Jake

“It doesn’t seem to matter what angle I go at, she finds just one more excuse as to why it won’t work.” I can feel my mind grow hazy, my body experiencing alcohol-induced tingles. “I tell her I love her, she says I remind her of those dark times in Chicago. I tell her I need her, both her and Isabelle in my life, she tells me she can’t give me what I need.”

“Sadie told me I was too good for her,” Farris interjects, pulling me out of my self-pity filled cloud. “So I showed her all the ways I could be bad.”

“I don’t need a recap, man.” I lift my beer to take another swig and hear him chuckle. “The walls are thin, you bastard. I don’t need you adding any visuals to what I’ve already heard.”

I hear a car door closing and lie my head back against the lounger. We probably shouldn’t be sitting outside near the outdoor pool, downing one beer after another, but at this point I need it. I want to wash away the ache I feel inside me, if even only for a few hours.

“That woman looks familiar.”

I lift my head and the area around me does a little waving motion as it tries to catch up.

“Fuck, I think I drank one too many.” I laugh at myself as I grip the arm of the chair and try to focus.

“Isn’t that your girl’s friend?” I am finally able to see Farris clearly, and he is looking off toward the parking lot.

“What?” I try to lean forward, and fall a little too far as I place my hand on the ground before me to keep from face planting against the concrete pad that surrounds the pool. It most definitely was not a smart idea to get blitzed near a swimming pool.

By this time Farris is out of his chair and walking toward the front entrance of the hotel. I think about following him, but decide to stay put. Going for a midnight dunk doesn’t sound good.

“Hey.” Farris’ voice echoes across the open space. He waves his arms in the air and it’s then I see what he was talking about. Whitney rushes toward the fenced area that surrounds the pool. Her face is still a blur as I try to blink past the haze. Still wearing her pajamas, she leans against the fence, taking in a deep, calming breath.

“Don’t you believe in answering your phone?” Instantly I reach for my back pocket and find it empty. “I’ve been calling you. Blair’s been blowing up your phone too.”

“What’s wrong?” I stand and wobble on my feet, kicking the chair and practically tripping over the leg.

“Great, you’re drunk.” She throws her hands up in the air and I’m thrown back to the time in Chicago when she went off on me in the hallway outside her apartment. “Just forget it.”

When she spins on her heels and starts walking back toward the parking lot, I force my legs to move. “What’s wrong, Whit?”

“Call in the morning when you’re sober enough to comprehend and I’ll fill you in.”

“No.” I reach the fence and try my damnedest to open the gate, cursing the latch that I’m sure had I been sober I wouldn’t be having so much trouble opening. “Will you wait a damn minute?” I look over at Farris who is watching me with a puzzled look on his face. “Open this fucking thing, will ya?” He chuckles before reaching out and lifting the lever, causing the gate to swing open.

“Fucking smartass,” I mumble as I jog, okay, it is more like a stumble, toward Whitney with Farris hot on my heels.

“You came here for a purpose, so tell me.”

Whitney lets out a huff of breath, placing her hands on her hips. “Your daughter is running a hundred and three temp.” An alarmed feeling hits me. “Blair took her to the emergency room and she thought maybe you would want to be there too. Actually, I think more than anything, she needs you to be there.”

Well, kick me in the fucking nuts, why don’t ya.

“Let’s go.” I take a step toward her car and she places her hand against my chest.

“You are not going anywhere near the hospital like this,” she waves her hand over the vicinity of my chest. “You need to drink some coffee, water, hell I don’t know. But when you can actually walk a straight line without assistance, then you come and be with Blair and your daughter.”

A huge part of me wants to argue with her, but I know she is right.  

“Come on.” I feel a tug on my arm and the action makes me stumble once more. “Let’s get you sobered up.” I allow Farris to drag me toward the front of the hotel, but just before we step inside I holler out for Whitney.

“Hey!” She is standing near her car, and it appears she is texting someone. She looks up and simply stares at me. “Can you tell her that I’ll be there soon?”

“Yeah.” She waves her hand in the air in the dramatic fashion that only Whitney herself has mastered. “I got this, now get your ass straightened up because your girls need you.”

My girls. I love the sound of that.

“I need them too.” That is an understatement. I want them so badly that I can’t seem to focus on anything other than that need.

Two hours later and a whole helluva lot of coffee, I stand outside the door that leads to the room my daughter is in. It’s quiet, the halls scarce of movement. It is after three in the morning and though I wanted to be here sooner, Whit was right. I couldn’t show up in the condition she’d found me in.

I lean in a little closer to the door, listening for any indication they are awake. When I’m met with nothing but silence I slowly push open the door and peek inside. In a crib that looks more like a cage, Isabelle is curled up, snuggled in a blanket. Call it a protective nature, or whatever, but I don’t like that she was pinned inside the fucked up looking contraption. I fight the urge inside me to walk over and figure out how to get her out of there. I’d spend all day and night holding her if it meant she wasn’t stuck in there.

“Hi.” A soft whisper breaks through my irritated state, and the second I see Blair curled up on a leather recliner I move toward her without a second to reconsider. Her eyes widen just a fraction when I kneel next to her and reach out to hug her close.

“Is she okay?”

“Viral infection.” I release my tight hold on her, but keep my hands on her legs that are tucked up in front of her. “She’s dehydrated because I can’t get her to drink anything. Her fever didn’t help either.”

I look over toward Izzy when I hear the rustling sounds of her movements.

“They just want to keep her overnight, get some fluids in her.” I nod, still watching my daughter closely. “If her fever stays down then she may get to go home tomorrow.”

“Sorry I wasn’t here.” Add my absence to the long list of fuckups I’ve managed to accomplish with Blair and now Isabelle.

“It’s okay.”

“No.” I look away from Isabelle and find Blair watching me closely. “It’s not. I picked the wrong night to take a trip down pity lane.” She tilts her head to the side but says nothing. “Wanting something so fucking bad, but being unable to take it, its killer.”

She looks like she wants to say something, but I don’t give her a chance to.

“Do you mind if I stay?”

“Depends,” a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth as she looks down at the chair she’s in, “do you think we can both fit in this chair?” I do my best not to convey the excitement I feel inside from the idea of being close to her. But damn, I feel that shit down deep.

“How about you get up and let me take your spot? Then you can curl up in my lap.” Again that smile pulls at her lips, and I wonder for a second if maybe I pushed when I shouldn’t have. Then she slowly stands, my hands falling away at her movements.

When she places one hand on each of my shoulders and looks down at me, I feel my heart race. “I’m trying to remember the man you were, the guy from my apartment who made me feel safe.”

I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.

“Maybe you can help me.”

I nod because there isn’t one thing I want more.

“I can’t make any promises, Jake, but I’m willing to try.”

She weakens me, and I feel it in my chest.

I open my eyes and find her watching me with softness in hers, a look I recognize from our times together. It’s the way she would look at me just before I’d kiss her.

“We’ll take things one day at a time. As long as I have you and Isabelle, I don’t care how long it takes. I want both of you, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”

Blair surprises me as she slouches just enough to press a soft kiss to my lips. One that ends much too fast, but says a million unspoken words.