A Blink of an Eye

I drove quickly out of the driveway in a horrible mood. How could she put up with that.
What if he really didn't do it? a voice in the back of my head says. He might not of but I seriously doubt it. I mean come on he's a drunk.
At this point I was driving without even noticing where I was going. Somehow I ended up at the graveyard where Jason was buried. I climbed out of my truck and headed to Jason's grave. I sat down and just let it all out. I started talking about everything that has happened since he died and how I didn't know what to do.
I heard a car pull up but didn't think much about it.
"Jess!" I heard a worried voice say as it headed towards me. I turn and look.
"Joe." I say as he sits down next to me.
"Justin said you would be here...he also said you would need a brother rather than him so that's why he didn't come. How did he know that?" Joe says with an confused voice.
"I don't know. But he was right." I say and start to cry.
Joe quickly wraps his arms around me.
"Joe, I just can't handle all of this. It's insane. Perry might not have hit Mom but he might of. I just don't know what to do anymore." I say while sobbing in his arms.
"Oh Jess." Joe sighs and pulls me tighter.
He hugs me and puts words into that hug that makes me feel so much better. Somehow he makes me better without even saying anything.
"I love you, Joe." I say wiping my tears.
"Love you too, Jess. Now come on, we got to get to school, can't skip to many more days." Joe says as he stands up.
As we got up my cell started to ring.
"It's Selena." I say my mood lifting.
"Tell her I said hey. See ya at school." Joe says as I answer and we both climb into our cars.
"Kay," I say to Joe. "Hey Selena."
Through the phone I hear some tears.
"Selena? Is everything OK?" I demanded.
"No. I'll see you at school but I just had to call you." Selena says through her tears.
"What's wrong?" I say quickly.
"It's just..well...I need to tell you in person. And I need to tell you soon. Meet me outside, in the parking lot at school OK?" Selena says.
"Fine. I'll be there in five minutes." I say and speed off to the school.
I get there to find Selena already waiting for me. She must have called Joe and Justin too because they were both there with her. Justin looked so relieved to see me. He must have been because when I got up and went towards them he ran and gave me a hug.
"Justin....can't breathe." I say while trying to breathe. He had gave me such a tight bear hug.
"Sorry." Justin says letting go.
"Selena. What's going on?" I ask right away turning to her.
"Well, you better sit down." Selena says. People only say that if they have bad news.
"I take bad news better standing." I say quietly.
"I don't." Joe says and he sits up on the hood of his car. Selena sits down next to him slowly. Justin just stays standing next to me.
"OK, so your news?" I say anxiously.
"Well, you know I went to the doctor's today..." Selena says.
"Yes." Joe and I say together.
"Well, as it turns out, I happen to have...well..." Selena says and starts to cry.
"Sel." I say and rush to her side pulling her into a hug.
"Calm down, Selena." Joe says holding her hand.
"I have cancer." Selena says in a hurry. I let go of her so fast, like I got an electric shock.
"What?" I say as I slowly step backwards a few steps.
"I have cancer. It's not bad, and they say I have an 75% chance of surviving which are good odds." Selena says quickly.
"GOOD ODDS? WHAT? LENA, PLEASE TELL ME YOU ARE JOKING." I yell.
Selena gives me a scared look and slowly nods her head to let me know she isn't joking. Joe pulls her into a hug. And Justin comes up to me and pulls me into a hug too.
"It's going to be alright." Justin whispers in my ear.
"No, it's not!" I say jumping out of his arms. "It's never going to be OK! Everyone says that! And it never is!"
"Jess, calm down. I promise you that it will be fine." Selena says softly.
"Do not promise me anything! Especially since you can't keep that promise. You don't know that it's going to be OK. You just don't know. I can't handle all of this. I just can't!" I yell tears falling down my face.
"Jess, I need you." Selena says quietly.
I turn and look slowly at her pleading face. It broke my heart. I needed her too. More than she knew. But I honestly didn't know if I could handle all of this. I look at Joe who was still holding Selena, then at Justin. He was watching me with a worried and curious expression. I caught his eye and something there told me that I might be able to do this. Maybe, with some people's help.
"I know. And Lena, I need you more than you know." I say giving her a quick hug.
"Jess, thank you!" Selena says happily.
"Yea, of course, anytime. I love you like a sister, I'm just worried that I'm going to have to watch you die." I say.
"I'm not going to die. I won't put you through that." Selena says confidently.
"You don't worry about me. You just worry about you." I say softly and head towards Justin, as Joe hugs Selena tighter and starts talking to her.
"Jess, that was really good of you. For a second, I thought you were going to run. I thought you were just going to leave." Justin says to me.
"For a second, so did I." I say still crying. I pulled Justin closer to me and hugged him.
When the bell rang, that's how everyone saw us. Joe and Selena sitting on Joe's hood hugging and talking, and me crying on Justin's shoulder. No one stopped to say anything. Everyone seemed to know to keep clear of us today.