Getting to Know You

Simon and Jeanette's story

Part XXI

Simon was waiting by the phone anxiously on Tuesday. It had been three days since Jeanette had filed the police report and he hadn't even heard from her. The principal had said it was okay if he took some time off and Jeanette as well, but he was scared that she would never be the same again. He himself was neglecting his sleep and his health. He hadn't eaten since Dave made him finish a bowl of soup for lunch on Monday, and he had spent every waking moment waiting for a call that seemed to never come. He had tried to get in touch with the Miller's on Saturday, but Britney had said that they were going to the police station and that Jeanette would call him when she was ready…. But would she ever be ready?

Eleanor was beginning to worry about Jeanette's well being. Sure the attack had been awful, but afterwards, she had practically shut down. She wouldn't laugh, cry, and voluntarily eat sleep or drink. It was like living with a zombie… now that she thought about it; Jeanette was only less than the living dead when Susan started talking to her. Maybe it was just something that all victims went through; maybe it was just easier to open up to someone who had been through the same thing before. All she knew was that Miss Miller and Britney were just as worried.

While she was pondering her sister's condition, Britney walked into the kitchen, her brow furrowed in a rare moment of reflection…

"What are you thinking about now Brit?" she asked, breaking her out of whatever universe she had been in.

"I was just wondering," She answered, sitting down at the table across form Ellie, "What are Jeanette and Susan talking about in her room? I just walked past the door and Jeanette's sniffling and Susan runs over and shuts the door before I can say hi…"

"Maybe it was just them talking about what happened." Ellie guessed, "I mean, Susan was really happy to come live here for a while until she heard about what had happened to Jeannie, then she got all serious and started spending almost every minute with her."

"I think that's because she knows what it's like to be there…" Britney guessed, shaking her head in surrender, "All I care about is how soon she gets back to her old self. I miss my sister you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Ellie answered sadly, reaching across the table to hold Britney's hand.

"Are you still having those nightmares Jeanette?" Susan asked from her spot on the mattress across from Jeanette.

"Yeah, it's still the same too…" she answered mechanically, "What was it like for you?" she asked for the umpteenth time.

"I can only remember feeling alone and sad. My family wasn't there for me, my friends left me… you're relatively lucky actually. You have a family that cares for you. You have friends that are there for you. And you have a boyfriend who stopped it before you were really hurt. I wish I had had a guy like Simon to save me."

"Yeah, that's the other thing…" Jeanette started to say before pursing her lips like it was a secret.

"What?" Susan asked, catching the action, "Don't hold back Jeanette… what were you going to say?"

"It's just that, in my dreams, it's always the same. I'm in the park, I can't run, and then I get knocked down and it happens again, except that in the dream, it doesn't stop. Simon's not there to save me. It happens and I go numb, and then I wake up."

"That's your head trying to tell you that you escaped a lot worse. What happened this time? You sound like something new happened?"

"Well, last night, it started out the same, but instead of being knocked down, I felt this warm glow at the edge of my vision. I tried to look, but I was still stuck. Then this glow, it just shows up behind me and holds my hands and it helps me to get unstuck. I was able to walk out of the clearing this time."

That's great!" Susan exclaimed, "You're starting to get past the trauma. You're feeling again, you got out of the loop. You got out in days when it took me weeks. This is incredible!"

Jeanette looked at Susan's smiling face and just sighed, "But what if I get hurt again?" she asked, "I was lucky that Simon showed up last time. I don't feel right going back to him like this because I'm still hurting and I don't want to drag him down."

"I think you're hurting him by NOT going to him Jeannie…" Susan replied softly, "I heard Britney and Ellie in the kitchen today talking about how Simon's been in a daze the last few days. And from what Alvin and Theo say, he just spends all his time looking at the phone expecting you to call."

"That's ridiculous." She scoffed, "Simon was the one who helped me, why would he be depressed because of that?"

"Because he loves you Jeanette…" Eleanor piped in from the doorway, taking both the girls by surprise. "He loves you and you're hurting him by dwelling on the past. Sure, you were hurt, and we are all here for you. But you do nobody any good by shutting us all out. You know me and Britney are here, but if we try and talk about it with you, you shut down and come in here to cry."

"She's right Jeanette." Susan agreed, "I want to help you as much as I can, but I think your family can do more for you than I can…"

"But you know what it's like. You can tell me why I feel the things I do." Jeanette tried to explain before turning to Ellie, "Eleanor, you know I love you and Britney, but I feel tainted by what happened. I don't want to hurt anyone and I'm scared that I will if they get too close…"

"Well, we can understand that. I was in shock for a week after that incident on the tour last summer, but you should know…" she said, turning around in the doorway and heading down the hall to her own room, "You're hurting the one guy who genuinely loves you as much as you love him by keeping silent. Simon's smart, talk to him and maybe that will help you…"

The door shut and the small room fell silent, after a few minutes of silence; Jeanette looked up into Susan's eyes and asked, "Do you think I should go see him?"

"Definitely Jeanette, I think that's the only way that either of you will feel better."

"What if…" she began to ask before being silenced by Susan.

"No more what if's Jeanette…If I learned anything," she said, looking down at her stomach and smiling, "It's that bad things happen in everyone's life, but what makes us what we are is whether or not we decide to get over them and keep on living. You won't fully heal until you start your life again where it left off. And if I remember correctly, you stopped living while you were in love…" and having said her peace, she got up off the bed and went out the bedroom door, shutting it soundlessly behind her.

Jeanette sat there for what felt like eternity thinking about what her sister and friend had said. Was she really hurting Simon by dwelling on the past? She had to find out. She leapt off the bed and grabbed her jacket and keys off the dresser and headed out the door. She was out the front door and in her truck before anyone could even think to stop her and ask her where she was going. She was in such a rush that the drive took her half the usual time and she was sure that had there been any cops around; she would not have arrived at the guys house anytime soon. When she finally got to their house, she killed the engine and jumped out, sprinting up to their front door. She rang the bell and was relieved to see that it was Dave who answered the door.

"Hi Jeanette." he said cheerfully, welcoming her inside. "How are you doing? I heard about what happened on Friday… is there anything I can do for you?"

"Not really Dave, but thank you anyway. I really just need to see Simon… is he here?"

"Sure he's here. He hasn't really left his own room much since Saturday… is it something important?"

"Kind of, can you keep Alvin and Theo away from the room for a while?" she asked, knowing how bad that would sound coming from anyone else.

"If it will make you feel better sure." Dave agreed, nodding understandingly.

He got up from the couch; called Alvin and Theo down from their rooms and told them that they were going out for a little while. They looked shocked when they came down and saw Jeanette sitting there, but the look Dave shot them obviously told them to keep their mouths shut. All three of them shuffled out the door and Dave looked back as he shut the door and told her that they'd be back in an hour.

"Thanks again Dave." She said gratefully

"Not at all Jeanette, just see what you can do for Simon okay? I'm worried about him…" Dave replied sadly as he shut the door and silence fell over the usually noisy house.

Simon tried to remember the last time he had any sleep. He glanced at the clock near his bed fleetingly and figured that he had been awake for roughly 30 plus hours. "Strange," he thought to himself, "I'm not near as tired as I thought I would be…" while he was contemplating this, he heard his door crack open. "Probably just the guys again trying to get me to do something with them…" he reflected numbly.

"Will you just leave me alone?" he said without turning around, "I've told you guys already that I don't need to get out and do something so just leave me alone okay?"

"Simon…" the visitor said quietly, but he recognized that voice… he turned around and stared aghast at Jeanette standing in his doorway looking as haggard as he felt.

"Jeanette," he said cautiously, afraid that if this were a dream that she would disappear. "Is this real?"

She laughed slightly, a warm sound after the self imposed silence he had endured the last three days, "Yes Simon, I'm real. And you look horrible." She commented, smiling at him nonetheless.

"Why didn't you call?" he asked, feeling self conscious as he looked down at his ratty t-shirt and athletic shorts, "I could have at least washed up and changed."

"I didn't plan to come out here. It just sort of happened on the spur of the moment. I needed to see you." She admitted, blushing.

"So does this mean you're feeling better?" he asked tentatively

"I think it means I'm getting there." She told him as they both smiled at the news. She herself hadn't realized the significance of her actions until he asked.

"And is that why Dave took the guys out of the house?" Simon asked, trying to look serious, but at the same time, letting his happiness and laughter shine through for her to see.

"Yeah…" she admitted through gritted teeth. "I wasn't sure how this was going to go, so I asked your dad to keep Theo and Alvin out of the way. Do you think that was too much?" she asked.

"Not at all," he reassured her smilingly, "In fact, this works out best because I don't know how to say what I want to…"

"Well, what do you want to say?" Jeanette asked curiously, "Is it bad?"

"Not bad, just might be inappropriate if the timings off…" he admitted, scratching the back of his head like he always did when he was nervous.

After a few minutes of silence during which he tried to muster up his courage and Jeanette stared at him in suspense, he finally cracked and spilled it all in the same breath.

"Jeanettepleasedon'''restilltogether,?"

Jeanette sat there in silence for a second or two before looking Simon in the eye and saying seriously, "Simon, I only heard about the first three words. So excuse me if I sound frustrated, but what?"

He was so relieved that she didn't think he was crazy that he laughed until his sides hurt and when he was done, he looked up from his spot on the floor and saw that she was smiling along with him. Simon calmed down finally and tried again..

"Jeanette, please don't be mad at me for what happened. I love you and would never want anything bad to happen to you and if we're still together, would you like to go out on a date with me tomorrow while the others are out at school?"

She pretended to think about it for a minute or two while at the same time trying not to burst from joy. She had been scared that he wouldn't want her anymore, and here he had had the same fear. When she finally stopped teasing him and told him yes, he started to cry a little and held her close to him. Jeanette held onto him tightly like he was the anchor in her life, which in a way he was… they agreed to leave from her house the next day before lunch. And she got up and left to go share the news with her mother and sisters and Susan. But before she left Simon's house, he grabbed her by the arm, pulled her in close, and kissed her in a spontaneous show of ecstasy and joy. She found herself returning it and it was hands down the best kiss they had ever shared to date.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and all too soon, she found herself behind the wheel of her truck heading to her house as the silhouette of Simon faded in the distance behind her. When she pulled into the driveway, she wasn't surprised to see her mother standing out in the dusky light of the evening on the porch, her arms crossed in worry.

"Just where did you go?" she asked immediately after Jeanette stepped out of the truck.

"I went to go see Simon." she said smiling, the apparent change in her mood from just under an hour ago apparently taking her mom by surprise…

"And what did you talk about?" she asked, less urgency in her voice, and a more relaxed air about her this time.

Jeanette told her what had happened, how they had both been afraid of the same thing, and how they were going to spend the day together tomorrow. Miss Miller smiled as she saw that her daughter had healed at least a little. She then suggested that Jeanette get inside the house and tell the rest of the girls about it. Jeanette of course happily agreed. Miss Miller stepped to the side as Jeanette rushed inside and as she shut the door, she looked up at the stars and said a silent prayer of thanks before heading inside to the din of four excited girls. Their family was finally getting back to normal….

Well I hope you enjoyed that. As always, I am glad if you read it all and took it all in. please Read and Review if you want me to improve at all. I am accepting Beta requests and am happy to help anyone with anything they may have questions on. If you have personal questions about the characters, please shoot me an IM and pass the story on to your friends. I will be out of town (camping in the woods) as of Sunday morning, and unfortunately, there will not be another chapter update until the Friday or Saturday after next… for reference, it is 6-18-10 today.

Anyway, Happy Summer to you all, have fun, and a special thanks to Amon23, Simon wanna be, and starbin21. You guys are the most frequent reviewers and I thank you. To everyone else…

REVIEW THE DAMN THING!

Sorry for the frustration, but please, in all seriousness. Review what you read. I love input and comments more than a writer has a right to. Humor me will you?

Happy Reading, and Writing,

Musicalreader