AN: Okay, so I intended to get this chapter up early, but probably all of you noticed that this site was messing up for a few days. I didn't want to risk anything. Anyways, you guys are freakin' awesome! Your reviews were absolutely wonderful. I have never recieved such a response. Not only do you guys seem to be generally interested, I'm actually making a few people think really deeply into this. That is so rewarding for an author to know.
Alright, so... I know you guys have a lot of questions, especially about Jackie leaving her son and he not answering her phone calls. You won't be getting too many answers now, but trust me, they will be coming. Just be patient. There are many parallels between characters and situations in this story, and they are all put there for a reason.
Enjoy!
Chapter Two: Confrontation Dos
Jackie awoke to a beam of light shining on her face. A tiny opening in between the curtains allowed for the evening sun to say its goodbyes in her hotel room. She rolled on her back and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She slowly began to remember where she was and why she was there. She gave a light groan, forcing herself out of the comfortable bed.
She turned on the bathroom shower and stripped her clothes away. As she climbed in, enjoying the warm massage from the water, she began planning exactly what she would do. She decided calling Donna would be the best bet. It was worth the risk. She had missed her friend so much over the years. All of the friends she had made in Boston never came close to the relationship she had had with the red-headed lumberjack. Jackie then thought of what would happen once she got to Point Place. Did everyone still live there, or did they move on like she had? The ones that did remain, would they hate her and refuse to see her?
Her thoughts ended with Steven. She really didn't need to wonder what had happened with him, because she had done a lot of it over the years. Sometimes she thought it was unhealthy how much she actually thought about her ex boyfriend. But now that she was so much closer to him, she felt that girly nervousness build in her chest. What would happen when they finally came face to face? Would he be just as cold and hateful as when she left? Would he still think she was pretty even though she is much older now? And how did he look? Did he have a family she would get to meet, and did he finally marry again?
There were so many different possibilities that could come from meeting her friends again, but no matter how scared Jackie felt, she knew she had to do this. Stepping out of the shower and feeling the cool air against her warm skin chilled her to the bone. She wrapped the terrycloth robe around her body and snuggled in the enveloping warmth. As she climbed into the bed she pulled the phonebook out that was sitting next to the telephone in her room. She found the Point Place pages and looked under F. She found only one set of Formans listed. Forman, Eric and Donna. So they had gotten married after all. Jackie stared down at the glaring numbers. It's so easy just to dial, but to actually find the words to explain herself was an entirely different ballpark.
Jackie leaned back against the wall and sighed. She figured that the only way this would work would be just to leap right in and do it, quick and easy, like pulling off a band aid. She picked up the phone and began dialing "5-6-5…" Click! Slamming the phone down, she let out a long breath. "It's okay, you can do this." She said out loud.
Instead she dialed her son's phone number once again. She listened to it ring multiple times and his voice mail picking up. Downtrodden, she put the phone on its hook. Maybe he is mad at me because I just left a note. Jackie really hoped he would come around soon.
Jackie gazed outside the curtain of her room and noticed it was completely dark outside. She loved Wisconsin night. It seemed like one could see all the stars in the night sky, unlike living in an illuminated city. Sighing to herself again, she attempted to dial Donna and Eric's number once more. This time she actually went through with it and listened closely to the rings. Her heart raced faster and her stomach had the perfect timing of becoming an acrobat as she waited for someone to answer. The ringing stopped and a young man's voice answered the phone.
"Hello."
"Hi, is Donna Pinc… I mean Forman there?"
Bile churned when her questioned was only followed by a long, thinking pause. "You aren't trying to sell something are you?"
Jackie bit down on her lip. "Uh no. I'm an old friend."
Another pause followed as if the young man was deciding whether or not to tell her if she could speak to Donna or not. "Alright," he finally said. "Hold on."
Jackie had a mini panic attack as silence filled the ear piece. This was it. This was her time to try to make everything right again. She heard off in the distance of the Forman home the young man's voice calling out "Mom." Jackie slightly smiled to herself. She liked the idea of Donna and Eric having kids. She just hoped she would get to meet them.
Suddenly, some scrambling could be heard and a familiar voice answered. "Hello."
Jackie was lost for words. She tried to squeak out something, but she just sat there with her mouth hanging open.
"Hello?" Donna repeated.
"Uh… Hi Donna." Jackie finally managed to get out. "Th-his." Jackie gulped once, trying to steady her voice. "This is Jackie."
Silence once again met Jackie's ear. God, she hated awkward silences on the phone.
"Jackie? Jackie Burkhardt?" Donna questioned.
Jackie gave a slight laugh. "Yeah, the one and only. Um… but actually it's Jackie Kruegar now."
"Oh my god! I can't believe you're calling. How are you?" Donna's voice sounded excited and it gave Jackie the confidence she needed.
"I'm good. Actually I'm in Madison right now."
"You are? Well what brings you back out here?"
"Well," Jackie hesitated, thinking of the right words. Should she just come right out and tell her that she left her husband and was all alone? "Well, I'm actually on my way to Point Place for a visit." She knew she sounded very wary.
"Jackie, it's been twenty years and you are coming for a visit now?" The shift in Donna's voice stung needles into Jackie's heart. The guilt she had felt for two decades weighed down on her shoulders making her feel heavy and horrible.
"Yeah, about that. I'm… I'm sorry Donna." Her voice cracked, but she had to keep her composure. Tears would get her no where now.
"It's okay Jackie." Donna's voice soothed across the line. "I didn't mean for it to sound that way. I know why you left. I have no room to judge you." Jackie heard the same guilt she was feeling in Donna's voice. "I know that I wasn't a very good friend to you before you left."
Tears welled up in Jackie's eyes. "It's fine Donna. Don't feel bad about that." She sniffled and wiped her tears away. "Look, I'm really not, well, "visiting". More like… I'm coming back."
"Back?" Donna echoed. "Why?"
Jackie squeezed the phone and tried to suppress emotion. "Well, I sort of left my husband."
"Oh my god! Why did you do that?" the red head exclaimed.
"It's a long story. But, I was wondering if maybe I could come see you."
"Of course, Jackie. You can stay with us as long as you like." Jackie let out her held in breath. She silently thanked Donna for seeing through her words. "What hotel are you at."
Jackie gave Donna the directions to her hotel. "Alright, I'll come and get you tomorrow afternoon."
"Thanks Donna. This really means a lot to me." Jackie didn't even try to hold back her tears.
"No problem Jackie. I just miss you so much. We all miss you."
"I miss you guys too." This time Jackie broke down. She let out a sob as Donna sushed her.
"It's okay Jackie. Everything will be fine by tomorrow."
"I sure hope so."
Jackie and Donna said their goodbyes and hung up. They decided they would wait to catch up on the ride back to Point Place. Jackie reclined on the bed again and thought of Donna's words. They really missed me.
Zach made his way down the stairs to his best friend's basement. The room was dark, and pounding music blasted from the speakers. His little group of friends sat on the basement couch, laughing and conversing. He sat down next to Josh Forman who lived in this house. They had been best friends since they could talk and had been inseparable since then.
"What's with the hair?" Josh questioned, adjusting his own long red hair that was pulled back in a low pony tail.
"Just decided I needed a change." Josh nodded and handed Zach a beer from the mini fridge.
"So how did things go with seeing your mom?"
Zach scoffed. "Psht. Bad. She didn't even want to see me."
"That sucks man. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I don't care about her anymore." Josh picked up that his friend didn't want to discuss the matter any further, and he dropped the subject. Zach looked around at his other friends who were too busy making out or reading a magazine. The only one who took notice of him was Kat. Once he met her eyes, she smiled. "I like your hair Zach."
Zach felt like his chest was on fire and his muscles tensed. Kat always seemed to do that when she smiled at him. "Thanks." He looked away as soon as he answered, not wanting her to continue giving him compliments. She was so transparent with her feelings for him. She had been his friend for a while now and the thought of her liking him just made him uncomfortable. He was the type of guy who hooked up with girls from time to time, never staying with one for more than a week. He didn't like the idea of having a steady girlfriend. The idea of getting close to someone like that scared the hell out of him, but of course he would never admit that to anyone.
"You know she really likes you." Josh whispered, breaking Zach from his thoughts.
"I know." Zach responded back.
"Then why do you do that to her all the time. You ignoring her and her being sad about it really makes things awkward." Zach met Josh's eyes and didn't like the sternness behind his gaze.
"I just don't like her that way, okay?" Zach crossed his arms and looked back at Kat. She sat in the opposing chair, pretending to be very interested in her fingernails. She always did that when she was embarrassed. Guilt constricted Zach's chest like a boa constrictor. It wasn't really that he didn't like her. Who wouldn't like her? She was gorgeous with her light brown hair that draped around her shoulders and her heart shaped face. She listened to bands like Suffocation and Decapitated, and she was smart as hell. The truth was Zach was pretty much crazy about Kat, but he just couldn't be her boyfriend. He didn't know how to be a boyfriend. All he knew how to be was a rude, smartass. She didn't deserve to be with someone like that.
AN2: Like I said, many parallels! Keep those amazing reviews coming!
