The Last HeartBeat

Chapter 20 Journey to Recovery?

After Jake had gotten off the phone with Logan, he braced himself for Erika to load him down with millions of questions, and tell him what he should be doing for his health, honestly he was already emotionally drained and physically drained as is, and didn't want to hear it, but he was gonna listen anyways, to make her feel better.

"Jake...Please just update me as you get checkups, and don't hesitate to tell me when you need a break, okay?" Erika said with a sigh, Jake looked at her in a dazed shock, Erika smiled a little before leaning in and giving him another hug.

Erika had seen the tired look on his face, she didn't want to be another burden on Jake and nag him, so she just tried to push her fears to the side, and keep it relaxed for his sake.

Jake nodded hugging her back before he left, it wasn't that late, but Jake was already really tired and headed upstairs for bed, Erika walked out of her bedroom and went to the office, she still felt wobbly from anxiety, seeing Jake like that made her feel so helpless and scared, she hated the feeling, but she still had work to do and she had to pretend everything was fine, she didn't want the other team members getting suspicious.

"Erika?" Tessa said walking over, Erika felt nervousness wash over her as Tessa approached her desk, "Is Jake okay?" Tessa whispered, she had gotten startled hearing Erika's muffled screams and seeing her rushing around earlier, she was gonna keep out of it, but it kept bugging her, her mind kept making her feel more and more anxious thinking over the things Jake had missed out on lately automatically linking it to to the frantic sounds coming out of Erika's bedroom.

"He's fine...Why?" Erika responded trying to stay calm, "I heard strange sounds...Jake's been a little distant lately...I don't know" Tessa muttered, she had began wringing her soft hands together and biting her lip, obviously getting more and more nervous, "Don't overthink Tess, Jake's fine, if he wasn't he'd tell us" Erika informed her smiling briefly up at the younger girl, "Would he though?" Tessa said sadly her voice barely over a whisper, "What?" Erika said, even though she had heard her, Tessa's words had pricked her heart with more worry she didn't want to really talk about it with her, knowing Jake truly didn't feel comfortable telling them anything...He'd been dealing with that on his own still smiling and pretending everything was fine, and would likely not open up anymore then he had.

"I guess it's nothing, right?" Tessa said sounding a little hurt, "Guess not" Erika croaked out, there was silence in the room for a while, Tessa stared down at the floor and Erika kept her gaze on the screen, until she heard Tessa's soft footsteps walk away, Erika hadn't meant to hurt her feelings or make it seem like she was keeping secrets, but there wasn't much she could tell her without telling Jake's personal information, and there was no way she'd do that to him... Especially now.

Jake laid down in bed, he shut off his lights and closed his curtains, he was tired, he was trembling head to toe when he got comfortable in bed, he pulled the covers up to his neck, his body still convulsing under the blankets, he was on borderline freezing, and he wasn't sure why, he took his medicine already so he wasn't sure what else to do besides wrap up.

Jake felt the nerves in the pit of his stomach quiver, his body felt numbing and airy, Why was he cold in SUMMER? It messed with his head, and only made him shake more, he was so frustrated and fed up with everything, it wasn't fair! Why did he have to get sick? He hated being out of control of his life, the feeling terrified him, he was trying his best to keep light-hearted and smile through it, but everyday seemed to be getting harder and harder for him, how much longer till his fans noticed? He didn't want to lose energy right before their impressionable fans...Jake loved his fans, all of them, he knew he wasn't the best role model, but he kept his values; working hard, smiling, accomplishing your dreams, and having fun along the way with your friends and supporter's without ever worrying about people wishing for your downfall.