A/N: (This chapter switches back and forth from Rachel's point of view to Lynn's point of view--just to letcha know so you're not confused! And thanks for continuing to review! This is THE chapter that it all goes down--DUN DUN DUN--LOL!)
----------
Ugh. I’m so tired. I just spent a day of rehearsing from 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon at the dance studio AND the recording studio. I have to admit it got my mind off of things, but all I wanna do right now is just lazily fall asleep on the couch.
I pull into my driveway and I see another car parked there. Now, I know I’ve seen this car before, but I look over at the front of the house to see if there’s anyone there.
I see my mother-in-law, Lynn, sitting on the porch.
Oh yeah, this goes to show how tired I really am.
I liked Lynn from the moment Justin introduced me to her on NSYNC’s first tour. She’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. And plus, my middle name’s Lynn so you gotta love it. Why she’s sitting on the steps and not on one of the couches is beyond my mind, but just dismiss it.
I step out of the car and head over to Lynn. It looks like she’s got something on her mind. I don’t blame her. She’s one of the other people that are taking Justin’s loss really hard”almost harder than me.
“Hey Mama Lynn!”
“Hey there, sweetheart,” Lynn says.
Immediately I could tell she wasn’t herself.
I sit down on the porch next to her and turn myself to face her.
“Is something wrong?” I ask.
**********
It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and I finally got the guts to even show up at the house today. I said I would tell Rachel today and I am. I know she has rehearsal until 4 so I’ll just wait for her on the porch.
I have no idea how Rachel’s gonna react. It’s scaring me so much inside. I had told both Justin and Trace that I was going to do this. This is my fault that she doesn't know. Plus, it put a smile on Justin's face that he would soon get to his wife again. The rest of the guys and Elisha know Justin’s alive now and have been in and out of the hospital today taking turns visiting. They all got shocked, unsure, and confused of how this happened, but luckily, there didn’t end up being a yell in the room at all. They all forgave me and pushed it aside as if nothing like that happened.
Sometimes those people are just too nice.
I know that’s not how it’s gonna turn out with Rachel, even though I’m praying it does. I had no intentions of doing this to her. She’s one of the nicest girls I’ve ever met. She wasn’t like Justin’s other girlfriends. She acts normal around people as if she’s never heard of the word ‘famous’. And that’s what I liked about her so much. She kept her identity that she had from the beginning and that’s rare in the music industry.
I wait for a half-hour until I hear a car pull in the driveway.
Well, she’s home. It’s now or never.
She comes over and smiles, but then gets a concerned face.
Great. She already knows there’s something up.
“Hey Mama Lynn!”
“Hey there, sweetheart,” I say, still afraid of what will happen.
Rachel takes a seat on the porch and turns to face me.
“Is something wrong?” She asks.
Oh dear, here we go. I have to do this.
“Kind of..yes. Rachel, there’s something that I need to tell you and I have no idea how you’re gonna take it.”
Rachel snorts. Not the time to be joking around, honey.
“Believe me Lynn, nothing could be worse than what I’m going through already. You can tell me.”
Oh, but you’re so wrong, Rachel. Just wait until you hear what leaves my mouth.
“Rachel…I know you probably won’t believe this…but…Justin…he’s alive..” I say slowly.
Rachel stares at me and then she starts to do something I wasn’t expecting--she laughs.
Oh dear, this is gonna be harder than I thought it would be.
**********
“Rachel…I know you probably won’t believe this…but…Justin…he’s alive..” Lynn says slowly.
I begin to laugh. That’s what I’ve been wishing ever since that night in February. Poor Lynn, she really is hurting.
I finally stop laughing and get serious.
“Oh Lynn, I wish he was alive, too. You have no idea how real I want that to be. But it’s impossible.”
Lynn looks away, “Oh, anything’s possible, honey.”
I then begin to realize she’s not joking around. That she actually thinks this is real.
“Lynn,” I say slowly, “you’re not serious…are you? I mean, we both heard the doctor that night in the emergency room and..”
“That’s what the doctor said, Rachel, but that wasn’t the entire truth,” Lynn interrupts.
I just stare at her. She really sounds like she means what she’s saying. But how can it be? I was there at the hospital…I heard every word.
What’s happening?
“Lynn,” I say, starting to get upset, “are you kidding me?!”
Lynn looks up at me and gets a worried face, “..No, I’m not. Sweetie, you may have heard what the doctor said in the waiting room, but there’s something else that happened that night.”
I listen as Lynn tells me the story of how the doctors hadn’t pulled the plug yet, but was about to until she stopped them and demanded that Justin stay on life support. I just sit there in shock as she continues to tell me of how he went in a coma and woke up 2 days ago.
“It’s a miracle, Rachel. He’s really here. And I couldn’t be more thankful.”
I sit there in complete shock. She IS telling the truth.
Everybody’s talking, but they don’t say a thing
They look at me with sad eyes but I don’t want the sympathy
But my feelings start to take over me and I start to explode slowly.
“So you’re telling me I’ve been devastated over my husband’s ‘supposed’ death for the past 2 months and you’ve kept this from me?!”
Lynn starts to panic, “I didn’t want to sweetheart! I’ve wanted to tell you so many times, but I just…didn’t..”
“Lynn! How could you!? How could you keep something like this from me?! I had a right to know AS SOON AS YOU HAD THAT TALK WITH THE DOCTOR! I’M HIS FREAKIN WIFE FOR GOD’S SAKE!” I shout as I start to walk off the porch and into the driveway.
It’s cool you didn’t want me
Sometimes you can’t go back
But why’d you have to go and make a mess like that?
“Rachel, wait!” Lynn says as she comes after me and meets me in the middle of the driveway, “I know I kept you from that, I know all of that, and I’m so, so sorry! I regret not telling you so bad!”
“Does everyone else know!?” I ask.
“Yes, everyone else knows. Obviously it’s not in the public, yet, but the guys know, Elisha knows, the family knows..” Lynn explains as she cries.
“So not only do I not know about all of this, but I’m the one WHO FINDS OUT LAST!?”
Lynn stands there quietly, unsure of what to say next.
I used to have a great deal of respect for Lynn. She was one of those people I felt could be honest with me.
Guess I was wrong.
“I’m sorry, Rachel,” Lynn says as she continues to cry.
I can’t take this anymore. I need to get out of here.
Well I just have to say before I let go
I shake my head in disgust at her and run toward the back of the house.
Have you ever been low?
Have you ever had a friend that let you down so?
When the truth came out, were you the last to know?
Were you left out in the cold?
Cause what you did was low
“RACHEL, WAIT!” Lynn cries as she starts to come after me.
I run as fast as I can and quickly start to go down the hill that leads to the beach. Realizing Lynn is following, I quickly find a place to hide behind a bunch of bushes, knowing this would be a great hiding place thanks to my sister, Sarah.
No I don’t need your number
There’s nothing left to say
Except I never thought it’d hurt this much to be sane
My friends are outside waiting, I’ve gotta go
“RACHEL!” Lynn shouts as she looks around for me.
“RACHEL, COME BACK PLEASE! I’M SO SORRY! SWEETIE, PLEASE COME BACK!”
Lynn looks around for a little more and finally gives up. She cries as she walks up the hill and I hold back my tears until I can’t hear her anymore.
As soon as I know she’s gone, it begins to rain. It fits the mood as I begin to cry hysterically.
Have you ever been low?
Have you ever had a friend that let you down so?
When the truth came out, were you the last to know?
Were you left out in the cold?
Cause what you did was low
It’s a miracle Justin’s alive--I know that and I’m grateful for another chance with him. That’s not what I’m upset about.
I’m upset about how I was lied to. I’m upset how I wasn’t there for Justin every step of the way. I’m upset how I wasn’t there when he woke up.
I’m upset because what’s left of my heart has been shattered to pieces.
**********
Lynn walks slowly to the door of Justin’s room and tries to calm down.
She couldn’t find Rachel anywhere after she ran off. She tried her best, but gave up. After she went up the hill, she got in her car and cried the whole way to the hospital.
She wanted to go back in time so bad and change everything. Change how she hadn’t told Rachel that night. She wanted to change that Justin would have never been in that accident so that this hell of a nightmare would have never happened.
She opens the door slowly and closes it as she enters the room. She can hear Lance, JC, Trace, Elisha, and Justin talking in some sort of conversation until all of a sudden they burst into laughter.
‘They better enjoy that cause that won’t be happening in a minute’ she thinks in her head.
Lynn walks further into the room and everyone notices her enter.
“Hey Mom,” Justin says.
Lynn notices he has that smile on his face again. She missed that so much.
Too bad it’s gonna be gone soon.
“Hi sweetheart,” she says.
Everyone notices a tear roll down her cheek and immediately knows that something’s wrong.
“…Lynn, what’s wrong?...” Trace says slowly, having an idea of what’s going on.
“Did you go talk to her, Mom?” Justin asks.
Lynn walks over to the side of the bed while she tries to not cry.
“I did talk to her. I told her everything…but…”
“But what, Mom?...” Justin asks, afraid to know what she’s about to say.
“…She ran away after I told her...” Lynn says as she begins to cry again.
Everyone in the room is silent. They’re so anxious to know what happened.
But they decide to wait until Lynn calms down.
Would life ever be normal again?
----------
Song credit: Low”Kelly Clarkson
Number of reviews: 41
Print:
Chapter or Story