Jessi stepped back into Christi’s room, "I just called Chris, and he said that your mom, Courtney, Adriana, and he are on their way over."
Christi smiled sleepily at the thought of her family and that was the only response Jessi could tell that she was getting out over her groggy friend.
"I'm gonna let you get your rest, chica. And, I'll be in the cafeteria if
you need me."
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RING. RING.
"Hola."
"What on earth has gotten into that hard head of yours?! Who the hell runs off during the middle of the photoshoot with Diego Ruchi?!"
"First of all, lose that damn tone in your voice. Secondly, there was an emergency. Ruchi or no Ruchi, I would have left anyways. And third of all, go screw yourself," Jessi commented before taking a sip of her energy drink.
"So what's the big emergency?"
"Christi went into labor," she calmly stated.
"What does that have to do with you?"
Jessi ranted a few Spanish obscenities at her agent before she hung up on him.
CLICK.
Jessi sighed heavily and angrily began to spread cream cheese over a bagel. "A model doesn't eat this. They eat that. Models don't have lives. Ruchi is priority. God forbid, modeling doesn't come first," she mumbled.
"You okay?" a male voice questioned with concern after hearing some of her conversation while he poured himself a cup of coffee.
She looked up and thought he looked familiar. His blue eyes staring down into her brown ones almost took all of her strength to muster a phony model smile and a sarcastic "just great."
"Man that was good." JC smirked.
Jessi asked confused by his response, "What?"
"That was better than Justin's"
Still confused, "Huh?"
JC imitates her smile and sarcasm to clue her in.
"Oh, so you know the trick I take it."
"All too well, in my opinion. So, why are you `just great'? If you don't mind me asking, that is. By the way, I'm JC and you are…"
Jessi playfully mocked, "JC who? If you don't mind me, that is."
JC chuckled at her response, "Chasez."
"I'm Jessica Gonzalez, but I go by Jessi." The name finally sinking in, "oh, so you're The JC Chasez, huh?"
With reddening checks, JC spoke, "So I take it you've heard of NSYNC?"
Seeing his uneasiness, she nodded and lightly joked, "Take a seat because I think you're in for a ride, if you really want to know why I'm `just great' as you put it."
JC smirked, "Oh no. What I have I gotten myself into?"
Jessi smirked at the amount of ease she obtained around JC considering celebrity status and began to tell him her adventure from running out on Ruchi, picking up Christi at her restaurant (Araceli's), the mess in her car, Christi's labor, and her little
modeling confliction. JC smiled as he watched her ad lib her story with Spanish commentary. This was a woman that definitely knew how to hold her own.
"So what's the baby's name?' he asked as she finished telling him everything about the night's events.
"Kaci Marcela" Jessi answered proudly.
At the mention of the baby's middle name, Jessi noticed JC's smile suddenly fade but decided against commenting on it. "So what brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be putting the finishing touches on your album? To Houston, Texas of all places?" She questioned instead.
JC plastered on a somewhat decent facial expression and explained Marci's situation. As he finished talking, he noticed the seat in front of him empty and felt engulfed by to feminine arms. For once, the acquaintance's arms weren't clinging. More like comforting. Comfortable in her arms, JC began to softly cry on her shoulder as
she soothingly rubbed his lower back. After about fifteen minutes of the supporting embrace, JC broke the silence. "Now, look what I've done," he said motioning to the wet spot of tears embedded on her jacket.
"Hey, you needed it. And my shoulder always welcome The JC," She joked.
"Thanks, I guess I should get back to Justin and check up on Marci."
"Yeah, you should. Can you come find me before you leave, though? I have a certain something or shall I say someone who I would like you to meet. I'll explain it to you when you meet her."
"As long as she’s not an obsessed fan," he stated half-joking.
"Well, not yet anyways." She winked at him.
"Okay. See ya later."
"Later," she mumbled more to herself in a daze, watching him disappear out the cafeteria.
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Hurrying out the cafeteria, JC runs into what seems to be a lifeless body wondering around. Realization struck him when he got a better look of the face. It was Justin.
JC mustered out, "I thought you were in the waiting room. I was just coming to check on Marci."
JC watched as his band mate, void of any emotion, slumped to the floor and banged his head against the wall. "She's gone, Jace," he sighed inaudibly.
"What?"
"She's gone, Jace. She's gone!" his voice escalated.
JC's skin paled and eyes widen full of shock, as tears were aimlessly unleashed on his cheeks. He, too, slumped to the floor, repeating his friend's action of banging his head on the wall. Neither capable, mentally or physically, to comfort the other.
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BANG.
Jessi sighs looking back and forth between her bagel and phone. Only to chunk the two items across the room. The bagel managed to smash and stick to a vending machine while the phone broke into three pieces, which were thrown in different directions upon impact of hitting the vending machine.
"To hell with modeling. Who are you trying to fool, Jessica Gonzalez? You live for it." She thought.
BANG.
The second bang brought out of her thoughts. "What the-," she said, noticing two forms slumped lifeless down the hall. Approaching the bodies, she instantly recognized the longhaired brunette.
"JC?"
JC pathetically turned his head toward the voice that called out his name and softly said, "She's gone, Jessi."
Shocked, Jessi looked between the two bodies before her eyes and she unleashed a single tear while biting her bottom lip, trying to find some kind of comforting response. The next thing JC knew he had been pulled into another one of her comforting hugs, with her squatting in front of him as he wept on her shoulder for the second time that night. After a few moments, JC sniffled to Justin, "This is Jessica,
but she goes by Jessi."
Justin sadly greeted her, "Hey."
Knowing JC needed to cry on her shoulder for a while; she slumped back against the wall next to him and pulled his head to lean on her shoulder as her arm soothingly stroked the small of his back. Her legs were extended and crossed in front of her the more comfortable she could be on a hospital floor. Looking over to the other lifeless body in
front of her, she pulled his head into her lap as he lay out on the other side of her and began to delicately massage his head as he blankly stared at the wall he was just slumped up against.
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"Jessi?"
Sleepily looking up, Jessi notices Christi's cousin (Courtney), Christi's twin (Chris), and Chris’s wife (Adriana). Jessi motioned for them to come over, but to speak softly as to not wake up Justin and JC, who had fallen a sleep in the same positions up against Jessi. "Hey."
They all gave her questioning looks.
"A friend of theirs just past away," she answered.
The looks continued, telling her to further explain, but Jessi noticed Justin and JC began to stir in their sleep. "I'll explain more later. Did you see Christi yet?" she questioned.
"Actually, we were on our way out and came looking for you for her. She said you came down here and wanted us to ask you to check up on Kaci for her."
The guys finally woke but to three pairs of eyes gazing on them and tiredly sat up. JC looked over uneasily to Jessi as Justin was just uncomfortable, thinking how the people towering over them could be obsessed NSYNC fans.
Jessi gave JC a reassuring smile and simply introduced the two to Christi's family. Then, she told Christi's cousin, brother and sister-in-law to go ahead and that she and the guys would follow Christi's request.
As the family disappeared down the hall, out of sight, JC worriedly asked, "What exactly did Christi request for us to do?"
Jessi hesitantly reminded him, "You remember when I told you to come find me so I can introduce you to someone?"
JC simply nodded, understanding what she was telling him. "Do you think you two will be up to it due to everything that happened tonight? Meeting her, she might actually help because she seems to have this calming effect on people. It's up to you though."
She looked back and forth between Justin and JC for their responses. JC looked to Justin as he simply sighed an "okay".
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"Serena?"
Christi's mother looked up and noticed Jordan, Christi's husband, speaking to her, "Hey. How does it feel to finally be a dad?"
"Overwhelming," he lied, "Do know what room Christi is in?"
"Room 406. She's resting now, but I know she'll be happy to see you."
"Thanks. I'll see you around." Jordan said, headed to the room.
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JC and Justin gasped at Kaci when they set eyes on her. She looked so familiar to them.
"Come with me," Jessi smiled at their reaction.
The guys followed her the short distance down the hall into two sets of glass doors that led to the newborn babies. Jessi stopped to talk to a nurse, who opened the door to the room they entered. Justin and JC recognized the room as the very one that they were just staring into. They also noticed Jessi at one particular baby cradle and gazed down adorably at the little girl. They both soon followed suit as Jessi motioned them over. Justin soon broke the silence, "What's her name?"
Remembering the name Jessi told him earlier in the cafeteria during their little chat, JC's head shot up quickly. Noticing his uneasiness, Jessi subtly walked over to Justin and lightly squeezed his hand as she softly answered him, "Kaci Marcela Pierce."
Jessi and JC watched as Justin, who now concentrated solely on the baby girl's steady breathing, unleash a single tear from behind his eyes, trying to refrain from being too hysterical; he blinked back the rest of the tears that were threatening to fall.
"She's beautiful" was all he could manage to say.
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