Chapter 6
"Tommy?" Jessi asked, knocking on the door.
There was no answer, so she opened the door slowly and went in. Tommy was sitting at his desk, staring at a sheet of paper.
"Tommy?" Jessi asked again.
Tommy looked up. "Yeah?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Mom," said Tommy.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"I want to talk to you about your dad and me getting married," Jessi said, "Are you sure you're okay with it?"
"I'm fine with it," said Tommy, "It's great, really."
"If you have any doubts about it at all," Jessi said, "I want you to tell me."
"Mom," Tommy said, getting up and going over to the bed, "What if once you and Dad get married and he lives with us for a while, he doesn't want me anymore?"
"What do you mean?"
"You and Dad are going to want to have kids, right?" Tommy asked.
"I don't know," said Jessi, "Maybe."
"And then he's not going to want me anymore because he's going to have these new kids that he can actually watch grow up."
"Tommy," said Jessi, "Nick's not going to stop wanting you if we have kids. And you're not done growing up yet, you know."
"I know," said Tommy.
Jessi gave her son a hug. "Is there anything else?"
"No," Tommy said, "Not right now."
"Okay," said Jessi, "You know you can talk to me if there is anything."
"I know."
Jessi gave her son one last hug and then left him alone. She walked down the hall to her room and then shut the door behind her. Jessilyn couldn't believe that she was going to be getting married to Nick Carter.The next day, Jessi wasn't scheduled to work, so she stayed home after taking Tommy to school. Nick came over soon after she came back.
"Hi," he said, coming into the house.
"Hi," said Jessi, greeting him with a hug and a kiss.
"If I had known that's how you'd greet me the day after we got engaged," Nick said, "I'd have done it sooner."
"No, you wouldn't have," said Jessi.
"Yes, I would have," Nick said, "Jes, when we broke up the first time, for months, and years I wondered why I did it. I wanted to call you or write or something, but I didn't know if I should. I was afraid you wouldn't want me back."
"Nick," said Jessi, "There were times that I wanted you back more than anything. There were also times that I wanted to have nothing to do with you. But deep in my heart, I always loved you."
"But I've been wondering," said Nick, "Why didn't you write to me and tell me about Tommy?"
"Because," Jessi said, "My parents, well, my dad, wouldn't let me."
"Why?"
"Because," said Jessi, "They didn't want me to have anything to do with you anymore."
"But you were having my baby," said Nick.
"I know," Jessi said, "But they didn't care. You know my parents have always been like that."
"Do they know that we're getting married?" Nick asked.
"No," said Jessi, "Not yet."
"Are you going to tell them?"
"Of course I am...I just don't know when yet."
"Jes..." Nick said.
"I know," said Jessi, "This is just a very touchy subject with my parents. I'll tell them, though. Just give me a little while to figure out how to do it on my own."
"Okay," said Nick.
"Have you told your parents?"
"Not exactly," Nick said, "They know I'm getting married. They just don't know to whom."
"You better tell them," Jessi said.
"I will," said Nick, "When you tell your parents."
"Okay."
Nick looked at his watch. "Oh shoots," he said, "I have to get to rehearsal. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah," said Jessi.
Nick left after one last kiss. Jessi went upstairs to go and clean up some things in her room. Her mind kept wandering to what Nick had said about Tommy being his baby too. Over the years, Jessi had never told her parents anything different than what they wanted to hear. She knew that they wouldn't be too happy about her marrying Nick, but they would be happy about her making sure that Tommy had a father. Taking a deep breath, Jessi picked up the phone to call her parents.
"Hello?" her mother asked when she picked up the phone just after the third ring.
"Mom?" Jessi asked.
"Jessilyn?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Is something wrong?"
"No, Mom. Something's right. I'm getting married."
"What?" Jessi's mother asked, "I didn't even know you had a boyfriend. Who is it?"
"Do you remember Nick?"
"The boy who got you pregnant with Tommy? Yes, I remember him. What about him?"
"That's who I'm getting married to," said Jessi, "He know about Tommy and I'm in love with him, Mom."
"I thought we told you not to have anything to do with him anymore."
"Mom, do you know how many years ago that was? I'm old enough to live my own life and make my own choices. I'm not calling to ask for your permission to get married to Nick. I'm just calling to tell you that we're getting married."
"I know. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. Remember what happened last time you were with Nick."
"Mom, I know. I know what I'm doing."
"Okay, Sweetie. If you're sure, I'm happy for you. Do you want me to tell Daddy?"
"Yeah," said Jessi.
A few minutes later, she hung up with her mother. Picking up the phone again, Jessi dialed Nick's cell phone number.
"What's up?" Nick answered the phone.
"Hey," said Jessi.
"Jes?" Nick asked, "Is something wrong?"
"I told my parents," Jessi told him.
"And?"
"They weren't happy about it," said Jessi, "You probably guessed that, but I think they're going to be okay with it."
"They don't want you getting married or is it the person you're marrying?"
"The second one," said Jessi.
"I had a feeling," Nick said.
"But like I said," said Jessi, "I think they're going to be okay with it."
"I hope so," said Nick.
They hung up about half an hour later, after talking about how Nick now had to tell his own parents and how they were going to inform other people.
After hanging up the phone, Jessi went back downstairs to clean up. As she was cleaning up the living room, she sat an envelope sticking out of the couch. It was half hidden between the cushion and the end of the couch. Jessi went over to the couch and picked the envelope up. Nick's address was written on the front in flowly feminine handwriting. The flap of the envelope had already been pried open. Knowing very well that she shouldn't read Nick's mail, Jessi lifted the flap and peeked inside. There was a letter inside. Feeling only slightly guilty, Jessi slid the letter out and unfolded it. As she did, a small stack of pictures fell out. Jessi picked them up. All of the pictures were of a girl, about the same age as Tommy. They were professional school pictures. Jessi wouldn't have looked twice at them...except for the fact that the girl had bright blue eyes and a half-smile that Nick always used. Jessi looked at the letter. The first line gave it away. "Dear Daddy..." Wrapping the pictures back into the letter, Jessi walked back into the kitchen. She tossed the letter onto the table and sat down. After staring at the letter for about ten minutes, she finally decided not to say anything to Nick about it. If he wanted to tell her, he would.The next day, when Nick went over to the house, he found the letter still on the kitchen table, where Jessi had left it.
"Where did you find this?" he asked her.
"In the couch," said Jessi.
"I can explain," said Nick.
"I was hoping you could," Jessi said.
Nick sighed and sank down into one of the kitchen chairs. "Okay," he said, "The reason we had to break up was...I found out that my ex was pregnant. We slept together one night while I was on the road. It was about three months before I slept with you."
"You what?" Jessi asked, "So this really is your daughter."
"Yeah," said Nick, "She lives in California with her mother."
"So you have two kids," Jessi said, "Are there anymore I don't know about...or that you don't know about?"
"No...Jes, I didn't want to tell you because I knew that you'd get upset about it."
"Upset?" Jessi asked, "No, Nick, I'm not upset. I just never want to see you again." She pulled off her ring and threw it at him, then stormed out of the room.
"Jes..." Nick called after her. He jumped up and ran after Jessi, following her up to her room. "Jes..."
"Go away," said Jessi, slamming the door closed.
"Jessi," Nick said through the closed door.
There was no answer. Nick slid down the wall to the floor, staring at the door to the bedroom.About an hour later, the door opened and Jessi emerged, her hair in disaray and her eyes bloodshot like she had been crying.
"Jessi..." Nick began.
"I don't want to hear it," said Jessi, "I can't believe that you have another kid, Nick. I mean, if I had known that you had had sex with someone else, I would never have done it with you."
"I knew you'd be upset," said Nick, "That's why I didn't tell you."
"Upset?" Jessi asked, "No, I'm not upset. I'm just disappointed."
"We can work things out," said Nick, "I promise."
"I'm tired of being hurt by you," Jessi said, "This is the last time. It's over Nick. I..." she pushed some hair out of her face. "I think you'd better go."
"But Jes..."
"Just go," said Jessi. She turned and went back into her room, locking the door behind her.
Nick walked back down the stairs and out the door to his car. As he got in, to his surprise, tears started coming down his cheeks. Putting his forehead against the steering wheel, Nick sat there in his car, crying, trying to get a grip on himself. He was still sitting there when his cell phone rang. "Hello?" Nick sniffed.
"Nick?" Brian asked, "Are you okay?"
"I guess," said Nick, "All things considering."
"What do you mean?" Brian asked.
"Jessi found out about Marina," Nick said, naming his daughter.
"What?" asked Brian, "Wait a minute. I thought you told her already."
"It never came up," Nick said, "And Marina's only a few months older than Tommy."
"And so what happened?"
"She broke up with me," said Nick, "And gave me back the ring. Well, threw the ring back at me."
"Aw man, Nick, you're so screwed. You should have just told her when you had the chance."
"I know," Nick said, "Look, I'm going off to think for a while, Bri. I'll call you when I get home."
"Okay, man," said Brian, "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid."
"Don't worry," Nick said.
He hung up then phone and started the car. Meanwhile, upstairs, Jessi was watching from the window. She had Kaila on the phone.
"You should just let him explain girl," said Kaila.
"But I just can't get over the fact that he had sex with another girl and got her pregnant and then had sex with me and got me pregnant," Jessi said.
"I'm not saying take him back," said Kaila, "I'm just saying let him explain so you can see his side of the story."
"I know," Jessi said, "Do you think I'm just being stubborn?"
"I always think you're just being stubborn," said Kaila, "But that's besides the point. If you love the guy, let him explain."
"Maybe you're right," Jessi said, "But I'll let him call me first."
"That's the way to do it, girl," said Kaila, "But what if he doesn't call?"
"Then it's his loss," said Jessi.
"If you're sure you know what you're doing," Kaila said.
"I think I am," said Jessi.
"Then go for it," said Kaila.
They got off the phone a while later and then Jessi laid down on her bed. Everything had been going right for her for a change...until it was all ruined by a single letter.A few hours later, Jessilyn was still lying on her bed when she heard a car come in the driveway. Pulling herself up, Jessi walked over to the window to see who it was. Nick's car was in the driveway and he was getting out, with a tall blond girl. They walked up to the front door and Nick actually knocked. Not wanting to be immature about it, Jessi ran her fingers through her hair and walked downstairs. She pulled open the door and looked Nick straight in the face.
"Did you forget something?" she asked.
"No," said Nick, "I just wanted to introduce you to someone. Jessilyn, this is Marina...my daughter."
