Chapter 12

After a night's sleep, Jamie and Erin were the first few people up. As they sat down by the pool, Erin groaned a little. "You didn't have to be so rough you know." She told Jamie, who looked at her friend. "I said sorry." She told her. After sipping from a cup of coffee, Erin looked up at Jamie, who was busy off in her own world. "You okay?" She asked, and Jamie looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Noah left me a message this morning saying that he was going to be at the hospital most of the morning. A few of his patients were still in critical condition." She said. Erin gritted her teeth. "I hope they pull through." She said. She looked over at Jamie, who seemed rather calm. "How do you do it?" She asked.

"I'm just used to it. I mean, he's a doctor. So this type of situation comes up a lot." Jamie said, and shrugged. "Noah's nicknamed me the Queen of not giving a fuck." She said, and Erin laughed. "Nice." She said jokingly. "I bet that's not true though." Erin said, and Jamie sighed softly. "Yeah. If Noah only knew." She told her. "I mean, I'm used to it, but sometimes those lonely nights get too much to bear you know?" Jamie said, and Erin smiled, before putting her hand on Jamie's. "Well, not anymore you hear? Now you have a friend to keep you company on those kinds of nights." She said, and Jamie smiled at her. "Speaking of doctors, what happened to Little Miss PHD?" Jamie asked, as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips. "Who knows. She'll pop up sooner or later." Erin told her.

"You okay?" Erin asked Jamie, who seemed to be frozen in place. "Yeah. Why do you ask?" Jamie asked, and Erin motioned to her cup of coffee. "It's not going to drink itself." She said. "Oh. Right." Jamie said, and set her cup down. "What's up? You seem so out of it all of the sudden." Erin said, and Jamie shrugged. "You just got me thinking, that's all." Jamie told her. "If you think Noah's cheating on you, then I ought to kick your ass now. You know he wouldn't do that." Erin said, and Jamie shook her head. "No. Not that." She told her, and looked around. She watched some of the party guests walking around, some already in the pool, and others just having conversations among themselves. "How come I'm not out there?" She said.

"Because you're scared. You don't like the idea of having a good time with someone that isn't Noah. You're scared that if you end up having fun with someone else, boy or girl, that Noah will consider it cheating, and dump you instantly." Erin said, as she picked at her French Toast. Jamie just kind of stared at her. "What? Has he yet? Considering you've slept with me a couple of times now." She said, and shoved her food covered fork into her mouth. "Well no ... But..." Jamie started. "It's not like you're going to be jumping into the sack with just anyone." Jamie heard, and looked up. She looked curiously at the girl sitting down with herself and Erin, and wondered for a second if it was who she thought it was.

"What's the matter?" Jamie heard, and looked towards Erin. "I don't think she recognizes you with your clothes on." Erin said, and chuckled. Jamie looked towards her, then back to the other girl, then back to Erin. "No way." She said, and both Erin and Tia started laughing. Tia then took off her glasses, setting them onto the table, and pulled her hair out of the bun on top of her head. "I can look professional too." She said, and Jamie turned a shade a red. "I'm gonna go die of stupidity." She said. "Stop it. Sometimes, a persona is something someone needs. Just to work out stuff." Tia said. "You learn that in school?" Jamie asked her, but Tia shook her head, before taking a sip of what looked like tea. "No. Personal experience." She told her.

"So what do you mean by that?" Erin asked Tia, who looked at both girls. "What I mean, is a personality that differers from your true self. Take this for instance. No one cares how you act outside these walls. Everyone ends up being someone different once in their lives." Tia told them. "So what kind of personality should Jamie here have?" Erin asked. Tia thought about it for a bit. "Something more playful. I mean, you're so serious most of the time, that you really need to just let go." She said, and Jamie thought about it. "How do you suggest that?" She asked. "Loosen up. You're way too guarded." Tia told her. "Look around. What do you see?" She said, and Jamie looked around. "People?" Jamie simply answered.