Taylor had never felt this way before. He didn't know what to think, to feel, to say, he didn't even know how he was managing to function on his own. His whole life had come tumbling down, and all he felt was numb.

He also had this distinct feeling that nothing would ever be the same. He didn't know how his family was going to survive. Not when he wasn't going to.

He looked up and into the clear blue eyes that could only belong to Jade. What was she doing here? How had she known to come? He was faced with seeing the one person that he couldn't handle seeing.

"Hi, Taylor,"she said softly, moving to the side of the hospital bed he felt eternally confined to.

"Who told you?"was all he could say.

"Zac called me."He could see her eyes filling up with tears."Is it really as bad as they say?"

Taylor wanted nothing more than to tell her that it wasn't true, that it was all a dream. That they hadn't just told him it was no use. That the Leukemia hadn't taken over his body. That the bone marrow transplant hadn't failed, that he wasn't going to die in a matter of months. He had sent her away for that reason. He didn't want her to see him like this. He couldn't bear to see her cry, not over him.

As he told her the truth, the tears spilled over her pale cheeks. The beautiful lips he had once kissed trembled as she tried to hold back the worst of the sobs until she was gone. She knew how much he hated to see her cry but how could life be this unfair? How could this be happening?

When she left him all alone in that hospital bed, she was shaking. She barely made it to her car before the sobs completely took over her body. She cried for what seemed to be decades, but she knew had only been minutes. Her shirt and jeans were soaked from the tears and she knew that she was in no condition to drive home. So, she sat there, in her brother's broken down black Saab, in the middle of the Tulsa General Hospital parking lot, until Isaac found her.

****

Isaac was only a little better off than her. He was just as grief-stricken, but he'd had more time to accept what was happening. He had been there when Taylor had first been diagnosed with Leukemia. He had watched Taylor try to keep it from the media and the fans, to go on stage when he had been throwing up only minutes before. And he had been there when the doctors told them that the transplant hadn't worked.

When they suggested that a bone marrow transplant was an option, he had jumped at the chance to help his brother. The whole family had thrived for months on the hope that Isaac's bone marrow had saved Taylor's life. But it had only prolonged it.

Seeing Jade sobbing all alone in that car, Isaac had been so relieved that he hadn't been the one to call her. Zac had offered, probably knowing that he couldn't handle much more than his own guilt of not being able to save his brother.

He opened the driver's side door and pulled Jade to her feet. Putting his arms around her, he let her cry into his chest. When the tears slowed down, he led her around to the other side of the car and put her in the passenger's seat. He then took the keys out of her hand, where she had been clutching them, and when he climbed into the driver's seat, turned on the car and drove her home.

Jade was still shaking in her corner of the car when Isaac pulled into her driveway, so he did the only thing he could think of doing: He picked her up and carried her into the house.

No one was home so no one saw him carry Jade all the way upstairs and into her bedroom, where he gently placed her on the bed. No one saw him lay a throw blanket over her in the hopes of stopping the shaking. And not even Jade herself saw him lean down and kiss her softly on the forehead before he left, because she had already fallen asleep from exhaustion.

****

Zac took one look at his older brother and knew something was wrong. He also had a hunch as to what exactly it was that was wrong."Did you see Jade?"

"Yeah."Isaac nodded.

"How was she?"Zac asked, looking worried. He had had this bad feeling all day that Jade wasn't going to be all right after she talked to Taylor. He really should have told her when this all started, but Taylor had insisted that nobody know.

Isaac shrugged."I have no idea. I found her in the parking lot, crying, so I drove her home. By the way, can you drive me back to the hospital later to get my car?"

"Sure."Zac looked closely at his brother's troubled eyes."She isn't going to be okay, is she?"he asked softly.

"I don't know,"Isaac sighed."I don't know."

Isaac, Taylor, and Zac had known Jade all of their lives. They had been with her through all of her tough times, helped her through the deaths of both of her parents. They knew how hard things were for her, how she and her brother had never gotten along, and now she lived all alone with him, and their parents were gone.

Isaac had played the very first song he had ever written for Jade. She had pronounced it "pathetic" and laughed in his face. He hadn't cared. That was just how Jade was, blunt as a rock and about as subtle as a truck. She was one person who's face never kept any secrets, as opposed to Isaac's, which was always hiding something. Jade was always the person who could figure out what he was hiding.

Taylor was going to be furious at them for making him tell.

****

"How could you have done that!"Taylor screamed, making little monitors all around him go off."How did you think she was going to react! She can't handle this! She tried to kill herself after her mom died, what are you going to do if she tries to do something stupid this time? Huh? What are you going to do?"

A nurse darted into the room to check on him. Having overheard some of the conversation, she decided it was best the leave them alone. She motioned for them to try and keep it down and Zac nodded at her.

"Taylor, she was going to find out,"Isaac tried to reason with him."Did you want her to hear that you'd died on the six o'clock news? How do you think she'd react to not saying goodbye to you? Or did you forget that part of her guilt after her mother died."

Taylor hadn't forgotten. He remembered all too well how much Jade had cried because she hadn't been able to say goodbye to her mother. He remembered how much she had depended on him, and now he was going to let her down."I don't want her here. Keep her away."

"Good luck,"Zac told him."Do you really think Jade will let you stay all closed up in this room and not be with you? I'm surprised she let Ike take her home earlier."

Taylor felt as if all the strength had been drained out of him. Sure, he had felt like that in the past, because of the chemo, but now all his emotional strength had gone, too. Jade was going to have an emotional breakdown again, and it would be all his fault. She was going to be hurt by him again.

He tried to hold back the tears by yelling again."And why did you leave her there all alone? Nick won't be there until late! Why did you leave her all alone?"The tears were now streaming down his face."Ike, please go be with her,"he said weakly."She needs someone."

"All right,"Isaac relented."I'll be back later. Zac, if Mom and Dad ask, tell them where I am."Reluctantly he left the room and headed to where he had parked his car earlier.

****

Jade stared at her ceiling, her eyes all red and swollen from crying. She was still having trouble believing that what he'd said was true. There had been internet rumors, but you couldn't believe them. There had also been rumors that Taylor had broken up with her because she was cheating on him with Isaac, which sure wasn't true. Now she knew the truth. He'd broken up with her because he had cancer.

She ignored the knocks on the door and when she heard the downstairs door open anyway, she figured it had to be either Zac or Isaac. It was Isaac.

He sat down next to her on the bed and just stared at her with those big brown eyes full of questions. She knew exactly what they were, too."Not really,"she said softly.

"I'm sorry,"he whispered.

"I know,"she said, giving him a weak smile."That's why he broke up with me, isn't it?"

Isaac nodded."He didn't want you to be there. He's really worried about you, Jade."

That, too, she knew."He thinks I'll try and kill myself again. Probably a good idea. There's nobody left anymore."

"That's not true!"Isaac exclaimed."You have Nick, and Zac and me and our entire family. Everyone's going to need you now. Did you hear me? We need you."

Jade heard, but it only made her feel a miniscule bit better. Life wasn't going to be worth living when Taylor was gone.