JC Chasez opened his piercing blue eyes and squinted as the warm morning sun shone brightly through the open bedroom window. The early fall breeze was rustling the pale green curtains and making a few papers on the desk blow to the floor. JC threw back the single sheet that covered his naked body and groaned as he stepped out of his bed onto the white carpet. He slipped on a pair of red pajama pants and walked out into the hallway.
�Daddy,� Zoe cried, flinging her tiny, four-year-old body into her father�s awaiting arms.
�Morning princess,� JC said, picking her up and flashing one of his famous fake smiles. �How�s daddy�s favorite little girl this morning?�
�Good,� she said. �Me and Marie went swimming and had panny cakes for breakfast.�
JC smiled as his maid, Marie, came walking into the hallway. He put Zoe down on the floor, and she ran off into her bedroom.
�Morning sleepy head,� Marie greeted. �I thought you were never going to get up.�
The fake smile disappeared from JC�s chiseled face and he rubbed his tired eyes. The clock on the wall showed 11:58. �I can�t thank you enough for helping with Zoe. You have become more than a maid, you are now like her mother. I promise, I will get back on my feet and start help��
�I don�t mind JC. I have been helping around here since before Zoe was born. I love her like she was my own daughter. I love helping out. I am going to take Zoe shopping and do a little food shopping while we�re out. Why don�t you get a shower, and maybe shave�� she touched the stubble of hair on JC�s chin. �Looks like you haven�t done either in a while.�
JC smiled and watched as the older woman took his daughter by the hand and lead her downstairs. He ran his hands through his shaggy hair, and let out a deep sigh. He was falling apart and he knew it. He had no reason to live, except for Zoe. She was his light at the end of the tunnel, his princess, and without her, he wouldn�t be able to make it through the day.
JC stumbled into the large bathroom and looked at himself in the full-length mirror. He had changed; the stress of the past four months had taken its toll on him. Marie was right; he did need a shower and a shave. His hair needed to be cut, too, and he had lost a lot of weight. In the mirror, he looked like a small, frightened child.
The shrill ring of the phone pulled JC from his thoughts and the mirror. He went into his bedroom and took the cordless phone off the desk. It was his mother, calling to check in on him. JC always thought she worried too much, but these days he was grateful she cared enough to call.
�How long have you been feeling this way?�
�About two years.�
Chrissy Smith looked at the 47-year-old man who sat in front of her on the brown, leather couch. Being a physiatrist was something she had wanted to do since she was 16, and now at 21, after four years of college, she fulfilled her dream. Her next big dream was to start her own practice, but that would come with time.
*45 minutes later*
�Okay Ed,� Chrissy said. �That�s it for today. I will see you next Wednesday, same time.�
�Okay Chrissy. Thank you.�
As her last patient of the day left her office, Chrissy closed the appointment book in front of her and rubbed her temples. She felt a headache coming on, and knew when she got home it wouldn�t be much better. Suddenly thinking of home, she picked up the phone and dialed the seven numbers.
�Hello,� she heard a gruff voice say. That voice always scared her, and it took her a minute to find her voice.
�Hi honey. I was just calling to let you know I am on my way home. What would you like for dinner?�
�Stop and get me some burritos from Taco Bell. I don�t care what you and the kid eat.�
�How was Zack today?�
�He was fine,� Ethan said. �Once I put him in his place, he was fine.�
Chrissy winced. If her boyfriend had layed a single-hand on her son, she would kill him.
�Okay honey. I�ll be home after I stop and pick up your dinner. I love you.�
�Okay, make it quick. I�m starving.�
�Okay. I love you.�
Chrissy heard the phone click without another word, and gently placed the phone back on the reciever. She looked at the picture of Zack that sat on her desk. It was taken only three months ago, at his fourth birthday party. With an urge to see her little boy, Chrissy got her coat on and left the large building.
The cold October air hit Chrissy full force as she stepped out onto the sidewalk and got into her car. Massachusetts was always cold this time of year, and she could tell this year was no exception. She often longed for a place where it would be warm all year around, and where her and Zack could live with no problems. Only in a perfect world there are no problems, she reminded herself. And this is no perfect world.
Lance Bass reached over to grab the ringing telephone as he looked at the glowing numbers on the clock. 2:46 AM. He didn�t even have to pick it up; he knew who it was going to be. No one else called this late at night. Sighing, he picked up the ringing telephone.
�Hello?�
�Mr. Bass?�
�Yes.�
�Hello. I am calling from Joe�s Bar. Mr. Chasez is here, and in no means to drive home. We were told to call you, and you would pick him up.�
�I�ll be right there.�
Lance hung up the phone and rolled out of bed. He hated this. Hated having to get up every night to drive JC home because he was too drunk. Hated to be the one who was always there, always the one they called. But most of all, he hated seeing JC in such a depression.
�You gonna be okay, man?�
�Yeah Lance. Thanks again.�
Lance watched as JC stumbled out of his car and into his house. He saw the lights comes on, and then JC�s shadow against the wall as he made his drunken way to his bedroom.