Hospital Beds and Memories

After staying the night and having had breakfast, it was time to go home. We still had to get ready for Jack’s parents who were going to be coming over in the evening. I don’t know how he managed it, but somehow Jack had managed for us to have a busy day again. He was one of the worst people I knew at planning. It was like he didn’t even try. Today was all over the place. We were still at my parents’ house, next we were going to meet his parents, and Cam was leaving. It was very likely that I would be able to wake up the next day. All my energy was going to be drained.

Jack was excited, yet very nervous to drive our new car. He had gone on a couple of test drives in the neighbourhood, but now we were actually going to drive on the actual road. Of course he was going to be nervous. It was an expensive car, a fast car, and he wasn’t exactly used to how it drove. I should have probably been afraid for my life, but I just knew it was going to be fine. All I had to do was make sure he wouldn’t do some risky and sudden things.

We had gotten all the stuff we had brought along from my bedroom, and went to the living room to say goodbye to my parents and Cam. I wasn’t going to see my dad for another while, since he had to go travel again in a couple of days, and Cam was going to leave later today, but I still had Jack here for another two weeks. So I wasn’t alone… yet. It was going to be difficult being all on my own. I would have to get a taxi whenever I had to go to the hospital, and if something went wrong at home, nobody would be there to help me. But I didn’t voice my fears to Jack. He had already promised me that if I started doing really bad before he left, that he would simply just not go on tour. He even got permission from the record label and anybody else who had a say in it. Everybody seemed to think this situation was very serious, which is was… technically. But I was convinced everything would go well.

We were about to walk out to the front door, when my mom stopped us once again. Before I could even ask what made her want to keep us for any longer, she already started talking, “I still need to give you your birthday present! Cam’s already got his, but I haven’t had the time to give it to you yet!”

“Oh,” I nodded, not even expecting to get a gift from her. My dad had already given me some money, which they always gave, and I had a phonecall with them that was reasonably lengthy, but I didn’t think they would do more and actually getting me something material. However, my mom still quickly disappeared into one of the many other rooms on this level.

“I wasn’t sure what to get you, so don’t be disappointed,” she came back with a bag in her hands. I read the logo on it and rolled my eyes. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just kinda weird to get something like that from your parents. I knew my dad always had a say in the gifts we received from them, if it was just my mom who gave it to me, I would not have been so embarrassed.

She handed me the big Victoria’s Secret and shot me a wink, “there’s probably some stuff in there that Jack will like.”

“Mom!” I gasped, acting offended, but also hoping to change the subject, “how dare you think Jack wears this kind of stuff!”

“You know what I mean,” she teased again, nudging slightly.

“Nope, I actually don’t,” I gave her a quick smile before grabbing Jack’s hand and giving it a small tug, really not wanting to have this conversation with my mom. You see, she did know I was a virgin, but I never actually told her that Jack and I were having sex. I mean, I might have told her this if it would have happened when I was a teenager, but now it was just very awkward.

The smirk slightly dropped from her face, probably thinking that she had gone somewhere where she shouldn’t have -- not in the sense of it being inappropriate, but it being in the sense of it being something that might have been wrong between Jack and I. “Don’t you guys have--”

“Ok, no. Hold that thought,” I interrupted before she could go where I knew she was going. I pulled Jack behind me this time, dragging him to the hallway. There was no way I was having this conversation with my family. “I think it’s time for us to go.”

“But the conversation was just getting interesting!” Jack whined and gave me a fake pout. Of course he would say that just to annoy me.

“Bye, family!” I exclaimed as I opened the front door. I knew that I wasn’t going to see any of them for a while, especially Cam, but I really didn’t feel like risking going back. Besides, it wasn’t like one of us was going to die soon.

After having to pull Jack’s weight along with me for a while, he decided to give in and just walk beside me. That guy could be pretty heavy and annoying if he really wanted to. But his excitement to drive the car took over the part in his brain that caused him to be like this, and he quickly also said a bye to my family before I closed the front door. He gaped at the car while he held the keys in his hands. It was like he was frozen while he just eyed it like he was checking out a girl.

I rolled my eyes and chave him a small nudge to bring him out of his trance. He shook his head and unlocked the car. As gentlemanly as he was, he ran over to open the passenger door for me and gave me a goofy grin as I stepped in. He quickly ran around the front after closing my door and got in himself. I looked over at him and saw his eyes sparkle. This was probably any little boys dream to drive a car like this, and now it came true. I couldn’t help but smile at how cute it was.

And off we went. It took a while for Jack to get a hang of the power the vehicle had, but in no time he had gotten it under control. Sure, I occasionally feared for my life, but that was normal around Jack. He just managed to do the weirdest shit ever.

We were both surprised to see two cars already in the driveway as soon as we got home. Not only was Jack’s car happily waiting there, but another red one was placed right next to it. It couldn’t possibly be his parents already, because it certainly didn't seem like a car they would own. There also wasn’t anybody else we were expecting… and then I saw the figure sitting at our front door.

As soon as Jack had managed to park the car right behind his, nearly having hit it and ruined both cars, I jumped out. He called out after me, but I beelined straight to the faded purple hair. She was shaking, her head resting between her knees while her hands ran over her face. I could hear her quiet crying as I got closer to her. Jack seemed to have seen what I was heading for, because he stopped asking me what I was doing and decided it was a good idea to turn off the engine instead.

I quickly sat down next to the friend I hadn’t seen since the last time we went to the hospital together and wrapped my arms around her. There was nothing that could give me a lead to why she was crying, so I could only think of the worst. She had lost the baby. But it seemed impossible to me. That couldn’t possibly be true. Everything was perfectly fine just weeks ago.

So, I decided to just keep my mouth shut and let her cry on my shoulder. I couldn’t just jump to conclusions like that. I first had to listen to what she had to say. Maybe it wasn’t anything like that; maybe it wasn’t even about anything like that. There were so many possibilities.

“Let’s get you guys inside,” Jack had kneeled infront of us, but decided it was going to be better to talk about this somewhere comfortable. With Abagail pregnant and me slowly dying, it probably was a good idea. He stood back up and unlocked the door.

Abagail stood up with me and we both made our way inside. I guided us over to the couch and made sure we didn’t sit on Taco as we fell back onto the soft surface. The whole couch bounced as we did so, and my attempt to not wake Taco was a complete fail. She jumped away and rushed over to where Jack was standing. Just like I had predicted, they really had become attached to each other.

After a while, Abagail had ran out of tears and I took this time to ask her what was going on. It actually surprised me that she came here. I kind of felt like we weren’t really friends anymore. Yes, we did have that special moment when I stayed with her for the ultrasound, but after that we just sort of lost contact. I was too busy being sick, and she had to make sure she didn’t do anything to the baby.

“I can’t do it,” she choked out and shook her head, “I was supposed to meet him today, but I can’t do it! What if he sees me and doesn’t want anything to do with me or the baby!”

I frowned, confused with her short but to the point confession, “but wasn’t he coming here weeks ago? I remember you told me he was coming only days after the first doctor’s appointment… or am I getting this wrong?”

“No,” she confirmed, looking up at me with her puffy eyes, “he had to stay back for work, he didn’t get the time off he wanted. But he’s here now. I don’t know what to do!”

“Go out and meet him,” I told her, but I wasn’t going to let it at that. I understood where she was coming from. This was probably very difficult for her. I would also have freaked out if I found out I was pregnant and Jack and I weren’t even together. “Sure, there is a possibility that things will go wrong, but it’s so much more likely that it will go well! I mean, he’s already coming over here! If he didn’t want anything to do with you, he probably would be spending his money on an expensive ticket. And if the worst happens, Jack and I are still here for you.”

“I’ll be the best uncle ever!” Jack exclaimed with Taco purring in his arms. Somehow over the course of the last couple of weeks, he had managed to figure out how to hold her. He no longer jumped and freaked out.

“Ok,” Abagail chuckled, drying her last tears away. Of course it was going to be Jack who would cheer her up. Maybe it wasn’t Jack’s baby, and maybe she had an affair in Iceland, but I just knew she still had some sort of feelings for Jack. It was just the way she immediately perked up when he comforted her and the fact that she showed Jack the photos first. Jack probably didn’t know, but to me it was pretty obvious.

“I should probably go…” she said after another while of silence, “I’m going to be late otherwise.”

“I’ll show you out,” Jack grinned at her, making her blush. He walked her to the door, Taco still comfortably in his arms. I sighed as I saw her give him a small glance with a sneaky smile. This was not going to end well…

----

Jack and I were sitting on one end of the table while his parents were on the opposite. We were about halfway through our meal, laughing and talking with each other. My energy was definitely drained already. Too much had been happening in one day, and I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t tell Jack, but I had been feeling my health continuing to get worse and worse. The side effects of the chemo were really getting to me, my nightmares kept occurring and getting worse, and I could sleep for an entire day.

I was just too afraid Jack wouldn’t go on tour if he knew how I actually felt. He kept telling me he would stay if I wasn’t doing well. And although that was to comfort me, it didn’t really do that. It only made me afraid to show how weak I actually was. Things would be unfair if I was the reason for him not to travel the world. That was the last thing I wanted. However, Jack still wanted protection over me while he was gone. So, that was what the conversation had turned to over time. My dad was going away for work, my mom was going on a trip to Sweden, and my brother was going to be in LA while Jack was gone. So they couldn’t take care of me…

“Of course I’ll come over a couple of times a week,” Joyce winked at me, while agreeing to Jack’s plan. She sensed exactly that Jack was the only one who actually needed this, “If it makes you happy, I’ll even want to stay the night here to make sure it’s all good.”

Although that was sort of supposed to be a joke, Jack still answered, “if you wouldn’t mind. I don’t want anything happening to her.”

Jack was way too concerned. I rolled my eyes, but still let him make the plans. Going against him would be a bad idea. I didn’t want him getting mad at me. It was better to have him be overprotective now than have him want to leave me.

“Hello!” The front door slammed shut and my brother appeared around the corner. He looked taken aback by Jack’s parents being here. He probably thought he was just going to run into me and Jack playing video games with beer all around us again.

“Cam?” I questioned. Wasn’t he supposed to be on a plane right now?

“Wrong time?” He looked back at the front door, asking is he had to leave, “I can come back later.”

“No you can’t; aren’t you supposed to be at the airport right now?”

“Oh yeah, right,” he jogged up to be and put an envelope face down next to me, “I gotta get going. Don’t open that before I’m gone, or you’ll kill me.”

And with that he left the house, like he had never actually been here and it was one of my weird hallucinations. But the envelope was still at my right hand. As soon as the door closed again, Jack asked me what was inside. I slowly opened it and sighed at what I found inside.

“I am definitely going to kill him,” I mumbled.

I didn’t need his money.