Love on the Line

27

Jake's POV

I hit the Floor 3 button in the elevator as my stomach ties in knots. Seeing Blaire is nerve wracking enough, not to mention the fact that I'm also meeting her entire family.

Harper seems to like me, but who knows what the rest of the Andrews are going to think.

I wonder what Blaire has told them about me. Maybe she doesn't even talk about me at all?

I shake my head to brush off the negative thought. I don't want to admit how much it hurts to think that the girl who's constantly on my mind may never see me as anything more than a voice on the other line.

I'm still in deep thought by the time I reach 341. I raise my hand to knock on the closed door, but it's already opening.

"HI! I'm Kimmy!" I look down to see a short girl with thick glasses staring up at me, a cheesy grin plastered onto her face. Her skin is lighter than that of her older sisters, but her almond shaped eyes look the same.

"Hi Kimmy, I'm-"

"Jake. Yeah, I know. Blaire does nothing but talk about you all day."

"Kimmy!" Blaire shouts from the corner of the room. Her face is bright red and I have to bite my cheek to hold back an even bigger smile than I already have.

"Give him some space Kimmy you don't want to suffocate the poor boy." A maternal voice chastises from the corner.

My eyes glance upwards to see the owner of the voice moving closer to me. All the Andrews girls look a lot like their mother, with brown hair and rosy cheeks.

"Hi Jake, so great to meet you," the stranger beams at me.

"Hi Mrs. Andrews, thanks for having me," I reply meekly.

"It's Gloria to you," she responds with a laugh.

"Ah, Jake, you've made it!" I spin around to see Harper enter the room with someone who must be her father. He's tall with piercing green eyes. I feel my shoulders tense with nerves as the man reaches his hand out to me.

"Nice to meet ya Jake," the deep voice booms.

"Hi sir, nice to meet you as well." I clasp my hand into his and shake firmly, but not too firmly, a trick my dad was sure to pass on to me years ago.

The man watches me apprehensively for a moment, and then his face breaks into a grin.

"Sir? Did ya hear that hun? I'm a Sir!"

"Yeah honey that's great," Gloria called absentmindedly from the other side of the room. She was too focused on setting up the Game of Life board to pay attention to anything else.

"Feel free to call me James, Jake. Any boyfriend of Blaire who has a handshake like that is welcome here."

"DAD!" Blaire calls out mortified. "He is NOT my boyfriend."

I make eye contact with Blaire and she shrinks down even lower onto her seat. I can't help but smirk.

"Huh. Well you had us all fooled BlaireBear, considering the only thing any of us ever hear about these days is Jake this or Jake that."

I raise an eyebrow in Blaire's direction and she refuses to meet my gaze.

"BlaireBear? Dang, why didn't I think of that."

"Don't worry you can use it now too!" Kimmy chirps in from beside me.

I smile and nod my head, then make my way over to Blaire's bed and sit at the foot of it.

"Hey Lassie," I speak in a low voice with an easy smile.

"Hi Jakey," she mumbles back.

"What? Don't want to look at me now?" I tease.

"Oh come onnn, not you too. It's like pick on Blaire day or something."

I reach out to her face and place my fingers under her chin, gently pulling up until her face points towards mine.

"It's all in good fun Blaire," I assure her. She smiles and I swear my heart stops beating.

"Okay," she replies softly.

I clear my throat, like that is somehow going to help clear my mind of desperately wanting to kiss her.

"Alright let's see what you've got Andrews." I reply loud enough for the family to hear.

"I almost went pro-circuit in CatchPhrase."

"Game on Ellinger," she responds with a cheeky grin.

//////////////////////////

Later on, after the games are all put away and Harper leaves with Kimmy, I sit at the end of Blaire's bed as she drifts to sleep. I've offered to leave for the past 20 minutes, but she's trying her hardest to stay awake and talk to me. Eventually, her eyes flutter close and I hold my breath, trying to make as little sound as possible so that she doesn't wake up.

I slowly rise and pace quietly to the door. Outside the opening her parents sit in the waiting room with impassible expressions.

"Hey Jake, can we talk to you for a second?" Mrs. Andrews asks hesitantly.

"Sure," I try to sound confident.

"We just wanted to make sure that you know about Blaire's condition..." she trails off.

"Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Most common type of pediatric cancer in the world. Symptoms include frequent fevers and infections, bleeding gums, sore bones, and weakness or fatigue. Treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation or bone marrow transplants. With proper care, nearly 90% of children with the disease will go into long-term remission." I mutter the words as if I'm reading out of a textbook. Both Andrews are silent for a moment.

"She told you all of that?" James asks incredulously.

"Of course not," I smile weakly. "Blaire doesn't want to talk about it at all. And I don't make her. But just because she doesn't want me to think about it that doesn't mean I don't. It scared the hell out of me when she got so sick, so I started looking things up. Statistics, treatments, outlooks...she told me she likes talking to me because I treat her like she's not sick, but I have never once forgotten that she is."

"Thank you, Jake." Gloria speaks quietly and tears brim the corners of her eyes.

"For what?" I ask confused.

"For being a friend to Blaire, and a damn good one." James chimes in.

I simply nod in response.

"Honestly, sir, I'd do anything for her."