14:
Justin nearly dropped the phone as the crisp voice on the other end informed him that there had been an accident involving Lance and a school bus returning from a field trip. He quickly relayed the information to Sugar and the guilt in her soul was quickly pushed aside for more important matters. As she drove to the hospital, Justin called the guys. Chris was first. He hurried to tell Heather and make sure she and the twins would be all right.
Then Justin called JC. As the phone rang and rang, he got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hung up and called Joey and Gina, getting their answering machine. He left a hasty message and tried JC again. When he still didnt answer, Justin called Chris back, in a panic over JC. Chris promised to go by the house as long as Justin would be calm and be there for Lance. Z was on tour half-way across the country but he knew she would want to know. The only problem was that he didnt know her cell phone number. Luckily though, Sugar did.
Joey stared at his wife, lost for words. He had expected anything but what had just come out of her mouth. He kept hearing her words when he had sworn he would never even look at Kelly again. "No, Joey, dont say that," she had said. "You know you love her at least as much as me, probably more to tell the truth. Wait, let me finish," she added, holding up a hand to silence his protests. "Shes carrying your child. She needs you right now, just like I did. I refuse to let her go through what I went through. You will be with her at every doctors appointment, you will be there when she goes into labor, hell, youre going to hold her damn hair back when shes puking her guts out every morning."
"What?! What exactly are you saying?"
"Im saying that Marcus and I are going for an extended visit with my parents. You are going to be by Kellys side, at her beck and call, 24/7 until that baby is born."
Gina could tell that Joey was dumbfounded. It was crazy, she knew, just giving her husband away when things were finally starting to go right for them again. However, she also knew that Joey loved Kelly, he had for years and he always would. He needed to work out his feelings for both of them. She refused to live her life trapped in a loveless marriage if it turned out she and Joey just werent meant to be. She also loved him too much to risk having this happen again. Add to that the undeniable fact that no matter what, there was another child just as innocent and helpless as her own son that she had to think of. After all, if Kelly was letting Joey go and he was willing to leave, then neither of them was facing the truth of the matter.
She watched for the signs that he had recovered from the shock. He was opening his mouth to reply to her when they heard the doorbell ring followed by an urgent pounding on the front door. At the same time, Joeys cell phone came to life, startling Marcus from a light sleep. As Gina soothed the baby, Joey went to answer the door. He found Chris standing there, bouncing from foot to foot. "Joey! Thank God! Its about time! Come on, were going to get JC and go to the hospital. Lance was in an accident this afternoon and we just found out." Joey numbly grabbed for his keys as Chris yelled the news to Gina, who was standing at the top of the stairs. She told them to go, and she would try to catch up later.
There was no answer at JCs house. There was no answer on his phone. Luckily, Joey had his copy of JCs house key. They burst through the door to find the house eerily silent. Something was very wrong. They hurried through the house, afraid to call out but afraid not to. They ended up whispering his name through parched lips. Joey reached the bathroom first and froze, horrified at the scene before him. "Chris," he tried to call, but it came out as a high pitched squeak. JC lay on the floor, barely wrapped in a towel. His face, neck, and chest were scarlet from the blood pouring out of his nose. His lips were blue. He wasnt breathing. Clutched tightly in his hand was the culprit, the thing that had brought this on.
Justin couldnt shake the feeling that there was something very wrong, and somehow he knew it wasnt Lance he should worry about. "Turn around," he said tightly.
"But Justin, were only a block from the hospital."
"Katie, please, just turn around." He looked as if he might cry. She did as he said, making an illegal U-turn in the middle of traffic and flying back down the road. They couldnt get in the driveway for all the emergency vehicles in the way. Lights were flashing. Sirens blared. Two paramedics wheeled out a stretcher, running as fast as they could. Justin stared in disbelief. It wasnt Josh. It couldnt be. That was some wax doll. This all had to be a sick practical joke. He could almost have convinced himself of that, had it not been for Chris and Joey, white as ghosts and crying in the doorway as police officers tried to question them.