𝐉𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐘 [ 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬 ] ✘

See You Again

"The contamination period for the individuals trapped inside is 48 hours. Then the CDC-"

I picked up the remote and clicked off the TV. I couldn't stand to listen to anymore of that. I put my head in my hands as tears began to stream down my face. How could this happen? And why him? Why did Jake have to get trapped in there? What if he got infected and he...

I jumped suddenly as the phone began to ring. I raced over to it and answered.

"Hello? Jake?" I asked, hope filling my voice.

A masculine voice coughed from the other side and answered me,"Sorry, Hallie, it's Lex."

I sighed into the phone.

"Oh, hey, Lex, how are things?" I asked, knowing the answer already.

"It's not good - the whole city is under lock down now-" he started.

"Wait! The whole city?! Lex, what's really going on? How can this even be happening?"

"Calm down, Hallie. It's going to be fine - everything will be over in 48 hours. We just have to take precautions, you know that."

"Yeah, I-I know, Lex. I'm sorry. It's just....all of this is overwhelming. Have you heard anything from Jake? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Jake's fine. He's quarantined in the hospital for now but he's not infected."

I breathed a sigh of relief and I lowered myself onto the couch.

"How's Jana? Have you seen her or talked to her?" Lex asked me, concern filling his voice.

I nodded and then realized he couldn't see me.

"Yeah, I talked to her just before you called - she's fine too. She's at work with her friends."

"That's good. I was so worried about her."

"I thought you said there wan't reason to worry."

"There's....not. It's just...Look, I can't talk about it right now, okay, Hallie? But I'll try to call back and check on you - try to keep you updated with all of this mess." he said grimly.

"Thanks, Lex. I'll talk to you later then. Bye." I said and hung up the phone.

I rubbed my hands over my pants legs, trying to calm myself down. I moved over to reach the TV remote when I noticed Jake's coin necklace laying on the coffee table in front of me. I smiled forlornly and picked it up, my fingers tracing the design on it. I remember when I gave him this last Christmas. His face lit up when he saw it- he'd been wanting it for so long, dropping hints to me in the hopes that I'd catch on.

I suppressed a sob as I thought of him - his dark blue eyes, his hair, that smirk, the way he'd hold me in his strong arms just before he'd leave for work...

I lied down on the couch, clutching his necklace in my hand as I drifted off to sleep.

Ring! Ring!

I opened my eyes to the phone ringing again. I sat up groggily and looked at the time on the clock. 6:45 PM. Who could be calling this late? I'd already talked to Lex and Jana. I picked up the phone and punched the Talk button.

"Hello?" I asked tiredly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

I heard a deep sigh from the other side and my heart caught in my throat as I realized who it was.

"Jake," I said softly into the phone.

"Baby girl, how are you? Are you okay? You're not infected are you? Where are you?" he asked, a bit frantic.

I smiled at his concern and answered his questions, "I'm fine, Jake, baby, I'm fine. I'm at my apartment. Are you alright?"

"I am. I'm- I'm quarantined at the hospital."

"I know. Lex told me...."

I heard him chuckle at that.

"I should've known he'd call you...."

Silence ensued between us then and I bit back a sob, thinking of him all alone in that infected place.

"I love you so much, Jakey....what-what if I never see you again?" I said, suddenly not caring if I cried or not.

I missed him so much. What if he somehow got infected while he was locked in? What if he died in there? I couldn't handle that - I couldn't live without him.

"Shhh, baby, it's alright. I'm gonna make it out of here....and when I do, we're gonna go somewhere far away from all of this. I'm gonna take you to Hawaii, just like you always wanted." he soothed me, his voice almost breaking.

I laughed halfheartedly then at his attempt to cheer me up.

"I love you, Hal. You know that, don't you?" he asked me quietly.

I looked down at his necklace in my hand and smiled sadly. Suddenly, I heard someone say something to Jake on the other side.

"I gotta go now, angel. But I'll call you, tomorrow, okay? I promise we're gonna make it through this."

"Okay, bye, Jake." I said and I heard him hang up.

We were going to be together again. I knew it. Nothing - not even this virus - could keep us away from each other.