Not To Give Away The Ending, But It's Gonna Be Okay.

Chapter 11

I called Jen as soon as I got home. She answered on the third ring and her voice sounded scratchy and stuffy.
"Hello?" I heard voices in the background. I guess they were still in the hospital.
"Hey, Jen, it's Y/N. How are you?"
"I'm fine,"
I pursed my lips, knowing it was a lie, but I wasn't going to get onto that subject.
"How's Jonah?"
She didn't answer for a few seconds, so I repeated the question.
"Jonah is...gone," a different voice said.
"Wait," I said. "What?" I whispered.
"We were at the hospital all night." Then I recognized the voice-Jen's mom. "They couldn't figure out what was wrong, and at around one o'clock..he just stopped breathing."
One o'clock, when I was snuggled up to Patrick, feeling safe, his cousin was dying.
"I'm so sorry..." I said.
"He's gone to a better place, Y/N." She paused. "Y/N, are you home?"
"Yeah," I answered. "Why?"
"I just didn't know if you were still with Patrick...I wanted to talk to him."
My cheeks burned when she said that.
"Well I know he's awake. Do you want me to tell him?"
"No, no. I can. I don't want to worry you." Her voice broke.
"Oh, no, it's not a bother, really. I'll tell him."
"Oh, Y/N. You're an angel sent from heaven. Thank you. Also, tell him we'll be back before eleven. We just have to...take care of some things."
"Okay. It'll be okay." I paused for a moment. "Tell that to Jen, too, please."
"Okay, Y/N. Thank you again."
"Of course. Goodbye."
"Bye," she hung up.
I sighed and put my phone in my pocket. Of course. Just like me to get into a situation. Telling someone their cousin died. And this wasn't just someone-this was someone I was interested in, and maybe he's interested in me.
Great day so far, and it's only nine!
I opened my closet door and pulled out denim shorts. I slid off Patrick's sweater, folded it, and pressed it to my face before putting it carefully in my closet. I got out a long sleeved shirt with a lion printed on the front and slid it on, along with the shorts. Then I put my shoes back on that I left at the front door and headed to Patrick's.
I felt sadder and sadder as I walked to his house. I realized he hadn't even come off the porch this morning. Maybe he didn't care about me. I knocked on the door and bit my lip. How was I supposed to tell him this?!
When he opened the door, I couldn't look at him. Had I let him down?
"What's up?" He asked.
"I have to tell you something," I sniffled.
"Is everything okay?" He put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at it uncomfortably. Not that I was uncomfortable with being physically close to him, but not right now.
Not when I was about to tell him that his cousin died.
"We need to sit down." I said.
We walked inside and sat on the couch.
"So obviously Jen's not home," I started. "And they were at the hospital all night I guess...and Jonah..." I wiped a tear from my eye as my voice cracked. Patrick put a hand on my back.
"Jonah..." I shook my head. "He..."
"He's not here anymore, is he?"
I shook my head, confirming it.
"He's not. I'm sorry." I whispered.
Patrick pulled my into his side. I leaned my head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry you were the one who had to tell me. I had called Jen earlier and her mom told me...and I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Really, Y/N. Don't blame yourself." He kissed my forehead.
"But this isn't about me...it's about Jonah."
"It's sad, but he's...in a better place now, I suppose."
We sat there for a few minutes. No words passed between us, and the silence, for once, was tolerable. Enjoyable, even.