like a daugh…okay never mind. He might now that you mention it." All three girls laughed.

The next 9 months were hard for Alexis. Not only did she have terrible morning sickness for over half the day, but she was still working and she was trying to find a small house. The whole town was supporting her throughout the 9 months, but she still felt alone. There were only two people that she thought could really help her through this, but she hadn't talked to either of them for 11 months.

Finally, it was time for Alexis to have the baby. Around 7:00 on August 30th, Cassie and Taylor drove Alexis to the hospital in Oconomowoc (which was the closest city). Five hours and 3 minutes later, Nicole Cameron James was born.

"Congratulations Ally!" Taylor said walking in.

"Yea, she is so gorgeous! Can I hold her?"

"No Cass, are you crazy?" Alexis replied sarcastically.