Chapter 3
“Laney!” JC said, “Over here”
Laney looked over to where she heard the voice, and spotted JC standing up, among the other 3 guys. She walked over to him, and gave him a worried look.
“Oh my God, JC. Is he all right? Have they said something? Is he dead? Will he live?” she asked, still feeling confused, and nervous.
“Calm down, hun. They haven’t told us anything yet.” he said, leaning over to give her a hug. As she embraced JC, she took a look at the other guys. When they separated, Laney gave them all a questioning expression.
“How’d you all get the message?” she asked, completely baffled as to why she wasn’t informed.
“They found my name under his emergency contact list in his wallet, so they called me to let me know. When I heard, I immediately called the guys and JC told me he’d call you, so…” Chris trailed off, finally speaking up. Lance sighed and put his head in his hands.
“Why was he even parked on the side of a busy road anyway? That’s just so unlike Justin. Normally he’s cautious about that stuff.”
Laney immediately began to panic. It was her who made him leave the house. It was her who got him riled up. It was her who made him park there. It was her who made him get hurt. It was her. It was all her fault. Not that she had suddenly realized this; she had spent time thinking as she drove to the hospital. It was just now, she was here in the flesh. Here in the hospital. And it all hit her that it was real.
“Laney? Laney?!? What’s the matter?!?” JC asked, leading Laney over to a chair. Laney, hearing hear, name came back to reality, and looked a JC with a serious expression.
“It was me.” She muttered, quietly.
“What do you mean it was you?” JC asked.
“It was my fault. We got into an argument, and he left really upset, and that’s why he must’ve parked. It was me.” Laney said softly, tears coming to her eyes. As much as she and Justin didn’t get along, she had never wanted him to get seriously hurt. He was her only immediate family left. The only thing she had left of her parents. She couldn’t lose him, she just couldn’t.
“Laney, it wasn’t your fault,” Joey sighed, putting a hand to Laney’s knee, “We don’t know what happened, but it wasn’t your fault. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just wait it out and find out what’s up.”
As if on cue, a doctor came into the waiting room with curious eyes.
“Is anyone here related to Mr. Timberlake?”
“I am.” Laney answered loudly, getting up out of her seat. She heard the guys get up behind her and follow her to the front of the room where the doctor stood.
“You’re his sister, I presume?” he asked quietly.
“Yes. I am his sister. These are his best friends, so they’re like brothers.” She explained, hoping the doctor would let them find out some information as well.
“All right, if you would follow me, I’ll show you to where Mr. Timberlake is resting.” He replied, motioning his hand towards the door. As they walked along the hallway, Laney was right at the doctor’s side asking him questions.
“As of now, we’re really not sure. He’s in a coma, and we don’t really have much of an idea of how he’ll continue. But, nothing is really happening now, so there’s not much I can tell you. He hit his head pretty hard from the force of the other car. His car actually crashed into a tree on the side of the road, and since he didn’t have his seatbelt on at the time, he got more injured than he could have.”
“Oh my god.” Laney groaned. She shook her head, and swallowed the lump in her throat.
“We will let you see him now, but he’s unconscious at the moment.” The doctor said, as he opened the door. Laney slowly walked in and as she took sight of Justin, she immediately wished she hadn’t come. Wires, and needles were everywhere, and Justin was as white as a ghost. To an outsider, it would’ve looked like he was dead. She took a deep breath, and turned to look at JC. He seemed just as taken aback as she did. She turned back around, and walked over to the other side of the bed. She didn’t know what to do. This was Justin. He was lying here, in a hospital bed, unconscious. Normally he was up in her face about something. The way she talked, what she wore, how she insulted his girlfriends, or something random he felt the need to pick on her about. As much as she hated to say it, she missed that. Anything was better than him lying here. Not moving. Looking as empty as a haunted house. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of happier thoughts. She almost felt tears coming to her eyes. But she couldn’t let them spill. This wasn’t something to cry about. He’d be fine. At least, that’s what Laney told herself over and over.
“Laney? Sweetheart?” she heard Chris ask her. He put a hand on her shoulder, as she turned around to look at him.
“Yeah Chris?” she sighed.
“I think we should head home. The doctor told us he’d contact us if anything happened, and it’s really late. You need sleep. I’m sure tonight wasn’t an easy night.”
“No,” Laney said strongly, “I’m staying here.”
“Why, hun? You’re tired, we all know it. This place isn’t comfortable. You definitely need sleep. There’s no if, and, or buts about it.” he replied, taking on the father role. As much as he knew Laney, wanted to stay, it just wasn’t good. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he knew she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Too much arguing, yelling, fighting, shock, drama, confusion. It wasn’t good.
“Chris… I’m happy that you care so much to even bother, but I can’t leave him here. As much as you say it wasn’t my fault, as much as you tell me I need sleep, as much as I want to run away and hide, it was my fault, I can’t sleep, and I know I can’t run away. So if I go home, I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back. Seeing him like this isn’t something any of us want to see. And I know that I need to be here. If anything happens. Even the slightest twitch or beep, or anything. I’m his only immediate family left, and I’m not leaving. As much as we fight, and argue, I wouldn’t want to wake up alone in the hospital without someone familiar near me. I owe it to him to be here. I can’t get away with this. He left because of me, but I’m gonna make sure he doesn’t wake up without me.”
Chris saw the determination flashing through her eyes, and knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere.
Giving Laney a light grin, he said, “Well since you’re Justin’s sister, I know I’m not gonna change your mind. You Timberlake’s don’t budge once you’ve made your point. Well then, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me if anything happens, all right?”
“You’ll be the first I call Chris.” Laney replied, returning his smile.
“Thanks Laney.” Chris said, giving her a hug, before he walked out the door.
Laney looked down at Justin, and sighed. She closed her eyes, and tried to think of a happier moment. Anything that would get her away from this mess. She turned around, and sat in the nearest chair. She leaned forward and laid her head in her hands. There wasn’t much more she could think about. Every time she let her mind drift, her brain would be flooded with bad thoughts. She just wished things could go back to how they used to be.
~FLASHBACK~
"Hey mom, I’m going out with JC and Chris.” said a 17 year old Justin. He appeared in the kitchen, dressed to impress.
“Where are you going, sweetheart?” Lynn, Justin’s mother, asked turning away from the dishes in the sink.
“Probably somewhere to increase his over-growing ego.” a 14 year old Laney muttered.
“Laney!” her mother yelled, “Do not insult your brother that way. Apologize now.”
She turned to look at her brother, with a smug expression on his face.
“Yeah Laney, apologize.” Justin laughed.
“I’m not apologizing to you, you freak.”
“Elaine Jordan Timberlake! Apologize now, or I’ll ground you for a month. Your brother did nothing to disrespect you.”
“What are you talking about? This morning he told Robert that I couldn’t come to the phone because I was having problems in the bathroom!” Laney said, trying to ignore Justin’s snickering from across the room.
“Oh my lord. You two. I want you both to apologize or Justin you’re not going anywhere, and Laney, you’ll be grounded.
“Him first.” Laney replied, crossing her arms.
“No. You apologize first. You ‘disrespected’ me.” he quoted his mother.
“I did nothing of a sort.”
“Well then. No apology from you, no apology from me.” Justin answered, challenging her with an evil look in his eyes.
“Fine.” Laney stood up.
“Fine.” Justin moved towards her.
“FINE”
“FINE” Justin yelled right in her face.
“Upstairs right now, you two. Justin, I expect you to respect your sister next time you want to go out, and Laney, I want you to keep your impolite comments to yourself next time you feel like lashing out at your brother.” Lynn replied, getting agitated with her children’s behavior.
“But mom, this is my break! This is the time where I need to relax and hang out, before I have to go out and promote more. Please.” Justin asked, giving her a sad look.
“Sorry young man. You can tell Christopher and Joshua that you will see them tomorrow.”
“Sucks for you, Justy.” Laney retorted.
“You know what? Shut it.” Justin said, kicking off his shoes in the closet, before turning to the stairs.
“Good comeback. Took you a lot of intelligence didn’t it?”
Justin saw his mom stifle a giggle, before guiltily looking at her son, and slyly turning back towards the sink.
“Great. Now you’ve got mom on your side. You’re a freak.”
Laney laughed as she began to walk upstairs.
“What are you laughing at? I’m serious.” Justin replied.
“Oh god. Shut up.”
As the bickering continued up the stairs, Lynn continued washing the dishes, with a smile on her face.
~END FLASHBACK~
The tears glazed over Laney’s eyes, and simple memories of her family came back to her. How did she end up like this? She had a wonderful father and mother, and a mostly annoying brother. It was a typical family. What had happened? Where did everything go wrong? Was it her? Was her family not happy? Was there something missing? She had never been the star daughter, but was her mother not pleased with her? What did she do to deserve it? Questions floated in her mind, making her skin crawl, wanting the answers. Before she could doubt herself anymore, she walked out of the room, needing to escape the place that was making her vulnerable. An emotion she didn’t like to have.
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