JC stumbled down the stairs in the early morning hours of the following Monday. He’d gone a week without hearing anything from Annie. Whenever his phone buzzed, he jumped for it hoping it would be her but it never was. Emma-Claire had given up hope of asking about her, even though she would make it clear to her father that he wasn’t fixing her lunch like Annie did, didn’t tuck her in like Annie had, and didn’t know how to play Barbies the right way. He knew it was his daughter’s way of punishing him for letting Annie leave.

On this particular Monday he had to have Emma-Claire at school by 9 and was hoping to come back to the house and clean up a little. It had more or less gotten into disarray since Annie had been gone. He’d also hoped to get downstairs and try to do a little bit in the studio, but the gusto he’d had for his all-girl band had suddenly dissipated once Annie had left. In fact, there wasn’t much he felt like doing at all. Jimmy had told him to just take a few weeks off to clear his head, but JC was determined to try and get back in the game, otherwise he’d sit around and mope.

He was doing a pretty good job of moping.

He opened the refrigerator and stared into it as if it held the answer to his problem. Pulling out the milk, he placed it on the counter and then sighed before shutting the door. Instinctively, he looked out at the back patio and over to the pool house. Even if Annie had just moved back there and was still Emma-Claire’s nanny it would be better than what he had now, which was not seeing her at all.

Then again, if he saw her everyday it would only remind him that she wasn’t his girlfriend anymore.

“Daddy.”

JC turned his head to see Emma-Claire standing in the doorway of the kitchen clutching a stuffed bunny. He smiled at his daughter and sauntered towards her, kneeling down and collecting her into his arms for a hug.

“Hi, princess. You hungry?” He kissed her cheek and Emma-Claire rested her head on his shoulder. She wasn’t as passive towards him as she’d been last week but JC knew it was because she was four and she relied on him too much. Annie was gone and right now it didn’t look hopeful that she’d ever be back.

“Uh huh.” Emma-Claire pulled away from JC and walked over to the breakfast nook, pulling herself up into the booth. She splayed her hands across the table and kicked her feet in a nonchalant manner while she watched her father start breakfast.

JC dug around for a pan to make eggs, then poured a cup of coffee for himself and a glass of milk for Emma-Claire. He caught her eye as he placed the milk in front of her and they smiled at each other. JC didn’t have to guess that she was wondering when she’d see Annie again because even though she’d stopped asking, it was still written all over her face.

He wished he had an answer for her. He wished he knew himself. And he wondered if she missed them just as much as they missed her.

Annie shut off her laptop and leaned back into the sofa at Starbucks. She picked up her mug and sipped the lukewarm coffee that had been sitting in front of her for the last half hour while she’d been job-hunting online. It seemed that no one was hiring and the nanny positions she looked at only made her feel guilty for even thinking of going somewhere else.

Being away from JC and Emma-Claire had been absolutely awful. She thought of them every second of every day and every morning woke up with a pain in her stomach thinking of them. She was still receiving a paycheck from JC for the next two weeks but after that she was down to the small savings account that had about $350 left in it.

She had to find a job and get her mind off of her ex-boyfriend and the one child that had felt like a daughter to her. She had to do it fast, too.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and Annie immediately reached for it, silently hoping it was him. She knew it wouldn’t be. He wasn’t going to be the first one to break this silent treatment they had going on with each other. She looked down at the caller id and smiled when she saw it was Patsy McGriffin.

“I heard you’re not working for JC anymore?” Patsy had cut the formalities and immediately went for details.

“It’s a long story.” Annie didn’t feel like going into details over the phone so when Patsy suggested they meet for lunch at a bistro in Bel Air, Annie had agreed almost immediately. Patsy had even agreed to pick her up when she found out that Annie’s car was a lease from JC and was still at his house.

At 11:30, Annie walked out of the Starbucks she’d been sitting in all morning and hopped into the passenger seat of Patsy’s Lexus. After hugs had been given and Patsy had filled her in on Ruby and Henry, Annie began to spill everything that had happened between her and JC. By the time they pulled up to the bistro for lunch, Annie was nearly in tears recalling the ordeal.

“It sounds like he needs to get his priorities straight.” Patsy sipped on her water after they’d ordered. “You can’t be with someone who doesn’t know how to work and family. And he put too much responsibility on you. I know that Corbin and I were late a few times but we would never put anything over our children.”

“He was doing great for about a week or two. And then he took his girl band off to Korea and came back and everything changed.” Annie rested her elbow on the table, cupping her chin in her hand.

“Give him another few days and then maybe you can take little Emma-Claire out for lunch. Don’t let her suffer through this, Annie. It’s not her fault that her father did what he did. And she’s lost so much already. I would hate to see her have to go through losing someone else.” Patsy reached for a piece of bread and began to butter it. “You’re eventually going to have to cross paths with him anyway. You know even if you don’t call Emma-Claire this week, you’re going to want to call her sooner or later. She needs you, Annie.”

Annie only nodded and played with the straw in her water. She desperately wanted to see Emma-Claire. But she also desperately wanted to see JC.

He was staring at his phone while Emma-Claire watched television later that night. It was almost as though he expected it to light up and for her name to appear on the id. But it was silent and didn’t ring. He sat back against the couch and looked over at Emma-Claire who was glued to a show on Nickelodeon. Looking back at the phone, JC stood and walked into the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and made sure he was out of earshot of his daughter.

Annie had been dozing on and off on Megan’s couch. They’d been watching a marathon of Entourage on HBO Go and as entertaining as it was, Annie’s head had been swimming earlier with thoughts of JC and Emma-Claire. Megan had tried to be supportive and get her friend’s mind off of thing, but after three episodes of Entourage, she was losing.

Annie shifted on the couch and that’s when she jumped at the sound of her phone ringing. She pulled it out from under her and nearly lost her breath when she saw who it was on the other end.

“It’s JC.” Annie looked over at Megan, who immediately paused the episode and waited for Annie to make a move.

“Answer it.” Megan prodded and gestured with her hand at Annie. “It’s been a week. I think you’re ok.”

Annie glanced again at the phone and stood to walk into the other room before she answered.

“Hello?”

JC breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her voice.

“Hi.”

He waited for her to respond and nervously tapped his fingers on the countertop.

“Hey. What’s up?” He finally spoke and cleared his throat to rid himself of any nervousness.

“You called me. Is everything okay with Emma?” Annie didn’t dare let on that she was missing him or that she cared that he had called. It had to be about Emma if it was about anything

“Emma’s fine. She misses you. I-“ JC stopped himself before he let his guard down. “I was calling to see if you might want to stop by and see her or, I don’t know, do something with her?”

Annie was smiling on the other end of the line but remained calm. “I was actually going to call in a few days and see if I could take her for ice cream or something,” she said and hoped her voice didn’t sound as shaky as she felt.

“Great.” JC cleared his throat and wiped a smudge off of the counter top. “What about Friday afternoon?”

“Friday’s good.”

“Okay. I can pick you up or-“

“I’ll get Megan to drop me off.” Annie stopped him before he could go any further. There was no way she could be alone with him, even if Emma-Claire was in the backseat.

“Oh. Okay.” He was trying to remain cool and collected but she’d almost sounded as though she were snapping at him. There was silence for a few seconds until he spoke again. “Annie, I haven’t been to work in about a week. I’ve been all about Emma.”

“It’s not about you giving up work completely. It’s about finding a balance and I don’t think you know how to do that.” Annie’s response was the truth and JC had to accept it. “You have to find how to do work and raise a child. I didn’t ever expect you to give up your job completely because you love it too much. But you know it was coming between us way too much. More than it ever should have.”

“I want to prove to you that it can change, Annie.” He sounded wistful to her and it was all she could do to not break.

“Not yet, Josh. I’m sorry. It’s going to take longer than a week.”

“I miss you, Ann.”

“What time should I tell Megan to be at the ice cream shop?”

JC grimaced. She wasn’t even going to respond to what he’d told her. “Three,” he said. “I’ll drop her off and pick her up at 4:30.”

“See you then.”

Annie didn’t wait for him to say goodbye. She hung up and walked back into the other room where Megan looked as though she was sitting on pins and needles waiting for Annie to get off the phone.

“Any chance you can drop me off at the ice cream shop near his house on Friday at three?” Annie knew Megan wanted details but really there weren’t any to give.

“Uh huh. Yes. Sure. Whatever. What did he say?” Megan asked in a hasty tone.

“He said he hadn’t worked in a week and wanted to try again but I told him a week didn’t cut it.” Annie plopped back down on the sofa and looked at Jeremy Piven who was paused on the television. “Can we go back to the show now?”

“Oh Annie, you know you miss him!” Megan ignored her request and instead turned the television off. Annie went to protest but Megan cut her off. “Okay, yes, he was an ass. He never had time for you or Emma and I get that but you’ve been miserable for the last week and it just sucks seeing you like that.”

“I’m not going to give in to him that easily. He has to understand that. Just because he’s given up work for a week means nothing. I’m not going to risk going back to him and having to fight for it all over again.” Annie pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She was thoughtful for a moment and then said, “I think I’m going to reapply at Ohio State for a Masters degree.”

“Move back to Ohio?!” Megan gasped. “Annie, don’t make hasty decisions before-“

“I’m not.” Annie cut her off. “I think it’s probably a good thing for me to get out of L.A. and be done with the whole scene.”

“So you’re running away?” Megan asked.

“I’m not running away.” Annie looked up at her friend. “I’m doing what I need to do. The best thing for me is to say goodbye to Emma-Claire on Friday and not ever see Josh again.”