Love on the Line

14

Jake's POV

I never really believed in the whole love at first sight thing, but when I walked into that hospital room and saw Blaire I swear it was if there wasn't a single other person on the entire planet that mattered.

She was beautiful.

The kind of beautiful that artists spend their whole lives trying to capture but most never even come close. Seeing her in person was better than anything my brain could have ever imagined. I couldn't even believe she was really sitting in front of me. And then she spoke those damning words. 

"Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia."

Even my half-functioning video game ruined brain could comprehend how bad that phrase could be. I know that I had only been talking to the girl for a month, but I had a sudden and fierce urge to protect her in that moment. We're both so young, she doesn't deserve to face that kind of darkness on her own.

"How long have you known?"

I tried to make my voice sound strong but it came out shaky anyway. If she noticed she didn't mention it.

"I was diagnosed about a year ago. That's why we moved to Spokane. I needed to come to this hospital for treatment and my parents weren't willing to ship me here alone."

"Is it just you, Harper, and Kimmy?"

"Yeah. Well, we used to have a dog too, but my family's rental agreement here didn't allow pets, so we had to give him to some family friends back home."

"That sucks, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, it's not that bad I guess. It's not like I'd be able to see him if he were here anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for the first few months we lived here things were fine. I was put on a treatment plan that allowed me to stay somewhat active. I was even allowed to stay at the house...but that's all changed since then. Now, I stay here 24/7. People are allowed to visit me, but I can't really go anywhere. My medicine is on a pretty strict schedule, and I basically always have this IV drip putting something or other into me."

She holds up her arm and with my eyes I trace the small plastic tube from her vein to its origins in a plastic bag above her head. I nod in response. She continues.

"I never really had the time to enroll in a real school here, so I've just finished most of my classes online. My sisters obviously still have to go to school though, and my parents both work, so they stop by to visit me during the evenings and on weekends."

"So what do you do all day when you're here?"

"Sleep, mostly. The medications make me really drowsy, especially the chemotherapy. The doctors are hoping to give me a bone marrow transplant in a few months, so they have to prep my body for it."

"Gotcha. Where is your family now?"

"Out...I didn't necessarily want to share you on this visit."

"Are you implying that there will be other visits?"

I waggle my eyebrows at her and her face flushes. I can't help but grin.

"Oh-uh-well, I thought maybe if you wanted to stop by again you could...but you totally don't have to..."

"Blaire?"

"Yeah?"

"I was just teasing you."

Her widened eyes snap up to meet mine and her face burns even brighter red.

"Jake! That's so mean!"

Then she laughed. And I swear if angels could make a sound then her laugh would be exactly the noise that we would hear. It was perfect. 

Eventually the laughter died down.

"...So you're not freaked out?" she mumbles. I can tell she's nervous but I'm not sure why.

"What do you mean? Of course not." I reply honestly. Her jaw drops open.

"Really?" she squeaks and I smile.

"What would I have to be freaked out about? So what if you're sick? I'm left handed and that doesn't seem to scare many people away."

She stares at me blankly so I continue.

"What I'm saying, Lassie, is that there's a lot more to people than their life circumstances. You may be in this hospital room but you're still the girl I talked with on the phone all those nights. I wasn't kidding that day when I texted you. I'm not giving up on you."

Blaire was silent for a moment, and then she stretches out her arms and pulls me into a hug. The touch of her skin sparks like electricity against my own but I try my best to ignore it.

"Thank you," she whispers into my neck. 

Out of instinct I lean down and kiss the top of her head and my face instantly starts blushing. I wait for her to call me out on it but she doesn't. So instead we stay in our embrace for a little bit longer, and for the first time in a long time I feel like I'm doing exactly what I should be.