Is anybody listening?
Can they hear me when I call?
I'm shooting signals in the air
'Cause I need somebody's help
I can't make it on my own
So I'm giving up myself
Is anybody listening?

“We should go back to Baltimore.” Jack announced randomly one afternoon.

I stared at him like he’d grown a second head, as we’d only just seconds before been talking about one of our most recent obsessions, Game of Thrones. It was August now, and they’d aired the finale to the first season a month prior, but like the nerds we were, we were naturally still hung up on it. That is, of course, until Jack interrupted our interesting discussion on who was most likely to rule the iron throne with this out of the blue comment.

“Come again?” I blinked.

“Let’s go back to Baltimore.” He repeated with unapologetic confidence, smiling broadly at me before adding with a shrug, “You know...get a change of scenery from boring ol’ LA.”

I had to laugh. “I think you’re the only person in the world to ever call LA boring.”

He didn’t miss a beat, shooting back with ease, “Well it is when you coop yourself up in the apartment all day.” I frowned, inwardly grumbling that despite desperately wanting to, I couldn’t argue that. I’d been a home-body, always thinking of an excuse every time Jack brought up going into the city to do something--which, I should note was quite often. Like almost-every-day, often. Yet despite asking as often as he did, he never pushed it. So, instead of visiting the LaBrea tar pits or walking Hollywood boulevard or taking one of those city bus tours that drive past the houses of A-list celebs like Beyonce or Jennifer Aniston, we stayed at home because I couldn’t will myself to do such things yet. (Madison thought that maybe it was because the accident was downtown and my mind was equating the tourist trap that was downtown LA to what had happened to me, so thus, I was avoiding it because of some deep seeded fear or some psycho-babble like that. I told her it sounded crazy.)

That’s not to say I didn’t ever go out. I did. I went to the ice cream parlor down the street a couple times on a few especially hot late-summer days and enjoyed a nice cold cone of ice cream, mint chocolate for me, triple chocolate for Jack. Heck, I even dared to set foot in the mall for a bit when Anna visited and almost went inside Hot Topic with her. So I was improving--slowly, but I was.

Improving or not, Jack stayed persistent with his latest scheme in getting me out of the apartment. “Come on, let’s go to Baltimore for a while. We can even go back to New York if you wanna go all touristy.”

Touristy was honestly the last thing I wanted to do. Though my good days were becoming more and more frequent as of late, I still couldn’t quite let go of the safety of the apartment’s familiar walls. “I don’t know, Jack...”

He rolled his eyes, looking annoyed by my uncertain response. “Look, you’ve got your brace off and your stomach is healed. Give me one good reason why I should let my beautiful girlfriend hide from the word and become a couch potato?”

I bit my lip, my voice small as I replied pathetically, “...because the couch is really, really comfy?”

He shook his head, not having it. “Nah uh.” His dark brown eyes bore into mine as he dared me to try again.

I groaned, letting my body go limp as he stood up, pulling me up from the couch with stubborn determination. As my head swayed back, my eyes caught the back of the place I’d been occupying pretty much all summer and I swear, much longer and I was pretty sure I’d leave a permanent dent in that thing.

Maybe Jack did have a point.

Point or not, I still wasn’t sold on going Baltimore. Baltimore meant friends and family I couldn’t avoid. True, my family would check up on me on occasion. Yet since they were still two hours away, busy with their own lives, I didn’t have to put up with their every present questions. From little things, like asking how I was, to bigger questions like how long did I think it’d be before I’d go back on the road (like I knew), each question, however big or small felt loaded with so much more, especially when it came from my mom. I knew she was worried about me, but I could only take that tight, concerned smile of hers so long. “Come on, Jack...” I whined, letting my body fall into his as his long, lanky arms wrapped around my waist.

He shook his head again, pursing his lips tightly before telling me bluntly, “No, I’ve decided. We’re going on a trip. You might not admit it, but being in California isn’t doing you any good, I can tell.”

My shoulders dropped as he once again had a valid point. I huffed as I carefully thought. “Can’t we just...I don’t know...just go to the pier or something? I mean, we don’t have to fly across the country just for a change in scenery.”

He bobbed his head. “True, but...I get the feeling that being here is bringing you down, and the farther we get away, the better.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you have that gig at the Maryland state fair, does it?” If memory recalled, the one off gig was in just over a week.

He let out a laugh and gave an innocent smile. “Maybe a little bit, but it’ll be fun, I promise.”
I groaned in annoyance. Not this again. Ever since I’d told him about my most recent diagnosis, he’d been trying to convince me to go to a show or two of his, one of which was the set they’d be performing at the Maryland state fair. I’d told him no, that I’d rather not fly to Maryland just for an hour and a half show that I could, if I asked nice enough, get right in my living room if I really wanted.

I tried to push myself away from him, but Jack’s grip held firm. So I stayed in his arms, glaring at him as I told him, “Jack, I’ll be fine on my own. I don’t have to go with you on tour, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Ah, you caught me.” Of course. He was pushing harder than ever for me to go on tour with him, and I knew it was because he was worried about me. My old self of course would’ve jumped at the chance, as touring with Jack meant spending an extra month or so together than we otherwise would’ve. But now, now I couldn’t even think of going on tour with him, not like this. I was still emotionally unstable, and honestly, I felt more like a burden than a girlfriend.

“So you are asking me to go on tour?”

“So what if I am? I’m not giving up on this.” My glare hardened as he barely flinched, even daring to smirk, “What? I miss having you around.”

And when he’s on tour I miss having him around, too. It didn’t make the fact that going on tour with Jack meant the same damn problems I’d been going through, just on a tour bus. As it was, I hadn’t let the rest of the guys in on my depression, and I’d kind of been hoping to keep it that way. “Are you sure it’s because you miss me or because you’re worried about me being alone?” I asked Jack.

“Can’t it be both?”

“I already told you, I’m a big girl and I’ll be fine on my own for a few months.”

He rolled his eyes. “Can you blame me for being worried? I mean, hell, last time I was away you ended up with depression--”

“Again, not your fault.”

“It doesn’t matter. Sally, the point is that I’m going to worry about you whether you’re here, at the apartment in Baltimore, or on the road with me. I’ll always be worried about you because I love you. That’s never going to change. It would just be a little easier if you were with me, so I could at least worry a little less. Could you do that, for me?”

I swallowed, and suddenly my own worries and fears subsided. Sure, I was still freaked out over the idea of actually committing to such a trip but at the same time, it wasn’t just me we were talking about. Jack really, really wanted me to go with him. Who was I to deny him that? Besides, he might be right. It could be good for me. “I...okay. I can do that.”

“Great!” He smirked victoriously at me, his body giddy with the excitement that I’d been swayed after all. Then, he grabbed something that’d been safely hidden in his back jean pocket, waving the two thick pieces of paper in front of my eyes. I squinted my eyes to catch the words on the print out and my jaw dropped. Two plane tickets from LAX to Baltimore, already purchased and ready to go. “Cause we leave in two hours.”

I gasped, throwing back an arm and punching his shoulder roughly. “You son of a bitch!” I shook my head while Jack just laughed. “How’d you know you’d get me to agree?”

“Hey, I’m very persuasive.”

“Sure you are...” I sighed, the time printed on the ticket sinking in. “Wait. Two hours? Shit, I’ve got to pack if we’re actually doing this--” I pulled away from Jack, this time successful. I almost made it to the hall, already making a list in my head of what I needed to pack when Jack’s voice stopped me.

“Sally?”

I raised a silent brow, halting myself mid-stride towards our bedroom so I could get the inevitable chore over with.

He just smiled. “Love you.”

I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, yeah, yeah...”

I’d succumbed. After all that, I was going to Baltimore. I’d avoided LA with every ounce of my being, but I’d agreed to go back to Maryland. Why? Maybe I thought that Jack was right, that getting out of California would do me some good. Or maybe I felt bad for Jack, making him fret over me while he was away on tour. It didn’t really matter. In two hours I was going to get on that flight and I just prayed to God that maybe, just maybe things would begin to look up and my dreaded depression wouldn’t ruin everything.

This trip was going to be fun, Jack promised, and I was determined to prove him right. I was not a fuddy-duddy, I was not a recluse, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let this thing control my life.

I could still have fun.

Or at lease, I was pretty sure I could.

Notes

Short and sweet chapter. I hope you guys like it...it felt needed, a nice change of pace from the otherwise sad storyline so far.

Opening lyrics are from "S.O.S" by Good Charlotte. Enjoy and don't forget to comment :)