~Tossing the Old Pig Skin~ (Full/Starting)

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica Danielle Rochester


~Jessie~

The next morning I went downstairs for breakfast, the same smile still planted on my face. My father waited for me in the kitchen. Currently, he was sipping his first cup of freshly brewed coffee. I could smell it from all the way from my room. “Good morning,” my father stated. He didn’t seem very happy. I helped myself to a bowl of cereal. My father watched my every move as if expecting me to run out of the house screaming.

“Good morning,” I said a little cautiously. This didn’t seem good at all. You could cut the tension with a knife. My father took another sip of his coffee and placed it on the counter beside him. He folded his arms and leaned against another counter.

“Are you going to tell me about last night?” I knew I was in trouble. Obviously, he hadn’t talked with Travis yet. I assumed he was waiting for me. It probably was suspicious to see me walk into the house wearing someone else’s jacket on top of my own, my hair still a little damp, my make-up a little runny and to watch me place my wet phone in a bowl of rice. I’m sure my father had a lot of questions for me. I sighed and retold everything though I took out the part where Travis and Stephanie weren’t at the party. It was harmless and I didn’t drink or do drugs. That, I could tell, satisfied my father. I also decided not to include the fact that I had kissed a boy on the cheek. By the looks of my father’s face, I was regretting it.

Joe was the football captain of the team. I was just another player. I had school plus football. Not to mention, I had to start looking at colleges pretty soon. I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to study in college. I was good at a lot of things but nothing really seemed to catch my eye. After I retold the details of the party, my father gave a small nod and said nothing. Instead, he finished his coffee, placed the cup in the sink and headed upstairs to change into his workout clothes. He would be going for a jog. Usually, he never went for a job except at the post gym. If he jogged at home, it meant he needed to think about some things.

I was his only daughter. My father wasn’t used to this kind of thing. This was usually mom’s territory but with her not here to raise me as a girl my father didn’t know what to expect or even how to handle it. Now, my brothers were easy to raise. I was the challenge. I watched my father start out at a run outside but he didn’t get very far. He grabbed his chest in pain and fell to the ground. I ran outside only to scream for help. The ambulance arrived eight minutes later.

I sat in my father’s hospital room for what seemed like forever. The doctor informed me he was stable and would be fine. It was just a minor heart attack and my father just needed rest. I knew there was more. I had called Travis and he arrived with Stephanie shortly after I got to the hospital. Sitting in the room was a nightmare. I muttered something to Travis along the lines of needing something to drink so I left the room. I didn’t even know where a vending machine was.

Watching my father suffer a heart attack was scarier than I ever thought. I always thought of him a fit guy. He was a Lieutenant General of the Marines. He was a sniper. He was my father and he was supposed to be indestructible; like Superman. He wasn’t supposed to wind up in the hospital. Only his kids were.

I didn’t know where I was going but I wondered the halls. Every now and then I would look into rooms of other patients out of curiosity. Some looked like they were getting better, they were sitting up and talking; a few even laughing whereas others were hooked up to machines just sleeping. I decided to just stare at the ground but that was my mistake. Somehow, I ended up bumping into someone as they were walking out of a room.

“Oh, sorry.” I looked up to apologize and nearly fell over from the shock. “Joe, hi. What brings you here?” I asked then suddenly felt that was a stupid question. I looked over his shoulder to see a girl in the bed behind him. I assumed it was his sister. I gave a small wave and smiled at her. She seemed about seven or eight.

“I hope you feel better soon,” I told her before turning back to Joe. “My dad had a heart attack this morning. He’s fine now but is staying here for observation.” I had no idea why I was opening up to him. That’s when it hit me. I probably looked ridiculous. I was still in my pajamas with a hoody over my shirt and flip flops the hospital had given me so I wouldn’t walk around barefoot. “I was just on my way to get a drink though I don’t really know where a vending machine might be.” If anyone had shot me in that instant, I wouldn’t have called them my rescuer.
 

[iWhite Out]

Spencer Joseph Coleman

j o e

Joe had spent the night in the recliner next to Willow's bed, a thick brown knit blanket covering him. At about eight in the morning, Wilow woke Joe up by throwing one of her left over french fries at his sleeping figure. He woke with a fright, thinking she was hurt again. Willow had been short of breath since she pierced her lung.

Joe never got used to how elfin her face looked, the pointed chin, wide almond shaped eyes, and a button nose. She was looking better today, since her body had time to rest and heal itself. As usual, she had a large trivia book opened up on the bed tray and was entranced in the detail on the pages. Every few seconds she would let slip a look of shock, disgust, or amusement. And every few minutes, she would tell an especially funny or weird one to Joe. "Did you know that a quarter has 119 grooves around the edge. But a dime has 118 ridges around the edge! Wow!"

Joe took the time spent on Willow duty to catch up on his homework. Mainly, reading for AP English, or Chemistry problem sets. He tried his hardest on math, but without his text book he was sunk.

"Hey, Wills, you want something from the vending machine?" After thirty minutes of being awake, his stomach awoke. And knowing how his little sister ate, her stomach would be awaking soon.

And apparently, her stomach was already roaring. She pulled a piece of paper out from under her book and handed it to Joe without taking her eyes from the book. With a chuckle, Joe took the list and gasped. "Holy crap, Willow! This is your body weight in junk food!"

"Don't forget the soda." She mumbled, eyes still glued to the book. "Haha, did you know that dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors?" She laughed her giggle that sounded like wind chimes. "And that a pregnant goldfish is called a twit?" Joe shook his head, laughed, grabbed his wallet (full of quarters for these occasions) and walked towards the door.

Being at the hospital was so easy. He didn't have to pretend to be the brooding Joe everyone grew up with. At the hospital, he could show his emotions, be Spencer. He didn't have to worry about meeting his stereotype, he had none here. All of the nurses watched him grow up from when he was 10, and knew him like he was their own son. The hospital was his second home. Hell, he felt more at home here, than his real house.

That's why it truly rocked his world when he ran into Jessie, leaving the room. ********. What brings him here? He had to think of a lie, and quick. "Community service." Joe's eyes were wide and locked on hers, searching for if she could see his lie.

Willow, feel better soon? She would never feel better. If she lived to be 16, she would be at most four feet tall, permanently stuck with the image of a five year old. She would never get better.

"Oh, I'm sorry about your father. That must be awful." Joe took her arm and started walking her away from the room before Willow would look up and notice. Joe kept the eye contact, then looked down and noticed she was dressed like she had just rolled out of bed. Joe held his chuckle in, and walked her to the vending machine.

Joe purchased all of the items on Willow's list, and then a candy bar for himself. He was amazed about how much an eight year old could eat while he stuffed it all in the pocket on his hoodie. He got Willow's grape soda, and a coke for himself. He looked at Jessie, kind of embarrassed about how much food he just bought. "It's, uh, not for me. Its, uh, for the girl I'm bringing joy to by talking to her for the day?" Joe didn't mean to end the sentence by a question, he made it up as he spoke, then sighed and leaned against the wall. "Okay, that girl is my sister. She has Ostiogenisis Imperfecta. Her bone's don't have the marrow they usually need to stay strong. She breaks a bone almost once a month. Some breaks are more serious than others. She's eight, but looks three to most people. She'll never get taller than four foot." Joe felt oddly at ease after having told someone his secret. But he knew better than to assume she would be accepting of the curse put upon his family. Only strangers thought Willow to be a curse, but Joe wouldn't want his sister to be any other way. Willow was perfect, no one could convince him otherwise.

"See you." Joe mumbled and hurried off back to Willow's room, his eyes glued to the ground, teeth set on edge. What did he just do? If she told, it would be all over the school and people would assume that Joe was soft and damaged goods.
 

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica Danielle Rochester


~Jessie~

I didn’t really understand why Joe would hide the fact that he had a little sister. That is, until, he told me of her disease. I suddenly felt bad for the girl but realized I shouldn’t. There were probably hundreds of people that felt sorry for her. If I was going to feel sorry for the girl, I wasn’t going to show it. The kid probably had enough on her plate. Though, deep down I wanted to meet her. I could tell Joe really cared for her.

As Joe bought a bundle for his sister, I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Well, I’ll tell ya one thing. She sure can eat for an eight year old.” And then Joe just left, with his eyes on the floor. Was he ashamed of me? Or of his sister? He didn’t need to be. With my brother Louis being a doctor, he told me his opinion on reoccurring patients. They didn’t need nor want pity. At most, they wanted friends or people to treat them like any other person. Nothing different and nothing special.

I got a soda and a bag of chips before heading back to my father’s room. My father still hadn’t awoken yet so I retold the story about the party to Travis and Stephanie adding in the end that I had just bumped into Joe. When they asked why he was in the hospital, I thought about whether to tell them or not. Joe seemed either ashamed or worried about the well being for his sister. Instead, I just told them he was doing community service for the hospital. Travis could tell something was up but he didn’t ask me about it.

Around noon, dad finally awoke. It seemed he just took a nap because the heart attack seemed a lot on him. He was put on some medication and sent home the next day. I finished my homework and even tossed the football around a few times with Travis. Later that night, however, I took Stephanie to my room and had a little chat with her. I didn’t like it but she was the only girl I could really go to at this point. Instantly, she knew it was about Joe. What was I to do?

“Tell him how you feel. Flirt a little. Guys like that.” She shrugged like it was no big thing. But, somehow, I knew it was different for Joe. As if, he wasn’t the kind of guy that was into that. I thought it was stupid. I wasn’t good at flirting. I wasn’t really good handling guys when it came to a relationship. I never really had a boyfriend. Kissing Joe on the cheek the other night was a first for me. I thanked Stephanie and left it at that. On Monday, I still had to return Joe’s jacket but I had a little surprise for his sister I was a little excited to give.

 

[iWhite Out]

Spencer Joseph Coleman

j o e

Joe felt awful for being so rude to Jessie. He knew that she had the potential be the only person who understood Willow's rare disease. When Joe got back into the room, Willow looked as if she had not moved at all. Joe thought he was in the clear, that Willow didn't see Jessie, then the frail creature spoke, "Did you get all my food? Oh, and I saw the pretty girl. Is that the new football player?"

Joe squeezed his eyes shut, and sighed, sitting down in the recliner. "Yup, and yup." Joe emptied his pocket onto Willow's tray and she began to devour the junk food.

"I want to meet her," she managed to get out with her mouth completely full.

Joe sighed and chuckled. "Why do you want to meet her?"

After gulping down her current mouthful of food, she locked eyes with Joe. "Spence, you can't be my only friend. I want to meet her so we can be best friends and talk about you. And she can like paint my nails and do my hair. Come on, Spence, I need a girl friend!"

Joe shook his head, looking at his lap then back at his little sister. "You can meet her after you get out of the hospital." Willow squeaked, and clapped her hands, then stuffed her face with more chips.

The spout of eight year old type questions began, no pause for Joe to answer. He leaned back in the chair, watching the small girl talk and eat and talk and eat.

"Is she your girlfriend? Are you guys in love? Are you guys gonna get married? Have you kissed her yet? What's she like? Is she a tom boy? Is she girly? Why was she here?" Willow paused, mouth open, searching for more questions, and coming up blank, stared at Joe expectantly.

With a sigh and a smile, Joe answered her: "No, no, probably not, no, she's great, yes, oh hell no, and her dad had a heart attack."

Willow gasped, her hands over her full mouth. "That's awful!" She took another bite. "You should take her to dinner tonight and apologize for being a jerk."

"What makes you think I was a jerk?"

"You're always a jerk to people who aren't your family." Joe nodded at the truths of an eight year old and agreed. Joe wondered if Jessie's phone was back in commission yet, and texted her.

Hey. Dinner tonight? We need to talk.
SJC

"There. You happy? I hear mom coming, hide all your wrappers. When the sugar rush comes on, don't tell her I let you eat so much junk." Joe kissed her on the forehead, as light as a whisper.

Joe headed home to change into something more appropriate for a date and to over think again, as he always did with the simple things in his life.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica Danielle Rochester


~Jessie~

Once Stephanie left my room, I began to read a little more in my English book for class. It hadn’t been for very long before Travis came in without knocking. “Hey, squirt. Found this in the bowl of rice.” Travis tossed me my phone. I felt whole again but something was wrong. It was powered up which meant my brother turned it on. “You have a text from your boyfriend. It seems someone has a date tonight.” Travis winked at me and closed the door as I threw my pillow at him.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I shouted in rebuttal before checking my phone. I checked my inbox and read Joe’s text. This wasn’t a date. It was just dinner. Seconds later, Stephanie walked in with a big smile on her face. Another makeover was about to ensue but I told her it was alright. I would do it myself. Not to mention, I would do it my way. Stephanie was content with that, not that I needed her permission, and I replied to Joe.

Sounds great. Swing by around 7. - JD

It was short, simply and it didn’t seem like I was expecting anything because I wasn’t. At least, I figured I wasn’t. I did, however, wonder what SJC stood for because the number was Joe’s. Then again, I guess it didn’t really matter. It was still from him. When it came time, I showered and changed into a nice top, jeans and sneakers. It wasn’t too girly and it wasn’t too tomboy. With Stephanie’s help, I began to apply makeup. The doorbell rang. Joe was early. Before my brother could answer the door, I popped my head out over the staircase.

“Trav, you say one wrong thing and I’ll kill you.” My brother just laughed and went to open the door as I headed back into my room. I could hear everything my brother was saying.

“Come on in.” Travis welcomed. I quickly finished my makeup, grabbed my wallet as well as his jacket and the book. “So, would you call this a date?” Travis asked just as I headed down the stairs. As I passed my brother I wacked him on the back of the head. “Hey, I call foul.”

“Ref isn’t here. No ref. No foul.” I shrugged and headed out the door with Joe. When it came to my brothers and I, my father was always playing ref for our fights. Sometimes, even our little 'playing' moments. Though, after what Travis asked Joe I wanted to hurl something at his face. A simple hit would have to suffice.

“Sorry about that. Brothers.” I sighed once we were out of ear shot of my brother. In a way, I was glad it was only Travis there to play big brother. If Mike, my oldest brother, had been there, Joe would be in deep trouble. That and I would also suffer a greater embarrassment than what I went through with Travis. As we stopped at his car I handed Joe his jacket almost forgetting that I had it. “Thanks for letting me borrow the jacket the other night.” From underneath the jacket, I pulled out the Trivia book I had purchased before leaving the hospital. “This is for your sister. When I saw her, I noticed she liked Trivia books so I got this for her from the hospital gift shop.” I gave a shrug as if it was no big thing. It really wasn’t but I felt like I should have gotten for her. “I hope she likes it.”
 

[iWhite Out]

Spencer Joseph Coleman

j o e

Joe showered, then dressed in dark jeans, red Toms, and a clean white V-Neck. He styled his hair, then got in his Jeep, heading towards Jessie's house. He felt like he had to earn her forgiveness somehow for lying to her about Willow at first, then blowing her off. Willow was his life. He had never had to worry about how people would react to her before, because no one knew about her.

Joe pulled up to the house and went to the door. He was a bit early, but he didn't mind. He rang the doorbell and was greeted by the brother. Joe guessed her father was resting. After shaking the older man's hand, he introduced himself as Travis. Travis then asked if Joe was taking his sister out on a date. The question caught him off guard, Joe's eyebrows raised, and eyes wide, she shrugged. He opened his mouth to answer, when Jessie flew down the stairs and attacked her brother. Joe guessed it was a delicate situation.

Once at the car, Joe took his jacket back, tossing it in the back seat, and was surprised to see Jessie had gotten Willow a trivia book. Joe gasped softly, taking the book. "She doesn't have this one yet..." He muttered, overwhelmed by a rush of feelings for this girl. When others would try to get Willow "get well soon" teddy bears or flowers, no one ever got her what she truly wanted. Because no one cared to notice enough.

Joe, in a rush of overpowering emotion, used his one free hand to take Jessie's face in his hand and kiss her. He dug his fingers in her hair and kissed her lips tenderly, the butterflies in his stomach taking him off guard. After a short while, he let go, opening his eyes and looking right into hers. Once he had gotten his breath back, and was able to think straight, he was able to speak coherently. "Well, lets go get something to eat, shall we?" Joe opened her door, then got in.

He drove them to a quiet Chinese restaurant, a popular place in town. Fortunately, there was only an elderly couple, and an oriental family of five eating there tonight, besides them. Joe got them a table and he sat down across from her.

"Listen, I'm sorry about how I acted today. My sister, Willow, if the most important thing in my life, and I'm very protective about her and her feelings. Most people think she isn't a normal person because her body breaks. But she is an amazing little girl, and she is so smart, you wouldn't believe it. I assumed there was no one who could handle the strangeness that Willow is, but I was wrong. You can handle her. In fact, when Willow gets out tomorrow, she wants to meet you. She doesn't have any girlfriends, and well, lets just say she's excited to meet you." Joe ended his little speech with a warm smile at the girl who's stolen his heart in three days.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica Danielle Rochester


~Jessie~

Out of all the things I was expecting on our little hangout or date or whatever you wanted to call it, a kiss was not among them. For some reason, I did something right because he just grabbed my head and kissed me. My brain stopped working. Everything around us disappeared and I couldn’t remember anything up until that point. My legs felt weak but, somehow, I remained standing.

It was strange. I had never kissed a guy before but I felt, as if, I knew what I was doing. When Joe pulled away and I got into the car, I was relieved that my father wasn’t home to see that out of the window. As Joe drove out of the driveway, I noticed the blinds in the window moved. Either Stephanie or Travis had watched whatever had happen, unfold. Now I was definitely out of my element. I had never felt this way about anyone before. I wasn’t even sure what to call it.

Everything seemed to mesh together. One minute, Joe was kissing me and the next I was sitting in his car not saying a word. My cheeks were burning and I had to cool them down. I tried to think of other things on the way to the restaurant which resulted in me not saying anything. What had made Joe kiss me? Was it just because I had gotten his sister a Trivia book? Now, I was curious to see what would happen once Christmas rolled around but that wasn’t for awhile.

We were seated at a table to ourselves and I immediately grabbed the menu. Joe explained about his sister. I understood as I remembered my little cousin. Lydia was my closest cousin and one of my best friends. If anyone knew what Joe’s sister was going through, it was her. “I understand about your sister. My cousin Lydia didn’t go through the same thing but something similar. She was diagnosed with Leukemia since she was a few years old. It wasn’t until her seventh birthday did she finally go into remission. So I understand why your sister is important to you and why you’re so protective. It’s understandable.” I shrugged like it was a normal thing.

The thought of meeting his sister was a little nerve racking. She was close to him and knew everything about her brother. I had only known him for three days. But she needed a friend. Heaven knew I needed a few girl friends myself. “I’d love to meet your sister. I don’t know if I’m girl friend material since I’m not into a lot of girly stuff but I can try. Oh, and don't worry about yesterday. It's no big deal.” It was strange that I was meeting his sister already.

I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. What did that make us? Were we just friends? Did he even mean to kiss me? All I knew was that I liked it but I was still confused about a few things. He was the captain of the football team. I was his running back. Since he kissed me were we dating now? Mentally, I slapped myself. I needed to get a hold on things; especially this. I looked back at the menu and tried to figure out what I wanted. At least, that was something I could easily decide on.
 

[iWhite Out]

Spencer Joseph Coleman

j o e

Joe and Jessica got their food, and sat, just talking until their waitress came over and informed them that the restaurant closed in twenty minutes. Joe, after paying, escorted Jessica out of the building and to his Jeep. On the drive home, they discussed how Joe would bring Willow over to Jessie's the next day, and then they would be able to do whatever they wanted, with Joe following, just in case something happened to Willow.

At her door, Joe gave her a soft, quick kiss, and told her he'd see her tomorrow, then left to check Willow out of the hospital. Upon seeing Willow, her smile grew to hold her entire face. "Guess what, squirt? You're having a girl date tomorrow with Jessie."

The squeal that enveloped the room made Joe's head throb. "Really? You mean it?! We can talk about the different species of lizards indigenous to America, or the history of the penny, or OOH, even the many interesting facts about the tiger shark!"

Joe chuckled, and pulled the new trivia book from behind his back and tossed it on Willow's tray. A similar squeal sounded. "It's from Jessie."

Willow leafed through the book while Joe signed the papers to take Willow home. After all the paper work was squared away, Joe loaded all forty pounds of her in a wheelchair and pushed her out to the Jeep and buckled her into the booster seat they got for her which stayed in his backseat. She read the trivia book, some facts aloud, while Joe drove home.

Once home, Joe unpacked her in her own bed, kissed her good night, and went back to the living room, noticing his mother passed out on the couch. Dad must not be home then, Joe pondered. She always awaited her husbands arrival on the couch so she could hear him come in and wake up,

---

The next morning, Joe woke up and got Willow up. Sometimes he felt like a single parent. Having to take care of a child with special needs all by himself, but he liked it that way. He felt more like a father to Willow than a brother. But he didn't care. If he could, he would adopt her. But he was still just a big brother.

Joe drove Willow over to Jessie's house, a path he knew by heart by now and let Willow ring the doorbell, dressed in jeans, a long sleeved flowing blue top with glittery dragons and chucks. Well, a chuck, and a cast.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica Danielle Rochester


~Jessie~

The date with Joe was the best time I ever had. We stayed at the restaurant up until closing. We talked about anything and everything we could. I didn’t feel nervous or even care about anyone else. Everything went perfectly. Even when Joe gave me a quick kiss goodnight. I was lighter than air but then I remembered one of our previous conversations. Willow was coming over the next day with Joe and I didn’t know a thing about her actual disease. Not to mention, I didn’t know that much about girl stuff.

Once I walked in the door, I went up to my room to call Louis. Thankfully, he was still up and at home instead of work.

“Hey, toad.” My brother greeted. “Heard you got on the football team. Congrats.”

“Yeah, thanks meatball head.” I told him. “Louis, I need a favor. I need you to tell me everything you know about Osteogenesis Imperfecta.”

~~~~~~~~

The next morning, I called Stephanie and asked her all about being a girl and having a girl’s day. I even looked up a few things on the internet. By the time Willow and Joe arrived, I was all set with everything.

Willow was the smallest 8 year old I had ever seen though when her face lit up when she saw me, I didn’t seem to care anymore about her disease. Still, when I gave her a hug, I tried not to squeeze too tightly. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Willow.” I opened the door for them to come in and guided them to the living room where I had set up a few things.

It wasn’t much but I tried to make it look like a little salon. A few buckets, a few different colors of nail polish, some drinks in a cooler and a little tiara my cousin had left with us. “Now, today you are no longer just Willow. Today, you are Princess Willow.” I placed the tiara on her head and gave a little bow. “Your wish is my command. If the princess wishes, I have a salon set up for you where you will have your nails and hair done and feel like a queen.” Thankfully, I had a done a few girly things with my cousin to know how to play with an 8 year old girl. I could only hope she was into the same things my little cousin was into.