Where Hearts Might Heal

Chapter 30

I slowly blinked my eyes opened with a groan. Why did hospital lights have to be so bright? "Blaire?" I looked into eyes full of worry.

"Day? I told him not to call you guys." I mumbled. Day just looked at me funny.

"She's been out the whole time. She probably doesn't know anything." Beck told him.

"The whole time?" I asked.

"Blaire, you've been out for three days." Mama P whispered. I looked around the room. The one person I wanted to see wasn't in the room. Tears filled my eyes.

"He's here. Just not in here." Day told me when he noticed my tears. He glanced at his mom.

"I think we should tell you what's been going on." She sat down in a chair beside the bed. I looked at the other two guys in the room before turning my attention back to her.

"You passed out before Jake could get you here. Your kidney failed. They put you on dialysis until they could find you another one." She glanced back at Beck and Day. "Beck called me to tell me what was going on. We were all surprised when he told us that you didn't want him calling Jay. Nat told us what happened with Jay. Anyway, we all rushed straight here and got tested. It's a lot of us. One of us had to be a match." I glanced towards my stomach. "One of us was a match. They instantly took you both into surgery. You had a kidney transplant." I looked between all three of them.

"Jay was a match. He gave you one of his kidneys." Day added.

"Can I see him?" I asked. Mama P patted my hand.

"I'll go get the doctor." She whispered.

I bit my lip to keep it from trembling as Jay was wheeled into the room. "We'll leave you two alone for a little bit." Mama P whispered as she left the room.

"I'm sorry." Jay apologized. "It was just so hard to talk to you. I could tell how unhappy you were here. It broke me more and more every time we talked. That first night I didn't call you, I was just really exhausted from school and practice. I hadn't meant to fall asleep before calling you. After that," He shook his head. "I don't have a good reason. I just didn't want to see the pain in your eyes or hear it in your voice." He looked down. "That day, with that girl, we'd just been talking. She was asking about Snow. I was telling her about you. That Snow is your dog. A Christmas present." I slowly took his hand.

"I love you," I whispered. He looked up at me. "That's why it hurt so much. I felt like you didn't want me anymore. That maybe you decided not to wait for me to get back." I admitted. He shook his head.

"I love you. I have a calendar in my room just counting down the days until you can come home." He smiled. "I actually have some pretty great news. As soon as you are released from here, you are coming back to my house. My mom already has everything worked out. You'll be living with us." I smiled at him.

"Why didn't you tell someone about your medicine?" He asked. I looked away from him. "We know you ran out and she wouldn't get you anymore." Jay hesitated.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Beck pressed for charges against your mom. She not only stole your medicine that was keeping you alive. She sold it and refused to get you anymore. She's in jail." He replied. My mouth dropped slightly. "John turned her in when he realized what was going on. Your lawyer wants to push for attempted murder. She knew you needed that medicine to live and she still did that. You really could have died this time." He added.

"You gave me your kidney," I whispered. He nodded.

"I was not about to let you die. I'm just glad I was a match." I gave him a small smile.

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I slowly made my way into the house. "Welcome home." Everybody yelled. I smiled as tears filled my eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jay asked. I shook my head.

"I'm just so happy." I cried. Jay pressed a kiss to the side of my head.

"Me too." He whispered.

"For a long time, I felt so alone. I had Jake and Makenna. I had Joe. But, I still felt so alone." I looked around at everybody. "Now, I have so many people. I don't feel alone anymore. I feel like I finally belong." I glanced at Beck. "Like I finally found my missing family," I admitted.

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The next few months were a rollercoaster. Momma P had me transferred into an online school. She felt it was better for me since I'd be missing a lot of school for doctor appointments. She also didn't want me in a crowded hallway. We went to court with my mother. First, we had to prove that I needed that medicine for a life-threatening illness. We had to prove that she stole my medicine and sold it. I'm still not sure how Beck and the lawyers got that proof. The court date was canceled three times. It felt like my mother's lawyer was just stalling. Maybe he thought we'd drop the case. Finally, we had a set court date. My mother was charged with attempted murder along with a few other things. The judge gave her sixty years without the possibility of parole.

Everybody was getting ready for graduation and going away to college. Jay had decided on a college over five hundred miles away. They gave him a wonderful offer, and they had a great doctoral program. I didn't want to be too far away from Momma P or Beck, so I chose the local college. They had a great teacher program. Day, Kate, Marcy, and Tate were also going to the local college. Neither of them wanted to be too far away from helpful family. Kate was going to take a year off since she was due just a month or so before classes started. Marcy was taking more of her classes online for the first year. Trent, Trinity, Nat, Ross, Bryson, Easton, Memphis, and Ash all had sports scholarships and were going to different colleges. Canton had one more year of school left. We were all splitting up. Momma P made all of them agree to come home almost every school break and call at least every week.

Jay sent me a look. He'd just finished packing up his car. It was time for him to leave for college. He'd put it off as long as he could, but he had baseball practices starting soon. Tears filled my eyes.

"I'm going to miss you," I mumbled.

"I'll call you so much, that you won't have a chance to miss me." He told me. I stepped into his open arms with a sigh. "I'll be back to visit the first chance I get." He promised.

"It's time to leave." Jay's dad announced. Jay pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss.

"I will call you every single day. Several times a day." He promised.

He lied. His calls slowly stopped coming.