At All Costs || Jerrie

Chapter 15

Slightly annoyed for being interrupted in the middle of grading my students's essays, I fished my phone out of the back pocket of my white ripped jeans. I dialed the number I knew by heart and put the phone to my ear. Three dial tones passed, then a recorded version of my best friend's cheerful voice said: "Hi, it's Leigh-Anne speaking, I can't talk now, but feel free to leave a message."

"Goddammit, Leigh-Anne!" I shouted at my phone.

"I see that someone's not in a good mood" a soft female voice said.

"Me best friend is not here, like she said she would" I responded, annoyed that Leigh did this to me when she knew I had a whole lot of work to catch up with.

"Maybe she's just running a little late. London traffic is the worst, after all. Me mam is never on time when she comes here to visit me."

Hold up, wait. There's only one other person in London besides from me who pronounces "my" as "me" and "mum" as "mam". But that other person was hospitalized for being shot with an electrical gun and almost drowning after falling into the water.

You and Jade are not the only Geordies in London. Perrie, get a grip!

I decided it was time for me to stop looking at my phone like it was the most interesting thing in the world and find out for myself who this mysterious woman who sounded a lot like my girl Jade, could be.

Inhaling another breath of fresh air, I removed my gaze from my phone and looked up at Miss Unknown. Seeing who she was, my heart abruptly stopped beating. Everything around me stopped, it was as if someone had pressed pause and the only ones able to move were me and her.

"Jade?" I asked, couldn't quite grasp the fact that she stood an arm-length from me.

"That's me name" she smiled.

"But..." I trailed off, too taken aback.

Jade was supposed to be at the hospital, to rest up so she could come back home fully recovered. Doctor Tilley said she had to stay a few more days, the plan wasn't to discharge her earlier than we agreed on. However, I was just happy my baby didn't lie in a bed where people had died anymore. The days without her were awful. Thank God they were now over, now I didn't have to wake up and fall asleep alone.

"You're okay! You're actually okay! Baba, I've missed you so much!"

Squealing, I dropped everything and ran straight into my girlfriend's arms. I threw my arms around her neck, smiled so wide that my face started to hurt, and buried my face in her chest. Pure happiness flowed in my blood, washing out every ounce of dark, negative feelings out of my system.

"Careful now, Pezza. Me chest still hurts" Jade chuckled lightly.

"Sorry, baba" I apologized.

Reluctantly I ended the heartwarming hugging-session and took a step back, observing every inch of Jade's pretty face.

"Would you like to go home or would you rather stand there and stare at me like I'm some kind of legendary animal?" Jade asked softly.

"I'd like to go home. With you" I smiled.

"Of course, m'lady. Me car is over there" she said as she reached out her hand.

Pleased with having my girl back, I placed my hand in hers. I flashed her a loving smile, which she was quick to answer, then we walked hand-in-hand to the car that was an emotional trip down memory lane everytime we sat in it.

At home.

We were lying on the couch, browsing through the unnecessary many channels on the telly, trying to find something interesting to watch. Jade massaged my scalp as she muttered how annoying it was that nothing worth watching were on. I just smiled at her while doing my very best to prevent myself from falling asleep.