Sunshine in the Rain

39. Gentle

I wake up in the Chateau. JJ is looking at me with worry. My head starts hurting super bad and I close my eyes because of the light. I groan in pain. I hear JJ close the blinds a little.

"Hey princess." JJ says softly, to not make my head hurt more. I open my eyes and look at him. Even though the blinds are closed, I can see him perfectly. He looks like he's been crying. He puts his hand on my forehead. "Your temperature is still a little warm."

"Hey J." I say. JJ gently hugs me. "What happened after that fat bastard punched me?" I ask.

"Don't panic." JJ says. "But, John B is in jail right now." He says. My eyes go wide and I sit up but I start getting dizzy and I lay back down. "I thought I told you to not panic." JJ says, cracking a little bit of a smile. I smile a little too. I've never seen him this soft and gentle before. "Shoupe let you off the hook for attacking Thomas. I doubt he'll do it again though." JJ says. "Stupid ass cops."

"When's JB's trial?" I ask.

"In a few hours." JJ says. He brushes some hair out of my face with his fingers. "Are you hungry for anything? Do you need an ice pack for your head?" He asks. "I already put one on your calf." I look at my elevated calf with ice on it.

"Can I have some water?" I ask. "Please?"

"Yeah of course princess." He says. He kisses my forehead and grabs me some water. I stare at the ceiling and think about what my twin must be going through right now. JJ walks back over. "Here you go." He says. He helps me sit up and then he hands me the cup. I start chugging it and then I hand it to JJ. "Do you want to take a nap? Do you wanna talk?" JJ asks. "I still don't know what that dream was about."

"Are you sure you really wanna hear it?" I ask. "It's kinda dark." I say.

"I'm sure." JJ says.

"Okay, umm well, ummmm." I stutter so JJ holds my hand.

"You can do it baby." He says. "I'm right here." I take a deep breath and then gather my thoughts.

"I was screaming." I say. "JB! NOOO!!" I go on. "Rafe Cameron was pointing a gun at JB and he was holding onto my wrist super tight so then I couldn't escape. JB was telling me to run but I couldn't. Then Rafe shot JB and ran away." Tears drop down my face as I tell the story. "Then I run over to JB but before he dies he says, 'It's all your fault.'" I sniffle. "Then blood goes everywhere and I ask you for help but you have a gun and you shoot yourself." I say. I look JJ in the eyes. I leave out a key detail, when he says that he doesn't love me. I don't need JJ to feel pressured to tell me that he loves me.

JJ hugs me and I cry into his t-shirt. "Shhh, you're okay." He says. "Ash, I promise you that will never happen." JJ says. "Ever." He says.

We lay with each other on the couch and then JJ starts crying. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask him. I run my fingers through his hair.

"John B is my best friend. He's the closest thing to me that I've ever had besides you." JJ says. "And he's in jail but he's innocent." JJ starts crying. "I can't lose him Ash." I rub JJ's back. He's never cried like this before. Later, we both fall asleep in each others arms. "Je t'aime" I hear JJ say before I drift off to sleep.