Chapter 15
JC got tired of waiting up for Jessi after having a long day. His body was tense from worrying about the upset Christi he'd talked to on the phone earlier and the interview's affect on the situation. As soon as he returned home, he tried watching TV, eating, drinking a couple of beers, and attempting a restless nap to release some of his tension. Everything that is except taking a long hot shower. Getting up from his position on his bed, he decided to do just that.
Twenty minutes later, JC emerged from the bathroom relaxed and ready for some well-deserved sleep. He changed into a wifebeater and fresh pair of boxers. But just as he was about to lay his head down on his pillow to sleep, he heard the front door open and slam shut.
Not too long after JC heard the noise, he heard Jessi yelling into the phone as she stomped up the stairs. Jessi made her way to the bedroom and noticed JC was still awake.
She threw the phone into his lap, "Here. You talk to her."
With that said, Jessi placed her purse on the dresser and walked into the bathroom for a nice shower after her long day.
"Who is it?" JC yelled after her.
"Lana!" Jessi yelled back over the running water before shutting the door behind her.
Not caring what Lana had to say, JC hung up his cell phone.
Somewhat relaxed and stress-free, Jessi walked out of the bathroom with her wet hair styled in a messy bun while wearing one of her most comfortable pajama sets. She made her way to the bed and sat down Indian style, facing JC.
JC placed his phone on its charger before turning to face Jessi.
"What did she have to say?"
JC shrugged, "I don't know. I hung up."
Jessi smiled, "I knew there had to be a reason for why I'm in love with you."
"Good, but would you get under the covers already?"
Jessi crawled underneath the comforter and snuggled up against JC.
"Hey, Jace?"
"Yeah?"
"What did you and Justin do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Lana kept going on and on about having to rebuild her career for the second time thanks to you two."
"Oh, that. Lana is the type of person who thinks that all press is good so she was probably loving all the media's attention via the tabloids. When we set the record straight in an ET interview, Justin and I put a stop to all of that today…again."
"Damn these photo shoots. I always miss the good stuff," Jessi pouted.
"I had a copy of the interview sent to Christi just in case she didn't watch it. You could always watch Justin practically pour his heart out when you return."
“He really does seem lost without her, doesn't he?"
"Yeah."
"Well, since I won't see him before I leave Sunday morning, tell Justin that I'll try to help him out with Christi when I see her."
"Seriously? Why the change of mind? Not that I'm not happy, because I am."
“That bitchy ex-girlfriend of yours."
" So, basically since you despise her and she despises Justin, you're going to help him out. Am I right?"
"You understand me so well. No wonder we're so great together."
JC repeated, "Am I right?"
"Yes, you are right."
"Man, we should have introduced you to her in person. I wonder what you would have done then."
"No, thank you. She would've left the room limping. Talking to Lana on the phone was enough for me. Now, go to sleep."
"Okay. But, one thing first."
"What's that?"
JC leaned in closer for a soft kiss, " I love you, too."
When they pulled apart, Jessi playfully pushed his shoulder, "You little punk. I thought you were gonna leave me hanging."
JC chuckled, "Well, I didn't now, did I? So, go to sleep."
Jessi gave him one last peck and snuggled closer to him. "You go to sleep because I'm already dreaming. Do you know why?"
"No."
"My boyfriend just told me he loved me."
JC laughed, "You're delirious. Go to sleep."
"Okay."
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For Jessi, Saturday was just as long and tiresome as Friday was. It also didn't help her crankiness when she had to get up at the crack of dawn the next morning. Fortunately, she had time to power nap on the plane ride home.
Jessi thought that whatever energy she managed to gain from her sleep on the plane would be drained from her once she tried to plead Justin's case to Christi. She figured that her best bet would be to throw out everything she picked up about Lana from the unexpected phone call she had Friday night and the guy's good intentions toward
the situation.
However, her plan didn't exactly go down like she thought. Not that Christi hadn't forgiven Justin; Jessi just didn't have to say much. Once Christi and Jessi met up in the airport, they both just started rambling off at the mouth, not listening to each other. When they realized this, they stopped talking and laughed. All laughed out, after a minute or so, Christi gave Jessi permission to talk before stopping her mid-sentence. Christi then informed Jessi that she didn't have to say anything because Justin was already forgiven. The two women left the airport, and Christi spent the whole ride back listening to Jessi use every curse word in the book to describe Lana.
Christi and Jessi arrived home, and Christi helped Jessi take care of her luggage before popping the ET tape in the VCR for Jessi to watch. The interview lasted fifteen minutes then Christi stopped the tape and turned off the VCR.
"Man that was good."
"I know. How could I not forgive that?"
"The only way would be if you were as heartless as Lana."
"You know, you never told me what JC had to say about you talking to her."
"He told me he loved me," Jessi gushed.
"What?! It takes having you tell off Lana for him to say that!"
"Yes and no."
"Jessi, you've lost me here."
"Cliff note version. We were talking about Lana and trailed off into how he hung up on her. I told him I love him. We talked a little about Justin. Then, I said that I thought we made a good couple because he could read me so well, and he told me he loves me."
"Much better. I've never seen you so serious and happy with someone so I'm really happy for ya'll. Although, I think ya'll are so complicated."
"I know, but I like things complicated."
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Wednesday came faster than Christi could keep up. To Christi, Wednesday meant she would have to go through her first of many boring therapy sessions while some doctor tries to make her relive the accident from two years ago. She may have hated the thought of having to go to counseling but she was more nervous and scared than anything. She was nervous because the counseling could keep her from eventually going insane with taunting nightmares. She was scared because she didn't know what she was getting herself into.
Adriana sensed Christi's worries, so she asked Christi to let her call in a favor with one of the doctors that work in the same hospital as Adriana. However, the appointment would be scheduled for a later time than her current appointment was. Adriana's suggestion put Christi more at ease when Adriana told her that she wouldn't have to worry about Kaci since she could take the little girl with her on her shift. She also told Christi that she would still be waiting for her once she was done.
"Man, Adriana is a lifesaver," Christi thought. So with a snap of her fingers, Adriana managed to set up an appointment for Christi with Dr. Pac.
Another pair of fingers snapped, and Christi made it through her first session. Adriana really came through with her doctor friend. The doctor and patient may not have accomplished everything in the one session, but Christi felt at ease with Dr. Pac. She found her easy to talk to. She had Christi talking about everything in the past two years, excluding the accident because she wanted to see what she had to work with before getting into what happened. Working backwards was how she put it to Christi. Anyways, Christi told her a lot about Kaci, a little bit about Jessi and Araceli's, and a little about Jordan and Justin too. Mostly background stuff. However, Christi did leave out Justin's name and celebrity status. Mostly because she didn't feel right starting therapy with "I know Justin Timberlake." Doctor-patient confidentiality or not. It just didn't seem like a necessity yet. If and only if the time came, Christi felt that would be the only time it would come out.
Christi walked out of Dr. Pac's office. And just like Adriana promised, she and a sleeping Kaci were sitting in the lobby waiting for Christi to come out. Christi talked Adriana's ear off the whole ride back, and before she knew it, they were pulling up the driveway.
"We're here. Wanna rent some movies."
"Yeah. Let me get Kaci to bed and call Justin. Then, I'm all yours. You wanna wait out here? I shouldn't be long."
""Actually, I'm coming in. This child seems attached to my bladder lately, if you know what I mean."
Christi laughed, "Yeah. Go ahead. Jessi's in there. I'll just get Kaci and lock your doors."
Adriana made it inside, but almost wet herself when she saw who was waiting for Christi on the living room couch.
"Hey, Justin."
Justin was going to respond, but as fast as Adriana appeared, she disappeared. Fortunately, the one person he came for didn't leave once she saw him sitting there.
Day after day, Jessi tried reassuring Justin that Christi forgave him. The problem was that he didn't believe Jessi. Not that he was at fault for that. Christi had yet to try contacting him in any way. How was he supposed to know if Christi was still mad at him or not? So, after five days of waiting, Justin decided to find out for himself by doing a surprise visit to the house.
"Hey. I was just gonna call you."
"No, you weren't."
"Yes, I was. Ask Adriana."
"Well, I'm here now. What do you wanna talk about?"
Christi nervously sat down next to him and placed Kaci on the floor in front of her. Christi kept her eyes on Kaci as she started talking, "I saw the interview."
"So, I've heard."
"Well, did you mean all that stuff because I had no idea?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't have said all of that on national TV if I didn't mean it. And just so you know, I never grovel like that so appreciate it."
"I do. So, does this make you my best friend again?"
"Look's like you're stuck with me."
Justin hugged her and she returned it. Christi pulled away from the hug when she realized Kaci needed to be put to bed. "Good. Now, wait here. I gotta get Kaci to her crib. You can tell the others they can come in the room now."
Christi nestled Kaci in her crib, turned on the baby monitor, and left her room. When she returned to the living room, she not only found Justin, Adriana, and Jessi, but she also found JC practically attached to Jessi at the hips.
"Don't you ever get tired of her? I know I do."
Jessi stuck her tongue out at Christi. "Nope."
Christi rolled her eyes, "Well, are ya'll sticking around for movies? Adriana and I were just about to rent some."
Christi heard a chorus of three yeses. "Any request?"
"Kill Bill: Volume 2."
"Bulletproof Monk."
"The Butterfly Effect"
Adriana grabbed her keys, and Christi followed her out the door.
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Christi looked away from the television screen and noticed that everyone except Justin and herself had fallen asleep.
Her eyes stopped on Jessi and JC. Christi was happy for them yet jealous at the same time. She wished that she could be in love like that. She thought back about how she used to have that with Jordan. Everyone knows how that turned out. And, through all her heartache, she wanted what she had with Jordan back. Not necessarily with Jordan as the male in her life. Or any other cheating abuser, at that. She could also do without the unhappily ever after ending.
I sit alone
In the dark theatre watchin' the people go by
Hand in hand
Everybody but me
Oh
I stay behind
Watchin' the credits roll by
Roll roll roll right by me
Her eyes wandered some more stopped on Adriana. Adriana had the whole pregnancy glow going for her even as she slept. Christi was sure she had it when she was pregnant. But, she was also aware her glow wasn’t as big as Adriana. Christi couldn’t help but think it had something to do with her brother playing the supportive husband and soon-to-be-father. Don’t get Christi wrong. Jordan was there for her. At times that is. Looking back, Christi realized how Jordan wasn’t too excited about her being pregnant and encouraged her to abort the baby by saying the pregnancy would get in the way of her work and they weren’t ready for a child yet. Christi didn’t understand how Jordan figured they weren’t ready. They were high school sweethearts, married, and in it for the long haul. Obviously, Jordan thought otherwise. However, he played father figure a month later. Of course, she now knew it was all an act. It wasn’t until she was seven months pregnant when her marriage to Jordan took a turn for the worse. She started noticing the way Jordan distanced himself from her and constantly flirt with her cousin, and for the most part, she wrote it off as hormones. Hormones that she managed to hold in for a month before she confronted him about it. Everyone knows how that turned out too.
I take a walk
The streets are busy tonight
And I am searching for you
Waiting to brush your shoulder
But I'm alone
I watch the faces roll by
Roll roll roll right by me
But I know, I won't cry
Cause' there's somebody somebody somebody waitin' for me
Out in the rain
She moved along to the only other person awake. Justin was a different story than the rest. He didn’t really have anything she outright envied. Yeah, some people would say they wanted what fame bought him and the reputation. Christi, on the other hand, didn’t.
She knew that the high of fame did not cancel out the downside of having someone’s private life exploited publicly and some of the jaded praises and endless phoniness. Christi knew what it was like to be in such a position but on a much smaller scale. All throughout junior high and high school, Christi landed herself a spot in what was considered the popular clique. She was only known because she was the star of the swim team. Christi didn’t like the way her swimming ability considered her any better then anyone else. Most of all, she didn’t like how everyone claimed to know her for the attention it would get them. It irritated her even more when people thought they had her all figured out. And when she would do something out of the supposed norm for ‘Swim Star Christi,’ people seemed shocked. They wrote it off as a temporary phase. And if that didn’t bother her, the way people ‘personally’ spoke about her really irked her. Christi felt that everyone was so caught up in making names for themselves in high school that they didn’t give a shit about each other and couldn’t careless about really getting to know her by sitting down and having a real conversation with her.
How many words will go unspoken
'Til I hear knockin' on my door
I'm not talkin' the night I spent heart broken
But tonight I know
I won't cry no more
Oh
I lie awake
I left the porch light on
I hope it helps you to find your way
Outside
I hear the thunder roll by
Roll roll roll right by me
The only people Christi considered to know the real her were Jessi and Jordan. She knew Jessi ever since the first grade when the young Hispanic told little Tommy to stop picking on defenseless Christi or else. As for Jordan, Christi didn’t befriend him as fast as she did Jessi. At first, Christi wrote him off like the other conceded jocks he hung out with. It wasn’t until he continued to pursue her for four months sophomore year and actually talk to her that he got her attention. And from there, the rest was history. And now, she could erase Jordan’s name from her list and add Justin’s.
Despite the fact that she didn’t envy Justin, she saw something different in him. She saw hope in him. Yeah, she knew he saw it in her and Kaci because he told her over and over again. But, Christi saw hope in him too. Beside her sat a man who had been to hell and back the past several months just like her. But together, they’ve pulled strength from each other through the ordeals of Marci, Jordan, Marcela, and Lana. And together, they both came out alright. No, better than just alright. They came out on top as inseparable partners that were unbreakable.
But I know, I won't cry
Cause' there is somebody somebody somebody waitin' for me
Out in the rain
Not gonna cry tonight
No cause there is somebody waitin' for me
Not gonna cry tonight
Christi continued to stare at Justin as wishful thinking started to reel around in her head. “Just maybe,” she thought, “Nah. It would never happen. He’s still getting over Marci. Plus, the divorce just got finalized not too long ago. I’m not ready for something else so soon. We’re both vulnerable and in no need of breaking one of the few closest friendship bonds either of us has had.”
I stay behind
Watchin' the credits roll by
Roll roll roll right by me
Deciding not to wish for what she couldn’t have, Christi turned her attention back to Bulletproof Monk.
Mr. Kojima: Don't worry. Karr can take care of himself. That's part of why I trust him to help me.
Jade: What's the other part?
Mr. Kojima: Just don't know why, but I keep thinking, 'That kid's got potential.'
Jade: So they tell me.
Christi whispered to Justin, "I got it."
Justin whispered back, "Got what?"
"Your nickname."
"What is it?"
"Karr."
"Why? Why can't I be the monk? The monk fights better and dodges bullets. Plus, he does that cool gun thing over the car."
"Because ‘you've got potential' like Karr. He just reminds me of you. That’s all."
"If I'm Karr, are you my Jade?"
"Jade A.K.A. Bad Girl. Yeah. Now, shush. Everyone is sleeping, and I've never seen this before."
"You started talking to me first. How can you shush me? And, you not a see a movie? I'm shocked. You're supposed to be the movie queen."
"Shh."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
“Somebody” by Bonnie McKee
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