Forever & Always 3

2.0

FLASHFORWARD: a week later

JJ had refused to leave Hadiyeh's side for a week, he hadn't eaten, he hadn't drunk, he hadn't slept, hoping she would wake up. 

"JJ." Simon had entered the room, holding Jannah on his hip, the child hadn't seen her father in a week. JJ wasn't in parenting condition so Saeedeh and Tobi had taken it upon themselves to parent, "Jannah wanted to see you."

"Hey, bubba." JJ got up from the bedside seat moving to hold his daughter, who ran into her father's arms. 

"What happened to mama?" Jannah whispered as JJ sat back down Jannah on his leg. 

"Mama's a princess, did you know that?" JJ had thought about breaking the news to their daughter, about Hadiyeh in a coma.

"Auntie Saeedeh said she's like snow-white, she's in asleep, waiting for you to kiss her, baba, do you think if you kiss her she'll wake up?" She looked up to her father through her long eyelashes, she and Hadiyeh had spent a large period of the time when JJ was on tour watching all of the Disney princess' movies but somehow Jannah always thought her mother was more magical than all of the princess' put together

"I think it's going to take more than my kiss to wake her up," JJ replied, a sad smile on his face as he kissed Jannah's head, "It's going to be just me and you, bubba, for a while."

"Baba?"

"Hm?" 

"Can we go home?"

"I thought you liked staying with Saeedeh and Tobi?"

"They're nice but I miss my room," She said pouting, "Fifi misses her friends."

"Yeah, we'll go home soon bubba." He whispered taking his eyes off his daughter to look at his wife. During the past week she hadn't changed, still pale, her lips had lost all of their colours. Yet, somehow to JJ, she was the prettiest woman he had ever set his eyes on.

"JJ a minute." Simon stands in the corner of the room, it was hard watching his friend crumble into a thousand pieces yet he couldn't do anything to help.

"Bubba, do you want to go to aunt Talia?" JJ faced his daughter holding her small hands in his large palms.

"Okay," She nodded kissing her fathers cheek before jumping out of JJ's grasp, she stood on her tippy toes kissing her mothers cheek, "Get well soon, mama, me and baba miss you." She said a small smile on her lips. Her mother was asleep and soon she would wake up, Jannah thought to herself as she walked out of the room, her mother had to wake up. 

JJ shut his eyes as Jannah walked out of the room stopping the tears that would come flowing, seeing his daughter act so empathetically made him want to melt, a trait she had picked up from Hadiyeh; he held himself together in front of Simon stopping the sob from escaping his throat.

"We need to talk," Simon said as the door opened, Josh, Saeedeh and Tobi walked in stern expressions on their face.

FLASHBACK: GQ AWARDS

Jack gets up hugging Hadiyeh, her perfume filling his head with the familiar scent of vanilla and comfort blinding his scenes. JJ sat there as he watched his wife hug Jack Harlow the guy who he had looked up to for many years.

"So what are you doing here, love?" Jack asked her twirling the straw in his hands.

"Same as you." She replied casually snatching two lemonade from one of the server's trays walking past.

"Thanks," JJ thanked her, then turned to face Jack, "so how did you meet?"

"I was this ugly nerd in high school and I might have had a small crush on hads."