Dan was awoken by the sound of his phone obnoxiously ringing in his ear. He groaned, pissed off that someone would have thenerve to awaken him from his peaceful slumber. "Hello?" he grumbled.
"Dan, it's Tori."
"Tori? Why the hell are you calling me so early?" he asked, still groggy with sleepiness still lingering in his voice. He didn't happen to notice the worry lingering in Tori's.
"Dan it's 10:30, I'd hardly call that early," she said. "Now if you listen to me I can tell you what the hell is going on!"
"Fine then! What?"
"Mel is in the hospital," she said. Dan sat straight up, now fully awake and in terror.
"What happened, is she okay? I couldn't find her last night, did something happen to her?"
"She went to Derek's house to confront him, and they got into this huge fight. She got really upset, and she just. . .she got dizzy and she fainted. "
"Where is she?" he asked.
"They took her to maternity."
"Is she okay? Wait, maternity? Did something happen to the baby?"
"She's fine. " Tori Paused. "But, she had the baby early. It's chances aren't that great."
"I'll be there." He hung up the phone and yelled for his mother.
"Mel?" asked Tori. "I called Dan, he said he'd be here."
"I don't want to see him," she mumbled.
"Mel he's worried."
"I don't want him to see me like this." She stared out the window at the willow tree that was just within her range of view. "The baby won't live. It's too small and too underdeveloped. I guess that takes care of my big decision of whether or not to keep it."
"Are you going to name her?"
"What's the poing? It's not like she's going to live to use it."
"She at least needs a name, she's going to be alive for at least a little while."
"Then I'll call her. . .Jessamyn, after my grandmother."
"Jessamyn?" a voice said from the doorway. Melissa snapped her head up at the sound.
"Dan, go away," she said.
"So it's a girl?"
Melissa sighed. "Yes, it's a girl. But don't get your hopes up, she's not going to live long."
"You never know," he replied. "She just might surprise you. Maybe she's stronger than you think she is."
"Dan I was only barely five months, do you know how tiny she is?" she questioned. "She's the size of my hand from fingertip to my wrist. She can barely breathe. If I can accept that why can't you guys?" Tori and Dan exchanged glances. She had a good point. They knew the odds of Jesamyn living weren't great, but at the same time there was just some nagging feeling saying not to give up. It was unexplainable.
"Casey!" Nicci shouted up the stairs. "Casey! Get your ass down here!"
"What do you want woman?" he yelled back as he clammered down the stairs.
"Melissa had her baby early, she's not speaking to Dan, and he's going nuts."
"And this is good. . .why?"
"Because, my darling twin, Stever and Dan are tight, and this could put a strain on their friendship," she stated.
"Go on," he said as he absorbed the information.
"Stever's gonna need someone to talk to, so he'll go to Jon, but rumor has it that Jon is dating some chick in Vancouver. . ."
"Vancouver?"
"It's that 'online' dating thing."
"Ah. Okay, go on."
"So Jon's so wrapped up in his computer, and Ryan is always with Tori. So who's left for dear Stever to talk to, but me?"
"Genious sis, pure genious. I'm proud of you." He pat her lightly on the head as he spoke. "There's just one problem. How's that supposed to make Stever go crazy?"
"Oh that's the beauty of it. Ryan may always be with Tori, but she's with good 'ol Mel in her time of need right now. He's feeling rejected, so I show up, and that makes Stever and Tori insanely jealous," her eyes glistened with pure evil and malice. "And you show up to comfort Tori in her time of worry."
"So we both get what we want, and drive someone insane. Man I love being your twin!" Casey smiled.
"All in a days work my dear," she said. "All in a days work."