Just Another Reason I Could Never Forget You

The car ride to Baltimore had been relatively quiet because neither of us knew what to say. The radio had just played quietly in the background because there wasn't really anything else to do.

Now I was sitting in the corner of a room, watching my dad breathing in and out. He wasn't awake because they had him on a bunch of meds to keep the pain level down. Jack had opted out of sitting in here with me. He didn't think it would be good for my dad to wake up and find a stranger staring at him. That, and he wasn't fond of my dad. My mom and I like to talk a lot, I suppose.

I don't remember falling asleep, or waking up for that matter. But the dream... I remember the dream.

I was walking down a long dark corridor. There was a door at the end of the corridor and from underneath the door there was some light. The closer I got to the door, the hotter I became. It felt like there was a huge mass of fire behind that door. Stopping, I refused to go any closer. But some par of me refused to listen and my hand grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

On the other side of the door were charred remains. I felt myself walking into the room, saw myself looking around. I was somehow outside myself, watching what was happening, while still slightly attached. I watched as I bent down next to the first remain. It was a female, and the necklace was what gave it away. It was Kelly. My heartbeat sped up as I turned to look at the next body. Alex. And there was Jack over there with Amanda's remains. Rian and Kara's bodies were lying nearby as well. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep looking, because I knew whose body I'd see next.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Why?"

"Because you don't belong with them, Jericha."

Once more, I was in my body, staring at my father. He was walking normally, which was another clue that this really was a dream. I've never run from my dad before, but at that moment he was very clearly the monster of the dream. Needless to say, I wasn't waiting to see him transform. I took off out of the room and back down the hallway I had been in before. It seemed like the hallway was endless though. I kept running and running, never getting tired. I had horrible endurance, so this dream was obviously falling apart. I saw the end of the hallway, but it was a drop off. I didn't know what was at the end of that drop off, nor did I wanna find out. I tried stopping, but I had been running too fast to just stop and continued falling forward towards the hole.

"Jerri-Berri? You okay? You were panicking in your sleep."

I smiled at Jack as I sat up and hugged him. I don't think I'd ever been so glad to see someone in my entire life. Looking over his shoulder, I saw my dad's eyes opening and jumped up, running over to his bed. "Dad! You're awake!"

He looked at me and his eyes were clouded with confusion and grogginess. The meds were obviously wearing off and he was beginning to feel the pain. I watched my dad as he looked around the room and realized where he was.

"Jericha? Shouldn't you be in school? And who the hell is that?"

I laughed at him and pulled Jack over beside my dad's bed. He continued staring at the both of us.

"Yes, I should be in school. But mom called the school and then I was told you were in critical condition here. So Jack drove me here because according to him I was in no shape to drive. And no, Jack and I aren't dating."

My dad struggled to sit up for a few minutes before giving up the struggle and laying back on his pillows. Jack shuffled backwards a few steps and then leaned against the wall. I figured he felt awkward being there, and was more than likely uncomfortable.

"Jericha? I think you should come live with me instead of your mother....I mean, it would give us more time together."

I sighed. I really should have known this was coming when I decided to come visit. "Dad, I can't just leave mom there by herself. You at least have Dana here with you. And I'm not gonna leave my friends. I finally feel like I belong to Timonium, and I'm sorry, but I can't come live here."

He nodded, a defeated look on his face. "I kinda figured you would say something like that."

<->

The next day, I walked into Jack's basement with him and was engulfed in five pairs of arms. Alex, Amanda, Kara, Rian and Zack were all standing around me with smiles on their faces.

"We missed you so much, Jerri!" Alex exclaimed.

"Hey! What about me?" Jack asked, a frown on his face.

"Oh, Jack honey. You know we missed you too," Amanda said.

Jack grinned and kissed her on the cheek before turning to look at me. I was still smothered by Rian, Alex and Zack. Rian shrugged and pulled away to give me a little more wiggle room. Alex kissed my cheek and pulled away from me, leaving Zack standing there with his arms around my waist. I could feel my cheeks turning red and dropped my head so that my hair swung forward. To be honest, it was kind of nice to just have someone hold me like that. But it's Zack. This is the kid you can't stand because he always picks on you! I frowned and looked up, hoping one of the others would come to my aid. All of them were just standing there looking at the two of us with looks with amusement.

"I'm really glad you're back, Jericha. Is your dad doing okay?" he asked quietly.

Stuck in a position like this with Zack, I thought that he should have been asking something much more intimate. I pulled myself away from him and turned around so that I was looking him in the eyes. He seemed so sincere that I couldn't keep myself from giggling.

"He's fine, Zack. Thanks for asking."

Zack nodded with a little smirk and went over to the mini fridge to grab a drink. "Anyone else thirsty?"

"I'll have a water," I said softly.

"Me too," Alex shouted.

Jack and Amanda both opted for Sprites.

All of us sat down and just stared at one another, enjoying the fact that we were all together again.