It's A Roller Coaster Ride We're On

Near the end of April we were in Florida and the boys were just starting a concert. Lauren and I were backstage as per usual chatting with Denise. Everything was going smoothly. Then… my phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Melissa… it’s Aunt Patty.”

“Oh hey Aunt Patty…What’s going on?” I asked.

“Honey,” she said, sounding apprehensive. “Your father is in the hospital.”

“What?” I asked, my eyes opening wide. Sure even though I don’t see eye to eye with my parents, they’re still my parents.

“He had a heart attack and he’s in the hospital having some tests done. Your mother would have called you but she’s been so busy talking to doctors and her lawyer.”

“Her lawyer?” I asked alarmed.

“Just as a precaution.” She said quickly, hoping to calm me down.

“I’m on my way. Tell Mom I’m coming.” I said, hanging up the phone. Lauren and Denise looked at me.

“Honey, are you okay?” Denise asked, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Oh, my God,” I exclaimed, putting a hand over my mouth.

“Denise,” Kevin Sr. said, walking over.

“Shush,” she said, waving a hand at him. “Melissa, what’s going on?”

“I… I um, my father is in the hospital.”

“What?”

“Yeah, he collapsed or something; a heart attack. I don’t know. I need a cab. I need to call a cab. Where’s the phone? I need, um, can somebody give me—I’m holding a phone.”

“Whoa, calm down.” Lauren said, walking closer to me.

“No I can’t calm down. I need a cab. God, it’s something cabs, or cabs something, something. 1-800-CABS? Can somebody tell me the damn number of the cab guy?” I shouted.

“Honey, honey, listen to me,” Denise said, pulling me into her. “Rob will walk you outside. He will flag down a cab for you to take you to the airport. You can catch a plane back to California and go check on your father and see your family.” I sniffled to hold back tears and nodded my head.

“I’ll call my uncle and explain okay. You go. I love you hon.” Lauren said, hugging me.

“I love you too. Don’t tell the boys until after the concert.” I said, walking backwards towards Rob.

“We won’t.” Lauren said. I gave one last wave before turning around and practically running outside with Rob. I’ve got to get home.

****

Joe’s POV

Now it’s time for Nick to start A Little Bit Longer solo so Kevin and I walked backstage for a breather. I walked over to Mom and Lauren but didn’t see Lyss anywhere.

“Hey guys,” Lauren said. Something was wrong with her voice, it didn’t sound right.

“Where’s Lyss?” was the first thing out of my mouth. Lauren bit her lip and looked at my Mom who nodded her head.

“She’s on her way to the airport. Her dad’s in the hospital back in California… they think he had a heart attack.” She said.

As soon as she finished talking I bolted for the exit. They all called after me. The security guys tried to stop me but I shoved them out of the way. I had to be there with Lyss. She needs someone… that someone will be me.

I ran outside into the warm Florida air and stopped the first cab I saw. I told the driver to take me to the airport. The whole way there I couldn’t keep still… my knees were bouncing up and down. This is going to be hard for her. I bet she’s going to feel guilty… I know she doesn’t have the best relationship with them. I ran into the airport after throwing some money onto the drivers’ seat and looked around. There she was, standing in line at the ticket counter, her foot tapping the floor nervously.

“Lyss!” I called out.

****

Lauren’s POV

“Mom, Dad, what are we supposed to do? Joe and I are supposed to go out there and finish the song with Nick.” Kevin said.

“You go out there, John will go too and you two will finish with Nick. Then, you will explain that the concert has to end early, Joe got sick. Everyone will get their money back. That’s all we can do for now.” Kevin Sr. said.

“Alright…” he said, sounding unsure. I reached up and gave him a kiss. “I’m worried about how Nick will react.” He admitted to me.

“I know. Joe running after her is not going to be an easy thing to explain.” I said, glancing out to Nick on the stage. “Okay, go out and finish this up.” I said.

Kevin and John walked onstage, playing their guitars. I watched the audiences’ reaction. They all looked thoroughly confused to not see Joe there but they remained silent. I watched Nick’s reaction too. He looked just as confused. I bit my lip and ran my fingers through my hair. When the song was done, Kevin explained what happened, that Joe “got sick”. They all seemed disappointed but understood; they all felt bad that Joe was sick. None of them wanted money back. Kevin, Nick, and the band ran backstage.

“What’s going on? Where’s Joe?” Nick asked breathlessly; a sheen of sweat visible on his forehead. “Wait a sec… where’s Mel?”

He looked at his parents first, then me, and then Kevin. None of us looked directly at him.

“Guys, what’s going on?” he asked, sounding panicked now.

“Honey… Melissa’s father had a heart attack. She’s on her way to the airport to fly back to California.”

“What about Joe?”

We all hesitated. None of us wanted to answer that one.

“Laur?” he asked, looking at me. “Mom? Kevin come on, where’s Joe?”

“He left as soon as he heard.” Kevin said softly. Nick balled his hands into fists, clenching and unclenching them. His face turned red with anger.

“Well what are we waiting for?” he shouted. “Let’s go.”

****

It seemed like forever but the cab finally reached the airport. I looked at my watch. It had taken all of fifteen minutes. I paid the driver and ran inside up to the American Airlines counter. I joined the queue line and waited impatiently. My foot was tapping on the floor. Another fifteen minutes later and the line had barely moved.

“Lyss!” I heard someone shout. My head whipped around, only one person in the world calls me that. I searched for him and there he was, standing in front of the doors, breathing heavily.

“Joe? What are you doing here? What about the concert?” I asked as he joined me in line.

“Screw the concert. I came as soon as Lauren told me.”

“I told her not to tell you guys until you were done.” I said and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m going with you.”

“But… but…” I said, at a loss for words.

“No buts, come on, the line’s moving.” He said.

****

Ten minutes later, our plane was boarding. We got the last two tickets. To be honest, I’m glad Joe was coming. I don’t think I could have done this alone. We sat in our seats as the plane took off, I was anxious the entire time.

“Lyss, when was the last time you actually spoke to your parents?” he asked randomly as we flew somewhere over the mid United States.

“Two years ago at mine and Lauren’s high school graduation party. They actually came. I think Lauren’s aunt and uncle begged them to come saying stuff like ’your only child’s graduation from high school… you should be proud… put things aside…’ blah blah blah. I really was surprised that they showed up. They even hugged me… but they didn’t really have smiles on their faces. It wasn’t like they wanted to come. It was like… they were obligated to come.” I said, tears forming in my eyes.

“Sh, come here.” He said, pulling me into him. I cried into his chest as he smoothed the hair on my head. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed slow circles on my back. “It’s going to be okay.”

****

Nick’s POV

“Four hours!” I exclaimed.

“Nicholas calm down,” Mom said, putting her hand on my shoulder.

“How am I supposed to calm down? My girlfriend’s father is in the hospital and the only person with her is my brother who is head over heels for her and jealous of the fact that I’m with her and I won’t be there with her for another seven to eight hours!” I ranted as we sat in the secluded seating area for us. We were all here, my parents, brothers, Lauren, and the band and Rob.

“Honey you know Joseph wouldn’t do anything.” She said, trying to calm me down.

“I can’t believe that Mom.”

“Nicholas Jerry Jonas.” She said in her ’Mom’ voice. “You listen to me; you will never accuse your brother of breaking your heart like that. He would never take a girl from you he loves you too much to do that to his own brother. Have some faith in him.”

“Sorry Mom.” I mumbled, looking at my feet.

****

“Okay, we’re supposed to follow the blue line around the corner and then we should be…” Joe said as we walked through the halls of the hospital back in California.

“Where’s the scarecrow when you need him?” I asked, throwing my hands in the air and looking around frantically.

“Okay we have to ask someone else,” he said, looking around.

“No! No! We just have to pick one!” I exclaimed.

“Uh, well, we just can’t wander around here aimlessly.”

“Joe, listen to me. Somewhere in this hospital are my mother and my father. Now I know I don’t get along with them, but there has to be some sort of intuition, some sort of blood bond that will somehow lead me to them.” I explained. He was silent for a minute as he stared at me.

“That’s crazy.” He said. Then, I heard my mother’s voice. It sounded like she was shouting at someone…

“And that’s Marie.” I said, walking towards the voice.

“His portrait is hanging in the lobby! Go look, it is right under the sign that says ’founder’!” she exclaimed.

“Mom!”

“Melissa?” she asked, looking at me confused.

“What’s going on? How is he?” I asked frantically.

“You came.” She said surprised.

“Of course I came!” I said. I can’t believe she didn’t think I’d come. “How’s Dad?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out. But this woman keeps pestering me with idiotic questions like the number of my insurance policy, and how long we’ve had it.” she said, gesturing to the annoyed looking nurse standing at the desk.

“I need to get this information.” The nurse said.

“You need to get sensitivity training.” My mother snapped back.

“What if I fill out, uh, this information and you can go find someone who can tell us how my Dad is?” I asked the nurse. Joe was standing behind me, his arm on my lower back.

“I’m not supposed to—“

“Or, I can go and you can stay here and continue to discuss this with my mother.” She looked over at my mother who was staring her down.

“I’ll go.” She said.

“Thank you.” I said, smiling at her.

“You got rid of her.” my mother said astonished.

“Yes so,” I said, looking at Joe, “tell me what happened.”

“That was amazing.” She said, not paying any attention to me.

“Mom, please.”

“I don’t know what happened. He was hot, and he went to get a glass of water, and then… were you on a date?” she asked, just noticing Joe.

“What?”

“You have an escort.” She said, still staring at Joe.

“No, Mom, this is Joe.”

“Which is her way of saying, we weren’t on a date.” He said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” I said quickly, placing my hand on his arm. He smiled at me and nodded his head.

“How am I supposed to know you weren’t on a date? It’s Friday night and you show up here with a man.”

“With Joe, Mom.”

“It’s not insane to assume a date was involved.”

“Mom, Lauren and I were assigned to interview and photograph Joe and his brothers for a new book. They’re a band… the Jonas Brothers. You may have heard of them…”

“Oh, that’s right.” She said, still looking at Joe.

“We were in Florida and they had a concert when I got the message. He came after me to the airport when he heard and we flew out here. End of story. Is Dr. Reynolds here?”

“Yes, Joshua got here awhile ago. He was supposed to come back the minute he knew something but he hasn’t been back yet.”

“Well, let’s go find him.”

“You can’t find him. You can’t find anyone. Everyone’s just disappearing behind those doors.” She said, gesturing towards the double doors at the end of the hall.

“Well, come on, let’s go.” I said, walking towards the doors…. After Mom and I secured a few things I went back to sit with Joe. Mom came back out and went to get a few things for Dad and Joe and I talked while we waited. A few minutes later someone walked out pushing my father on a gurney.

“Uh, how is he?” I asked following the guy, Joe behind me.

“He’s a little groggy right now.”

“But what’s going on? How—how were the tests?”

“The doctor will have to tell you that. I’m just a transport guy.”

“When is the doctor coming out?”

“I’m not sure but you can go in with your Dad until he gets here.”

“Thanks.”

“Go ahead. I’m good.” Joe said, pointing towards the door.

“Uh, that’s okay.” I said, hesitating outside the door. “I’m going to go find my Mom and tell her he’s back up.”

“I can tell her when she gets here.” He said.

“That’s okay. Uh, I think she’d like to know now.” I said, turning around. “Ah!”

“Melissa. You almost ran me over.” Mom said.

“Well, good thing we’re in a hospital.”

“Where were you going?”

“To find you. They just brought Dad up.”

“When?” she asked, perking up.

“Just now.”

“Well how is he? Did you talk to him?”

“No not yet. I was coming to find you.” I explained.

“Well, come on.”

“You go ahead Mom. I think I should close my eyes for a bit… jet lag.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Fine.” She said, quickly going into the room. I looked at Joe and he smirked at me.

“Lyss, what’s going on?” he asked, leading me to chairs.

“I just… can’t go in there yet.” I said, putting my head in my hands. He pulled me into him and squeezed me tight.

****

Joe’s POV

Lyss had gone to get some coffee. I was sitting in the chairs outside her Dad’s room just waiting for her. Her Mom came out and sat next to me.

“I don’t know what Melissa’s told you about her father.” She suddenly said. “I can certainly imagine, but he’s a very good man. He always did the right thing for his family.”

“That’s what she told me.” I assured her.

“So what exactly is going on between the two of you?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I said, shaking my head and sighing. “She’s dating my younger brother… actually. He’s 16.”

“Sixteen?” she asked. I nodded my head and looked at my feet. “And you’re?”

“Nineteen.” I answered.

“Much more reasonable.” She said.

“Don’t I know it.” I mumbled.

“You’re idiots. The both of you.” She said and I looked up at her. “There you are. Where have you been?”

“Coffee hunt,” Lyss said. “So what’s going on?”

“Your mother called me an idiot.” I said, crossing my arms.

“Wow, you must have sucked up good.”

“Well, I’m going to go wash my face.” Mrs. Douglas said, standing up.

“So what are you going to do?” I asked as she paced in front of the door to the room her father was in. She huffed and I nodded my head towards the wall.

“Okay, well, I’m just gonna…”

“I’ll be here.” I said.

She hesitated before opening the door and walking in.

****

I walked into my father’s hospital room and closed the door behind me. His eyes were closed. He was resting. I put my hands in my pockets and walked to the foot of the bed, staring at him as he breathed… in and out. I couldn’t help but start to feel choked up as I looked at my father, lying in the bed, wires stuck to his body… he looked… small, it’s not how I’d always seen him. Growing up, he was always this big, important man and I never saw him any other way. He must have sensed me in the room because he opened his eyes and stared at me. I gave him a small smile. We both opened our mouths to speak when Mom walked back in and we both turned to look at her.

“Clark, how are you doing, darling?” she asked, Dr. Reynolds following behind her.

“Well Clark, it looks like we’re going to be stuck with you for a while longer.” Dr. Reynolds said, looking at my father’s chart. “It was just a touch of angina. Nothing massive...”

“But you have to watch your diet.” Mom said and I smiled at him. As the doctor spoke more, Dad’s eyes were on me the entire time. Mom and the Dr. continued to talk; I quietly snuck out of the room.

I took a deep breath as I walked out of the room, Joe coming around the corner a cup of tea in his hand.

“I heard,” he said. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah, yeah. They’re going to keep him overnight but uh,” I said, tears starting to fall. “But he’s going to be fine.”

“Hey,” Joe said, pulling me into a hug. The tears were flowing so freely now. My body was moving up and down as I sobbed uncontrollably. We stood there, our arms wrapped around each other. He buried his face in my hair while I buried mine into his shirt, staining it with my tears.

“Melissa!”