Chapter Two

Jamie walked out of the elevator about an hour later after going to pick up Dylan from his daycare. She practically flew to Tampa, breaking every speed limit she hit until she picked Dylan up and drove to the hospital.

She walked around the corner to see her parents and Michael’s parents sitting there crying and she paused. She stood there watching them as Dylan kept trying to play with her necklace and she could tell that something else had happened by the way her parents were acting.

She looked at Dylan and sighed as she started to walk up closer to them and her parents so her.

“I’m here.” Jamie said as her father walked over, hugging her and she stood there confused as Michael’s mother walked over and took Dylan from her, “What’s wrong?”

“She’s gone.” Mr. Marshall said as Jamie looked around, with a confused look on her face.

“She’s gone?” Jamie asked as her mother walked over and hugged her too. She stood there in shock, looking over to see Michael’s parents with Dylan and hugging him, “She can’t be gone.”

“She’s gone.” Mrs. Marshall said as they stopped hugging, “She was wanting you to come but you -”

“Didn’t make it.” Jamie said as she looked around, trying to keep herself from crying, “Damn. Both of them?”

“Yes.”, her father said as she crossed her arms and began to cry a little as she looked down, “She wanted to talk to you about Dylan.”

“What about him?” Jamie asked as she looked back up at him, “I mean, they’re both gone and - ”

“She said she wants you to take care of him.” Mr. Marshall said as Jamie looked back over at Dylan, “She said that it’s in papers.”

“Are you going to be able to do that -”, her mother started to say as Jamie nodded her head yes a little.

“Yeah.” Jamie said, “We’d talked about it before but, you know, I didn’t expect -”

“I know you didn’t.” Mrs. Marshall said as she hugged her, “We can take care of him too and Michael’s parents.”

“I can, but it’s just, I don’t know.” Jamie said as she started to cry, “Why did this have to happen?”

“Carelessness.” Mr. Marshall said as Jamie looked of at Dylan, thinking about Nick as she started to cry again.

_______________________________________

“Girl I love to watch you… like candy to my eyes, like a movie you just seem to gotta watch just one more time…” Nick sung as he sat there with his knees up on the bed, picking at the side of his jeans. He looked back over at the window to see that the sun was shining outside. He felt like going outside to see how warm it was or how cold it was, but he didn’t feel like being asked for an autograph.

“Fuck.”, he muttered as he reached over, picking up the phone, looking at it. He looked down at the numbers debating on whether to call someone but he reached back over, putting it on the nightstand. He yawned and looked back around the room.

He reached back over on the nightstand, picking up his wallet and opened it up. Looking through the pictures to see a picture of Jamie on one side and the picture of Dylan she had given him on the other side. He shook his head and closed it back up, putting it back on the nightstand.

“I better enjoy this time alone.” Nick mumbled to himself as he layed back in the bed, putting his hands behind his head.

________________________________________

“Why don’t you just go up to your bedroom and lay down.” Mrs. Marshall said as Jamie stood there in the kitchen, leaning against the counter later that night, “Dylan’s asleep. Everybody’s gone for the night.”

“I don’t wanna go up there.” Jamie mumbled as crossed her arms and looked down, “I wanna go back to my place.”

“It’s almost 10 at night. You don’t need to drive back to Orlando alone.”

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t wanna stay up there.”

“Just go up and lay down. Get some sleep.”, her mother said as Jamie rolled her eyes and walked over, giving her a hug, “Get some sleep.”

“I will.” Jamie said as she stopped hugging her mother and smiled, as she turned around and started to walk out of the kitchen. She walked through the living room to see her father looking over some papers and leaned over, picking her purse up. She told him goodnight and began to walk up the stairs slowly, looking at the pictures of her and Michelle on the side of the wall from when they were little.

She reached the top of the stairs and walked over to Michelle’s old room and opened the room to see Dylan asleep. She walked in and looked down at him for a minute. Finally she leaned over, giving him a little kiss on the forehead before she walked out of the room and stepped across the hall to her bedroom.

Then she stopped and started to cry.

“Uh, god. I hate this room.” Jamie thought to herself as she opened the door and walked in slowly, looking around. She sat her purse down on her desk, and looked in to see the top of Nick’s CD. She took it out and opened it up, and picked the CD up. Looking at it, she walked over to little stereo in the room and slipped it inside the CD player.

“What song am I going to listen to now?” Jamie said softly to herself as she picked up the remote to the stereo and walked over to her bed, laying down on it. She looked up at the ceiling and hit ‘random’ on her remote only to hear a slow ballad start. She sighed knowing that probably wasn’t a good sign.

Girl I love to watch you

Like candy to my eyes

Like a movie you just seem to gotta watch just one more time

But that smile you’re wearing

Is a beautiful disguise

It’s just something only to hide the emptiness inside

And you seem so lonely

But you don’t have to anymore

You’re a heart without a home

A rebel without a cause

If you feel as though you’re always stranded on the shore

Like a thief in the night

Lemme steal your heart away

Baby if a reason’s what you’re looking for

I’ll be yours.. I’ll be yours

“Aww damn.” Jamie whispered as she started to smile a little listening to the song.

Give you a new sensation

One you never had before

I got a feeling if I give you some

You’ll probably want some more

Did you know that baby

You’re the bluebird in my sky

I only wanna make you happy

‘Cause I love to see you fly

And if you feel lonely

You don’t have to anymore

Jamie laid there on the bed, looking at the ceiling, crying slowly as she listened to the lyrics, and how much she wished Nick was there right now with her. Then she shook her head, putting her hands over her eyes knowing that she shouldn’t be thinking that.

I’ll be yours

I’ll be the rise in the tide

I’ll be yours

I’ll be the truth in the lie

And once more

And when no one opens the door

I’ll be the home that you’re looking for

“Truth in the lie.” Krista thought as she rolled over on the bed, burying her face in the pillow.

“Nick. I can’t marry you if you’re still doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“This. I can’t -”

“This what?”

“Your career. It came between us once and how is now any different than it was two years ago? You don’t have one career anymore, you have two, and you can’t get married like that. If we did, it’d come between us again like it did before and I don’t want to go through that again.”

“What are you saying?”

“I hate doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“You love me more than anything right?”

“Yeah. I love you more than anything.”

“More than your career?”

“Uh -”

“That’s what I thought. Nick -”

“I can’t choose between you and my career. So if you can’t accept that.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Biggest lie I ever told.” Jamie thought as she started to cry more, “I just wanted to see if he really loved me more than anything.”

______________________________________

Ring Ring

“Yeah hold on a minute.” Mike said as he sat there looking at the TV when the phone started to ring again.

Ring Ring

“Hold on a damn minute.” Mike yelled as he picked the phone up, “What?”

“Hey.”

“Dude, Nick. Where ya been? Every fucking body is looking for you.” Mike said as he took a swallow from his beer, “Tried calling your cell and everything.”

“Destroyed it.” Nick said, “I’m fine.”

“You just wanted to get away from everything before your CD comes out?”

“Yeah just needed a little break.” Nick said, “I’m in Tampa, well somewhere outside of it.”

“Where?”

“Don’t worry ’bout it.” Nick said as he sighed, “I sent Jamie the album.”

“Oh god here we go again.” Mike said as he kicked his feet up in the other end of the sofa, “What did you do?”

“Told her to listen to the songs then read the thank you’s.”

“And what did you do with the thank you’s.”

“No comment.”

“Oh god. Does this mean that Jamie’s going to start having fan sites and shit yo?” Mike asked as Nick smiled and shook his head.

“Nah.” Nick said, “Listen I’m gonna go. I’m coming back to my place tomorrow. I left a little note inside the CD booklet so she’ll get that too when she finishes listening to the album.”

“Alright man. See ya tomorrow.” Mike said as Nick hung up the phone and sighed, leaning his head against the wall.

__________________________________

“Nick’s gone and lost his damn mind again.” Mike said as he picked up his sandwich and was about to take a bite of it -

Ring Ring

“Son of a bitch.” Mike bitched as he picked up the phone, “Carter what do you want?”

“It’s not Nick.” Jamie said as Mike spit out all of his sandwich over the floor, almost chocking on it.