Too Dumb to Figure Out I'm a Girl, Huh, JB? (Original Version)

Too Dumb to Figure Out I'm a Girl, Huh, JB? Part 15

Justin's POV

"She's been out all night and no one's heard from her. Diamond came back without her, and everyone's worried sick. The girls are taking Jordan out to look, but if anyone's got a chance of finding her, it's Toffee. He could find her in a snowstorm," Ryan pleaded. "You might not be on good terms with her, but right now, she could be fighting for her life in the middle of the woods. Please, Justin, help us out!" I looked at his serious face.

I learned really fast last night that I didn't love AJ. But she was still my best friend, and she needed me, like I needed her. Like the air we need to breathe.

I hooked up Toffee and handed the leash to Chaz. I didn't want to be any closer to the girls than I had to. I left a note telling Mom where we were going and then left, running through the hedge and meeting up with the girls. Suprisingly, Lexxi was there, makeup-less and tear stained. Jordan and Toffee exchanged a few barks and then we were off.

We separated to cover more ground. I looked in all the places we used to hang out as a kid. Memories were rushing past my eyes. I stopped for a breather at a huge oak tree. I remembered something I hadn't for a long time.

*Flashback*

We were six. AJ was wearing a little blue dress, with shorts underneath, her face streaked with dirt, and her hair down and flying in all directions. I sat with her under this tree, and I looked at her.

"You would be an awesome boy," I had told her. She had given me a half-smile, that same smile she wore everyday, now that I think of it. "Be a boy," I had asked her. And being AJ, she had complied.

*End Flashback*

AJ did everything for others, she never thought of herself. And even now, when we were running through the forest looking for her, she wasn't thinking of herself. Knowing AJ, she was beating herself up about yelling at her sister, and hiding from me.

Speaking of... My eyes went wide. There was no way she would have gone there! But I had to check anyway. I swerved through the trees as I had so many times before until I reached it.

The treehouse.

AJ and I had made it when we were 8, and wanted to hide from Lexxi. I took a breath, and started to climb the wooden ladder embedded in the tree.

I reached the actual house part and looked around. Everything was finished! All the painting was done, it was furnished with a small couch... AJ must have finished it by herself.

Then I saw AJ.

And it nearly killed me. She was laying in the floor in a tight ball, tears and mud streaked down her face. Her lips were a cold, lifeless blue, and her hoodie was wrapped around her shoulders like a blanket. Her face, ears, and hands were red, and her eyes were shut tight. I inhaled quickly. She looked frostbitten, but it wasn't that cold out.

I felt her forehead. She had a fever. A really HIGH fever. I tried to wake her up, but she was unconscious. I did the only thing that came to mind. I picked her up like a baby, wrapping her legs around my torso so I could get her out of the tree without dropping her.

I took it one step at a time, and when I finally reached the bottom, I looked at her face. She was beautiful, even completely freezing like she was. I put her down, took off my hoodie and my shirt, and wrapped them around her. I needed to keep her warm. I picked her up again, bridal style, and started to trudge my way back through the forest, giving the signature dog whistle that AJ had taught me to call Toffee.

AJ needed to live. I needed her to live. Because when I saw her face, all messy and sleeping, I remembered how much she meant to me.

Chaz's POV

Toffee was leading us straight to Justin, who was whistling from the opposite side of the forest. We met up somewhere in the middle. Justin was shirtless, and carrying AJ, who was unconscious. She was a complete mess, tear stained and mud splattered. Sophie, who was with me, called everyone to let them know what was going on. She also called the ambulance to meet us at the Tyler's house.

We got AJ to the ambulance, and they rushed her to the hospital. Lexxi went in the ambulance with her, and Pattie drove Justin, Christian, Ty, and me while Skylar drove Sophie, Ryan, and AJ's parents, who were too grief-stricken to drive.

Lexxi's POV

I felt horrible.

I had done so many things to break my sister's spirit that I didn't realize why I was doing it.

I had been jealous.

AJ had so many friends. She had so many people who loved her. MY DOG loved her more than he loved me. As the ambulance rushed to the hospital, I sat with my head in my hands, watching as they hooked her up to different machines.

This was all my fault.

Why did I have to go and tell Justin right before she as going to? I knew that was crossing the line, I knew it was wrong. But I did it anyway.

AJ, my little sister. She never stopped loving me, no matter what I did. She never retaliated, and I took advantage of her. I saw it in her eyes last night. She broke.

That side of her that yelled at me... That was all of her emotions pouring out. That was everything she hid inside. And to put it bluntly, she was right.

I was only doing it because she had something I wanted. But I wasn't doing it because of Justin. I was doing it because of all of her friends.

We reached the hospital, and I took her hand as they rushed her to the emergency room. The last time I held her hand, we were five. We were swinging on the swings at the park and AJ fell off. Daddy didn't notice, he was too busy talking on the phone. I had taken her chubby little hand in mine and told her it would be okay. What happened to THAT Lexxi?

When we were born, they put us in the same incubator, because unless I was right next to her, I wouldn't stop screaming. She would give me private concerts when we were younger, and I would clap and sing along sometimes.

When Mommy and Daddy both said goodnight, I would climb into AJ's bed and make sure she didn't have any nightmares. If I wasn't there, she would scream and yell all night because some monster was attacking her. I smiled at the deluge of memories. She used to call me her Dreamcatcher. Remembering this, I got down on my knees asking God to protect my sister. I needed her. I needed to be her Dreamcatcher again.

After a few hours, her temperature got better. Suddenly, she stirred and opened her ice blue eyes. Before she could tell me to go away, or that she hated me, I knelt by her bed and apologized.

"AJ, I am so sorry! You were right, I am the worst sister ever! I would understand if you never want to talk to me again!" I took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Please forgive me!" She smiled at me. With her blonde hair allayed about her on the pillow, she looked like an angel.

"Lexxi, I want you to do something for me," she whispered. She still hadn't gotten her full voice back.

"Anything!" I nodded vigorously. She squeezed my hand.

"Go home and look at the cover of any one of my songbooks. Even better, look at the first song in book one. Just... Trust me," she told me. I got up, dazed. Even now, she was sending me away. No one else but Mom, Dad, Pattie, and Justin were allowed to see her, so Sophie drove Chaz, Christian, Ryan, and me back home in Skylar's car. Skylar and Ty's house was just around the block so they walked home.

Sophie dropped me off, and I walked through the door completely downtrodden. My sister didn't want to see me. I walked into AJ's music room and glanced over her shelf that held all of her songbooks. She had eighteen different notebooks, filled with lyrics, chords, and music for almost every instrument. I smiled softly when I saw the number 1 written in crayon on the cover of the first book.

As AJ had requested, I opened the book to the first page. I gasped as I read the title of the song.

The song was called Dreamcatcher.