Joey spent most of that day sleeping, though it was a fitful sleep and so he hardly got any real rest.

At one point, he woke up to hear Lance talking on the phone. He could gather from what Lance was saying and from snippets of the other voice that JC was at the other end. Joey kept his eyes closed, though his heart beat a mile a second while he listened.

“JC, it’s fine,” Lance said, and Joey knew he was making a great effort not to talk too loudly. “It’s just a slight fever. The doctors are able to treat it with no problem. Really, it’s okay.”

JC shouted something that Joey couldn’t make out, though the phrase “what were you thinking” was distinct enough, and Lance countered, “Well, it could have happened anywhere at any time. And Chris and Justin and I were right there with him. So don’t go biting our heads off. What do you want us to do, anyway? Keep Joey under twenty-four-seven lock and key?”

Now Joey’s ear caught “Sheri” in JC’s rant, which brought a surge of heat to his face that he knew had no connections with the fever. Though Lance still strove to maintain an indoor voice, there was no mistaking his anger when he said, “Don’t you dare bring Sheri into this, Joshua Scott Chasez. She has nothing to do with this, whatsoever. Don’t even think about pointing any fingers at her.”

Then JC must have uttered something particularly crude because Lance said dryly, “I hope for your sake, mister, you don’t kiss your mother with that mouth.”

“JC, it’s Chris,” Chris broke in, which told Joey that Chris had snatched the phone from Lance’s hand. “Here’s a bright idea for you. Why don’t you make like a Thanksgiving turkey and stuff it? If you’re just going to talk crap about Sheri, then shut your mouth; otherwise, I’ll shut it for you. And so help me, if you say one word to Joey the next time you see him, if you so much as look at him weird, he won’t be the only one with a hospital bill. Understand?”

Then Justin said briskly, “We’ll see you tomorrow, JC. That’ll give you at least twenty-four hours to cool off and learn to act like a normal, sensible man. Goodbye.”

Joey heard a tiny blip that signified the end of the conversation, and then he heard Chris grouse, “Sheez, what’s this guy’s problem? Why is he making this out to be Sheri’s fault?”

“I’ve never heard him so angry,” said Lance, sounding truly baffled. “Whatever he’s got against Sheri, he’s really got it.”

Justin added, “I never knew him to be this hostile toward anyone, least of all a fan.”

“I can’t believe he’s still so hung up on her coming into Joey’s room and trying to make friends with him,” Chris protested. “I mean, seriously, how big of a deal can you make a scenario like that? Yeah, that was a pretty bold move on Sheri’s part—but that’s no reason to treat her like a criminal, is it?”

“Or maybe it’s more than that,” said Lance after a brief pause.

“What do you mean?” Justin asked.

“You know how he implied to Joey that other time that Sheri could possibly be taking advantage of him?”

“How could he think that?” demanded Chris. “Sure, I’ve seen that kind of thing happen before, loads of times. I’ve heard stories right and left. But why would JC be so quick to assume that Sheri’s just like them?”

“Beats me,” Lance said. “Still, I’ve a hunch that there’s more to JC’s attitude toward that girl than he’s letting on. A whole lot more.”

Justin made a half-laugh. “If that’s the case, fat chance of him admitting it to our faces.”

“Yeah,” said Chris sardonically, “it will require major surgery to get whatever he’s holding inside out.”

It was all Joey could do to not pull his pillow over his head. As grateful as he was to have most of his mates on his side, especially Chris and Justin, JC’s unwarranted antagonism toward Sheri made zero sense, and Joey found himself as frustrated and disheartened as he had ever been.

What was JC’s problem? What could Sheri have done to make him hate her so? Was he truly that hung up on her innocent breach of protocol that first day? Or was Lance’s assumption correct and there was more to the story? The more Joey thought about it, the more he realized that last scenario had to be the case. Surely JC was keeping something from them, and he was either unwilling or unable to bring it to light.

This was one of those times when the power of mind-reading would be particularly useful.

Just when Joey was about to drift off to sleep again, Lance’s ringtone sounded once more. When Lance answered, he said in authentic surprise, “Tami?”

The name jolted Joey like an electric shock. He almost sat up and stole the phone away, but he continued to lie still—though it took a paramount effort to do so.

Lance didn’t speak with Tami for long, but it didn’t take a genius to know that something serious was going on. When Lance hung up, Justin asked, “What’s up, Lance?”

“Everything all right?” Chris solicited.

“Turns out Joey wasn’t the only one who dodged a bullet.” Lance’s voice was low and grave. “Sheri’s not doing so well herself today.”

Joey felt a cold, hard knot in his stomach.

“Is it…bad?” Chris’s voice wavered on that last word.

“Bad enough. I could tell Tami had been crying, and it sounds like Ann’s pretty frazzled, too.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, man, how are we gonna tell Joey?” Justin asked.

“We’ll worry about that when he wakes up,” Lance said. “No sense in adding to the stress right now.”

No one said any more after that, though Joey still heard a few sighs and moans.

With his eyes yet closed, Joey flipped through his mental calendar. He remembered Sheri saying that the remainder of her life consisted of three or four months. With a sinking heart, he realized more than two months had passed already.

Time was running out. While Joey had always known that fact from the start, it became a little more real and more stark with each day. After all, in the words of Tami, every day meant one day less.

Sometimes Joey wished it was already over, for Sheri’s family’s sake as much as hers, and then he would just as quickly retract such a wish.

Because when it was over, there would be no going back.