Chapter Three
"What the hell are you doing?"
Dovie jumped and dropped the razor, startled at the sudden interruption. She quickly turned, trying to hide her bleeding wrist from her very angry cousin. "Ju... Justin!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"The better question is what are you doing!" he yelled, grabbing a towel from the counter-top and roughly wrapping it around her injured arm. Dovie flinched, crying and Justin tried to calm down. "Dovelyn?"
"You're ruining everything!" she cried. "It was all planned out. Everything was going to work out better!" Justin felt numb as he pulled Dovie into his arms. She leaned into him, crying against his chest for a long while. When she had calmed down, he pushed her back to look at her.
"Dovelyn, talk to me." he begged. "Why did you try to kill yourself?"
She looked at the ground silently. "You wouldn't understand." she whispered.
"Then make me understand. Explain it to me, please?"
She sighed. After a few more minutes of silence, she again met his eyes. "All right. I'll tell you, but you can't interrupt. Just let me talk." Justin nodded, and Dovie sighed again. "I don't know if I can explain this right. I'm not even sure how I feel. I guess the only way to explain it is that I feel lost. I feel like I don't belong anywhere, like nobody wants me." She paused again, gathering her emotions together before continuing. "Do you remember in Titanic, when Rose was trying to explain to Jack why she wanted to jump? Well, it's like that. I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a huge cliff, coming closer and closer to falling, and there's no one to pull me back."
Dovie's almost unfailing calmness frightened Justin. He'd read somewhere that when a person finally committed him or herself to dying that they were calm. At the mention of the words "lost" and "fall", the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
"I'm here, Dovelyn." Justin said quietly. "I'll pull you back--me and the rest of the guys. We won't let you fall." he hugged his cousin tightly for a moment, thinking of how things would have turned out, had he not listened to his heart. "Thank God I had that dream," he muttered.
"Dream?" Dovie repeated. "What are you talking about Justy?"
"I had a dream about you the other night.�
�You did? What happened?�
He sighed. �Well, basically, Matt was beating you, and I couldn't stop him. The next thing I saw was you...in a coffin. You were so pale and bruised up. I tried to help, but I couldn't! Then you opened your eyes and looked right at me, then said, �Don't let me get lost, Justin. Don't let me fall.� Then I woke up. It was awful...� Justin's voice had become thick with tears, and he had to stop for a moment to compose himself. Taking a deep breath, he continued. �That's why I came today. I knew you were hurting so much, and I kept trying to figure out how to help. And then it hit me. You hate being here, and we have a spare room upstairs. You could just come and live with us, D. Please, say you will.�
Dovie's eyes lit up briefly. �That would be so... But I can't Justin.�
�But why?�
�You can't just invite me to live with you! You have two other roommates to worry about. Don't you think JC and Chris deserve a chance to throw in their vote before you start packing my things?�
Dovie watched in amusement as her cousin began laughing. �Dove, who's idea do you think it was in the first place?�
Dovie was confused. �Yours?� she guessed.
�Nope! JC's!� he grinned, happy that Dovie's argument had been refuted.
Dovie grinned at him. �Well then...want to help me pack, cousin?�
Justin returned her grin three-fold when he saw a glimpse of the old Dovie in that smile. Satisfied that everything was going to work out, he stood up. �Sure thing. But first, we've got to get this fixed up.� he said, pointing to her wrist.
Her smile fell. �Oh...that.� she said flatly.
�Don't worry about it, Dove. I won't tell the guys, if you promise to come talk to me whenever you feel overwhelmed again, okay? We'll bandage it up, and you can put on a long-sleeved shirt to hide it from the guys. Then, if you ever do want any of them to know, you can tell them on your own time, and in your own way. Deal?�
�Deal.� she smiled, and they shook hands then she led him to the downstairs bath, where the fist aid kit was kept. Justin made quick work of bandaging her wound, and then Dovie quickly changed out of her soiled clothes, while Justin packed the rest of her things.
By the time Justin and Dovelyn arrived at the guys' house, the rest of *N Sync had been gathered. Justin opened the door and led his cousin inside, carrying her bags and depositing them in the hallway.
"Everybody!" Justin yelled upstairs. "We're back!"
They heard a stampede of feet running down the upstairs hall and shout coming from every *N Sync member. Within seconds, all four were in view, grinning widely. JC stepped forward and Dovie jumped into his arms.
"Dovie!� he said, picking her up and twirling her around. "We're so glad you've decided to live here! Now, we'll get to see you all the time!"
"JC!" Dovie laughed. "Put me down!" JC relented, and Dovie immediately found herself in Joey's arms.
"Hey girl." he said. "Glad you're here."
Next was Chris. Dovie noticed nervously that he didn't look very happy. She didn't know Chris very well, and she couldn't tell if he was truly angry or if he was just joking. Chris saw the look on her face and began laughing.
"I'm just messing with you, Dove." he smiled. "I'm glad you're staying with us."
Dovie smiled at him and looked up at Lance. He smiled softly and gave her a hug. "We've started fixing up a bedroom for you. Justin said your favorite colors were blue and green."
"Thanks." she whispered.
"Come on," he said, gently taking her hand and leading her to the stairs. "We'll show you."
Lance led her up the stairs with the rest of the guys following close behind. The members of *N Sync were nervous, hoping Dovie would like the makeshift job they'd done decorating. Lance opened the door to Dovie's new room, and they all filed in silently. Dovie stood in the center of the room, her mouth opened slightly, taking it all in. The walls were a neutral cream color, and the furniture was all light wood. Someone had found an old hunter and navy plaid bedspread in the linen closet and had put that on the bed, along with some navy blue sheets. There was also a navy lamp and an alarm clock on the nightstand.
JC looked at Dovie nervously. "Dove? Is something wrong? You're awfully quiet."
Dovie turned and looked at the guys, tears brimming her eyes. "Guys, this... I mean, no one has ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you so much! It's beautiful," she whispered.
Chris's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Group hug!" he yelled suddenly.
Dovie immediately found herself surrounded by the five guys. She gladly hugged each of them again. After a while, they backed off and left Dovie alone in her room. Justin and JC quickly returned with her luggage with Lance following close behind, carrying a small object.
"Here's your stuff, D." Justin said happily as he and JC deposited the suitcases on the bed.
"And here's a small welcoming present from us guys." Lance added, holding a stuffed bear out to her.
Dovie's face lit up as she took the bear from Lance. He was about ten inches tall and covered with fuzzy black fur. Around his neck was a navy blue bow tie. She hugged it tightly. "Thanks guys, I love him!" she said happily. "Now, I have to think up a name for him."
JC and Lance smiled and left the room. Dovie walked over to the bed and sat down next to Justin.
"You really like it?" Justin asked, waving his arm to indicate the whole setup, rather than just the bear in her arms.
His cousin looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Justin, I love it. Thank you so much for letting me stay here, and for coming to get me when you did. If you hadn't shown up..." she trailed off, and Justin could see the pain in her eyes.
"Shh..." he whispered, hugging her close. "Don't think about that now. Think about how you're going to get all this unpacked and put away before Joey starts to complain of starvation!" Dovie had to laugh at that. Then she shooed Justin out of the room and began to put her things away.
Thirty minutes later, Dovie heard a knock at the door and saw Chris poke his head in. "You decent?" he asked with his eyes closed.
"Yes." Dovie laughed.
Chris's eyes popped open, and he darted into the room and over to the bed. He sat down and watched Dovie put her last few things away, then began bouncing up and down on the bed.
"Chris!" Dovie laughed again. "What has gotten into you?"
"We're hungry." he whined, still bouncing up and down. "Justin, JC, and Lance say we can't eat until you get finished unpacking."
Dovie shook her head at him. "And they call Justin 'Bounce',� she laughed again. "Okay, I'm done now. Are you happy?"
"Yeah!" Chris cried, vaulting off the bed and running to the door, grabbing Dovie's injured wrist in the process. Dovie screamed loudly and fell to the floor, clutching her wrist as pain washed over her. Chris jumped back, startled, as the others ran into the room.
"What happened?" Justin asked frantically, throwing Chris a confused look.
"Nothing, I swear!" Chris stuttered, trying to figure out what had just happened. "We were just coming down for dinner. I grabbed her arm so she'd hurry and she screamed. I didn't grab her very hard, Justin, I swear. I didn't mean to hurt her." A look of understanding fell over Justin's face, and he bent down next to Dovie. Lance, who had been trying to comfort her stood and looked on silently.
"D?" Justin asked, gently raising her head to make her look at him. "Are you all right?"
She shook her head, sobbing miserably. "Justin, my arm..."
Justin immediately rolled up the sleeve of her shirt, exposing the bandage on her arm for all to see. Bright red blood stood out in stark contrast to the while gauze. Lance and JC were close enough to see Dovie's arm and gasped. Joey and Chris immediately stepped forward to see what the problem was. Justin and Dovie ignored the others and focused on the injury to her arm.
"Sweetie, I don't think my makeshift bandage is gonna do it." Justin said slowly. "We need to get you to a hospital."
Dovie's head shot up in a panic. "No! Justy, please! It'll be all right. I just need another bandage. I don't need to see a doctor." Justin began to argue with her, but Joey stepped up.
"Hold up. Dovie, can I see your arm, please?" he asked quietly. Justin got up and Joey took his place. Slowly, Joey reached up to unwrap the gauze covering Dovie's wrist. She jumped back quickly.
"What are you doing?" she cried.
Joey looked at her calmly. "I have to see your wrist, Dovie. You may need stitches."
"Joey, I am not going to the hospital."
Joey ignored her and began unwrapping the bandage anyway. When Dovie tried again to pull away, JC and Justin were behind her to help Joey. He quickly disposed of the soiled bandage and looked at the gash carefully before raising his head to meet Dovie's fearful gaze.
"Dovelyn," he began seriously, "how did this happen?"
Dovie looked to her cousin quickly, begging for him to keep her secret. He shook his head slowly. "Sorry, D, but we can't keep this from them now."
"But, Justy..."
Justin cut her off. "No, Dovie. They have a right to now. They can help you too."
"They'll hate me, Justin," she muttered so they couldn't hear.
Lance heard though, and knelt down beside her, forcing her to look at him. "Dovie, I know I speak for everyone here when I saw that we could never hate you."
All the guys immediately voiced their agreement. Dovie again looked to Justin. He nodded his head in encouragement, and she took a deep breath. "Okay, I think..." she paused for a moment.
"Go ahead, D. They'll want to help, I promise."
When Dovie looked up again, her eyes were filled with tears. She sighed. "Joey, um, well... This is exactly what it looks like. I tried... I tried..." she broke off, collapsing into Joey's arms sobbing.
The guys stared at their friend in shock. They couldn't seem to comprehend what she had just told them. Grief and confusion filled their faces as they slowly realized that only a miracle had saved Dovie. Joey was still holding the sobbing girl in his arms when Lance abruptly left the room. Dovie looked up when she heard the door shut. Her eyes scanned the room, and she quickly realized who had left.
"Justy," she choked out, even more upset than before. "You said they'd still care. You said they wouldn't hate me."
Justin stood up and followed Lance out the door, placing a kiss on the top of his cousin's head on his way out. He heard the three remaining men reassuring Dovie as he shut the door. He walked downstairs and saw his friend standing on the porch outside. Quietly, Justin opened the back door and stood next to Lance a moment before Lance spoke.
"I'm sorry." Lance's deep voice was thick with unshed tears. "I had to get some air. It brought back so many memories."
Justin laid his hand on the older man's shoulder. "It's okay, Lance. You don't have to explain anything to me. When I saw her in the bathroom, and the blood...� Justin fell to his knees, giving up trying to be strong and finally allowing himself to cry. Lance kneeled next to him, offering whatever comfort he could. After a few moments, the young man pulled himself together and stood again.
"Lance, do me a favor?"
"Yeah?"
"Come back upstairs with me and explain why you left to Dove." he glanced at his friend's face, and then quickly continued. "Please, Lance. She thinks you hate her for what she did. She's gotta know you still like her, and that you still want to be her friend."
"That's the problem, Justin." Lance whispered.
"Huh?" Justin was confused. "You don't want to be her friend?"
Lance was quiet for a moment. "No, Justin. I don't want to be her friend. I want to be much more than that."
Justin stared at him in shock. "Okay." he said slowly. "I guess I'm missing the problem here. If you want to be more than friends, why don't you go up there and let her know?"
Lance looked at him sadly. "Two words: Howie Dorough."
"Oh." Justin whispered.
"Yeah." Lance sat down in a nearby chair.
Justin thought for a moment, trying to come up with a solution to their problem. "They way I see it, Lansten, you have two choices here. One, you can go back upstairs and let her know how you feel about her and have a chance at getting her to feel the same way, or you can go up there and just be her friend."
Lance stood up. "But what about Howie? It's obvious to all of us that she likes him, and that he likes her."
"So?" Justin challenged. "Who says Dorough can't have any competition? Maybe Dovie likes you too, but hasn't let on because you haven't given her a reason to believe that you like her."
Lance's eyes seemed to light up again, but only briefly. "She's got enough on her mind right now, J. I think I'll wait for a while to tell her how I feel."
"Will you at least let her know you don't hate her?"
"Yeah." Lance whispered. "Let's go inside."
The two young men quickly walked back up to Dovie's room. When they opened the door, they found JC and Chris directly in front of them, ready to leave the room. Joey stood behind them, an arm around Dovie, offering strength to his weakened friend.
"We were just on our way to get you two. We think Dovie needs stitches, so we're gonna take her to the Emergency Room." JC explained.
"Just a minute, guys. Joey, can Lance and I talk with Dovie alone for a second."
Joey looked confused, but conceded. He helped Dovie sit back down on the bed, then followed JC and Chris out of the room.
"D?" Justin asked quietly. She looked up at him expectantly. Both men could see the hurt and fear in her eyes. She switched her gaze to Lance.
"Lance?" she whispered.
Lance looked at her sadly. "Dovie, I am so sorry about walking out like that. It wasn't you, I swear. I wasn't mad or upset with you. It... A few years ago one of my friends committed suicide. When I realized that you'd tried to do the same thing...� Lance stopped, momentarily overcome with emotion. "It just brought back all the memories. I just couldn't stand that you had been hurting so badly that you thought that killing yourself was the only option. I had to get some air, I hope you understand."
Dovie nodded, her tears spilling over as she accepted a hug from her friend. Lance held her tightly for a fraction longer than a "friend" should have. Justin cleared his throat and gave Lance a warning glance. Seeing Justin's face, Lance let go and they helped her downstairs to where the others were waiting.
The ride to the hospital was short and silent. Dovie sat in the back seat, in between Justin and Lance. JC drove, with Chris and Joey beside him. When they reached the hospital, Justin and Joey helped their friend out of the car. She seemed weaker than ever, so Joey took her in his arms and carried her into the emergency room.
The nurses quickly whisked her away to an exam room and the boys were all left in the waiting room to wonder and worry about their friend. Justin tried repeatedly to call his parents, but received no answer. Just under two hours after they walked into the hospital, a tall doctor approached them.
"Mr. Timberlake?"
Justin shot out of his chair, quickly followed by the others. "Yes?"
"Were you the young man who brought Miss McKenzie in?"
"Yes." Justin answered nervously. "Is she going to be okay?"
The doctor looked at him soberly. "She's still in the exam room. I'm waiting for a psychological exam before I decide whether or not to admit her."
"A psych exam?" Chris repeated. "Why?"
doctor glared at him incredulously. "Can you possibly have escaped your notice that your friend tried to commit suicide tonight?"
Chris sighed. "We know that, Doc. That's why we brought her here. If you're worried that she's going to try it again, she's not."
"Just how do you know that?"
"Because we removed her from the situation which caused her to want to end her life." Chris answered, annoyed.
"Doctor, we just want to take her home. We're going to watch her very carefully. We're not going to let her hurt herself again." JC spoke up.
The doctor sighed again. "Well, the psychologist is in there now, so let's just wait and see what he says."
The five young men sat down again to wait. Justin sat with his head in his hands, JC trying to offer a comforting arm. Chris sat in front of them, making faces to try to get Justin to laugh. Lance stood alone by the window, staring out into the night. Not knowing how to help Justin, Joey stood and walked to Lance.
Lance jumped slightly when he felt Joey's hand on his shoulder. "Hey Joey." he greeted him softly.
"Lansten." Joey replied. "You all right?"
Lance nodded slightly, not taking his eyes away from the window. He knew Joey would be able to read his emotions like a book if he saw his eyes. Joey knew this as well and forced the younger man to look at him. Joey took a deep breath when he saw the worry and love in Lance's eyes.
"Lance?" he questioned.
Lance knew he'd been found out. "What Joey?" he said irritably. He was not in the mood to discuss his feelings for Dovie with anyone.
"You're in love with her." Joey said, amazed at his discovery. "Does she know?"
Concern, relief, and guilt flashed briefly in Lance's green eyes. "No." he whispered.
"Lance, you have to..."
"No, I don't--and you're not going to either."
"But why, Lance? I don't understand."
Lance looked up at his friend. "I know that she and Howie like each other, and I don't want to burden her with my feelings."
Sighing, Joey nodded. "All right. I won't tell her--but I think you should. She has a right to know. Maybe she likes you too, but won't do anything about it because she doesn't think you like her, and she knows Howie does. Ever think of that?"
"That's exactly what Justin said."
Joey laughed. "Well, for once it sounds like Curly was right."
They were interrupted from further discussion by the appearance of Dovelyn. She was being pushed in a wheelchair by a male nurse. The nurse whispered something in her ear, and she laughed, shaking her head at him. Lance felt a surge of jealousy flow through him suddenly. Dovie looked up and saw her friends. The guys all noticed she was still pale, but were happy that she was smiling again. Justin shook himself out of his trance and rushed to his cousin's side.
"Dovie!" he cried. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Justy." she smiled. "They're even letting me go home tonight!"
Justin's face lit up. "Really? We can go?" She nodded happily, and JC quickly joined them.
"Hey sweetie." he said quietly, giving her a gentle hug. "How's my favorite adopted sister?"
"Good...and very glad that I get to leave this place! Let's go home!"
They all laughed, and Justin took over pushing Dovie's wheelchair. When they reached the car, Joey helped her out of the chair and into the car. When she was settled in the car, Joey nudged Lance gently. Lance looked at Joey quizzically, and then realized what he was doing. He grinned and got into the car next to Dovie. Joey climbed in next to him, with the others in front. Lance remained silent for a while, content for the moment to simple watch Dovie.
"Talk to her." Joey whispered.
"I don't know what to say." Lance whispered back.
"Just say something." Joey hissed.
Lance glanced at the girl beside him again. She's so beautiful. He thought. There's no way I'll have a chance with her.
"Dovie?" Lance said softly.
She looked up at him quickly. "Yeah, Lance?"
"I... Um, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." he stammered.
She smiled at him softly. "I'm fine, Lance. Thanks."
He nodded his head, then watched as she turned her focus back to the scenery whizzing by outside.
Dovie looked back out the window and sighed. Lance's face appeared in place of the scenery going by. He seems so nervous. She thought. I hope he doesn't start treating me strangely after what I did. She sighed again softly. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Dovie knew her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Being so close to Lance made her heart race wildly, and the smell of his cologne made her dizzy. Lance's deep voice stuck in her mind, and she shook her head to try to clear it.
Justin suddenly broke her thoughts as a new song came over the radio. "Hey D! Check it out--I know you like this song."
The beginning lines of "All I Have to Give" were heard as Nick's melodic voice filled the car. Dovie smiled at her cousin's thoughtfulness and began to sing along quietly. She noticed Lance's mood change slightly but abruptly when the Backstreet Boys came on, and she wondered again what was bothering him.
Dovie opted to head straight to bed when they arrived home. The day's evens had completely drained her energy. With Justin's help, she made it up the stairs and got settled into bed. Justin kissed her forehead and walked back downstairs, where he joined his friends in the living room. All eyes were on him as he sat down.
"Justin?" Chris asked softly.
"Yeah?"
"Um... Do you know why Dovie tried to kill herself?"
A look of immense sadness filled Justin's features, and his eyes wandered to the floor. "Yeah, I know."
"Well, do you care to elaborate on that, Curly?" JC asked.
Justin sighed. "I'm not going to go into the details, because that will be up to her to tell. Basically, she hated herself. She was with Matt for too long, I guess, and she was starting to believe him when he put her down all the time. She blames herself for her family's death. It was a combination of those things and a feeling of being completely unwanted and unloved. I guess she thought killing herself was the only way. She thought she'd be doing everyone a favor. If she were dead, we wouldn't worry about her or have to deal with her."
"She thinks no one loves her?" Lance asked quietly.
Justin nodded sadly, and Lance abruptly stood and headed to the stairs without a word. Justin smiled slightly, and Joey quietly cheered. The others looked on, confused.
"What's going on?" JC demanded.
"He's gonna tell her." Joey said excitedly, jumping up and down.
"He's gonna tell who what?" Chris asked, still completely confused.
Justin grinned. "Lance is going to tell Dovie that he loves her." JC's eyes got as big as saucers, and Chris looked on in shock.
"But...what about Dorough?" Chris stuttered.
Justin shrugged, still smiling. "All for one, I guess. Looks like Dorough is going to have some competition now."
Dovie kept her eyes closed when she heard her bedroom door ease open. She assumed it was Justin though she didn't understand why he would be checking on her so soon. She heard him pull a chair up next to her bed and sat down. After a few moments, he reached out and took her hand in his. Dovie knew immediately that her visitor was not Justin. She continued to play opossum, wondering which member of *N Sync was with her now. She felt him rub his thumb over her knuckles gently, then head him sigh softly.
�I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you this, even though you can't hear me. I'll just think of this as a run through for later.� The deep voice Dovie heard told her that it was Lance beside her. Silently, she waited for him to continue.
Lance sighed again, louder this time, and squeezed her hand gently. �Dove, I don't know why you tried to kill yourself today, and Justin won't tell us exactly. I have a feeling though, that for some reason you feel unwanted or unloved. God, Dove, you don't know how far off you are. Justin and Lynn love you very much, and so do all of us guys. Heck, you even managed to capture the hearts of AJ and Howie, and I'd be willing to be the other Backstreet Boys as well. They all love you, Dovie. I love you.�
Dovie had to strain to hear his last words, and could not stop herself from flinching slightly. He loves me? Yeah, like a brother maybe. She thought to herself.
Lance felt her small movement, and quickly leaned forward. �Dove? Are you awake, sweetie?� Dovie fluttered her eyes open slowly, allowing Lance to continue to believe that she had been asleep for his confession.
�Lance?� she whispered softly. �What are you doing here?�
�I, um... Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.� he stuttered.
She smiled at him. How sweet. She thought. �I'm fine, Lance. I already told you that. Now, are you going to tell me the what you really came up here for?�
Even in the darkness, she saw him blush. �Well...�
She laughed. �You already said that, babe.�
Lance chuckled softly. �Okay, you caught me. Um...the guys and I were talking downstairs, and Chris asked Justin why you tried to kill yourself.� She inhaled quickly, and Lance continued quickly. �No, he didn't tell us anything. He said that only you could do that. But, he mentioned that he thought you might have been feeling unloved or something, so I just thought...� Lance trailed off and looked at the floor.
Dovie looked at him, confused. �You thought what?�
�Well, I just wanted you to know... You're wrong, Dovie. We all love you very much.�
Taking advantage of the situation, Dovie and prodded him on. �You... Do you love me, Lance?�
Lance blushed deeper. �I... Of course I do, Dove. How could I not? You're smart, funny, beautiful... and you've managed to put up with Justin for years without killing him.�
They both laughed. �Thanks, Lance, I needed that. It seems like I've gained five new brothers in the last few days. It's great!� Lance suddenly got very quiet. �Lance? Did I say something wrong?�
�Well,� he sighed. �The truth is, I really came up here to tell you something else...�
�Yeah?� she asked softly.
�I told you that I love you, but I don't... This is so hard.�
�Take your time.�
�I don't want you to think of me like a brother, Dovelyn.� Lance finished quietly.
She looked at him in shock. �I... What exactly are you saying, Lance?�
He finally looked her in the eyes. She drew in a sharp breath as his pale green eyes met her deep blue ones. �I'm saying that I love you, Dove. Like, love you love you.�
This time, her breath stopped entirely. Lance loved her. She couldn't believe her ears. At first, she pulled back. Visions of Matt and the fights they'd had ran through her mind before she could stop them and frightened her. What if Lance was the same way? What if he hurt her too? Dovie didn't think she could handle that.
Lance seemed to read her mind. �I'm not like him, Dove. I would never do anything to hurt you.�
She looked at him fearfully, and then saw something in his eyes that dispelled her fear instantly. Dovie didn't understand why, but she trusted him. �I know, Lance. I trust you.�
He smiled down at her. �Well, I'll let you think about it for a while. Just know that you're not alone. We're all here for you, and we all love you.�
�Thanks, Lance. I appreciate it.�
�Anytime, sweetie.� he leaned down to place a soft kiss on her forehead before standing and walking to the door. �Goodnight, Dovelyn. Sweet dreams.�
�Thanks.� He started to leave when she stopped him suddenly. �Lance?�
�Yeah?�
�Um, are you going to be here in the morning?�
He smiled at her again. �Yeah, sweetie. I'm sleeping on the couch downstairs tonight. If you need anything, come and get me, okay?�
�Okay. Thanks Lance.�
Lance quietly shut the door and walked back downstairs with a contented smile on his face.