Dad and Fleur seemed to be a little surprised when I arrived home with Shalee in tow, but they seemed pleased to see her nonetheless. I think they were expecting me to come home looking sullen and depressed, which I probably would have been had Shalee and I not worked things out.

I talked to my dad about my name being in the paper. He said he had found out about it that morning from Detective Fynn, and I could tell he was very upset about it. Apparently, one of the reporters thought that because I was eighteen at the time of my testimony, it was okay to print my name. Dad said that we could probably sue the newspaper for damages, but I told him that I didn’t want to do that.

I told him that I was okay with it. Most of the people in Roland already knew that I was Earl Hagley’s seventh victim. I was hospitalized and missed a month of my senior year and when I returned, I was sporting a broken leg and wrist. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together. I also told him that I was sick of hiding it. What had happened to me was real, and no matter how much I wished that it hadn’t, it didn’t change the facts, so I might as well face them and start to move on with my life.

Dad seemed a little taken aback by my sudden boldness, but after the surprise wore off, he embraced me in a hug and told me he was proud of me for being so brave. I kind of blushed and shrugged away after that. After all, it was Shalee’s first visit to my home, and I didn’t want to mislead her into thinking we were normally so sappy.

Like Zac, Shalee seemed quite mesmerized by the size of the house, but I shrugged it off. I gave her the grand tour before I showed her to the guestroom, and she left her bags there before we walked down the hall to my room. She claimed that she was going to start coming home with me every weekend and live the lavish lifestyle for a few days.

I tried to convince her that my life really wasn’t that lavish, and it was the truth. We only owned an expensive house because Fleur had pushed for it. While I enjoyed all of the space, it wasn’t something I was used to. I hadn’t been raised as some spoiled, rich kid, and I really hoped that Shalee would be able to see that.

I really didn’t know what we were going to do over the weekend, and during the drive home, I had become worried that inviting Shalee home might have been a bad idea. I was a little scared she might realize just how boring I really was, but then I realized that it didn’t matter. She was my friend – boring, rich, or otherwise.

I decided to call Drea and let her know I was home, and she said she’d be right over, so Shalee and I sat back and relaxed while we waited for Drea to arrive. When Drea finally got there, she waddled her way into the room, and Shalee jumped up with surprise.

“Oh my god! You’re huge!” she laughed.

“Thanks for reminding me,” Drea replied as she sat down on my bed with a heavy sigh. “Those stairs just keep getting steeper and steeper, I swear.”

“Uh huh,” I grinned.

“So, are you ready for the big day?” Shalee asked as she curled up in the chair in the corner.

“Ready to have this kicker out of me? Yes. Ready to be a mom? I’m not so sure,” she answered honestly.

“It’s gonna be tough, Dre, but you can do it,” I smiled.

Drea glanced at me and smiled. “Thanks, Judy,” she said before she looked back at Shalee. “So, did you get over the shock of finding out about Zac and Jude?”

“Drea!” I exclaimed, growing embarrassed and uncomfortable. Shalee and I hadn’t really talked about it yet, so I didn’t really know her feelings on the subject, and the last thing I wanted to do was make her upset with me.

“I don’t know yet …” Shalee replied, glancing at me. “I didn’t know Jude had it in her to steal another girl’s boyfriend. Excuse me, fiancée,” she grinned.

I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t like that,” I sighed.

“I don’t care. You’re my hero regardless,” Shalee smirked.

“What?” Drea asked. “Why is she your hero?”

“Because she got rid of Kate,” Shalee grinned.

“Oh, that’s right. You didn’t like Kate,” Drea nodded.

“Didn’t like might be an understatement,” I commented, rolling my eyes. “But he’s probably on his way back to her now, so I wouldn’t get too excited, Shal.”

“Oh, believe me, he’s not going back,” Shalee replied. “He was heartbroken, but not over Kate.”

I looked at Shalee, surveying her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was being serious or if she was just joking around. “He’s not heartbroken over me,” I commented, shaking my head.

“Fine, don’t believe me. I’m just his best friend, remember?” Shalee replied, cocking an eyebrow.

“I’ve been trying to tell her to go talk to him,” Drea commented. “But she won’t listen. She’s stubborn, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” Shalee nodded. “It took her a month to tell me about you being pregnant, and it took her a total of about six months to finally tell me what’s been going on with her.”

“Um, hi, I’m sitting right here,” I commented, waving my hand around. I felt bad hearing Shalee’s words even though I knew she meant in to be fun. I felt so silly for keeping so much from a girl who had been nothing but a good friend to me since the day I met her.

“Yes, we know, love,” Drea smiled as she rubbed her belly. “I’m hungry. Have you guys eaten?”

“Not yet,” I replied. “Want to go out?” I asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Drea nodded.

“Me too,” Shalee nodded.

“Great,” I smiled as I stood up and looked around for my shoes.

We decided to go to McDonald’s since none of us had much money on us, and we tried to decide what we were going to do with ourselves for the rest of the weekend. After much debate, we decided that we would drive to Muskogee the next day so that I could finally get my tattoo.

After we finished eating, we decided to go back to Drea’s house for a while to hang out. She showed us the baby’s nursery. Things had been so hectic the previous weekend that I was there I hadn’t even bothered to ask about the baby’s room, but when I had talked to Drea while I was back at the dorms, she had mentioned Emmy being there. She went on to explain that Emmy had been designing the décor for the baby’s room.

Emmy hadn’t told me before because she was afraid that I might get mad at her for helping Drea since I was so upset about the pregnancy. It was still a little unnerving to think that my best friend would be raising the child of the first guy I ever really loved, but somehow I had managed to come to terms with it without even realizing it.

I felt bad admitting it, but I hadn’t thought about Paul quite as much as I had in the past. The situation with Zac had caused a shift in my attention, and I was surprised to find that I was alright with that. I loved Paul and probably would continue to love him until the day I died, but he was gone, and I knew that there was no use in dwelling on the past. As much as his and Drea’s actions had hurt me, it was over.

At Drea’s house we laid around in front of the television, munching on junk food – Mia still bought the best snacks. Drea had a vast collection of DVD’s so it wasn’t hard to find something we all enjoyed, but instead of watching a movie, we settled on watching the entire first season of Lost. I was surprised Shalee and I had never talked about it before, but she loved the show just as much as I did. However, we had both missed out on the majority of the second season, so after we finished watching the first season, Drea tried to fill us in on everything we had missed in season two.

Finally, Drea was about ready to pass out on the couch, so Shalee and I decided that we would head back to my house so that Drea could get some rest, but we agreed that Shalee and I would come by the next day to pick her up and we’d go to Muskogee.

“Ya know who Drea should meet?” Shalee said on the way back to my house.

“Who?” I replied.

“Trey,” she said simply.

“Why?” I asked, not following the importance of Drea meeting Shalee’s goofy older brother.

“Oh, come on. Can’t you see – they’d be perfect for each other,” Shalee exclaimed.

“Um, in case you hadn’t noticed, Drea’s going to have a baby,” I pointed out.

“So?” Shalee shrugged. “Trey likes kids.”

“Shalee, you’re insane,” I laughed.

“Seriously though, wouldn’t they be great together?”

I sighed and mulled it over for a moment before I had to admit that Shalee was right. Drea and Trey would probably get along really well. I just wasn’t so sure she was ready to jump into the dating game – especially since she was going to have her hands full within a couple of weeks, but I was sure that she would like Trey if she met him.

“Besides, my grandma used to always say ‘patience is blind but love is lost.’ Patience is fine. It can be blind all it wants, but we don’t want love to be lost, now do we?” Shalee said, looking quite serious.

I gave her a sideways glance and blinked a few times as I drove down the vacant street as I tried to figure out what in the world her grandma’s quote was supposed to mean. I scratched my head, and the only reply I could come up with was, “Huh?”

“Oh, Jude,” Shalee sighed. “My parents always said I could do anything if I set my mind to it. Well, I’m setting my mind to this,” Shalee replied. “I mean, no one said I could change the world, but I know I can change at least a couple of lives.”

“How are you changing people’s lives?” I asked, stifling a yawn.

“Honestly, Jude, I thought you were supposed to be a smart girl,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I am trying to make a love connection here. Don’t you understand?”

“Shalee, quite frankly, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I laughed as I yawned, not bothering to try to stop it this time.

“Ah, well, I shall explain tomorrow,” Shalee replied as we reached my street. “I will make you see it my way.”

“Is that right?” I replied, raising an eyebrow as I pulled into the driveway.

“Yes, it is,” she nodded with a yawn.

The next morning I was awoken by a phone call from Drea. I rolled over in my bed as my phone rang. At first I had planned to either just let it ring or let dad or Fleur answer it, but then I realized that it was my private line. I had almost forgot I even had it since I wasn’t home often, and when I was, I didn’t talk on the phone all that much.

Finally I reached over and grabbed the cordless phone with a yawn and rubbed my eyes as I tried to find the talk button. Finally I heard the phone come on and I brought it up to my ear. “Hello?” I yawned.

“Hey, Judy Ju Ju,” Drea chirped. “What are you doing?”

“Well, I was sleeping,” I replied as I squinted and looked over at my alarm clock. I was surprised to find that it was going on ten, which in comparison to the time I got up during the week was considered sleeping late.

“Lazy butt,” Drea replied. I could hear her chewing on something and groaned at the sound as my stomach rumbled. “Mom bought bagels,” she commented, seemingly reading my mind. “And while I was eating my first one, I came up with this cool little rap.”

“You’re first one?” I inquired. “How many have you had?”

“Oh, this is just my third one,” she replied. “But listen to my rap!” she whined.

I blinked a few times and fell back against my pillow. I decided not to even comment on the fact that she was eating her third bagel. I had learned not to say anything about food when Emmy was pregnant with both of the girls.

“Bagels, bagels, they belong in fables,” Drea said. “They taste nice, but not with ice. Cream cheese – cheese is the way to please. Fixing them is a breeze.”

“Drea,” I cut in before she could continue. “Would you not rap about a bagel?” I asked.

“What? You don’t like it?” she asked. “I thought it was cute.”

“It was very nice,” I replied, rubbing my temples. “Listen, I need to wake Shalee up and jump in the shower. Then I’ll give Harris a call and make sure he’ll be at the tattoo parlor today before we come and get you, okay?”

“Okay,” Drea replied as she finally quit munching on her bagel. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay, later,” I replied before I hung up the phone. After that I collected some clothes and went and took a quick shower before I walked down the hall to the guestroom. I expected to find Shalee fast asleep, but she wasn’t there, so I walked down the back staircase and into the kitchen and found her seated at the kitchen table deep in conversation with Fleur.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Shalee smiled.

“Hey,” I replied, as I grabbed a cup of yogurt out of the refrigerator and a spoon from the drawer as well as a banana from the counter before I walked over and sat down at the table. “How long have you been up?” I asked Shalee, who had apparently showered and was dressed for the day.

“A couple of hours,” she shrugged.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked with a laugh.

“I figured you were tired,” she replied. “Besides, you’re up now, aren’t you?”

“Only because Drea called me to rap about a bagel,” I snorted.

Fleur gave me a strange look and I sent one right back at her. “Don’t look at me like I’m the weird one,” I replied. “Drea was the one rapping – not me.”

“That girl worries me,” Fleur laughed as she shook her head and sipped on her coffee. “So, what are you girls doing today?” she asked.

“We’re going to Muskogee. I’m getting a tattoo,” I replied. “Just don’t tell dad that, okay?”

“You want me to lie to your father?” Fleur asked, looking affronted.

“No, not lie. Just conveniently leave out the truth,” I shrugged with a sly grin.

“Truth be told, I lie far too much - at least I do for you,” she smiled.

“What?” I gasped with a laugh. “When have I ever asked you to lie for me?”

“I recall a certain party where you and Drea got thoroughly smashed and passed out at your aunt’s house,” Fleur replied, raising an eyebrow.

“That was like … over two years ago!” I laughed as Shalee looked me over, looking a little impressed. I rolled my eyes. “Fine, if he asks, just tell him the truth. I wouldn’t want you to lie for me again,” I said sarcastically.

It was all in good fun though. I knew Fleur wouldn’t say anything to my dad unless she had to, and she didn’t mean it about lying for me. The time I got drunk at the party was the only time I had ever asked her to cover for me. Actually, it hadn’t even really been me who asked. Drea, who wasn’t nearly as drunk as I was, had called Fleur when we got to Drea’s house and asked her to tell my dad that I was just staying overnight with Drea. Technically, there wasn’t really in a lie to tell. I had, after all, stayed the night with Drea. Only no one mentioned to dad that it was because I was plastered and unable to drive home.

After I finished eating, I called Harris while Shalee grabbed our purses. Once Harris promised that he would be at the tattoo parlor when we got there, Shalee and I made our way out to my car and drove over to pick up Drea. She was still just as cheerful as she had been when she called me that morning, but her good mood started to rub off on me and the drive to Muskogee went quickly.

We listened to music and sang along. No one seemed to mind that we were all off key and sounded horrible because we were having so much fun. When the song “Attack” by 30 Seconds To Mars came on, Shalee started squealing and turned the radio up full blast and sang along.

When the song was over, she turned the volume down and sighed. “Jared Leto is like … god,” she commented. “I would so jump that.”

“Me too,” Drea nodded. “If I wasn’t pregnant, of course …” she added with a laugh.

“I wouldn’t care,” Shalee laughed. “Pregnant or not – I’d be on top of that. I mean, he’s hot. He can sing. And he can act,” she sighed dreamily. “I want to marry a musician. Preferably not a starving one, but a musician nonetheless.”

“Jude probably really could marry a musician,” Drea commented. “If she got her head out of her ass and talked to him.”

“Don’t start that again,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Why don’t you tell her about your plan to change lives, Shal?” I asked with a smirk.

Shalee looked up from switching the radio stations and grinned before she turned around in her seat to look at Drea. She launched into a full on rant about how Drea simply had to meet Trey, and she went on to list everything she could think of that they had in common.

Drea listened to Shalee go on and on for half of the ride while I sat back and laughed, and by the time we arrived at the tattoo parlor, Drea had finally agreed to meet Trey sometime, but she insisted that it had to be after she had time to settle in with the baby as well as lose her baby weight. I rolled my eyes and got out of the car as they sealed their deal with a handshake.

Harris greeted us when we entered the tattoo parlor, and I introduced him to Shalee before we started talking about my tattoo. I had thought about it a little since Christmas, and I had decided that I wanted it at the small of my back.

The tattoo had an overall circular shape that looked almost like a snow globe or crystal ball. At the center of the globe there were colorful blue and pink flowers with a small butterfly resting at the center of one of the flowers. On either side of the flower was an angel-like wing.

Harris had explained that the wings represented my mom, who was like my guardian angel, and the flowers and butterfly remind him of me when I was little, picking flowers from my mom's flowerbed and chasing butterflies around the yard.

The overall background of the globe was a sky-like design with stars showing even though it was a daytime sky. At the bottom of the globe was a heart, made to look like it had been bruised, and Harris told me that it was because I had been through so many things in my life, but I still had a good heart despite a few small bruises.

Outside of the globe was the symbol for Love, Life, and Loyalty. The bottom half of it stuck out from the bottom of the globe and looked like a cross, and the rest of it sat at the top of the globe and looked similar to a heart.

I could tell that Harris had put a great deal of thought into it, and I knew that I wouldn’t regret getting it. However, when he told me to lie down on the table on my stomach, my heart started to race. Needles and the like made me squeamish, and I had been with Drea when she got her first tattoo, and hers had hurt a lot, so that was the part I was most afraid of.

I laid down and while Harris was prepping the area for my tattoo, I started to have second thoughts. I was nearly on the verge of jumping off of the table when I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders. I looked up and saw Drea standing over me. “Oh, those are shoulder blades! I thought they were wings,” she commented.

“What?” I replied.

“You looked like you were about to fly off of this table,” Drea replied. “So, I wanted to make sure you hadn’t sprouted wings overnight.”

I rolled my eyes at Drea as Harris asked, “Are you ready to start?”

I took a deep breath and looked from Drea to Shalee and they both gave me a reassuring smile, so I looked over my shoulder at Harris and nodded. “Go for it.”

Getting the tattoo wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, but it took a few hours for Harris to finish it. Afterward, he gave me instructions on how to clean it before Shalee started asking Harris a bunch of questions. Shalee had been looking through some of the tattoos the guys at the parlor had done in the past while I was getting my tattoo, and she seemed to be full of questions about his job.

Naturally, she had to ask, “Where’s the strangest place someone asked you to put a tattoo?”

“Well, no one’s really asked me to put one in any weird places, but you have the occasional person who wants a tattoo on the ass,” he sighed. “And it’s like ‘you want me to put it where?!’” he laughed.

“I know I wouldn’t want to show my ass to anyone,” Drea laughed. “Especially now.”

“Oh shut up,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“You can’t deny I’m huge, Jude,” Drea laughed.

“Whatever,” I sighed. I wasn’t about to start that argument again, so Shalee asked a few more questions before Harris sent us on our way, saying that he had only come in to do my tattoo and Emmy was expecting him to come back home right after.

Shalee, Drea, and I decided to get something to eat in Muskogee before we headed back to my house. Mia had slipped Drea some extra cash before we left her house, so she suggested that we go to Applebee’s. Luckily, we got there before the evening rush, so we didn’t have to wait for seats.

As we were waiting for our server to come and take our order, I glanced at the television at the bar, but only heard “According to standard Shotgun rules...” before the guy behind the bar changed the station. He looked in my direction and winked at me, and I rolled my eyes and turned back to Shalee and Drea who were debating over what they were going to get to eat.

After ordering our food, Shalee and Drea started talking once again. Shalee wanted to know more about what Fleur had mentioned that morning in the kitchen about me getting completely drunk, so Drea had to tell her all about the party – everything from me reluctantly taking a can of beer to dancing on table with her and Paul to me puking up my guts first in her front yard and then in her bathroom.

Shalee thought it sounded absolutely hilarious, and it was a good thing Drea was there to tell the story. I was usually too embarrassed to even bother recounting the events of that night. I hadn’t been drunk since though, and I had no plans to ever be again. That was the night I swore off alcohol.

After airing my dirty laundry, Drea wanted to hear something about Shalee. I volunteered the story about having sex with Danny in the church, and Drea nearly spit her drink all over us. We continued going around the table, sharing our most embarrassing moments even after our food arrived. Finally we came back around to Shalee and she announced that it was the last bad thing she could think of that she had done, but Drea and I were never to tell anyone else about it.

“Okay, so we all know I didn’t like Kate,” she sighed. “And I was feeling particularly vindictive after she came to visit Zac last year, so I went to her Facebook – ya know that whole college website thing that people just seem to be vying to be a part of?” she started and Drea and I both nodded. “Anyway, I saved all of her pictures and posted them on one of those horrible Hanson boards where the fans gossip all the time.”

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed. “THAT WAS YOU?!” I laughed.

“What? You heard about it?” she asked.

“Zac mentioned it once. He said that Kate was so pissed about it,” I laughed. “He just figured that it was some psycho fan who did it.”

“No, just his psycho best friend,” she laughed, burying her head in her hands. “I was so horrible. He’d kill me if he found out I did it.”

“Were you the one who stole copies of all the demos for Underneath and leaked them?” I asked with a sly smile.

“Hey, I’m bitch, but I’m not that bad,” Shalee replied. “I’d never do anything like that to Zac.”

“Just his former fiancée,” Drea laughed.

“Exactly,” Shalee nodded.

I shook my head. “You two are going to be trouble,” I commented.

“Who? Us?” they asked in unison with the same pouty expression. I think it was safe to say that Drea and Shalee were officially friends, and I could only imagine all of the trouble they were going to drag me into.

Once all of our embarrassing moments as well as those of our siblings – at least that we were aware of - were recounted, Shalee decided that she had one last good one to share that involved Zac. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it, but Drea was eager for her to spill, so I sighed and told her to go ahead.

“Okay, so I was at the Hansons house. I’d just got there, and Jess conned me into braiding her hair for her, and then Diana announced that lunch was ready, so we went to find Zac,” she began. “Well, we went to his room and knocked and he was all like ‘just a minute,’” Shalee grinned. “Naturally, we knew something was up because he sounded all panicky, so of course we weren’t going to wait,” she laughed.

Drea and I glanced at each other, and before Shalee opened her mouth, I just knew what was coming next, and I could feel a blush creep up on my cheeks before Shalee continued. “So, we push the door open – and there’s Zac, scrambling to pull his pants up and sporting a major woody,” Shalee snorted.

“Oh my god!” I shrieked, covering my ears. “I don’t want to hear this!”

“Yes, you do!” Drea laughed, pulling my hands away from my ears. “Go on, Shal! What happened?”

“He saw us, and I swear all of the blood drained from his face,” Shalee laughed. “And sitting on his bed are a bunch of porn mags, and poor Jess’ eyes got all big and she was like ‘Please tell me that those aren't real...’” she said between laughs. “I don’t know which one of them was more embarrassed, but Zac demanded we get out, and he didn’t come out of his room for the rest of the day,” she laughed.

“Oh, man, I bet!” Drea laughed.

“Yeah, and the next time I saw him, I couldn’t help but ask if he’d jacked the beanstock lately,” Shalee said. “And he said no and that he probably never would again because he hadn’t been able to think about sex since his sister saw him like that.”

“Jessica broke his boner!” Drea exclaimed, causing the woman at the next table to look up and give Drea a nasty look. “Oops. Sorry,” she blushed.

“I think we better go,” I laughed. “I’ve heard more than enough.”

“Really? I’m sure I could come up with more interesting stories about Zac,” Shalee grinned. “You’ll want to know these things for future reference.”

“No, I really don’t,” I said sternly as I stood up and grabbed my coat. We had already paid for our food and had been sitting in the restaurant for over two hours. I dug a couple extra dollars out of my purse to add to the tip. I figured our waitress would need it after all the things she had overheard.