Seize the Day

Cadey managed a small smile at Jimmy, who was grinning sheepishly at her from on top of Johnny.

“Get off me, you big baboon!”

Lacey choked with laughter and Cadey had to keep from laughing herself.

Jimmy’s eyes widened and he jumped off of Johnny, dusting the smaller man off. The sight made Cadey want to laugh hysterically, yet admire Jimmy at the same time. He was always truly worried about people at heart.

Lacey got off the hospital bed and made her way over to Johnny, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek. She sighed and whispered something in his ear and the two made their way to the other side of the room. Cadey assumed it was so they could have their privacy.

Jimmy scratched the back of his head as he approached Cadey. Averting her eyes behind him for a second, she swore she saw Brian through the window, but his head quickly disappeared when he saw Cadey looking.

What a creeper.

Jimmy sat in the chair next to Cadey’s bed, his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his closed hands. He eyed Cadey, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

“You look conflicted,” he said in a deep, mysterious tone.

Cadey smiled slightly at his attempt to lighten the mood, though she didn’t reply.

“What’s wrong?” Jimmy asked, his voice returning to normal. Worry was etched on his face.

Cadey was quiet, debating on how to word it to him that she didn’t think she was capable of coming along. The look on his face sent a pang through her chest. He worried so much about other people. She was afraid of hurting his feelings or making him worry even more with her absence.

“I don’t think…I’d be able to go with you guys,” she said softly, her gaze on her lap.

She watched Jimmy sit up straighter from the corner of her eye. He looked like he wanted to say something, but must have decided against it as his body deflated back to its slouching position.

“So I’ve heard.”

Cadey slowly turned her head so as to not make her headache any worse. Jimmy picked at a frayed string in his jeans.

“Matt said that the nurse, Angelica told him you probably shouldn’t travel,” he explained, “and that you should rest for a while.”

“Oh.”

A silence overtook them, the only audible sound being Lacey and Johnny’s quiet chatter in the opposite corner. Cadey watched them assumed they were discussing the same thing.

Jimmy followed her gaze, “I take it that means Lacey’s not coming either?”

Cadey lowered her head, “I think she should go without me, but she would never do that. She refuses to leave without me.”

“She has a good reason,” Jimmy said, his normally calm mood dipping into disgust, “with that douchebag running around here…”

“I’d be fine here alone,” she said, her voice unsure and wavering.

Jimmy lifted his eyes up to meet hers, but she was busy staring at the thin, off-white hospital blanket covering her legs with untargeted determination.

His eyes softened, “I’d worry about you.”

Cadey allowed her eyes and head to drift in his direction. A feeling of guilt overwhelmed her and she looked away again, refusing to look Jimmy in the eyes.

“We would keep in touch, right?”

Jimmy took one of her hands in his and observed her.

“Of course,” he said without hesitation.

Matt, Brian, and Zacky must have thought it to be a good time to come in the room, though they realized their mistake after seeing Lacey and Johnny in the corner.

“Is this a bad time?” Brian smiled sheepishly.

Zacky slapped his hand on his forehead, shaking his head at how clueless his fellow guitarist could be.

Cadey said nothing, but allowed Jimmy to continue holding her hand. She was enjoying his comfort while she could.

“They’re not coming,” Johnny said, drawing attention to him and Lacey, whose arm was linked in his and her head on his shoulder.

Zacky frowned and sat in one of the chairs by the door, Brian following suit with the same expression. Matt sighed.

“That’s what I figured.”

He, along with Johnny and Lacey, sat down in the remaining chairs scattered throughout the room. A few minutes later, Angelica came in, smiling sadly at the group.

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours have been over for a long time.”

She turned to Lacey, who was snuggled up with Johnny in the small armchair a few feet from the bed.

“You can stay, Miss Young, but I’m afraid you others have to leave. Sorry.”

Cadey pulled a false smile at Angelica, appreciating how genuine she was in her apology. She was only doing her job.

Brian got up and said his goodbyes, dragging Zacky out the door with him. Zacky sent one last glance at Cadey.

“Bye, Cadey.”

Cadey took a deep breath, resisting the urge to cry.

“Bye, Zacky.”

Matt said his farewells also, even going as far as to give Lacey and Cadey hugs. This caused Jimmy to joke about what a big teddy bear Shads was. Matt flipped him off and left the room.

Lacey stood up from her chair, looking from Jimmy to Angelica.

“What if Jimmy stayed, instead of me? Just for tonight?”

“We have to leave really earl-”

“Can he?” Lacey asked, interrupting Johnny.

Angelica shrugged, “I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Jimmy and Cadey sent grateful smiles to Lacey, who smiled in response. Johnny wrapped an arm around her waist and led her out the door, following Angelica.

Cadey mouthed a ‘thank you’ as she and Johnny exchanged verbal goodbyes. Jimmy gave a nod to Johnny, and soon he and Cadey were alone.

Cadey saw the lights dim in the hallway and her room, and she assumed it was getting late enough that the hospital turned down and conserved its power. A glance at the clock showed her that it was nearly 3 AM. No wonder she was so tired.

Without a word, though with a pained expression, she shifted herself to the right edge of the bed. Jimmy tried to help her, but she waved him off and when she had moved far enough, she gave the now empty left side of the bed a pat.

Jimmy looked skeptical, obviously not wanting to hurt her. Cadey, though with doubts, shook her head.

“You won’t hurt me.”

Still unsure but deciding to roll with it anyway, Jimmy lifted himself onto the bed and eventually settled himself. He put an arm around Cadey’s shoulders and she rested her head on his chest. She could hear and feel his heartbeat, as well as her own.

“A second heartbeat, huh?”

She smiled up at Jimmy, who was grinning at her like a kid with candy at his own remark. She curled up into him, oddly enjoying the sound of the ‘second heartbeat’.

Her hands balled together onto his chest, which her head was still resting on. She lifted her head up, pecking an unsuspecting Jimmy on the lips.

He smiled at her, “What was that for?”

“Just seizing the moment.”

“Don’t you mean the day?”

“That too.”

Cadey burst into a fit of giggles while Jimmy chuckled, causing the bed to wobble and shake from the movement.

Jimmy settled himself down, “Wouldn’t want to shake the bed too much. People might start getting ideas.”

Cadey turned her head away after Jimmy winked, unsuccessfully hiding her rosy cheeks from him. He sighed contentedly and rested his head back against the pillows, rubbing his hand along Cadey’s back in a comforting manner while his other hand rested on her waist. She was practically laying on her stomach on the side of Jimmy, stretching the cords attached to her as far as they could go. Neither of them seemed to mind.

Cadey could feel herself drifting off to sleep. She focused on Jimmy’s chest, rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She pulled herself further into his warmth, suddenly chilled at the thought of him leaving. Though she hadn’t ever cuddled like this with him before, she felt like she had. She didn’t want to know that she couldn’t do this for a long time. What would happen between them anyway?

She felt her thoughts molding together into one as she fell asleep: Jimmy.

“’Night, Cade,” he said softly, gently placing a kiss on the top of her head.

She mumbled a response, and not even a moment later, Jimmy could hear her deep breathing as her body went limp against him. She didn’t hear him when he spoke again.

“I’ll miss you, Cadey. More than I ever thought I could.”