by Moody, Diane
Marissa tucked the blanket under his legs. “Well, I’m sure it’ll relieve all the fans to see that you’re okay.”
“We’ll just make it short and sweet,” Jason suggested. “A few words. That’s it, okay?”
“No problem. How much time do we have til it starts?”
“About half an hour,” Marissa answered. “But hey—the press is on your time schedule, so just take it easy.”
“Trust me, they’ll wait,” JT stated, pulling on his baseball cap. “C’mon, let’s give him some time to rest.”
They filed out, heading down the hall to a private waiting room. Security remained tight offering them the privacy and protection they still needed.
Forty-five minutes later, they assembled in a hospital conference room on the first floor. A bank of reporters and cameramen lined the opposite wall. A long table set up with microphones banked the front of the room. As he, JT, Sergio and Gevin filed in, Jason noticed Marissa, Tracey, and Jennifer sitting in chairs against the wall nearest the door. He and the guys made their way behind the table accompanied by the loud staccato frenzy of cameras clicking to capture their every move. Reporters began shouting questions.
A hospital spokesman held up his hands for their silence. “As agreed, the guys will make a few statements. We will not open the floor for questions. Please respect the ground rules or we’ll clear the room. Understood?” He looked around as the reporters mumbled a few responses.
After grabbing a seat, Jason took a sip from one of the chilled water bottles on the table. They had done a thousand press conferences, but never had he felt so ill at ease. He looked over at the girls just in time to see Marissa wink at Gevin, mouthing “I love you.” He glanced over at Gevin just as his cousin touched his two forefingers to his lips, winking back at his fiancée.
Marissa stood up and moved closer to the door. Guess I’m not the only one feeling uneasy. She shifted from one foot to the next and back. Folding her arms across her chest, she looked back at Gevin.
“What’s wrong with Rissa?” he whispered to Gevin.
“I wish I knew,” Gevin answered under his breath. “You know how she gets a sixth sense about things. Well, we might as well get this over with.”
Gevin cleared his voice and pulled the microphone closer to him. “We’d like to thank you all for coming today,” he spoke, looking directly into the television camera lens across the room. “There’s no way we can begin to describe for you what the last few days have been like for us.” They all nodded in agreement. “But we wanted to say a few things, especially to all of our fans out there who have been so incredible . . .” His voice caught. He coughed nervously and reached for his water bottle. Camera lights flashed in milliseconds. Muffled voices rippled through the room.
Jason swallowed hard. This is not gonna be easy.
“Ohhhh, my back . . . ooouch.” Kylie slowly attempted to sit up.
Hannah stirred, rolling over on the narrow sofa. “What time is it?”
Kylie twisted from one side to the other, moaning. She looked at the digital numbers on the clock. “It’s 10:45! Oh no, I’m late for work!” She started scrambling out from under her blanket, then stopped. “Wait—today’s Friday. I don’t work today. Oh, thank goodness. You’re not scheduled either, are you?
Hannah yawned. “No, I don’t work again until Monday.” She watched as Kylie fell back into the easy chair that had served as her bed for the night. “Why did you sleep in the chair?”
“Same reason you slept on the couch. We fell asleep talking.”
Hannah rubbed her eyes. “Oh yeah, I guess we did.”
Kylie pulled the cover back up to her chin. “I’m sitting here pouring my heart out to you, begging forgiveness, and all I get back is your snoring.”
“What were you apologizing for?”
“For being such a jerk of a friend.” She stopped, yawning again. “Oh, skip it. I’m too tired for all that now.” She reached for the remote sitting on the table beside her. “I want to see what the weather is supposed to be today. I was hoping to go for a run.” She clicked on the television, flying through several cable stations. Suddenly, Gevin Michael’s face filled the screen.
“Wait! Kylie! Stop—” Hannah sat up. “Look!”
Kylie turned up the volume.
Gevin’s face was contorted. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. The camera angle widened, showing Jason comforting his cousin.
“Hannah, it’s Jason!”
Hannah stopped breathing, watching his every move.
“This has been really hard for us. But I think what Gevin was trying to say, and what we all want to say, is how much we appreciate everything. All the expressions of love that have poured in from literally all over the world.”
Jason looked sideways at Sergio and JT, then back at Gevin. “There were times we weren’t sure we’d make it another hour. We thought we were losing Jackson.” Jason’s eyes grew wide, his eyebrows arched up his forehead. He was clearly struggling.
“Oh Jason,” Hannah moaned. Her eyes stung.
“And that was just about the time we looked out the window of this hospital and saw this . . . ocean of people outside. They were holding candles and signs and—well, it was such an unbelievable outpouring of love. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“None of us have,” Sergio added, his accent sounding thicker than usual. “You think you come to a point in your life where things just can’t get any worse.” Sergio looked up to the ceiling, blinking back his tears. “Sorry—just give me a minute.” He inhaled and blew out his breath rapidly. “I’ve got something I just really need to say so bear with me.” A couple of seconds passed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked back at the cameras.
“You all know that the woman who shot Jackson had been involved in a relationship with me . . . And it has been—I can’t possibly tell you what that has felt like for me. But it’s very important I say this . . . here and right now. Laura and Frank McKenzie helped me understand that this nightmare will live with me the rest of my life if I don’t let go of the bitterness I feel in my heart. And the only way—the only way—I have survived all this was to come to the point where I could honestly and totally forgive Liza Rochelli. Dios me ayude, yo perdono a Liza Rochelli.”
The murmur of voices from the press pool grew louder. More flashes. More incessant clicks.
“Look, I will never forget what happened. But I can honestly say, with the help of God and my friends here, that I have forgiven her. I believe that she should be imprisoned for the rest of her life, granted. But I can no longer harbor the hate I felt toward her for what she did. If I did, I would be no better than her. So—” He sighed loudly. “That’s all I have to say.”
JT reached over and squeezed his shoulder. “You’re a better man than me, Serg,” he said quietly. “That took a lot of guts, man. I’m proud of you.”
“Well, I know you all didn’t come here to see the four of us,” Jason said, the camera panning to focus on him. “So—” He looked toward the door, nodding. The camera lens widened to show Alli pushing Jackson’s wheelchair into the room.
The live scene became surreal as the room erupted in cheers and applause. The flashing lights created a strobe-like effect. The camera shot back and forth between Jackson and Alli, to the other members of Blue, then widened to take in the front half of the room.
When his wheelchair reached the position on the table they had left open for him, Jackson reached out for the table, pulling up to it. He looked up at Alli behind him who immediately buried her face against his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. He covered his face with his hands, obviously overcome with emotion.
“Oh Jackson . . .” Hannah wept freely. She looked at Kylie who bit the edge of the pillow she held in her arms, tears streaming down her face.
From the television, the cheers and applause continued as the entire Greer family filed in behind Jackson and Alli. They clutched together as one, smiling t
hrough their tears.
The ovation continued. When the noise began to diminish, everyone waited to hear what Jackson would have to say. It took him several more minutes to regain his composure. Alli remained steadfast behind him, her hands on his shoulder. He reached up, grasping hold of her hand on his left shoulder.
He attempted to begin and failed. He tried again.
“We love you, man,” JT prompted. Jason, Gevin, and Sergio echoed the sentiment.
Finally, he spoke. “You cannot possibly imagine . . . how I feel right now.” He looked around the room. “And I’m not even going to attempt to try . . . to express . . . except that I am overwhelmed.” His chin trembled.
“When we perform . . . either on stage or wherever, well, we get bombarded.” He laughed nervously. “The screaming and the hysteria . . . and after a while, we just get numb to it.” He looked at Sergio and JT on one side, Jason and Gevin on the other. They nodded in agreement.
“Maybe we even take it for granted sometimes. That’s just part of the whole crazy thing, I guess. But this—” His face slowly began to crumble. “Oh God . . .” He lost his composure, unable to continue. Alli buried her head against his.
Hannah and Kylie both sniffed back tears as they watched the heart-wrenching scene unfold.
A full minute passed before Jackson tried again, taking another deep breath. “I’m sorry. This is so hard. I’ve just never experienced such profound . . . love.” He shook his head. “I never knew such an incredible depth of love . . . and I know with all of my heart, I will never be the same. Never.”
“None of us will,” JT added.
Jackson looked across at him. “And these guys . . .” A smile pulled at one side of his mouth. “Well, these guys are the best. They’re a little crazy, but they’re the best.”
Alli leaned down, whispering something in his ear. He nodded. “There’s no way I could possibly thank everyone, but I especially want to thank God for the hospital here—for the doctors and nurses. They’ve all been awesome.” He looked around, acknowledging some of the staff.
“But I also want to thank God for my family,” he said, twisting around to find his parents, his brother and sisters. “Mom, Dad, Micah, Ashley, Jaylin, BJ—I love you.”
Then his eyes rested on Alli, her face beaming. He turned back at the cameras. “There’s just one more thing I have to say. I wouldn’t be here except for her.” He looked back up at her. “Alli, I love you.”
It was as far as he got. He lost it again; this time making no attempt to hide it.
“That’s enough,” Gevin said, his voice audible over the commotion.
Jason stood, holding his hands up. “Thank you. Thank all of you. That’s really all we had to say.”
As they quickly wheeled Jackson out of the room, a traffic jam ensued in the doorway. Like piranhas, the press disregarded any promises they’d made.
“Is Jackson going to fully recover?”
“Was there any permanent damage? Will he ever walk again?”
Kylie threw her pillow on the floor. “Those people are horrible! Can’t they see what those guys have been through?”
Hannah rubbed her face. “Poor Jackson. That had to be so hard for him. I’m surprised they—”
“When will Jackson be released from the hospital?” On television, the barrage of questions continued.
The hospital spokesman stepped up to the mike again. “That’s all. No questions, please.”
“Sergio! Have you been to the jail to see Liza?”
He turned his back to the cameras.
“Did you know she has a criminal record for stalking celebrities?”
“Is it true that one of you got engaged over Christmas?” They all stopped, looking at the reporter who blurted the question then back at the camera’s lens. The camera pulled back then, focusing toward the side of the room where Marissa, Tracey, and Jennifer remained.
“Oh no,” Hannah croaked, taking it all in. “How could—”
“Shhh!”
The camera scanned from one face to the next, first Tracey and Jennifer, then Marissa.
“Is it true that Jennifer Crandle left her fiancé at the altar to reunite with Jason McKenzie?”
The camera focused on Jennifer’s face, her own panic apparent. She stood abruptly trying to leave the room, but couldn’t make her way through the crowd at the door.
“Where’s their security?” Hannah yelled at the television screen. “They should have a path cleared for them!”
Jason, JT, Gevin and Sergio were still cornered behind the table at the front of the room. “No comment. No more questions,” Gevin spoke firmly as he tried to make his way closer to Marissa.
“But Jason, who was the woman you were seen entering the hospital with on the night of the shooting?”
Hannah froze. Kylie gasped.
The reporter continued shouting his questions. “You were seen with her entering the hospital after Jackson went into cardiac arrest. If it wasn’t Jennifer, then who was it and why were you with her? Are there two women in your life at this time?”
Hannah and Kylie watched in disbelief as a split screen divided the screen with the live conference on one side and footage of Hannah and Jason emerging from a limousine on the other. He was leading her, hand in hand, through the barricade. The footage slowed. In slow, jerky motions, the scene played out as Hannah’s face was splashed across the screen, then freeze-framed.
“Oh my God!” Kylie cried.
“Who’s the mystery woman, Jason?” the reporter insisted, pointing to the television monitor. “Is it true she’s a local resident?”
Hannah couldn’t breathe. She watched as Jason’s eyes tracked to view the television monitor. He did a double-take. Then, as the lens focused closer on his face, he stared straight into it, his face taut with an anger she’d never seen before. He must feel like a caged animal!
“Oh Kylie!” Hannah cried, jumping to her feet. “What am I gonna do?”
Jason was still trapped in the clog of people. The temperature in the room felt like a hundred degrees even as the litany of questions continued. The gratitude of Jackson Greer was already forgotten as the questions pelted them over and over, prying into the most private areas of their lives. Normally, they were used to such assaults. They could walk away from it.
But not today. As the verbal attacks continued, Jason felt something ugly inside him begin to boil. In the blink of an eye, he was across the table, grabbing the rude reporter by the throat.
“How dare you! How dare you!”
“No! Jason, stop!” JT screamed, scrambling to reach his friend.
The camera jerked around trying to capture the heated exchange on film.
The sweaty reporter backed away, using his microphone as a shield. “What did I—”
“Leave us alone!” Jason shouted, his nose only inches away from the reporter, his hands still clutching the man’s shirt. “After all we’ve been through! Why can’t you just LEAVE US ALONE! You’re a pig! You’re a filthy—”
“I don’t have to take that!” the reporter yelled as he shoved Jason back. He quickly turned his face to the camera. “Are you getting this, Joe?” he asked his cameraman.
“Why you—” With every ounce of frustration and pent-up anger, Jason McKenzie coiled back his fist and smashed it into the face of the reporter. The room exploded.
In the bedlam that followed, the camera man lost his balance thrusting the live picture out of control before landing on a still shot of acoustic ceiling tiles.
The voice of the local television reporter updated the unexpected story unfolding from the conference room at the hospital.
“—when Out of the Blue singer and Chapel Hill native Jason McKenzie assaulted a local television reporter who had asked repeated questions about his personal life. The mêlée erupted when the reporter questioned McKenzie about this woman, seen here with McKenzie just three days ago entering the hospital. Sources tell us she is Hannah Brooks, a stude
nt at the University of North Carolina here in—”
Hannah flew out of the room. Kylie followed her. “Hannah! What are you doing?”
In her bedroom, Hannah threw her luggage on the bed. She yanked open drawers, tossing clothes into the bag.
“What are you doing!?” Kylie yelled.
“I’m leaving. I’m on the next flight out of town, Kylie.”
Hannah’s tone frightened Kylie. “You can’t just—”
“Watch me!”
Kylie grabbed Hannah’s arms. “Stop it, Hannah! Just stop it! You can’t run away from this! Where could you possibly go?”
Hannah’s eyes looked wild. “Don’t you get it, Kylie? They know who I am now! They’ll be knocking my door down any minute. Didn’t you see the way they treated Jason? They’re ruthless. They won’t stop at anything. I can’t . . . I will not play this game for them. I’ve got to disappear and there’s nothing you can say to stop me!” She pulled out of Kylie’s grasp.
Kylie jumped on the unmade bed, her heart racing. “Oh, Hannah. I’m so sorry!”
“I don’t need your sympathy. I need your help. Get my credit card out of my purse. Call the airlines and book me a flight. I don’t care where, just the fastest flight I can get out of here.”
Less than twenty minutes later, the front door slammed behind them as they raced to Kylie’s car.
“They know my name, Kylie!” Hannah cried in panic as they tossed her bags into the backseat and jumped into the front seat. “They’ve already found out my name! Hurry! Kylie, hurry!”
Kylie roared the sports car to life, the tires squealing in protest as she floored the gas pedal. Hannah looked back behind them as a News Channel 2 van sped around the corner. “Oh God, please help us! Go! Kylie, GO!”
Chapter 21
“I said no.”
“I don’t care what you said! I’m going and that’s final.” Kylie pursed her lips.