Chapter
20: Without Her.
As Chris sat having his make-up
done for their TV appearance he looked over at JC who was sat waiting for
his turn. He looked so distant like he was in a world of his own.
"Earth to JC, come in JC,
your time is up." Chris said in a radio type voice but JC was so lost in
thought that he didn't hear him.
~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~
Clare had been working for
them for a year and he dropped by the office to see her. He knew she was
working late, she had a web-site to update and she always put so much energy
into it making sure it looked right for all the fans that visited it. He
walked in to find her lay on the couch asleep. She looked so peacefully.
So vulnerable. So beautiful. He didn't want to wake her but he knew from
past experience that it wasn't healthy sleeping on that couch. She'd wake
up aching from head to foot. He shook her gently, "Giddy!"
She opened her eyes and
looked at him. A smile crossed her face, "Hi ya."
"Let's get you home."
"No I can't," she said
yawning as she sat up slowly. "I've got some more work to finish before
I go anywhere."
"Come on Clare. You're
exhausted. You need to go home and get some sleep."
"Sleep will have to wait.
I'll work on auto-pilot."
"You should have a break.
You need a break."
"Come on JC, the last thing
I need right now is to have an argument with you." she said standing up.
"Are you going to take
a break?"
"Ooh, head rush." She sat
back down.
"Well?" JC asked looking
at her sternly as she stood up again. She wavered on her feet before toppling
back down onto the couch.
She looked up at him, "Okay,
one more and then I really must get back to work!"
JC smiled as he watched
Clare stand up quickly causing her to have her third head rush.
~~~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~~~
"You've got ten minutes before
you're on." Jamie shouted into the dressing room to them.
"Well four of us will be there!"
Chris called back.
"Who's the one not with it?"
"JC!" Chris called causing
JC to look up and snap out of his thoughts. "You heard the lady, ten minutes."
"Oh!" JC said standing up
and looking in the mirror at his hair
~~~~~*~~~~~
"And now here they are, for your
listening pleasure, 'N Sync!" the presenter said before the studio filled
with screams.
The music started to 'I Drive
Myself Crazy' and Chris began the opening verse while the others sat on
stools behind him singing harmony.
~~~~~*~~~~~
"So does it feel good to be getting
away from your problems?" Sara asked Clare as they sat beside each other
on the plane.
"I guess so but I've got to
come back to them sometime!" Clare responded not sure to smile.
"A week in Spain should help
you get over him." Jason said trying to help.
Clare flashed him a brief
smile as she put on some head phones to listen to some music.
…Never thought that love could
feel like this and you changed my world with just one kiss. She heard come
from the speakers. She quickly removed the headset. "Not when everything
that I listen to plays their music!"
Sara smiled sympathetically
as Clare rested her head back and closed her eyes.
~~~~~ A Couple of Days
Later ~~~~~
Jamie sat and watched Chris, Lance,
Joey and Justin all rolling around on the floor in her office. She smiled
and looked at JC, he had no facial expression and wasn't really paying
attention to anything, "Does Clare have to put up with this all the time?"
she shouted to be heard over the fits of laughter.
She got no answer. But Chris
heard her and clambered to his feet.
"So are you going to be this
miserable for the whole time she's away?" Jamie asked JC.
He looked up at her but said
nothing.
"Why don't you call her?"
Chris asked as he passed him his cellular.
JC looked at the object and
took it from his friend. He wasn't sure he should but he needed to talk
to her, he just hoped she wouldn't hang up when she heard his voice. He
found her number in his directory and started the connection.
You have reached the answering
service, the number you have called is currently unavailable, please leave
your message or try again later.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Lance pulled up outside the University
and waited for Jenny. She was going home later and he wanted to spend some
time with her because by the time she got back to Orlando he'd be in the
UK starting their European tour. He'd be gone for 5 months in total so
they'd be apart for 6 months, the thought tortured him. He'd been without
a girlfriend for so long and now he'd found someone who wanted him for
him they were being separated. He smiled fondly as he watched her walk
toward the car saying her goodbyes to her friends for the summer.
"Good day?" he asked as she
slid into the passengers' seat.
"Okay I guess!" she replied
resting her books on her lap and Lance started the engine. "So where you
taking me?"
"I thought we could go to
our favourite spot."
Jenny smiled. Their favourite
spot. The place they'd been when they shared that first kiss. They'd sat
up there for 2 hours after that just holding each other. That night had
been special to both of them. It was something they both promised to remember
anytime they were feeling down or lonely. Just to sit and remember the
way they were. The ocean crashing on the rocks below the one they sat on
and to remember the secrets they shared. It wouldn't be hard for any of
them to remember because that night was perfect.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Clare lay on the beach tanning
with Sara. She was still thinking of JC but it was only when things went
quiet, like now when she lay down and everything stopped. When she closed
her eyes at night his face would appear repeating over and over that he
loved her.
"I'll always love you." and
then she'd hear Chris, "if she hadn't been pregnant…"
The words tormented her. She
sighed and sat up.
"What's up?" Sara asked sitting
up beside her.
Clare shook her head, she
didn't want to talk about it and she didn't want to say his name in the
fear the tears would start again.
"You're thinking about him
again aren't you?" she asked.
Clare nodded simply as she
looked at her friend.
"Come on, let's occupy your
mind. Let's go down and play volleyball with Jason and the guys." Sara
said standing up and holding out her hands.
Clare smiled and reached out
allowing Sara to pull her to her feet.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Lisa sat in another lecture, the
professor was talking but she couldn't make out his words. Her brain wasn't
in gear. She'd been to see the doctor with Joey there making sure she actually
went and told him everything. The doctor had referred her to the hospital
where she had so many tests she didn't care to count but they came up empty.
She felt sure the professionals would know what was wrong with her but
when they told her they couldn't pin point the problem she was more confused.
Her eyelids slowly closed.
She was so tired. Throwing up all the time was taking up all her energy.
She had no time to spend with Joey, even though he went over every night,
and she couldn't concentrate on her studies. At least now she'd got to
the stage of being able to sleep but that was all she seemed to do.
"Miss Harland!" the professor
call to her causing her to wake up with a start. She glanced around the
room to find everyone else had left, the lecture was over. She got up sleepily,
grabbed her books and left the hall.
~~~~~ A Week Later
~~~~~
Justin sat in the hospital room
with Libby waiting for her mother to return with a coke she offered to
pick up for him.
He gazed down at Libby, she
was still so pale but the doctors had told them earlier that morning that
her vitals had improved and she had every chance of making a full recovery.
It had gotten easier for him to visit her without feeling the need to breakdown
into tears and he'd been sleeping better.
He had made a promise to himself
that as soon as she was awake and well that he would tell her how he felt.
He'd seen the affect of keeping his feeling's a secret by what had happened
between Clare and JC and he knew he didn't want that to happen to him.
Christine returned to the
room and passed him his drink.
They sat in silence for a
while before Justin spoke.
"It's funny we've known each
other for two years but there are things I've never told her - personal
things. I want to tell her those things now. I think that even though she's
in a coma, she'll be able to hear me, and that these things will help her.
Does that make any sense?" he said, his eyes never leaving Libby.
Christine looked up at him,
she saw the way he looked at her daughter, "You love her a lot, don't you?"
He looked at the elder woman
shocked at first but then smiled, "I sure do."
~~~~~*~~~~~
Clare woke up with a start; she
was ringing wet with sweat. She'd been having a dream and it had brought
her to tears. It had involved her and JC… they were arguing. She hated
dreaming. Whenever she'd had bad dreams in the past Libby had been there
to comfort her, except once…
~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~
She'd dosed off to sleep at
the apartment, her head was resting on JC's lap, and she was waiting for
Libby to come in. She'd been under a lot of stress with work and had been
mugged the week before. The mugging had such an affect on her that she
wouldn't go anywhere alone or even stay at home alone. She always had to
have someone around to almost protect her. The mugger had stolen her purse
and thrown in a few kicks to her stomach while she was down just for good
measure. The police took the description Clare gave but were unable to
find the culprit. His face haunted her and everytime she closed her eyes
she was reminded of his voice and his eyes. So evil.
She'd woke up screaming
in terror, re-living the whole thing again. But JC had been there to rock
her slowly back to sleep telling her she was safe, he was there for her.
~~~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~~~
But now he was the cause. She
looked up at the clock, 1:00 and then at the window. It was sunny outside,
so it was daytime. She couldn't believe she'd slept half the day, but then
she hadn't been sleeping that well so maybe she needed it.
She got out of bed and walked
over to the window, opened it and took a deep breath. Time for a shower,
she thought before flicking on the radio and heading into the bathroom.
~~~~~*~~~~~
"Has anyone tried contacting Clare
since last week?" Jamie asked as she stood in her office with Chris, Joey
and Lance.
"I've called everyday but
her cellular is always switched off." Chris replied.
"Yeah, I've just tried and
it's off."
"Was it important?"
"Not really. I'm sure it can
wait 'til she gets back!"
"Sara called this morning
to say they'd be back in a couple of days." Lisa said overhearing as she
walked into the room and put her arms around Joey.
"Hey babe, how you feelin'?"
he asked planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Well, I haven't thrown up
yet and I've been awake for at least 5 hours."
"You still got that sickness?"
Jamie asked with disbelief.
"I did have. I'm hoping because
I haven't thrown up for the last 20 hours that it's finally gone and won't
be back!"
Lisa glanced at Lance and
then looked at Chris, "What is up with his face?"
"The same thing that's up
with JC, woman deserted him!" Chris responded playfully.
"She did not desert me!" Lance
shot back at the older man.
"Has she or has she not gone
back to Missouri?"
Lance looked at Chris, "Her
mother is ill."
"Oh God help us," Jamie commented
playfully, "She's been gone a week and look at him!"
"Can you imagine what we'll
have to put up with after a month!" Lisa joked.
~~~~~*~~~~~
"I called home this morning and
told them we'd be back in a few days." Sara said to Clare as she joined
her and Jason in the dining area of the hotel.
"I think I'm gonna take a
few more weeks." Clare said as she sat back in her chair.
"Need a bit longer eh?"
Clare nodded.
"You staying here?" Jason
asked curiously.
Clare shook her head in response.
"So where you going?" Sara
asked.
Clare shrugged, "All I know
is I don't want to stay here and I'm not ready to go home!"
"I'm going on to Germany if
you want to come along." Jason invited her.
"Thanx but I think I'll probably
end up in Miami or going back to visit my family."
"Well the invitation is there
if you change your mind!"
Clare smiled. Jason and Sara
had done everything they could to try and help her get over JC. She was
glad they'd been there to make her enjoy herself and even though she hadn't
always felt like getting out of bed to face the day they always made her
make the effort and managed to bring a smile to her face.
Chapter
21: I Want You Back.
Back
