"Uncle Dean, where Mommy? I want Mommy!" He practically ran to Adri, hugging her small frame close to his body.
"Mommy loves you, Little one. Mommy and Daddy love you so much."
Adri woke crying out for her parents and Lorenzo was by her side instantly.
"I'm okay, Lorenzo. Damn, what time is it? Five in the morning...I'm so not ready to wake up." She took the quilt from the foot of her bed and made her way downstairs to her chair. Adri got herself comfortable in the chair that was her biggest link to her parents. It had been their cuddle chair to begin with: where her father had proposed and where her mother had told him about being pregnant with Adri. Even the quilt that Adri draped over herself had been made by her mother in that chair. She felt safest when she was curled up with her memories. Within an hour, Adri had fallen asleep with Lorenzo guarding her. It was nearly eleven when she woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her front door. She opened the door with a yawn and found Kelley and Rachael standing on her doorstep.
"Adri, woman, what happened? You look like you went round for round with Mike Tyson."
"Come in. Just let me change and drink some juice and I should be somewhat chipper." She led them into the living room, pointing in the general direction of the couch before climbing the stairs. Ten minutes later, Adri walked back down the stairs wearing a burgundy halter top and khaki shorts and found Lorenzo slobbering all over the two girls. "Renzo, leave them alone, big guy."
"He's fine, Adri. What's a little drool among friends, right? Anyway, we were just stopping by to see if you'd like to go shopping and scouting with us."
"Scouting? Aren't you guys dating random members of NSYNC?"
"I'm doing the shopping. Lance needs socks and the man can't go out by himself without inciting a riot. Rache here is the one who will be scouting for hot men and hot trends. She's a junior designer at Fuman."
"Yes, sadly enough, I'm single."
"Hey, there is nothing wrong with being single. You can't just settle for any guy that looks your way and is slightly appealing to the eyes. I do need to find a new color scheme for this house though. I'm really not a fan of seafoam green. I'll go grab my keys and we can go."
Adri spent the next three weeks painting and redoing some of the rooms in the house. The girls stopped by every so often to help when they weren't working. She barely saw JC during that time even though he lived right next door. She heard from Vikki and Justin that his muse had smacked him upside the head and he'd once again turned into the studio whore they all knew and loved. Dean was finally settled back in Chicago in a smaller house since Adri wasn't living with him anymore. The little girl he'd taken care of for so long had finally grown into an adult. He was having a difficult time accepting it. He was very concerned that she was having nightmares again. They had started when she was eleven and the reporters linked her to the tragedy. At first they didn't notice her talent, only that she was a blooming child prodigy with a sob story. They released the whole accident in every newspaper and this time Adri had been old enough to understand every detail of what happened. A careless group of college coeds had "borrowed" a parent's yacht for the day. All but one of them had been legally drunk considering they had downed two cases of beer. The small sailboat Adri's parents were in never stood a chance against the speeding vessel. An out of court settlement had been made and the kids were placed on probation. Adri had felt cheated and rightfully so.
"Why am I just finding this stuff out now, Dean? My parents were run down, a trust fund is set up in my name and the people who did it aren't in jail??"
"Little one, I know it's not fair, but they were rich kids who cheated the system."
"It sucks, Dean! I wake up every day to go to the rink and my parents aren't there! They never will be! I hate it!"
"Adri, come here," Dean said holding out his arms. She didn't move.
"I hate them! They killed them!"
She'd had so much rage locked inside that Dean decided to bring her to a psychologist. It had taken her four years to let go of the resentment and for the nightmares to stop. He'd started visiting the graves then, hoping that it would give him some form of help or peace of mind for Adri's sake. Dean was standing alone in the cemetery with a handful of wild flowers.
"Lyssa, I promised you and Grant that I'd watch over her and I'll keep doing that even though she's on her own. She's been doing great and I'm so proud of her. She has a good bunch of friends down there. I hate being so far away from her, but that's where her trainer is and she's the best in the country. I'm heading back down in July to check up on her. I'll keep her safe, Lyssa. I love you. I always have." Dean set the flowers by the headstone and walked back to his car.
*****
"Adri? Are you here, woman? The prodigal son and I were wondering if you wanted to get lunch! Hey, doll face, are you alive?!"
"Yes, I'm alive! Now what the hell do you want," she asked rather angrily as she stepped out of the bathroom in just a towel. JC's jaw dropped and Chris' eyes popped wide open.
"What are you...Oh my God," she yelled realizing that only the towel was keeping them from seeing everything. "I'm just...going to change...yeah. I'll be right back." Adri quickly walked from the top of the stairs to her room.
"C, you're not looking for a roommate, are you? I would definitely not mind walking in on that again. Damn that was nice!" JC wasn't even listening to Chris...he was lost in his own world. In the space of thirty seconds, he'd seen more of Adri than he'd seen in the past month. He snapped out of it when Chris waved a hand in front of his face.
"What did you say?"
"I said snap out of it, Space Cadet. You liked what you saw, didn't you? Our innocent JC has finally shown his true dawg nature."
"Chris, don't make me have to hurt you," he said with a disapproving look.
"Oh no...I'm so scared. Watch my knees just knock together repeatedly because JC Chasez gave me the look."
"You know, as much as your fans would hate it, the two of you should just get married," Adri said walking down the stairs.
"Such biting wit from a beautiful woman. Don't you just look cute, Adri."
"Flattery will only get you so far, Chris." She was wearing a form fitting green shirt with the words, "Does Not Play Well With Others," written across the front, button fly jean shorts and New Balance sneakers.
"Is that really you," Adri asked walking towards JC. "It looks like JC, but kinda scruffy. Did Hannah tell you not to shave? She doesn't strike me as the kind of girl who would enjoy whisker burn."
"Hannah has been out of the country shooting an artsy film since the day after the party. It started as pure laziness on my part, but now I like it."
"So do I. It makes you look rough and...sexy." She leaned close to his ear with a seductive smile. "Now, where are you taking me, stud? You just look so damn fine that I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself in public," she whispered. Adri straightened and smirked before taking her keys off of an end table and picking up her wallet. JC was absolutely stunned once again.
"Let's go, boys, I'll drive. Y'all can pick the place where we'd be least likely to get mobbed." They decided on a quaint bar to keep from beng noticed by teenagers.
"What are your plans for the rest of the summer, Adri?"
"This is what, the last week of June? I meet with my new trainer/choreographer on the 11th of July and start practicing everyday until I go to World's again. That's why the girls are taking me out Friday night. Rachael has challenged me to a gave of numbers and I'm not allowed to use my celebrity to win, so it should be interesting." Chris almost choked on the bite of sandwich he'd just taken.
"She what??"
"Chris, you okay there man," JC asked handing him a glass of water.
"I plan on winning too. Don't tell me you've never played the number game, guys."
"I played once in Germany, but I felt bad about it when I found out that two of them were cousins."
"Adri, you can't be serious about Rachael and this game," Chris said.
"What's your problem with it, Chris? You and Joey are the ones who taught the girls to play," JC said leaning back on the barstool. That simple action made Adri wonder if he knew how sexy his air of confidence really was.
"It's just a game, Chris. Don't worry about us." Adri had figured out his reasoning very quickly. Chris was interested in Rachael and didn't want any kind of competition.
"You know, I haven't been out to a club in months. Do you mind if I go with you, or is this just a girls night only estrogen party type thing?"
"You're welcome to come if you think you can keep up with the big dogs, JC. What do you say, Chris, are you in? Someone has to bring JC home when he can't take the heat anymore. Lord knows he won't be able to drive himself..." Adri had no idea why she'd just challenged him, but she was going to have a fun time playing cat and mouse with him at the club.
