Their Love For Each Other

Jaylin's Coping

When Jaylin got home from school, she went straight upstairs to find the same jacket the day she left the hospital. Because in it was Gwen's number. Gwen had ordered Jaylin to call her when she regained her memory. Once Jaylin found the number, she dialed it and let it ring.

"Gwen Lyles speaking," Gwen picked up.

"Gwen? It's Jaylin," she said.

"Jaylin, how are you?" She smiled.

"I remember everything," she said.

"Oh, and how are you handling that?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know. I just called to tell you," Jaylin shrugged.

"Well, thank you. Talk to you soon?" She questioned.

"Yeah," Jaylin whispered.

She ended the call and curled up in her bed.

She didn't know what to do. What should she do? All she knew was... Well, everything. Ignorance is bliss. She folded her hands together and put her head between her knees. She looked up and looked around. She couldn't believe that she was here. Then a question hit her. Why was she here? She felt that she didn't deserve to be here. She felt as though she were a waste of space.

She reached for her pocket knife and opened it. She was contemplating on doing it, but she couldn't bring herself to. She closed it and threw it across the room. She felt like she had no outlet. Wrong. She had no outlet. She didn't have many hobbies, so she wasn't sure what to do.

"Hey," Greyson knocked on the door.

She looked up at him and gave a weak smile. "Hi."

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just wish I knew how to deal with it all," Jaylin shrugged. "It's just so much..."

"Well, write music, write a book, get into sports," Greyson suggested.

She looked at him. "I have no talents."

"Try. Let's try singing first. Lemme grab my guitar," Greyson left and came back in two seconds.

He began to play You Sound Good To Me by Lucy Hale.

"C'mon, sing," he urged.

"I don't know the song well," she said.

"Full moon. Shining like a spotlight," he sang to encourage her.

"Yeah, I could sit and listen to you talking all night," Jaylin sang awkwardly.

"C'mon, I don't judge. Keep goin."

"When you whisper. Yeah, baby, when you lean in. I get..." Jaylin forgot the words.

"A crazy, crazy good kinda feelin," Greyson finished the verse.

"Like an amen from the back of the choir, sweet home freedom underneath the tires, sittin by a crackin fire, strumming them guitar strings. Like an old song on the radio that you grew up to and everybody knows. Watchin the water when the river rows. Wild, wild and free. Baby, you sound good to me," Jaylin sang.

She didn't sing the upbeat version, she sang the soft, slow version so she could feel comfortable about singing. It was something she'd never done before and she wasn't ready to be upbeat yet.

"You're good," Greyson smiled.

"Not really," Jaylin shrugged.

Greyson locked eyes with Jaylin and she suddenly felt scared and vulnerable. She didn't like it. She looked down, but Greyson lifted her chin.

"You should really stop putting yourself down. You're an amazing person who has been through a lot, but you deserve to smile again," Greyson said.

He let go of her chin and she swallowed. She bit her lip and looked at her legs. She let her hair be a curtain between them so she could sort out her feelings. She didn't like Greyson like that, but she sensed that he liked her and she wasn't sure what to do.

"Here," Greyson handed her a brown book.

"What's this?" She took it from him.

"A journal. For whatever you wanna write in it. Your experience, thoughts, songs, whatever," Greyson stood.

She looked at him and smiled. "Thanks."

He nodded and left her room. She grabbed her backpack, took out a black pen, opened the journal, tapped the pen on the blank paper, and began writing.