The Last HeartBeat

Chapter 45 Childish broken Hearts

Jake's Uber pulled up to the team ten house, nostalgia and sadness washed over him, this would likely be one of the last times he would be there...He had made so many memories there, filmed so much of his life there, friends came and went from that spot, but regardless, it'd always be close to his heart.

Jake made his way to the front door, being sure to take everything as he walked, his car he hadn't been able to drive in so long, the small yard, the gate, the graffiti sprayed around, the tall white house itself he'd called home for the last few years of his life.

*I didn't think it would be this hard...* Jake thought as he opened the door walking inside, the place was slightly messy like always, and people were chilling around the house, some on the trampoline, others sitting on the stairs or eating, a lot of Nick's things were still boxed at the front door, as he was still preparing to leave for "better opportunities".

Team ten would really be over, and there wasn't anything he could do about it, Jake clenched his jaw and fist feeling frustrated, Why did he have to get sick? It wasn't fair, why did his dreams have to come to an end so quickly? He wasn't ready to wake up yet and face reality...

"Jake!" Erika almost screamed upon seeing him, her eyes widened looking Jake over, he still had tubes in his nose, his blonde hair
messy, he looked like he had flushed cheeks, and he was wearing one of Logan's white hoodies, which was too big on him, especially since the weight loss, and a pair of white joggers.

Erika had been planning on going to see Jake after hearing the news from Logan about Jake being sick, she had her moments where all she wanted to do was cry after hearing it, she felt so guilty about the way she treated Jake in the past, and felt so awful for not being able to help him more, she wasn't sure if they were in the hospital or Logan's apartment though, since Logan had somewhat abruptly stopped texting her that night, which of course left her feeling even more eerie about the whole thing.

"You're here, y-you're- " Erika said cutting her own self off by running over to hug him, Jake smiled a little at her excitement to see him, he hugged her back holding her close to him, the feeling of her in his arms almost made him forget what was actually going on...

"Are you Okay?" Erika whispered softly, "Well, not exactly" Jake said with a sigh, Erika pulled away slightly looking up at him with a soft expression, "It's going to be alright Jake, I'm going to be here for you too, I know this is a scary disease, but...I believe in you,you'll definitely beat this" Erika told him encouragingly, "You already know about...the cancer?" Jake whispered, "Logan told me" Erika said with a sad smile, "Well that's what this meetings about" Jake explained, "Are you sure you wanna tell everyone?" Erika asked him, "I have to, I'm too sick to work, I have to at least give an explanation as to why the teams ending" Jake said, the words tasted disgusting coming out of his mouth, but he didn't have time for that, moving forwards and trying to get better was what he had to focus on.

"You don't owe not a single person an explanation" Erika told him, Jake just tried to chuckle it off and walk away, but Erika held his wrist stopping him, "Hey, Jake, you got to start thinking about yourself, these people are not battling a disease, you don't need to feel bad or feel you  owe us anything" Erika said, Jake paused for a while taking in what she said, "Thanks for that" He eventually spoke up hugging her again, it felt nice to have her defend him so much, the disease sucked, but at least it brought them closer.

Jake eventually went on into the the main room getting people's attention as he came in, Erika walked beside him for support, as Jake began the meeting.

"Alright guys, so everything's been hectic, and not in the good way lately" Jake said earning a few chuckles from the group, it pained Jake to even look at their faces, regardless of the situation, everyone there were, or was at some point close to him, he prayed deep in his heart they would still be around even without teamten, he hoped the bonds would still be there and they'd see him through till the end, cause right now, all he had were people who loved him and faith he could get better keeping him going.