| Kara leaned her forehead against Joey�s shoulder. She tried desperately not to start bawling. She finally took a breath and looked up at the doctor. �Will he be okay?� she asked, softly. She sniffled a little. Dr. Martin looked down at her clipboard again as if it held the secrets of the universe. �We�ll have to see after the surgery.� �He�ll live though, right?� Kara asked, holding back tears. Dr. Martin took a breath but this time didn�t look at the papers in her hand. �We�re not sure. We�ll see if the operation turns out good. But we can�t promise anything.� Kara shed a couple tears and leaned on Joey again. He gave her a soft pat on the shoulder and whispered in her ear �Everything will be okay. J will be fine.� Dr. Martin was about to leave when Kara stopped her saying, �Can I see him?� The doctor turned around and let her glasses fall low on her nose and she smiled with a slight sense of pity. �Sure, but just real quick. Follow me.� Kara looked at Joey and he nodded his head. She followed Dr. Martin through the swinging doors and into Justin�s room. Kara stepped in and Dr. Martin left her in silence. Justin was lying there with tubes and IV�s everywhere. The only noises in the room were the steady beeping of machines and Kara�s clear slow steps towards Justin. She stood next to his bedside and stroked his hair. �Justin?� she whispered. �Honey, it�s me. Your Care-Bear.� She shut her eyes tight and opened them slowly praying that her tears wouldn�t start pouring out. �Justin, you�re going to make it. And after this, everything�s gonna be just as perfect as it was before. We�re going to get married in April like we planned. And we�re gonna have three kids like we decided. And we�re gonna grow old together, like we want. But Justin, baby, first you gotta get through this.� A nurse walked in and cleared her throat. �Excuse me, Ms. Adams. I�m sorry, but we�re going to have to take Mr. Timberlake into the OR now.� Kara wiped away a tear. �I love you Justin,� she mumbled. She walked past the nurse and out the door. By the time Kara got back to the waiting room, Joey had stopped pacing and was sitting quiet and still in a chair. She sat down next to him and they sat in silence. He leaned forward with his head in his hands. He took a deep breath. As he leaned back into his chair, Joey whispered to Kara and to himself, �Justin�s going to be ok. He�ll get through this.� Kara and Joey sat in silence until a few hours later Dr. Martin came into the waiting room staring at her clipboard. �Is he okay?� Kara asked with a crackled voice. Dr. Martin took a deep breath. Kara leaned her forehead against Joey�s shoulder. She looked back up at Dr. Martin with a look of hurt on her face. �He�s d�� Kara tried to start. �I�m so sorry,� Dr. Martin tried to explain, �He was doing fine but suddenly towards the end of the operation�� Kara shook her head to tell her to stop. �I� It�He�� She took a breath knowing if she even tried to finish her sentence she would start sobbing uncontrollably. �We�re very sorry,� Dr. Martin mumbled as she left the room. Kara fell into Joey�s arms, sobbing. He hugged her back and a tear fell down his cheek. They stayed like that until Kara couldn�t cry anymore. �I miss him already, Joey,� she whispered. Joey hugged her. �Yeah, me too.� "Justin?" Kara mumbled to herself. "Why can't you be with me? I need you." There was a knock at her door but she didn't look up. Megan let herself in and walked over to her best friend's side. She moved Kara's long silky brown hair from her face and noticed the framed picture that rested in her hands. Megan sat at the edge of the bed and rested her hand on Kara's shoulder. "It's okay." Kara shook her head. "No it's not. It's my fault." "That's not true. IT's not your fault. It's no one's fault," Megan answered, "No ones." Kara looked up at her best friend with hurt eyes and tear stained cheeks. "Yes, it is. Justin's dead because of me." She pointed to herself. Megan brushed away a few strands of hair away from Kara's face. "Listen to me. It's not your fault." Kara snickered and looked back down at the photo. "Maybe it isn't my fault." She looked at Megan. "But you know what was so damn ironic? We had ice cream." Tears rolled down her face and Megan gave her a comforting hug. "It's ok," Megan whispered. "Everything's going to be ok." She paused. "Justin's okay." Kara pulled away and looked at Megan straight in the eye. "Are you sure?" Back to Chapters Next Chapter |