9:20 pm
Blaire's POV
My eyes flutter open and I take in my surroundings. Everything is dark. My eyes graze the shapes of the walls searching for something familiar but I find nothing.
Where the heck am I?
Then I hear the beeping. The faint yet distinct noise that reminds me exactly where I am. The isolation ward of the hospital.
I fumble my hands around in the darkness and my fingers tangle in a string that must be my oxygen flow. Eventually I come across a button with a white outlined lamp. I hit it and a faint yellow glow appears overhead. I look down and see a hot pink sticky note left on my bedside table. Seemingly the only pop of color in my otherwise staunch environment.
"Jake called...a lot. Give him a ring. XOXO -Harp"
I smile and reach for my phone. My tired hands search through recent calls and dial the number of the boy who's quickly stealing my heart.
"Blaire?"
"Hi Jakey."
"You're back! Thank God. How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay."
"Is your fever down? Are you staying hydrated? What's your heart rate? I-"
"Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we please not talk about this?...I know you're just trying to be nice, but all I've heard for the past 72 hours is medical terms and blood results...and I just can't talk about it anymore."
...
"Jake?"
"What do you call an alligator wearing a vest?"
"Wait, what?"
"An inVESTigator. Haha. Get it?"
"...You are just too much Jacob Joseph."
"Well I think that's up for debate Blaire McKenna."
"How was school today?"
"It was wild actually. I witnessed a fight break out between two band members because they both went on a date with the same clarinet player ON THE SAME NIGHT."
"No!"
"Yes! They were in a full out brawl on the cafeteria floor."
"What did the clarinetist do?"
"Ran away. Literally. Sprinted to the bathroom and didn't come out until 6th period."
"How did this even happen?"
"Well.."
...and I continue to listen to Jake's story until my eyelids become heavy, and for a second, I let myself pretend that the most significant thing happening in my life is a play-by-play discussion of a band fight.
YOU ARE READING
Love on the Line
Short Story"Have you ever been in love?" "...Wow. That's pretty deep for 20 questions, don't you think Lassie?" "That's not an answer. You're stalling." "Okay okay you caught me." "So, have you?" "No, I haven't. But I think I could be soon."
