Chapter 21

Jami heard a tentative knock on the hotel door. She looked at Traci for reassurance. Traci nodded. Jami stood shakily to her feet and made her way to the door. she slowly pulled it open and smiled when she saw who was standing before her.

Tasha, Lita, Matt and Edge were clustered together in the hallway. Jami backed up and made a motion for them to enter. Edge and Tasha entered first, holding hands. Jami smiled at how they looked together. Both were wearing dark blue jeans. Edge had a black button down shirt on, his hair loose on his back and around his face. Tasha had on a black tank top with a black unbottoned shirt over it. Her purple-blue hair was in a single braid down her back. Matt and Lita entered next, their arms around each other. Lita was wearing black jeans with a red tank top. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Matt was dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair was pulled back also.

Jami stood nervously, watching them as she shut the door. Afraid they would be upset at her and yell. She couldn't take that. Not now, not yet. Finally she stepped forward. "I really missed you guys." she whispered.

Tasha and Lita both engulfed her in a hug, and they were all crying. When they finally pulled apart, Edge hugged Jami without saying a word. Then Matt hugged her.

"Why don't we all have a seat on the beds...talk. I have food! There's a pizza that just arrived five minutes ago that we haven't touched yet. Plus we have chips, salsa, M&M's, Skittles, Coke, Water and juice. Plus, there are some winecoolers and other alcoholic beverages in that little mini-bar over there that I'm not allowed to go near." Traci grinned. "Food sounds good." Edge admitted, hungrily. So Jami and Traci pulled out all their food to the middle of the room, in between the two beds.

"So...how have you guys been?" Jami asked. "Well, these last few days have been pretty bad for us. You see...we had this friend who just up and disappeared on us. We were all really worried about her. But she's back now....so it's starting to look up." Edge told her honestly.

Jami bit her bottom lip and kept her eyes cast down. Traci sat next to Jami on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "My sister has had a pretty crappy couple of days too...so lay off." "It's okay Trace, I deserve that...and more." Jami admitted, using her sisters nickname. "Yeah, but I"m your sister, so I can keep you from having to listen to it."

"Traci...Edge wasn't trying to be cruel. Just honest. We don't want to hurt Jami on purpose. She's like a sister to all of us too." Matt told her. "Yeah...J's my baby sister. Gotta give her the tough love." Edge smiled. Jami gave him a shy smile in return.

"Oh crap! I gotta go grab something from my car. I'll be right back. I have the room key so don't freak out when some psycho enters with the key." Jami announced and left the room quickly.

"Well, she looks better than the last time I saw her." Lita said. The group nodded. They could tell Jami had lost some weight, but it was hard to tell how much. SHe had been wearing classic faded blue jeans. She had on a white, knit sweater that hid how flat her stomache had become. But they could tell she had lost the weight because it was a fitted sweater and it hung a bit loosely on her. Her hair was down, which added to her somber look. The group turned their attention away from their thoughts of Jami and onto other things.

***
Jami padded barefoot through the parking lot looking for her car. She did need something out of it. Her poetry notebook. But mostly she had needed to get some air. Finally she spotted her car and dug her keys out of her pocket. "Oh crude! I got a parking ticket." she mumbled out loud at the piece of paper under her windshield wiper. She grabbed it and begun to crumble it up when she glimpsed Jeff's handwriting on it. It wasn't a parking ticket, it was a note from him.

'Jami, I loved you from the moment I saw you. You were sitting across the room and you looked so sweet and innocent. I knew we were meant to be together. You've been hurt before, but I promise that I will never hurt you. I'll do everything I can to protect you. I'll love you forever and I'll cherish you even longer.' I made that vow to you ten months ago. And I meant every word of it, and I still do. But this time, you need to be the one to take that step. It's only a baby step. You can do it. I know that you can't come now, I know your room is pretty crowded with people who were worried about you too. But...I have my own room, 332, if you want to be with me, I'll be here...all hours.

Jami folded the note and stuck it in her back pocket, grabbed her notebook and began to walk back inside the hotel. Somehow, she knew Jeff was watching her. SHe stopped under a light and pulled her wedding ring off. She slowly ran her finger across the inscription on the inside. SHe knew what it said. Just like the note, 'Love Like Ours Lasts Forever'.

"Jeff...I'll take that step. WE'll be taking it together from now on." She called out to the darkness before walking into the hotel.

Chapter 22