Like a Train Wreck - 12. Chapter 12: Setting The Stage

The light through the window caused Miracle to stir and he shifted for a second, his arm moved up to cover his eyes for a second only to move away right after and his eyes opened and he looked out at the cityscape before him and the sun that was rising over the horizon. A deep breath was taken as he took in the sight, feeling peaceful. His gaze then shifted over towards the chair and he found that Jaemin was still there, asleep.

"What in the hell is he doing here?" Craig suddenly spoke up, standing in the door way after Martha and Hunter had walked in and moved to the side.

Martha lowered her head, not wanting to say a word as she could just feel the tension radiating from her husband and her fingers fidgeted and if she had her sewing materials, well her anxiety would drive her into it at the moment.

"Dad..." Hunter gave him a look, as if silently pleading with him to let up just for once. Life had been hell ever since they had moved to America and he was honestly sick of it.

"Don't even start." Miracle looked at his Dad and then reached out and shook Jaemin by the shoulder. "Wake up." He slowly sat up a little and shook him harder. "Wake up!"

Jaemin's eyes fluttered. "To bright." He said after opening his eyes for a second and then covering them with his hands without even really seeing much of anything.

"He's here because he cares. At least he doesn't want to lock me up and throw away the key. He loves me, I need that love, I told you that."

Craig looked at Martha and then at Hunter before slowly shaking his head. "Yeah, Miracle? Well is his love going to drive you to over dose? Because isn't that what Sterling's did?"

Craig walked closer to the bed. "Hmm? He loved you real damn good and nice and then you try to kill yourself?! What sense does that make?!"

"I was being stupid, okay?! Just stop." Miracle's eyes closed, still feeling weak and tired from everything that had happened. "I just need you to accept him."

"Way to early in the morning for this." Jaemin opened his eyes again and looked over at Miracle's family, particularly his Father. "I think we should talk."

A breath of air was drawn in resulting in the sound of a gasp as Melanie leaned in to peer inside a room since the door was left open. "Damn if the whole soap opera isn't going to be in the hospital."

Sterling looked over at the door to see Melanie there, the top of his head wrapped in bandages and one side of his face bruised and swollen but other than that he appeared to be left unharmed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, not in an offending way but it was odd at least without knowledge of her reasoning.

"Well I came to see Miracle." Melanie walked into the room and over towards Sterling's bed. "I had a ... thing to discuss with him." A large grin appeared, liking the word she chose for her business.

"Miracle? A thing?" Sterling looked around and then quickly sat up, alarmed. "Wait, where is Jaemin?"

"Jaemin?" Melanie slightly turned her head to the side. "Wait a minute, he beat you up, didn't he? He's the weird guy that got in that fight with Kevin?"

"Yes and yes. He kicked me down the stairs."

Melanie stared at him and then she started laughing as she stepped back and started to spin around only to stop and turn to face him again. "This is so lifetime!"

Sterling shook his head. "He's probably with Miracle now, probably telling him all kinds of things." A deep breath was taken. "Look, Melanie." He grabbed her by the wrist and with tiny force, pulled her forward.

She felt her wrist being grabbed and stumbled forward, a weird, almost offending look appeared as she stared at Sterling like he were some creepy psycho.

"This situation, the entire thing, it's blurred the lines of social status. Popular guy has an affair with new guy and I know you won't believe that but it's true. Popular guy does this despite popular girlfriend and then new guy gets together with outcast who probably should of never been involved in the drama to begin with just because that linkage to popular drama never happens but it did. So ... I need you to do a favor for me."

"Actually..." Melanie pulls her hand away. "I do believe you." She reaches into her purse and pulls out the disk. "I found it at Brian's place when I was digging for his hidden stash of ... " She looked away. "Well ... things."

Sterling saw the disk, again looking alarmed. "What are you going to do with that? You should probably give it to me."

"Hell no." Melanie stepped back and shoved the disk back into her purse. "I am going to ruin Sarah's life with it."

"You do realize if you out that disk it just gives Miracle more motive to murder Brad? I'm surprised the police haven't already questioned him yet." Sterling stared at her in disbelief.

Melanie shook her head. "I'm not worried about it, the police will be to busy looking in another direction while I do this. Besides it's not like I'm going to go Carrie with it. I'm just going to make sure that she sees it."

Sterling sighs and his head hits the pillow, helplessly.

"Now you wanted me to do you a favor? What is it? Chop chop, I got places to be and people to see."

"Make sure Miracle knows the truth, just make sure."

Melanie stares at Sterling thoughtfully. "Hmm..." She turns around and walks to the door only to then stop and grin as she looked back at him. "Hold your breath because the suspense is just beginning." Then she walks out.

Jaemin stood up and walked over to Craig. "He is right, I do love him, you have no idea as to the depths with which that goes. Words cannot possibly describe it, words cannot possibly describe him even though I try because he needs to know how special he is and it's a shame that it was that very specialness that got him attacked but I do have to tell you, I was the one that found him. I live in the warehouse and I'm not asking for your pity but I need you to know that I scared them away. I don't know what would of happened if I hadn't of shown up, I don't want to even think of it but I was there for him for as long as I could be, for as long as he allowed me."

Craig heard Jaemin's so called testimony to win the families faith or more so his faith and then looked between Miracle and his so called lover. "You have said a lot, you have revealed very intense feelings that you claim. I just want to understand how exactly this works. You and Sterling, you both claim to care about him in such ways but ... how do you two cope with the fact that he doesn't choose?"

Jaemin slowly shook his head. "I'm not with him, we don't ... we have never..." He turned to look at Miracle. "He likes the idea that I wait and most people, well that would piss them off that a person would want to hang them on a hook like that as a back up." He looked at Craig again. "But I would wait forever and a day. It's just how my belief system works and ... it's a belief system that no one seems to understand but the basics of it in regards to love is that you are destined to connect with your second half and you will know when you find that person. I have done that and I have to have the faith that the connection will happen and my loyalties to my second half must always remain unshaken."

Craig slowly nodded as if he had just been told the craziest thing in the world, in short he understood this religion or rather belief system to be classic obsession. "I see."

"See Dad? You see how deep that fucking is? No one has ever been...." He slowly shook his head. "Let him be with me. You can hold me out of school but let him come be with me. He's homeless, it works, it's perfect."

"Maybe. I really need to think about this." Craig was at a crossroads. He didn't want his son to defy him again because it had resulted in them being where they are now but at the same time the idea of Jaemin seemed like it would be only feeding to Miracle's sickness that he had up until recently disregarded and now he had to make up for all of his neglect as a parent.

"You need your rest, he can come back later, fair enough?" Craig asked.

Miracle nodded and laid back. "Okay." Then a smile was given to Jaemin as he watched everyone head out of the room and then sighed as his gaze drifted to the window again.

"Hey you, Mr. Creepy." Melanie poked her head out the door of the stairwell that she quickly had hidden herself in when she saw the family coming out. Her arm reached out and snagged Jaemin's wrist.

Jaemin slightly turned when he felt a pull on his wrist and he stumbled close to the door. "Who are you?" He asked, as if he really didn't want to waste time on someone he didn't know yet there was a slight curiosity.

"A friend of Brian's ... or so he thinks until I turn his world upside down." A grin appeared as she looked up at Jaemin. "And a friend of yours, the nice way if you know what's good for you."

"You threaten me?" Jaemin got this nasty look on his face, a look like a vicious wolf ready to attack.

A hand lifted to Jaemin's chest and she pushed him back as she stepped into the hall, letting the door to the stairs shut behind her. "Nuh uh uh." She wagged a finger at him. "I saw Sterling, he's a patient and he told me what you did."

Melanie laughed, realizing how she truly did hold all the cards. "He wanted me to tell Miracle all about it but I had made it up in my mind to keep my mouth shut, just because you attract me and this game that is about to get started is best played with a good partner."

Jaemin watched her, now seeing her to be of more importance and less of an annoyance now. He knew Miracle could never find out what he had done and now having a partner might just be in his best interest. "I'm considering, go on."

"Well take this into your consideration. Miracle tried to over dose from a drug that he got from a drug dealer, Brian, and I have the bottle. I managed to steal it from Sterling's place. All I have to do is put Brian's label on it from my Dad's pharmacy, call the cops on him and tell them that I saw him dealing the pills and that Miracle bought the bottle. They could finger print it if they want and I put them both away single handedly."

"You're black mailing me? You bitch, what makes you think that I might not just kill you? After all none of us know who killed Brad but one of us did, one of us is a killer and for all you know, it could be me and if it is, I could shut you up permenantly." Jaemin took a step closer.

"You kill me and that bottle is just floating around where ever the hell I put it...and if you kill me..." She rolled her eyes and nodded her head to the side. "You're on candid camera." She laughed. "Look, this can be cool, don't make me black mail you. We can just agree, I can make sure Brian pays for his role in what happened to Miracle and in return you can help me ruin Sarah's life."

"A trade for a trade? Fine. I can work with that." Jaemin stared at her with a rather blank expression. "Is that it though? Honestly? That's the game you stand here and brag about?"

"That's the start. As we get to know each other, I am pretty sure that things are going to get interesting, you will hear of a party this weekend, Kevin's house. Be there." She walked by Jaemin and pushed the door open to walk into Miracle's room.

Jaemin turned and watched Melanie walk off into Miracle's room and he looked thoughtful. "You could be right." He shook his head, still not being able to imagine himself working with anyone, especially someone like her. He shook his head and walked off.

Miracle heard the door open and looked over that way. "Jaemin?"

"Oh, no, sorry, it's just me." Melanie smiled as she closed the door behind her. "I bumped into him on the way in though, he sends his love and...well some invisible flowers." She walks over to the bed.

"You made up the last part, it's corny."

Melanie gasped as if in deep offense, eyes even went wide only to then drop the act as if it hadn't happened. "Yeah, it was corny, huh?" She sat her purse on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah." Miracle slowly nodded. "So ... I don't know you?"

"Melanie, home room? I kinda sit behind you and diagonal with the one person blocking us." She shook her head. "Anyway, I found something for you." She said and pulled the disk out.

"You found it." Miracle's eyes widened at the sight of the disk. "Where was it?" He asked and then he looked at her. "No doubt that you watched it."

"No doubt." She grinned. "There is a good opportunity here."

Miracle looked at her, confused and shook his head. "What do you mean? Brad's dead, it's useless now. Most I could do with it is black mail Brian with it and threaten to ruin Brad's memory..."

Melanie stared at Miracle. "You caught my point. Though you missed one thing, we're not going to black mail Brian. In fact that is where I found the disk, he had it. I want to use this to ruin Sarah's life."

"Ruin Sarah's life? Why would I want to do that? She never did anything to me."

She stared at him for a moment or so. "Hey, where is Sterling? You guys are like ... hooked up, right? He should be in on this conversation." She looked towards the door.

Miracle's eyebrows lifted. "Huh? You know me and Sterling are together and you don't even queston me about Jaemin? And Sterling isn't here, he didn't even bother to leave his house. He used me."

She took in the information that followed, carefully tossing it about in her head. "It's your life, I'm not going to question it." She shook her head. "I wish we had become friends sooner. I could of warned you about that little twerp..."

"What? That he's just like all the outcasts in the movies? That he's just desperate and looking to score?" Miracle laid back against the bed. "I already found that out, thanks."

"I'm so sorry ... for the new kid, you shouldn't have it so rough. Especially after the hell that Brad put you through." Melanie sighed. "How about we help each other? We could make him pay."

"How?" Miracle idly played with the buttons on the remote. "He said he suffers so much now that he's numb to you guys."

"That's just tough talk, he feels." Melanie grins and shakes her head. "We can kill two birds with one stone. We can reveal the disk to Sarah, ruin her life and then ... well lets just say I can make this black mail so much more useful."

"How?" He looked up at her.

"There will be a party at Kevin's this weekend. I know it might be awkward after what he did but all you have to do is show up, you most likely won't even run into him. Once I throw my pitch which will happen after Sarah sees the video, go along with it."

"Awkward? No doubt." He stared at her and then looked down thoughtfully. The idea of getting back at Sterling, it was tempting, it was something that he usually always did to people who had hurt him. The only time he hadn't gotten revenge was when Daniel had hurt him but then that had been a long term relationship, whether it was love or not. He and Sterling had been through so much together, it was still hard to believe that he was a wolf in sheeps clothing.

"Alright, whatever you say." He said, though hesitantly and while he said it, he could feel this tightness in his chest, a feeling of uncertainty.

"Okay, see you then." Melanie grinned and grabbed her purse to head out of the room. She would need to see Jaemin one more time before the party to go over the plan with him step by step. He needed to know just as much as she did as he would be her partner afterall and she couldn't afford having him more than any of her pawns tripping up when it was all set into motion.

She had one more stop to make as another idea sprang forth and she wanted to throw a giggle fit at the idea of how most of it was going to come out in one explosive fit of drama. All of which, while twisting the fates of the lives she was encountering, it was all going to come down on Sarah. Speak of the devil, there she was down the hall.

Melanie's return visit to Sterling would have to wait for a few minutes.

"Craig, I need to talk to you for a minute." Martha spoke up, a brief glance being given to Hunter and then she took her husbands hand and lead him to the other side of the waiting room.

Craig looked concerned, it was an oddity for Martha to speak up like this. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I woke up while you were still asleep and I've been making some phone calls. You know how Miracle's adoption was an open adoption? Well I called the agency and found out where his real Mother was." She looked up at her husband. "I don't know what you might think of this but I have to ask. Do you think it would be a good idea to bring her here?"

Craig seemed taken back by Martha's proactiveness. "Well that would be a matter of if she even wanted to come. I mean she stated her reason for giving him up was all because she couldn't have the Father and she didn't want to be a single parent. I mean, it seems to me like Miracle was just an accessory to the relationship with her."

"God, if he ever found that out..." Martha looked around, as if Miracle could be around any corner.

"She might tell him, he would naturally ask why, it's just the typical response. In fact that would probably be his first question." Craig crossed his arms and thought over it.

"I just wanted to do something but the whole thing makes me so nervous. He's become so emotionally erratic, it's like it would be so easy to set off a time bomb. Look at what's happened just because you tried to intervene."

"Maybe if Jaemin were to reason with him, he seems like he would do anything to get into our good graces and Miracle seems to 'need' him. He might comply if it meant we would accept Jaemin."

"It's not about compliance, Craig. I mean, maybe with Jaemin we could keep him from exploding or at least have him there to calm him if he does but I just feel like maybe if he faces his past..."

"Well you can try, like I said, we don't even know if she will want to come."

"They gave me her number. I've been really scared to call it, could you..." Martha handed out her cell phone to him. "It's in the contacts."

"Yeah." Craig slowly took the phone and kissed Martha on the forehead before he turned slightly to the side and started dialing the number.

Miracle's birth Mother. Would she answer? And more importantly would she want to come?

As for Melanie? Soon all her ducks would be in a row and all she would have to do is wait for the perfect time to press GO!