Jack hadn’t even begun to come to terms with her disability when her mother walked into the room and almost screamed, “No! My baby!” she bawled as Dan hugged her for comfort.
“Mama,” Jack cried. Dan let go of his aunt. She sat down at her daughter’s side and began to speak to her in Macedonian.
Dan and Darren made their way out of the room to give them some time alone. They stood by the door and waited in silence.
“How are you feeling?” Darren finally asked.
“Helpless,” Dan simply replied. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shoes. “I keep replaying her fall in my mind, over and over and over. Then I wonder how I could have stopped it from happening. I’ve begun to realize that there was nothing I could do. It’s so hard to stand here and watch her laying in that bed unable to move, unable to be the lively, athletic person she used to be. You have no idea what it feels like to lose someone and wish that you could have spent a little more time with her when she was still there. I took her for granted, Darren, and now I regret it.”
“No, you didn’t,” Darren tried to make him feel better. “You couldn’t help not being in her life. Nobody could. Some people die from those kinds of falls. You’re lucky she’s still alive. You can still talk to her, you know? She’s still around. Maybe she is paralyzed, but at least she’s not six feet under.”
“Daniel,” someone called from inside the room. Dan looked up at Darren and walked into the room.
“Yeah, Teta Nikka?” he replied, standing beside her.
“I need to talk to you outside,” she said in her thick Macedonian accent. They walked out the door where Darren was still standing outside. “I can’t stay here any longer, and I don’t have any money to pay for the hospital bills because she couldn’t afford insurance. Daniel, I need you to help her. Stay with her until I make enough money to pay for this mess. I’m sorry to be putting this weight on your shoulders. I know you have your band and everything…”
“Nikka, don’t worry. Darren and I will stay with her. And don’t worry about the hospital bill, it’s already taken care of,” Dan said.
“You’re a good boy, Daniel. One day you’ll make a wonderful husband,” she replied, kissing his cheek then walking down the hall through the double doors.
Darren turned to him and said, “That was strange.”
“She’s been that way ever since Uncle George died. She has a very hard time expressing her love,” Dan explained.
“Was he Jack’s dad?”
“Yeah, he died in a car accident when she moved out here. Nikka’s been blaming Jack ever since.”
“What? Why?” Darren asked in surprise.
“I don’t know, but it runs in the family,” Dan tried to explain. “I know you want more information, but I can’t give it to you, so stop asking. And don’t even think about going up to Jack and talking to her about it. She doesn’t need the extra stress.”
“I’m not about to. I already know that.” Darren began walking towards the door. Dan still stood in the hallway, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Are you coming?”
He looked up and replied, “Yeah.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Dan tiptoed out of the room the moment Darren had fallen asleep that night. He caught a cab and headed for the apartment. He needed time to think things over. ‘Should I cancel the rest of the tour or should I just quit the band so I can take care of her?’ he kept questioning himself until he walked through the door.
He wasn’t alone, though. Someone was ruffling around in the extra bedroom as Dan walked down the hall. He quickly picked up the closest makeshift weapon near him. Although it was a candlestick, it could still pack a punch on the intruder. He slowly walked down the hall until he reached the door to the other bedroom and carefully pushed it open, the candlestick high above his head ready to strike whoever was beyond the threshold. He peered inside to see an average sized, blond haired woman standing by the bed unpacking a suitcase. She turned around, saw him, and screamed.
Dan jumped back also frightened. The girl picked up a random object off the bed, in this case it was a book, and threw it at him as she continued screaming. “Calm down! Calm down!” Dan shouted. “I’m Jack’s cousin.”
The girl stopped screaming and began panting. She stared at him, her eyes slowly widening when she realized who he was. “Oh…my…God,” she slowly worded. “You’re Daniel Jones of Savage Garden! But how could you be related to Jack Jo… Oh! Duh! I must be the dumbest person in the world. I guess the blond jokes do relate to me in some way,” she replied, turning red. “Hi, my name is Nadia Becker. I’m Jack’s best friend and roommate. I’m so sorry about throwing my medical book at you.”
“Pleased to finally meet you, Nadia,” Dan said. “And it’s okay about the book. I should have expected it.”
“Wow, this day just gets better and better,” Nadia told him. “First I get my big job and now I meet one of my favorite people in the world.”
“Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I have some really bad news,” he answered. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Jack’s been involved in a horrible accident. She fell 25 feet and broke her neck.”
“What?” she asked in disbelief. “No, not Jack. She’s not the type of person to just fall 25 feet.”
Straight faced, Dan said, “I’m not kidding. She’s at the hospital right now.”
Nadia sat down on the bed as her head dropped into her hands. “No,” she quietly began to cry. She looked at Dan and asked, “Is she…?”
He nodded without having to hear the rest of her question. Nadia buried her face in her pillow as she continued to sob. Dan sat down beside her and gently stroked her back. “Do you wanna go see her?” he asked.
Nadia sat up and replied, “Yeah.” She wiped her face with the back of her hands and they left.
Reaching the hospital room, they found Darren nuzzling with Jack. He sat on her bed leaning closer to her and dropping light kisses around her face. Dan could feel his blood begin to boil as he watched the heartwarming scene unfold before his eyes. His anger began dissolving when he saw a smile light up Jack’s face. She was truly happy Darren, and Dan knew that there was nothing he could do to keep them apart. He sighed and walked into the room with Nadia.
“Hey, Jack,” Nadia said, her voice a little shaky. Darren looked over at her and moved away from the bed, but not without placing one more kiss on her lips. He and Dan left the room so they could have some privacy.
“Nadia! When did you get back from New York?” Jack replied.
“This afternoon.” Nadia paused to think of what to say next. “Are you able to talk about what happened, or are you still not ready?”
Jack looked away from her. She really didn’t want to. In her mind, she was still in denial. Nadia sensed the tension and decided to change the subject. “Why didn’t you tell me that Daniel Jones was your cousin?” she asked.
“I didn’t even know he was in Savage Garden until he told me,” Jack said, glad to not be thinking about the accident. “Don’t get pissed at me.”
“I won’t if you tell me what’s going on between you and Darren,” Nadia bargained.
“Nadia!” Jack shot back.
“I saw the way he kissed you and the way your face lit up. You can’t tell me nothing’s going on between you two.”
“Well, something did happen between us, but that ended yesterday. We’re just friends now.”
“Bull shit. I don’t think so. Friends do not kiss like that. And besides, how does Dan feel about you two hooking up?”
“He was quite pissed when he first found out. He and Darren got into a pretty big fight, and Dan accidentally cracked my rib when I stepped in to stop them.”
“And how did this all come about now?”
Jack smiled and explained the entire thing to Nadia, carefully leaving out the fact that she and Darren had sex. Nadia sat and listened until she finished the story and shook her head. “And that’s the story so far,” Jack ended.
“Total soap opera,” Nadia commented.
Jack laughed, “I know! Isn’t it?”
Dan walked into the room and interrupted them. “I’m leaving,” he said. “I have to get some real sleep and take a shower. There are a million things rushing through my head right now, and I need to sort them out somewhere far away from here. Jack, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Wait, could you send Darren in?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he answered. Dan left and Darren entered.
“I’ve got a feeling that I’m not gonna be welcomed in here any longer so I’m just gonna go. By the way, where’s Dan staying tonight?” Nadia said as she stood up.
“On our couch,” Jack answered. “And don’t even think about bothering him. He’s really stressed out.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not about to,” Nadia replied as she cantered out the door. ‘Yeah right,’ she snidely thought.