If Love Really Does Exist [Jaime Preciado]

Fresh Start

"Well, life was great until then. Until Hime and Tone left. And when they found their way back into my life, things were great again. I admit it, I am mentally and emotionally unstable. Once they left, I began drinking but my mom made me stop since I was pregnant. So the only other alternative that came to mind was cutting and that's what I did. And that's what I did last week when Jaime and I got on bad terms...", I talked to my shrink that the boys had forced me to see. Hime and Tone had tagged along for support.

"Why didn't you make an attempt to get back in contact with them once they left?", she asked me.

"I was angry. I felt betrayed and unwanted. Plus, I thought that they were moving on to bigger and better things and no longer needed me in their lives", I admitted.

"Well, we did need you, Rae. Nothing was the same once we left", Hime spoke up.

"Right. Jaime and I still had each other, but neither of us felt complete without you. There was obviously a piece of us missing and we never quite adjusted to life without you..", Turtle added.

I smiled a bit. "Jaime, did you ever consider the possibility that maybe she would end up pregnant?", the therapist asked.

He shrugged. "Well, we didn't use protection, so I knew there was a possibility, but, I was in the mind frame of thinking that it would never happen to me..."

"But why did you not contact her after leaving to be sure? Plus, she admitted her love for you and everything and you didn't even bother trying to keep in contact?"

"I didn't want to be a bother. I figured she hated me and I didn't want to hurt her anymore than what I had already done".

"But it's okay because I'm gonna put all of that behind me. I don't want to keep living in the past. I have both of my best friends back, one of them being my lover, and I also have a brilliantly beautiful baby girl. Plus, I've made new friends, ones that love and understand me. At this moment, I couldn't be any happier", I said as I smiled over at Jaime and Tony, causing them to smile, too.

*****

Our session was finished soon after. When we got home, the boys confiscated the remaining blades I had. They then posted signs around the house that said:

'For Kay & Rae, we all love you girls very much. You two are such a big part of our lives and we want you to be happy. Before doing anything drastic, talk to one of us, take a long, hot bath, play with the kids, take a dip in the pool.. remember that we love you, so don't forget to love yourselves'.

Kay thought it was a good idea, so I didn't argue. I sat in the living room that night, on the couch watching The Little Mermaid. All the kids were fast asleep, Jaime hit the hay hours ago and I guess the other girls and gals had done the same. Except for Tony. He came in the living room and plopped down beside me.

"Sup, shorty?"

"I am not short!", I defended myself.

He shrugged. "Whatever helps you sleep at night", he responded.

"And why aren't you asleep exactly?", I asked him.

"Cause I could hear Sebastian yelling all the way in my room".

"Oh.. sorry", I apologized as I grabbed the remote to cut the volume down.

He laughed at me and took the remote. "I was kidding. I came to hang out with my best friend. Is that so wrong?"

"Of course not", I giggled. I then turned my body to where my head was laying on his chest and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Thanks, Tone", I whispered.

"For what?", he asked as he began stroking my hair.

"For being there. For caring. For saving me. For loving me", I told him. "You're an amazing person".

"Yeah, well I think you're worth it. And you deserve it. You deserve for someone to be there, showing you how much they love and care for you. And I'll be the person to do it if no one else will", he stated, his chest vibrating on my cheek as he spoke. I smiled to myself. He then leaned down and kissed my forehead slightly, still stroking my hair. Together, we watched the talking mermaid and her underwater friends until we were both fast asleep.

*****

JAIME'S POV

I woke up later than I usually did since none of the kids barged in on me and interrupted my slumber this morning. Surprisingly, the house was still quiet, meaning that everyone was still asleep. I casually walked around the house and into the living room, where I found Raegan curled up on the couch with Tony laying behind her.. his arm wrapped around her small frame. I stood and observed the scene for a moment. A tinge of jealousy ran through me, but it wasn't a big deal because Tony's my best friend and he didn't have feelings towards Rae other than as a big brother. It was actualy kind of cute.. how he was taking such good care of my baby.. although that was my job. I snapped a picture of them on my phone and since flash was on, they were awakened by the bright light.

Raegan groggily rubbed her eyes. "What're you doing Hime?", she questioned.

"Posting you guys on Instagram", I said casually.

"You're such a jerk", Tony said as he sat up.

"It was cute though", I teased.

"I don't want our fans to see this soft side of me", Tony said all too seriously.

I laughed aloud. "Dude, all our fans think that you're just the biggest teddy bear already. This won't make much of a difference". Tony laughed, too before exiting the room.

"Did you sleep well last night sweetheart?", I asked my girlfriend whose red hair was all adorable and messy.

"Yeah. Best sleep I've had in a while", she smiled.

"It was? Why?", I asked curiously.

She shrugged. "I dunno. There wasn't anything weighing heavily on my mind for once. It was just me, Tony, Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder", she giggled.

"And no Jaime", I added.

"Babe, you were already asleep. You know that there's no one I'd rather snuggle with than you".

"Really?", I asked.

"Really", she stated and wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my nose.

I kissed her back, picked her up and slapped her across my shoulder and ran towards the French doors. I opened them as she yelled and kicked and ran outdoors, jumping into the water along with her.

I came up and gave her a second to come up. I knew she'd be mad at me. But a second changed to a minute and I went into panic mode. I dove underwater in search for her, coming up occasionally to catch my breath. Upon coming up again, she jumped on my back, sending us both under the water again.

She came up first and crawled out of the pool and into the grass. She sat with her knees up to her chin.. her arms wrapped around her legs.. legs trembling and jaws and teeth chattering.

"You scared me to death!", I laughed.  

She stood up and flipped me off. "I hate you", she said 'seriously' as she walked back into the house, dripping wet.

(A/N; Comment!)