SUNSHINE

forty-eight

"Why don't we go find a heating pad and watch a movie. How does that sound?" Alex suggested as she helped her to her feet. She winced and was slow to get up, but she was eager to go lie down.

"I think I'm just gonna go to bed. It's been a long day." Casey said softly, and Alex nodded in response. She put her arm around her and squeezed her shoulders as she walked.

"Fine, I'll throw a movie on and we'll just fall asleep to it." Alex sighed, both of them chuckling. "Case, are you sure you're alright?" She asked, looking at Casey with concern in her eyes.

"No, not really. But I will be." She responded with a sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned, but Casey shook her head.

"No, not really." She said with a pressed smile. Alex nodded, understanding. The elevator doors opened and she was face to face with Jackson, Riley, and their son. She did not have the energy to deal with the both of them.

"Casey..." Jackson started, trying to find words to say.

"Alex, I'll meet you upstairs." Casey muttered, and Alex nodded, squeezing her shoulder as she got on the elevator and the three of them got off.

"I'll go back the rest of my stuff up. Come on Jamie." Riley said, and Jackson nodded. A few moments later the two of them were alone.

"How are you?" Jackson asked her. His hair was a little darker and his eyes were duller, but other than a couple years of aging, he still looked the same.

"I'm alright." She answered dully, pushing her hair behind her ears.

"I didn't know she was gonna do that, but I think you scared her shitless." He told her, chuckling.

"She should be." She grumbled. "With a stint like that, she's not going anywhere." She then caught what he had said. "You didn't know she was gonna do that? What was she gonna do then?"

"No, I just didn't know she was gonna pull something like that."

"She's your wife."

"Casey-"

"No, stop. I'm happy you two are together. I just can't forgive either one of you for the way you ended up together."

"Fair enough." He sighed. "You look great, Casey." He said, changing the subject.

"So do you. Marriage looks good on you."

"Thanks. Hey, I heard about your mom. I wanted to reach out, but I didn't want to overstep. I'm sorry. She was an amazing woman."

"Thank you, she was." She said with her lips pressed into a smile. "So you and Riley married young. Your boy's what, around two?"

"Yeah, that's James, but we call him Jamie or JJ. We were in love and got married to support the baby."

"Well, congratulations."

"Thank you." He said with a small smile, looking down at the ring on his finger. "So, I've seen in the tabloids you've got yourself a man." He said, changing the subject again.

"True, but I'd rather not discuss that with my ex, no offense."

"None taken." He answered, and they both laughed.

"Well my back is killing me, so I'm gonna head upstairs." She said, hitting the up arrow to go back up a couple floors to her hotel room.

"Yeah, I'm sure Riley and Jamie are waiting for me." He sighed with a small chuckle. "It was good to see you Casey."

"Yeah, bye Jackson." She responded, bidding farewell. Casey got onto the elevator with a small smile. She had never thought she would be able to have a civil conversation with Jackson after what he did to her. Her goodbye was colder than she had intended, but otherwise it went well and she got her point across. She was still mad, but it did not affect her anymore.

She let herself into her hotel room and was greeted by a cloud of laughter. She walked further into the room and found Alex, Ali, and Ashlyn sitting around the room, talking and laughing.

"So, are his balls in his throat?" Ashlyn asked, and she chuckled.

"How did it go, Casey?" Ali asked a little more sincerely.

"It was civil, for lack of a better word." Casey said kicking her shoes off and laying on her bed. "Ooh, already nice and hot. Thank you." She cooed as she felt the head on her back from the heating pad.

"No problem. You want a beer?" Ashlyn asked, standing up and going into their minifridge.

"How the hell did a case of Budlight get into our fridge? You know those have to be finished by tomorrow." Casey asked with a laugh.

"Well do you want the beer or not?" She asked her, extending the bottle out to her.

"Well I'm not saying no." Casey scoffed with a laugh.

The rest of the evening the four of them finished the case of beer and got Casey to feel better after the day she had. It was comforting to know that they had her back, and they knew she had hers.