I'll Be Right Beside You

“Mom, I don’t want to go!” I shut my eyes as I heard Jordan raise his voice. Jared had gone home two weeks ago, but had phoned every few days to see how things were going and how I was doing. I’d spent a lot of time over at Jordan’s apartment with him and his parents, bringing him over to my place for a little while to give Henry and Linda some time to relax too.

“Jordan, honey we know… it’s just that it would make things a lot easier…”

“MOM!”

“Jordan, don’t use that tone with your mother,” Henry’s voice gained volume, and I heard Jordan sniffle a little bit.

“Sorry,”

“It’s okay sweetheart. I understand, you’re very upset, but we need to be at home too, and we want to be able to take care of you honey. You can do all the same things you need to back in Thunder Bay, and the doctor even said that it might help your memory by being at home,” Linda softly explained.

“But mom, I want to stay in Pittsburgh… that’s where all of my friends are, and Cam’s here, and I can skate after practices,” he argued.

“Jordan honey you can still skate, you can still call and Skype your friends and Cam, and we can get the same medical attention back home. We just want what’s best for you,” she insisted, sounding close to tears herself. I put a hand over my mouth to keep quiet from my place by the door. I’d came over to say hello and visit for a while after our morning practice, and came in quietly to surprise them. Instead I’d managed to walk in on this.

“But mom that’s not the same,”

“Jordan, we just want you to get better,”

“But I can get better here!”

“Jordan, I think Cam’s done more than enough for you already sweetheart; it’s not fair to her to keep putting her through this,” Linda pointed out, making me feel even worse about the whole thing.
Jordan was silent, telling us everything that we needed him to. I took a deep breath and stepped back outside of the door, wiping the tears from my cheeks and trying to collect myself before loudly knocking. The door swung open in moments, catching me off guard when as soon as it was open I was in a tight hug.

“Hi Cam,” Jordan’s voice was muffled against my neck, and he sounded close to tears himself. I hugged him back as hard as I could, before finally getting him inside of his apartment and closing the door.

“How are you Jordy?” I asked quietly, pulling away just enough that I could wipe the tears off of his cheeks. He managed a small smile before sniffling and fisting the rest of the dampness away himself.

“I’m okay… mom and dad want me to go back to Thunder Bay with them…” he told me, looking ready to burst into tears again at any given moment.

“Well, let’s sit down and talk it over okay?” I took his arm and led him over to the couch. We got comfortable and then I took a deep breath trying to figure out where to start.

“Why don’t you want to go home Jordy?”

“Because I can skate after practice with you and the guys, and the guys are all here, and you’re here,” he started listing off, and I nodded, understanding what he meant.

“Okay, that makes sense,” I nodded, and he nodded enthusiastically as well. “But, do you see where your mom and dad are coming from on this?”

“Yeah… I guess…”

“Well then you see why they want you to go back to Thunder Bay, right? I mean, you can be with your family, you can see lots of things that might help your memory come back, you can get into physio and get those hands back up to snuff, and you can keep skating. And you can still come down to Pittsburgh and visit Jordy; it’s not like you’re stuck there,” I told him, and finally he sighed before nodding.

“I guess,” he quietly replied, and I pulled him in for a hug, letting him nestle his head against my neck while he tried to calm down a bit.

“Hey, I’ll get you plane tickets for the last game of the season so you can come down and watch and see everybody, as long as it doesn’t interfere with any of your brother’s games, all right? You’ll get to see everybody, okay?” I patted his back before cupping his cheek. “It’ll all be okay. We just all want you to get better.”

“I guess. I just don’t want to be all by myself,”

“You won’t be all alone Jordy; you’re going to be in all of our minds all of the time, and you know I’m never farther than a phone call away,” I reminded him before pressing a kiss to the right side of his forehead to avoid the scar he had.

“Okay Cam,” he whispered, before giving me a shy smile. I pulled him in once again and rubbed his back.

“Okay Jordy. Just remember that we’re all here for you, no matter what. If you’re ever having a really hard time or anything just phone me, or Skype me and I’ll do the best I can to help you out, all right? All of the guys will, same as your brothers; you’ll never be alone in this Jordy. You’ll always have us. You’ll always have me,” I murmured, one hand in his hair as he stayed close.

We sat quietly for a few minutes, until I looked up to see Henry and Linda standing at the end of the couch. None of us said a word until Jordan finally sat up properly. He looked over and saw his parents standing there, and offered them a shy smile.

“So, sweetheart do you know what you’re doing?” Linda quietly asked. It took him a moment, and a long look toward me before Jordan finally nodded.

“Yeah. I, um, I guess I’m going home with you guys. I, um, I’m gonna go pack some stuff,” he mumbled before getting up and heading to his bedroom.

“Thank you so much Cam; I know this has been hard on you too,” Linda pulled me into a hug as soon as Jordan was out of sight. I hugged her back just as tightly, hoping beyond hope that this would help him feel better.

“Of course you guys – I’d do it all again if I had to. You have all of my numbers and Skype and everything? So Jordan can get a hold of me if he needs to?” I asked, and Henry nodded.

“Of course; I’m sure he’s got it all taped on the wall in his room so he couldn’t lose them or forget,” he chuckled, making all three of us laugh. It was a typical Jordan move.

“And I’ll, uh, make sure to get all of the guys’ numbers and stuff organized so Jordan can talk to them too,” I knew I was trying to organize things so that I could keep myself from bursting into tears.

“Thanks so much Cam, for everything,” Linda pulled me in once more, before I was passed off to Henry.

“Of course – um, give me a call when you guys get back, all right?” they both nodded, before I took a deep breath to go and say goodbye to Jordan.