Just Say Yes

“Whoa! What are you doing!?” Erin asked loudly, dashing quickly to her grandmothers side at the sight of her swinging her thin legs over the side of the bed. Corinne swatted Erin away as she held her IV drip stand in an attempt to steadily stand upright. “Don't you think we should get a wheelchair in here?”

Corinne shook her head and sent a pointed look Erin's way. “I'm trying to stand up, my nurse told me to. A wheelchair does no good darlin', I don't have one at home.”

“We can always look into getting one.” Erin crossed her arms under her breasts, keeping a keen eye on the frail woman in front of her just in case she wasn't as strong as she seemed to think she was. "The doctor suggested a place not too far from here."

“I don't give a damn what the doctor says, I'm not using a wheelchair.” Corinne frowned at the suggestion as she struggled slightly to get to her feet. Erin held out a hand but was rejected as both of her grandmothers hands encircled the metal stand. Erin backed off, dropping her purse and tote bag onto the chair nearby. As Erin watched, Corinne struggled once more before she successfully made it to her feet.

"See." Corinne bragged when she prevailed. She glanced over at her granddaughter as if telling Erin I told you so.

A proud smile spread across Corinne's chapped lips before she slowly shuffled over to the bag that Erin had come in with. Erin in turn knelt down in front of the bag and proceeded to dig through it. She pulled out the freshly cleaned clothing she had brought for Corinne to wear on her way out of the hospital, which was only minutes away.

“Thank you, sweetie.” Corinne appreciatively took the clothes in the hand that wasn't gripped tightly to the IV pole. Erin slid the curtain in place, blocking out the view from the hallway.

“Do you want some help?” Erin moved her purse from the chair to the floor and sat herself down in its previous place. Corinne shook her head as she removed the itchy hospital gown from her body.

Erin sat with her legs crossed, her right foot bouncing lightly as she stared aimlessly out the window. Seven days had past since Corinne arrived in hospital and Erin fell to pieces in front of Brian, saying things to him she never thought she'd say.

“Have you called him?” Corinne's voice curiously asked as she pulled her shirt over her head. Her hands smoothing out the wrinkles as it hung loosely from her now thinner frame.

“Who?” Erin asked trying to play dumb but Corinne's pointed look told Erin that the older woman wasn't having it. Erin sighed heavily as her elbow rested on the arm of the chair while her hand supported her head.

“No, I haven't.” Erin answered with a small shrug of her shoulders, attempting to play off the topic of her now ex-boyfriend. Pretending as if the mention of him hadn't bothered her in the least. She prayed that she proved to be somewhat believable.

“Erin,” Corinne's tone was soft and her name came out just short of a whimper. Erin shifted her eyes over to Corinne who's eyes held a touch of disappointment. “You should be mad at me, not him.”

Corinne's steady gaze at her was broken when she looked down to the floor instead. “Can we not talk about this? We clearly don't agree.” Her jaw clenched as she waited for her grandmother to answer.

“Can I at least know what happened? You still haven't told me.” Erin gave in the moment she looked back at Corinne, who's brown eyes were pleading with her to be informed of the incidents that occurred while she was unconscious.

“I just...” Erin took a deep breath, shutting her eyes briefly as the words she had spoken reiterated in her mind. “I was feeling so many things at that point. Shock, sadness, anger, hurt...I didn't know how to deal with it all at once.” Erin shifted in her seat, feeling Corinne's eyes bore into her.

“So I directed it all at him. I said somethings that I shouldn't have.” Erin pursed her lips at the recollection of her questioning his true intentions of inviting her to California for summer. She had let her irrational emotions get the best of her, she knew that he hadn't played her for a fool when it came to the feelings that developed.

“I'm sure he'd love to hear from you despite all those things you said.” Corinne urged, reaching down to rub Erin's hand softly. “He probably misses you, and by the look in your eyes I can tell you miss him too."

Erin gave a small nod of compliance. “Of course I miss him." She desperately tried to fight back the tears that formed behind her eyes. The crack in her voice that told her it was of no use, the tears were coming anyway. "I just--" Erin paused as a tear slid down her cheek.

"We both agreed to be completely honest with each other and he wasn't. I don't know if I can trust him completely after breaking a promise like that. After everything with David, trust is important to me. I can't be in a relationship with someone I don't trust completely." She finished with a weak smile, as more tears slid down her cheeks.

Corinne frowned sadly at her granddaughter's tear stained face. "And here I am crying like a baby over a guy when you have more serious problems." Erin mumbled, firmly wiping the tears from her cheeks but Corinne's hands grabbed hers and pull them away from her face.

"Come here baby." Corinne gently tugged on Erin's hands.

With a small cry Erin stood up and buried herself in Corinne's warm embrace, feeling a sense of comfort wash over her. Corinne soothingly rubbed circles on her back while small, muffled cries escaped her lips. They stood like that for a while, Erin clinging to her grandmother as Corinne hushed her and ran her fingers through the golden locks.

Before either of them knew it the curtain that Erin had pulled shut was whipped open by Jon, while Lisa, Zacky and Jimmy stood behind him. Erin removed herself from Corinne as Jon wrapped loving arms around his grandmother.

“Look at you, standing on your own.” Jon gushed, smiling enthusiastically. Erin stood back watching everyone compliment Corinne on her quick recovery from the virus that caused her to be put into the hospital in first place.

Jimmy, however, seemed to be the only one who noticed Erin's withdrawn temperament. As Lisa elatedly informed Corinne of her and Zacky's engagement, Jimmy chose to hang back. Slowly, he sauntered over to Erin, extending an open shoulder for her to cry on. Erin smiled to herself and took it willingly, her arms clung tightly to her chest as her head rested faintly on Jimmy's shoulder.

“Goldilocks, why are you crying?” Jimmy questioned, his voice barely higher than a whisper. Erin grinned meekly at the new nickname.

“I'm just happy that she's okay.” She mumbled, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. Jimmy leaned back slightly to watch the blonde wrapped around him, he knew she wasn't being completely truthful with her answer. Instead of giving her the third degree to find out the real reasoning, he simply let it pass, hoping that when she was ready she'd confide in him.

“Let's get out of this damn place.” Corinne proposed eagerly, clutching Jon's strong arm as he led her towards the door.

Erin broke away from Jimmy's comforting embrace to gather a few small belongings of Corinne's that remained on the night stand next to her bed. Jimmy leaned against the wall nearest to the door, nodding at Zacky and Lisa as they passed.

Erin smiled appreciatively when she became aware that he had stayed back to wait for her. Her arm linked with his as the hollow feeling in her stomach, that had been a direct result of the previous week, was temporarily filled by the lively drummer.

- - - - - - -

Upon returning home and getting Corinne settled in, Erin felt like she needed someway to relieve the excessive beating her emotions had endured by past weeks heavy load of stress. She informed Corinne of where she was headed, and assured her that if she needed anything that Jon was in his room. Erin drove briskly through town, heading south until she eyed the familiar turn off.

Erin didn't have trouble finding a place to park as the parking lot only held two other cars and another pulled in behind her. As she entered the cemetery, she felt a warm breeze blow gently against the exposed skin of her chest and legs. She smiled faintly as she leisurely made her way through the headstones.

She was almost at her mother's grave when she heard a faint male voice yelling behind her. She couldn't quite make out what was being said but she was curious as to who would be yelling in a cemetery. With a casual glance over her shoulder and a hand raised to block the sun from her eyes, her eyes familiarly set on a tall lanky dark haired man taking large strides towards her.

“You walk awfully fast, Goldilocks.” Jimmy stood next to her hunched over. His hands rested on his thighs while he caught his breath. “Did anyone ever tell you that?” His brows furrowed as he shifted his eyes up at her.

“Were you following me?” Erin asked with a hint of a smile on her face, ignoring his question.

Erin was surprised to see him since she knew he had traveled back to Nevada to help Zacky move Lisa's furniture into the U-Haul they had rented. Jimmy's other duty was to drive Lisa's Jeep down to California as the newly engaged couple drove the moving truck back. Jimmy stood up as his breath had returned to its normal pattern.

“I was driving by your place and saw you pulling out so yes I followed you.” He answered with a shrug before looking around at their surroundings. He looked slightly taken aback as if he were suddenly realizing they were standing in the middle of a cemetery.

“I just wanted to say goodbye before I left but if you're busy...”

A sad smile grazed Erin's lips as she shook her head at the drummer. “I was just going to see my mom.” She pointed to a headstone no more than seven feet away. “Want to join me?”

He didn't hesitate to say yes, he followed Erin over to the rectangle piece of stone and sat himself next to the blonde. The pair sat silently for several minutes as sun shone brightly down on them.

Jimmy's blue eyes were set on Erin's hunched figure next to him while hers were downcast at the lush green grass they sat on. Her mind drifting back to her previous visit, which had been filled with far more happiness than her current one.

“Why are you really here?” Erin quietly asked. Jimmy was tempted to give a bullshit answer but felt like after everything she had dealt with, she deserved some honesty.

“Cause I wanted to check up on you.” He ran a gentle hand up and down her back but she cast a sideways glance at him. The look in her eyes told him she knew there was more to it than he was fully letting on. “Brian wanted me to check up on you.” He clarified with a half smile.

“You can tell him I'm fine, Jim.” She breathed, trying her best to sound strong but came off more unsteady than anything.

“He misses you but I think this past week he realizes you need a little time."

There was another momentary silence.

"He loves you, you know.” Jimmy spoke softly as Erin nodded, her eyes scanning the scenery before her. “I love you too.” He told her casually, and watched her lips curve into a genuine smile. He smiled to himself as he studied the cold slate headstone.

“So you actually talk to her?” Jimmy asked as he glanced over to Erin, catching her give him a faint nod. He watched her silently pull at the sleeves of the oversized black hoodie before her blue eyes looked back up at the slate headstone that bore her mothers name. “Does it help it hurt less?”

“Yeah, kind of. I feel closer to her.” She turned her head, her lips formed into a halfhearted smile, and her eyes gave away the sadness that was still buried deep inside. Jimmy tried to lighten the mood by nudging her shoulder playfully his, his head swooped in close, almost invading her space.

“Promise me if I go, you'll come keep me company?” Jimmy spoke with a twinkle in his eye and dopy grin etched onto his lips. Though the thought of losing another person in her life almost seemed unbearable. Erin laughed softly for the first time in a week.

“Anything for you, Jimmy.” She breathed quietly with a look in her eye that told him she'd without a doubt keep her word. He smiled widely and draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his lean body.

“You know I'm not going anywhere right?” He asked breaking the silence, she responded by simply gripping his body tighter.

“I really hope not.” She mumbled into his chest, as he placed a soft kiss on top of her head. Neither one aware of how wrong he truly was.