Fresh Start

Chapter 18:

Michelle walked in the studio and found JC sitting at the sound board, "Hey handsome! How's it going?"

"Great-- now that you're here," he said standing up to stretch. He gave her a quick kiss before she handed him his food. "Thanks babe, I am famished."

"You're welcome. So, how is the progress going in here?" She asked as she placed her purse, wallet and keys on a nearby stool.

"Good, I'm almost done," he said over a mouthful of rice.

"Slow down sweetie, no one is going to take it away from you. You are starting to remind me of Joey."

He chuckled at the remark as she came to sit by him to help. He offered her a forkful of his rice and she turned up her nose. "Come on, Michelle! Just try it," he said.

"No way! I will buy it for you, but I won't eat it. That is something we will never agree on, I do NOT eat chinese food."

"Okay," he said in defeat. "So, what did you do today?"

"Well, I met Joey and Chris for a late lunch at three and the rest of the day I finished unpacking boxes."

"Did you get everything unpacked?"

"I sure did," she said with a triumphant smile.

"Congratulations, sweetheart! You are now officially moved in. Are you happy with how it all turned out?"

"Yes, I think so. I still want to get some patio furniture for my balcony, though."

He laughed at her subtlety, "Okay! I will go with you on Monday afternoon to pick something out. I think we will be finished here around two."

"Great! Now show me what I can do so that we can get out of here and go have some fun."

"Okay, put these headphones on and press that green button. If you hear any static or crackling adjust using that blue knob until it clears up."

Michelle nodded and put the headphones on. JC looked at her and smiled. He loved it when she was determined to do something. If she set her mind to doing it, she would and she would not give up.

Chapter 19:

Lance and Stacy walked back to the car hand in hand. She smiled at the memory she had of him singing to her. "Lance, this has been a perfect evening. I can't thank you enough."

He squeezed her hand, "No need to thank me. It was my pleasure. But you know, the night isn't quite over yet. Do you want to see a movie?"

"Yeah, let's go to the theater near my place, they always let us in the back door."

"All right, sounds good. We can call to see what's playing on the way there." He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in, then put all their stuff in the trunk. As he got in, Stacy pulled her cell phone out and dialed the movie theater.

**At the recording studio**

"Michelle, can you go into the booth and test one of the mic's for me?" JC asked.

"Sure." Michelle stood up and walked into the booth and closed the door behind her. She waited for JC to tell her what to do next.

His voice filled the room, "Sweetie, go over to mic number three and just say something in it."

Michelle walked to the mic and looked at JC through the glass. He was staring intently at the sound board. She put her mouth up to the mic and with a smile said, "I love you."

He looked up and smiled, "I love you, too. That was perfect, you can come back in here now."

She walked out of the booth, "Okay, can we go now?"

"No, I still have a bit more to do here."

"Well then, I am going to the video store to get something for us to watch. Will you be long?"

"No," he said standing up. "I will be at your place ASAP. Come on, I will walk you out."

"No way, you stay here. Get finished so we can have the rest of the evening to ourselves. See you in a little while." She kissed him and grabbed her purse and keys, not realizing her wallet fell to the floor.

She hurried to her car while trying to find her car key. She unlocked the door and went to get in. Before she put her foot in the car, someone grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground.

Chapter 20:

JC glanced over to the corner of the room and noticed Michelle's wallet in the floor. Knowing that it held all her monetary means and her driver's license, he grabbed it and ran out to try to catch her.

He walked through the front door of the studio and noticed that her CR-V was still parked, and her door was open. He ran to the side of the car and found her lying on the ground. "Michelle?" He knelt down beside her and picked her head up with both hands. He pulled one hand away to find blood covering it. He gently layed her head back on the pavement and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to call 911.

*~*~*~*~*

Justin and Krystine walked up the steps of her apartment building holding hands. They stopped at her door and turned to look at each other.

"You know, I had a great time tonight, Justin. Thank you," she said smiling.

"Oh, I enjoyed having your company," he said. "Um...would you like to go with me to the beach tomorrow? We can take the jet ski out and just spend some time relaxing."

"That sounds wonderful, I would love too!"

"Great, I will pick you up at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay with you?"

She nodded, "Yeah, it's perfect."

"Krystine, I have another question I want to ask you."

"Okay, shoot."

"Would it be all right if I kissed you?"

She looked down and blushed, "I don't see why not."

"Okay." He stepped closer and her face in his hands, he leaned closer to place his lips on hers when his cell phone rang.

He looked at the caller ID and answered his phone, "Man JC, you have the worst timing......" Justin was cut off and he began to listen intently. "No problem, we're on our way."

Krystine's smile faded as she saw the look on his face, "What's wrong?"

"Um, let's go inside for a sec. I have some news I need to tell you and you should probably be sitting down."

"Justin, you are really starting to scare me. What's going on?"

He gently took her by the shoulders and sat her down on the couch. "JC found MIchelle in the parking lot at the studio beaten up pretty badly. They are on their way to the hospital in an ambulance now. He wants us to meet him there."

Krystine took a deep, shaky breath. She looked down at her hands as they began to shake. Justin grabbed them to try to make them steady. She looked at him, "Okay then, what are we waiting for? Let's go."

Chapter 21:

Justin pulled his car into traffic and concentrated on getting to the hospital.

"Justin, should we call anyone?" Krystine asked.

He handed her is cell phone, "Call Lance, he is number four on speed dial." Krystine took the phone and nodded.

**Lance's car**

Lance pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater. As he put the car in park, his phone rang. "Hello?....Hey Krystine, is something wrong? You sound a little upset."

Stacy watched as Lance's expression quickly changed.

"Is she okay?" Lance asked. "Okay fine, just stay calm. We will meet you there....we will, bye."

"Lance, what is going on?"

"Stace, we have to get to the hospital."

Stacy began to panic, "Why? What's wrong?"

Lance began to pull his car out of the lot, "It's Michelle. JC found her in the parking lot at the studio and she had beaten up. He called Justin from an ambulance."

Stacy's hand flew to her mouth, "Is she okay?"

"We don't know." He took her hand in his, "But we know she will pull through. She is strong."

Stacy nodded and looked out the window as they sped down the highway.

**In the ambulance**

JC held onto Michelle's hand and squeezed it. The paramedic continued checking her vitals and made sure she was stable. He watched in desperation as all this happened.

"Michelle," he whispered in her ear, "I love you and I need you to open your eyes for me. Please open your eyes."

He felt her hand move under his and her eyes fluttered open, "JC?"

"Hey, I'm right here," he said as he watched her struggle with the breathing mask. "I love you Angel and I'm not going to leave your side."

"JC....."

"No Michelle, stay with me," he said as her eyes closed again.

The ambulance doors opened and they began wheeling Michelle into the emergency room. JC ran along side of her, holding her hand.

"Sir, you have to let go now. We need to get her into the ER," the paramedic said.

He reluctantly let go and watched them roll her away. He leaned up against the wall and pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "Hey Angela, it's JC. Something has happened to your sister, I need to talk to your parents."

Chapter 22:

Justin and Krystine quickly walked the halls of the hospital in search of JC. They turned a corner and found him sitting in the floor talking on his cell phone. As they approached, they could hear the end of his conversation.

"......yeah I'm sure. Don't worry about it. Just sit tight until you hear from one of us.........I don't think Michelle would want you to see her like this and if it isn't too serious you should just stay there.......Trust me, I am going to look after her......I will.....Talk to you soon. Bye." JC pressed the 'end' button then looked up at Justin and Krystine, "Hi."

"Talking to 'Chelle's parents?" Justin asked as he helped JC off the floor. JC just nodded.

"JC," Krystine said, "how is she? I mean, is it bad?"

"I don't know," JC said gettin choked up. "The back of her head was bleeding, and she was unconcious. She did open her eyes once, long enough for me to tell her that I love her."

"Oh, JC, she knows that you do," Krystine said hugging him. "That is what's going to pull her through."

He nodded and pulled away, "I am going to see if I can find out anything. I'll be back."

As he walked away, Justin pu his hand on Krystine's shoulder. She turned around and had tears in her eyes. "This isn't fair Justin, Michelle didn't do anything to deserve this. Why would someone want to hurt her?"

He pulled her into an embrace, "She is going to be fine. Michelle was just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

At that moment, Michelle's cousin Gwen, Lance and Stacy walked up. Krystine and Justin pulled apart and they all greeted one another solemly.

"Where's JC?" Lance asked.

"He went to see if he could find out any information on Michelle," Justin said.

"How did this happen?" Gwen asked.

"We don't know, JC didn't get that far when we saw him," Krystine said. "He just said that she was unconcious due to a blow to the back of the head."

Gwen pulled out her cell phone, "Okay, I am going to call my husband to tell him what's going on. Did anyone think to call Michelle's parents?"

"Yes," Justin said nodding, "JC already did that."

Gwen nodded and stepped away from the group to make her call just as Chris and Joey came around the corner.

"What's going on? Does anyone know anything yet?" Joey asked with concern.

"No, we are waiting," Stacy said as Lance put his arm around her.

As the group stood in the hall talking, JC came back. "She is out of X-Ray and in a private room now. We can go in and see her." Everyone followed JC to Michelle's room anxiously. They were not prepared for what they were going to see.