“JC you promised me you’d be here for my parents anniversary. You know how much I wanted you to meet them, but like always you never come through for me. I’m beginning to wonder just how much I mean to you.” Tate fumed at he boyfriend of the last eight months as she spoke to him on the phone. She knew JC really did love her, but he was always making promises he was never able to keep, and she was getting fed up.
“Baby, I swear….” he began but she cut him off.
“No I don’t want to hear anymore promises. Listen JC. If you aren’t here for my parents anniversary party tomorrow night at 8pm then you can consider us OVER.” she said through clenched teeth as she slammed the phone down onto the cradle. As soon as she hung up the phone, her face crumbled into tears as she ran up the stairs to her room. Her mother saw her and tried to stop her to see what was wrong.
“Tate, honey what’s wrong?” she asked, but all she heard was her daughters strangled sobs. Her heart ached for her, but she knew it was not her business to interfere.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
JC hung up the phone with a heavy sigh. He knew Tate was right. He was always making her promises and making plans with her and he almost never followed through on them. He was lucky she had put up with him for this long, now it was ultimatum time. Either he makes it to her parent’s party, or they are over. JC honestly didn’t know what he was going to do. He really loved Tate with all his heart, but he also had an obligation to his band mates to finish the album they had been working so hard on. Joey couldn’t help but notice JC’s look of heartache as he sat behind the control booth, trying to get his thoughts back onto the album.
“Hey Jace man, what’s up?” he asked quietly.
JC sighed before beginning, “I just talked to Tate. I told her I didn’t know if I’d be able to make it to her parents party.”
“What? She’s been planning this surprise party for her parents for months now, knowing it would be the first time they would meet you. How could you not go?”
“Joe, in case you haven’t noticed, we are in the middle of making a record here. How can I just leave?”
“Easy. Stand up, say ‘I’ll be back in a couple days.’, then drive the three hours to her house and give your girlfriend the one thing she’s always wanted from you.”
“What’s that?”
“For you to keep one of your promises.”
JC looked at Joey for a moment and knew he was right. It wouldn’t hurt for him to miss a couple days. They would all pitch in to work harder to make up for the time he was gone and he knew it. They were his best friends and he could always count on them. “Thanks Joe. You’re the best.”
“I know. That’s what I’ve been told.” he grinned up at him as JC stood to leave. “Go to your girl man and make her happy.”
“I will. Tell the others for me okay?”
“You know it. Later man.” Joey returned his attention to Justin who was laying down his part of one of the tracks in the sound booth. JC quickly drove to his house, packed an overnight bag, and headed towards Jacksonville where Tate’s parents lived. He was less than an hour outside the city limits, when a car veered into this lane and hit him head on. JC heard the faint sounds of frantic voices outside his car before suddenly it all went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tate had been lying on her bed crying off and on for the last few hours. She honestly didn’t know if she would really leave JC if he didn’t show up, but it hurt her so much when he told her he might not be able to make it to her parents party. She loved her parents so much, and she wanted them to meet the man she felt was her soul mate. The one she was meant to be with forever. Did he feel that way about her though? That was the question. As she was pondering the answer, her mother knocked on the door softly.
“Tate?” she called out.
“Mom, I really don’t want to talk about it now.” she answered, though her voice was muffled by her pillow slightly.
“Honey, there’s a phone call for you. I think you’ll want to take it.”
Tate sighed heavily and picked up the extension in her room, “What?!” she asked angrily, halfway expecting it to be JC on the other end begging her to forgive him.
“Tate? It’s Joey.”
“Joe? Oh, I’m sorry.” she blushed slightly, even though no one was there to see it. “What’s up? Don’t tell me JC got you to call to beg my forgiveness for him.”
“No, that’s not why I called. There’s something else.” he sounded so serious it scared her. Her heart began to hammer inside her chest.
“What’s going on Joey?”
“Tate…I don’t know how to tell you this. JC’s been in a car accident.” that was all she heard before the phone dropped to the floor and a scream escaped her lips before her body crumpled to the floor….
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tate’s parents drove her to the hospital as fast as they dared. She hadn’t stopped crying since she talked to Joey on the phone. All the guys were on the way to the hospital as well, but all she could think about was how much this was her fault. If she hadn’t demanded he make it to her parent’s house for their party, he wouldn’t have gotten into an accident and he would be okay. Just that one thought was making her so sick she could barely breathe. When her parents pulled into the parking lot, Tate was already halfway out the door before they could stop in front of the emergency room. She was met by all the guys and their girlfriends in the emergency room lobby.
“Joey! Is he….is he…..” she couldn’t even bring herself to say the words.
“Shhhhh,” Joey tried to soothe as he pulled her into his embrace. “The doctors say he’s going to be okay Tate. He’s got some bumps and bruises, and a slight concussion, but other than that he just has a bad headache. They’re taking him to his room now. They said he could have visitors in about twenty minutes after they get him settled.”
“If he’s okay why does he have to stay here?” she mumbled into his chest.
“Because of the concussion. They want to make sure he’s okay before they release him.” he softly brushed the hair from her face and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “No more crying okay. He’s going to be fine sweetie. Don’t worry.”
“It’s all my fault though. If I hadn’t insisted he come to my parents party or we break up, none of this would have happened.”
“Tate, it’s not your fault.” Lance said, pulling his girlfriend Jaimie closer to him. “He was on his way to your parents house because he wanted to be there.”
“But if I hadn’t…..” she started.
“You can’t dwell on the what ifs in life. Everything happens for a reason, and I think this happening was a good thing. JC wasn’t seriously hurt, but it made him realize just how precious you are to him. Sometimes situations like this help us see things more clearly.” Shannon walked up and put her arm around Joey’s waist, hugging him tightly. “You realize for a slit second what it would feel like to be without the person you love. It’s terrifying.”
“I hope you’re right. I don’t know what I would do if he blamed me for this.” she whispered, but before anyone could answer, the nurse came to lead her to JC’s room. When she got there, she was a little scared at first. All she could hear was the sound of the machines that were hooked up to him. He didn’t look very good either. He had several cuts and scrapes on his handsome face, and his arm was bandaged tightly to his chest. When he heard someone enter, he looked towards the door. Just the sight of her brought a smile to his face, until he winced in pain. Smiling caused his busted lip to hurt too badly.
“Hey baby. I’m sorry I didn’t make it.”
Tate started to respond; instead she began to sob uncontrollably into his chest. He softly stroked her head as she continued to cry her eyes out. “Shhh. It’s okay baby. I’m okay. Don’t cry anymore please.”
“But it’s all my fault Jace. If I hadn’t pressured you…” she stopped when JC held a finger to her lips.
“You didn’t make me do anything Tate. I was following my heart. It’s not your fault. It was the idiot that came into my lane’s fault. I love you Tate, and I just wanted to keep one of my promises to you.”
“I love you much JC. I don’t know what I would have done if something would have happened to you. You’re my world,” she whispered softly.
“I promise from this day forward I’ll never break another promise.” JC smiled despite the pain in his lips. “That’s a promise I’ll keep.” Tate just smiled up at him and gently kissed his lips, trying to cause him as little pain as possible. She knew all the broken promises before didn’t mean a thing. All that mattered was the promise he just made to her. A promise she was sure he would never break again.
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