Damaged...But Not Broken

Girl Talk/Time Moving Foward

The next morning Jessica wakes up at 8 am, she looks down and realizes she fell asleep with her clothes on. She laughs at herself then gets up to take a shower. She quickly showers then changes into a white tshirt and some jeans and some comfortable shoes. She looks at her phone for the time.
"Oh shit! It's 10 minutes till 9! I'm gonna be late!"
Just then she heard a knock on the door. Jessica looked in the peep hole and opened the door.
"Good morning Jessica!"
"Good morning Kathy!"
"I decided to surprise you because you looked pretty exhausted last night and I figured you would want to sleep in a bit." Kathy said. "I brought us coffee! Oh and I invited Sarah and Lily too, I hope you don't mind. I met them last night and they said how much you've been spending time with them. I told musket why not make this a girls day."
Jessica smiled at Kathy and said "Thanks so much."
"No problem! Sarah and Lily are bringing breakfast and the reviews from last night."
"Great!" said Jessica as they both sat on the sofa.
"So Jess, what happened between you and Sam?! One day we are hanging out and the next you disappear. Next I know I hear you both got a divorce!" said Kathy
Jessica knew the questions were coming but wasn't ready. Jessica looked down and thought, "Well, I gotta bite the bullet and just tell Kathy."
"I'm gonna tell you everything but, can we wait for Sarah and Lily? I was going to tell Sarah because she had brought up if I wanted to talk. I might as well tell the three of you together. Why go through it again."
Kathy looked at Jessica with concern but didn't say anything other than, "Sure, we can wait."
Five minutes later Sarah and Lily arrive with breakfast and the reviews.
"Okay we haven't looked at them, we wanted to wait till we are all here so we can read them together." said Sarah
As they sat on the kitchen table they got their breakfast and coffee and Sarah passed a review to each of them from different critics. They started read and the reviews were great.
"Wow everyone is praising your performance Jessica!" Lily said.
Jessica smiled and continued to read the review in her hand. They all finished reading and continued with their breakfast and talked about the reviews.
The play was a success, even the most toughest critic gave the show very high reviews. Plus all they could talk about was Jessica's performance. Jessica saw words like "mesmerizing", "heartbreaking" and "breathtaking"
"Well, I expect for us to perform sold out shows till closing night!" Sarah exclaimed.
They all talk some more about the play for a bit longer. Jessica was just beyond happy. She had found something that brought her back to life.
Kathy looked at Jessica wanting to know what Jessica has been keeping in inside. Jessica notices Kathy staring and she takes a deep breath.
"Let's move over to the living room, I need to tell you all something."
They sit down on the sofas; Sarah and Lily sit on the love seat and Kathy sits with Jessica on the bigger sofa.
"Sarah? Remember when you said if I needed to talk to someone."
Sarah nods.
"Well I'm ready to talk. Kathy has been a great friend before I stopped calling and Sarah and Lily, you both became great friends and made me feel welcomed." Jessica said while tearing up a bit. "Okay, Sarah, Lily, I don't know if you know but I was married and got a divorce a few months ago."
"We heard it on tmz but I never wanted to bring it up." said Sarah.
"I'm going to tell you why and what happened and Kathy, I'm going to tell you the reason why I stopped calling." Jessica took a deep breath and started from the beginning. From the first time Sam hit her, Sam being controlling and not letting her talk to anyone, catching Sam cheating and her miscarriage.
When Jessica finished, they were all in tears and Jessica was crying hard.
"Oh Jess, why didn't you tell what was going on? You could have whispered it to me or something. I would have come in a heart beat and try to help." Kathy said.
"I...I loved him Kathy! I loved him so much. I was scared to leave. I was so broken and just an empty shell of the woman I used to be." Jessica cried out.
Kathy, Sarah and Lily got up and hugged Jessica as she cried. They comforted her, Jessica hadn't had friends like this in so long she cried even harder because it felt so nice to have people who cared about her.
"When I came to New York I was a mess. Before I decided to go back into acting I.....I thought about suicide!"
"Oh god Jess!" They all cried out.
"I'm just glad I snapped out of it, even though Blanche is a tough role to play, playing her on stage just lets me get all my rage out." Jessica explains.
It was quiet for a couple of minutes while they held Jessica and let her cry it out.
After a while Jessica says, "I'm so glad to have you all! It feels so good to have friends again and to actually get this out."
"Lily and I are so glad we got to meet you Jess! I'm so glad to call you a friend." Sarah said.
"Me too!" says Kathy.

*Time Jump*
Having Kathy, Sarah and Lily in her life she was finally getting back into going out and having girls night, having a day at the spa, getting their nails done. She felt happier, lighter. Like a huge weight was lifted.
A Streetcar Named Desire was sold out each night and each night Jessica's performances were flawless.
Things started to get strange for Jessica too. She began to have that feeling of being watched again as she would walk home or wherever she had to go. She finally stopped walking anywhere and just took her car even though it was a few blocks away of where she needed to go. Also the shadow she saw the night of the after party, she started seeing almost every night. She couldn't understand it. What was this? Was she going crazy? Why was this shadow following her? Was it a ghost?
Also a couple of weeks after the party Jessica found Danny's number in her purse. She looked at it for a while and just the thought of him made Jessica feel...like a high school girl with a crush. "Oh gosh!" Jessica thought to herself as she rolled her eyes. "I know I made a bow to myself but....no! Stop! I can't do this.
She was about to throw his number in the trash but couldn't do it. She out into her drawer as she thought, "Well, maybe some day."

*Closing night*
It was finally the final show. Everyone was excited and sad at the same time. They all felt like a family but after tonight it was time to say goodbye for good for some and for others was more of a see you later.
There a knock on Jessica's dressing room door.
"Come in!"
"Hey Jess!" said Sarah. "Um...someone sent you these roses!"
Jessica turned and looked at Sarah holding a dozen roses. "Who are they from?" she asked in surprise.
"I don't know, I didn't look at the card," said Sarah giggling. "I didn't want to be nosy."
Jessica took the roses from Sarah and set them on her table. She picked up the card and turned it around to read it.
Hello Ms. Lange, I have seen you perform each night. You are an amazing talented woman. I hope to hear from you soon.
                                                            DH
Sarah couldn't help it but she was reading over Jessica's shoulder. "Who's DH?!"
Jessica jumped, she didn't realize Sarah was standing so close.
"Oh um...someone I met at the opening night after party."
"Omg! Jess why didn't you tell me???"
"I...I forgot. I'm just not looking for a relationship right now. And I just haven't spoken to him since. It wasn't worth mentioning."
"Oh Jess! Come on! This man obviously likes you!." said Sarah. "You should give him a chance!"
"Oh Sarah!" Jessica said while rolling her eyes.

The show went on with out a hitch. The cast took their final bow and it was over. Instead of having an after party, they decided to just keep it small for the cast and crew. They met at a restaurant they had rented so everyone could just be together one last time with the fuss of huge guest list.
Jessica asked Sarah if she could spend the night at hers and Lily's apartment. She started to feel uneasy at her own apartment. She couldn't shake off that feeling of being watched anymore like she used to. It was always on the front of her mind. 
"Of course Jess!" Sarah replied.
"I have to get control of this! I didn't used to feel this way!"  Jessica thought to herself.
After dinner and they said goodbye to everyone, Jessica laid in Sarah and Lily's guest bedroom. She stared at the ceiling, thinking of Danny and the roses he sent. She thought about dinner he offered and thought to herself, "Well, it is dinner after all. It doesn't have to go anywhere than that." Jessica made up mind and decided when she got home she would get Danny's number for her drawer and give him a call.

Sorry for this was a long chapter! I got carried away. I hope you all are enjoying this story. More to come soon!