♥Chapter 32: ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ꜱʜᴇ ʙᴜʏꜱ ʜɪᴍ ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄɪɴᴇꜱ♥

✿Kennedy✿

My eyes are still closed when I try to feel for Jake beside me. A frown comes to my face when my hand closes around nothing.

I pop open my eyes and see that Jake isn't even beside me.

He must've gone for his morning run or something. I let out a huge monstrous groan and stretch my body. Raising myself up like the dead, I yawn, patting my mouth and look around. I scream.

Jake's sitting quietly on his chair, looking at me with slightly wide eyes.

"Didn't mean to scare you." He says and takes a sip of his coffee.

"You did anyway," I answer, hopping off the bed and walking over to him. "What are you doing up so early?" I ask as I plop down on his lap. His arm automatically circles me, making my head rest against his chest.

"It's 10 in the morning." He replies.

I wave my hand, "That's still quite early, isn't it?"

He shrugs.

I snuggle my head into his chest, making myself comfortable. He takes another sip of his coffee.

I try listening for his heartbeat, placing my ear on his chest.

My mouth drops open and my hands freeze in their place.

He has no heartbeat.

I try listening for it again.

None.

I can't hear any lub-dub.

Is it true what Corey said then? That Jake has no heart?

If Jake has no heart then how does he feel emotions? How can he say that he's falling in love with me?

Maybe he's learnt to pretend to have emotions. He's mastered the act of feeling even when he doesn't really feel anything.

My bottom lip starts trembling.

I can't imagine someone without a heart, who has to force themselves to feel. What can be much worse than that?

Jake notices the change in my behaviour and becomes alarmed.

"Kennedy? You're crying? What happened?"

"I'm sorry what you have to go through." I hug him tighter.

"What?" He asks, confused.

"It must be so difficult for you to live." I press my face further into his chest, trying to give him as much comfort as possible while trying to hide my tears.

"What...are we talking about again?" He looks down at me, looking confused.

I look up at him, giving him an earnest sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry you have no heart."

His eyes widen. "What?"

"I can't imagine how a person can live without a heart," I say.

He stares at me for a couple of seconds, "Are you calling me heartless?"

"That's what you are, aren't you?"

For some reason, a look of shock and sadness comes over Jake's face.

His body goes completely still. "Did I do something?"

"It's what you didn't do," I answer. He should've told me he didn't have a heart and was forcing himself to feel. I wouldn't have minded. I would've helped him. I would've called Gary to pop someone else's heart into Jake.

Heart transplant, that's what they call it, right?

"Kennedy, tell me what did I do. I'll make it up to you, I promise." His face is stiffly serious.

"You didn't do anything wrong, don't worry," I assure him, placing my hand on his jaw.

"Then what made you call me heartless?" He asks me.

"Because you don't have a heart," I reply before widening my eyes. "Wait you didn't know that too?"

Now Jake's just staring at me with his eyebrows furrowed, seeming as if he's thinking. "You're saying that I don't have an actual heart?"

"I'm so sorry you didn't know, Jake. Does Alex know?"

"What made you think I don't have a heart?"

"I didn't hear any heartbeat when I put my ear to your chest."

At that his eyebrows raise momentarily before he lets out a huge sigh, putting his coffee cup down and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Kennedy." He groans out, shaking his head.

"What?" I blink.

"My heart's on the other side of my chest."

"Oh."

I put my ear on the other side of his chest and that's when I hear it.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.

"Oh right!" I exclaim when I hear it. "Jake you do have a heart!"

"How am I alive then if I don't, dumbass?"

"I don't know, you're weird," I reply.

He shakes his head before bringing it closer to mine to kiss me on the lips.

"Someday you're gonna question my entire existence." He mutters, pulling back.

"I got confused between your left and my left." I grin.

He shakes his head at me once more before leaning back and settling against his chair, picking up his coffee cup. He looks around his room, at his walls, at his floor, at his window.

"Do you think I should decorate?" He asks me.

My mouth drops open. "What?"

He looks at me, hesitating as if he's shy to speak out loud. "I think we should decorate." He says.

"Really?" Excitement rushes through me, making me bounce while I'm still on top of Jake.

He nods.

The last I remember, he wasn't interested or bothered about his room at all. And even when I did take him to buy decor last time, he seemed completely uninterested. Maybe he was on Pinterest or something before I woke up and got hit by some pretty serious room decor inspiration pins.

Whatever at least he wants to decorate.

Jake notes the excitement on my face and couldn't help but let himself smile too.

"Get ready and we'll leave." He says.

✯✯✯

"How about some more cushions?" I ask, "They can be dark colours since that's what seems to be your favourite colour and it also matches your personality." I say picking up one fluffy dark blue cushion.

When I get no answer, I turn around to see Jake. He's gripping the trolley with one hand and massaging between his eyebrows with the fingers of his other hand. He looks tensed.

"Are you alright?" I ask.

He doesn't answer me for a moment, before dismissing whatever was happening to him and nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Those cushions look good." He says.

"You sure?" I ask him, referring to his head, not the cushions.

He nods.

I hesitantly drop the matter and put the cushions in the trolley.

"What do you want next?" I ask.

"What do you suggest?"

"A lamp?"

"A lamp then." He replies.

"Great! We can take a white one."

We move towards the section where there are lamps with Jake pushing the trolley. I know he said he was fine but I still can't help but glance in his direction. His movements are slower and the grip he has on the trolley makes it seem as if he's holding himself up.

"Jake," I say. "Do you want to sit down for a while? We've been walking for almost forty minutes."

He shakes his head. "I'm fine. If you want to sit then we'll sit."

I shake my head.

We take a cute little white lamp.

We roam around a little bit more, adding whatever looked good in the cart before deciding this much is enough for today.

We then move toward the cashier and Jake pays for the items.

I go ahead to pick up two bags but before I could a hand comes slapping mine away. Jake picks up all the bags.

"Hey!" I scowl at him.

"Let's go." He says, moving towards the exit.

"That's not fair. Haven't you heard of equality between men and women?" I ask Jake.

"You helped me pick decorations, I carry the bags." He replies.

"You pushed the trolley the entire time." I point out.

He says nothing.

I stubbornly go and try to take the bags from one of Jake's hands. A gasp escapes my lips when my fingers touch his skin.

"Jake!" I stop him. "You're burning up."

He raises an eyebrow at me.

I reach up and place my hand on his forehead. "Are you getting a fever?"

He shakes his head. "I'm fine, Kennedy."

"You're skin feels really hot." I place the back of my hand on the side of his neck.

"Must be the sun." He shrugs. "I'm fine, really. Come on."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"I get a lot of headaches. Except that, I'm completely fine." He says.

I do know about his headaches. I frequently find him rubbing between his eyebrows. He says it's only because he stresses himself out sometimes.

"Let's go." He says and continues walking towards his car.

I follow him.

✯✯✯

❆Jake❆

Sweat covers me like a second skin, staining my clothes, the sheets, the blankets, and everything around me. My eyes can barely open without a pounding headache coming on. If I was dramatic, I would have said I was already fucking dead.

I guess I was getting a fever.

A cool hand comes on my forehead and it gives me relief for only two seconds before the cool skin turns warm from my burning skin.

Kennedy sighs, "Your fever increased, Jake."

Oh really? I didn't know.

I couldn't bring it in me to reply or even open my eyes.

I feel her shifting beside me on the bed as she moves away and gets down the bed.

Come back! I wanted to yell at her.

Seconds later, a wet cloth drapes over my forehead and a small hand slips into mine, holding me.

Even while my insides feel like they're gonna melt with my head threatening to burst open, my heart can't help but flutter at the thought of Kennedy beside me.

"The fever came so suddenly," Kennedy runs her fingers through my sweat-coated hair.

My arm moves and loosely drapes over Kennedy's legs.

"You should go see a doctor." She suggests, and I frown at that.

Silently, I shake my head.

"I'll come with you," she says.

I shake my head again.

I don't want to see a fucking doctor.

"I can call Corey and he can help me get you to the hospital," Kennedy speaks.

My grip on her hand tightens to the point where she yelps and slaps my shoulder.

"Okay geez." She grumbles.

I sigh in relief when she changes the subject.

Her fingers continue raking through my hair, bringing me content as she speaks to me in her soft bubbly voice. She's lying beside me even though I smell of fucking puke and bad breath.

I don't know what happened though. Yesterday, my headache did feel a little worse than usual, when we came back home after decor shopping. I felt worse at night before going to sleep and shook it off when Kennedy asked. But then at 5 am, something was definitely off because Kennedy herself woke up.

She said she felt me shivering and mumbling in my sleep and that my skin felt extremely hot.

Since then she's been up and taking care of me even when I protested against it.

I drift off into slumber as Kennedy continues speaking.

A little while later, my eyes crack open and I realize I'm holding a sleeping Kennedy while her head rests on my bare chest, with my arms around her.

Slowly, I move my hand to rub the sleep out of my eyes and look at the time.

12 in the night.

A wince comes on my face when I feel the headache still evident.

My whole day got wasted. I grumble unhappily.

I slowly put Kennedy aside, and sit up, rubbing my forehead with my palm. Everything aches and feels dull. My eyes won't even open completely with my body sore and hot.

I look around me, taking in the appearance of my room for the first time since today.

Empty bowls of soup, medicines and a glass of water sit on my table. My eyes follow down to see five layers of blankets and sheets covering my sweatpants-clad body.

I don't even remember eating, drinking or putting on five layers of blankets.

But I know it was all Kennedy.

She's been taking care of me since early in the morning.

An alarm goes off and it immediately irritates the fuck out of me.

Kennedy stirs in her sleep, mumbling incoherent words before she sits up and rubs her eyes, sleepily reaching for her phone to close the alarm.

She doesn't notice that I'm awake and sitting and goes to pat the empty spot where I was lying movements ago. 

"Jake—huh? Jake?" She tries opening her sleepy eyes to look at the spot. "Where'd you-" she notices me, "Oh. Hey."

A yawn comes out her lips and she pats her mouth, sliding to get down the bed.

"It's time for your medicine," She says, moving towards my table to get the tablets.

When she turns around, the sleepiness is long gone from her face as if she wasn't asleep just seconds ago.

She hands me the glass of water and medicine. While I swallow the whole thing, she checks my temperature.

"Your fever's still the same." She sighs. "And also guess what?" She asks.

I nod for her to continue.

"There are no more medicines." She gives a look of worry.

I take her hand and pull her towards me, wrapping my hands around her small waist while she stands between my legs.

"Is there a pharmacy nearby?" Her fingers come to my hair, "I can go get some more medicines."

I immediately shake my head, pulling my head back and frowning at her, "No fucking way."

It's 12 in the fucking night and I won't let her go out all alone.

"Jake, you need the medicines." She reasons. "Your fever is terrible, and you've barely eaten anything without vomiting it out."

I shake my head again, hugging her tighter, "Don't go."

"I'll be back within five minutes," She says. "Two minutes if I run."

"You can't run." I deadpan, knowing damn well how her lungs will react to her running.

"I can if I have to," She states.  

"Don't go." I repeat. "Just lie down with me again."

"Don't be silly." She puts her hands on my chest and pulls away, making me frown unhappily, "Hugs do cure everything but so do medicines. I'll go and be back in a tick. I'll use my phone GPS to find the pharmacy."

I try standing up, "I'll come with you."

But Kennedy suddenly gains three hundred fucking pounds and pushes my pathetic body back to the bed.

"Don't be stupid, you can barely walk." She glares when I glare at her. "Just go to sleep until I come."

"I don't wanna sleep without you," I say, stubbornly, hoping she changes her mind about going out alone.

Alex is not at home, night duty.

Corey and Toothy are sleeping and Kennedy would stab her fucking self before ruining their sleep.

"Then watch TV or something or read your Bio textbook you're so obsessed with."

"The thing I'm most obsessed with is walking away from me." I glare with a sad frown as Kennedy walks away and puts on one of my hoodies over her thin t-shirt.

She laughs, pulling out her hair after putting on the hoodie, "And I'll be back." She presses a light kiss to my lips before moving towards the door.

"Take your fucking phone!" I yell.

"Oh right!" She turns around and grabs her phone from the table. "Completely forgot."

She gives me a sheepish smile and I narrow my eyes at her.

"Go to sleep." She instructs me. "I'll be back."

But it doesn't sit right with me. "Kennedy—"

"Na. None of that." She interrupts me.

"But it's not safe." I protest. Sudden pain shoots through my head and I wince. Before I even know it, both my hands fly to grab my throbbing head.

Kennedy's in front of me in a second. Her hands come to my chin to lift it up to her gently. "See. Your headache keeps getting worse. I have to go get the medicines."

"It's the middle of the night." My voice suddenly sounds so weak. "Let's just tell Alex to get it in the morning when he comes back. I promise I'll sleep the whole time."

"Don't question my abilities, Mr. Knight." She says, grabbing my head and pushing it away from her. "Go to sleep. I'll be back before you know."

Saying that, she lets go of me and walks out the door, keeping it open for "fresh air".

My chest heaves with an unsettling sigh as I lean against the headboard of my bed.

How the fuck does someone sleep with someone like Kennedy all alone walking through the dark roads?

My brain has a small change in decision, and I decide to go follow Kennedy.

The moment I stand up, my head spins and it's like a million needles piercing through my skull.

I lie back down and curse under my breath.

I can only fucking hope Kennedy doesn't see a random stranger and decides to be their fucking friend.  

She's gonna do that.

Fuck.

✯✯✯

✿Kennedy✿

The weather is kind of cold and it looks like it's going to rain.

I hope not.

I hope so.

I don't know.

I've always been in a love-hate relationship with the rain.

It definitely has to do with the time when I fell face-first into wet mud and probably got a worm or two in my mouth along with rocks.

Yeah, worms taste nasty.

Also, I love the rain because...oh well, there isn't any because. I just do.

The roads I'm walking on lay empty and dark.

Oh mama do people need to set up streetlights here or what?

The GPS on my phone directs me into streets and between buildings until I can't familiarize myself with my surroundings anymore.

I hope this GPS knows what it's doing rather than purposefully trying to get me lost.

You don't wanna get lost in New York City.

I actually do wanna get lost.

Imagine running from kidnappers, darting through dark alleys, suddenly being pushed against a wall, and then when your kidnappers get close to catching you, YOU STAB THAT MOTHERLOVER RIGHT IN THE HEART.

I should have brought a knife with me.

Remembering that Jake's lying on the bed shivering with fever and probably expecting an oncoming puke, I speed up my legs to move faster.

That boy cannot take care of himself.

He literally refused to eat or drink anything until I had to force him or coax him with my pleading look. 

Don't even get me started on how much he started acting like a baby, looking at the medicines.

He needs to understand that some people don't have healing powers or any special kind of immune blood. And that he's one of those people.

A sigh of relief comes out of my mouth when I spot the pharmacy's green neon sign glinting in the dark. After taking whatever medicines I needed and paying for them, I pump my inhaler in a few times and leave to walk back home.

On the way, I get Jake a cup of hot tea and coconut water.

Gary tells me it's one of the best things to drink during a fever.

I follow my GPS once more as I tread back home.

See, this wasn't hard. Everything went smooth and now I'm walking back home.

Oh mama, how wrong I was.

✄ ✄ ✄ ✄

Words: 3,200

Date of publishing: 23rd May 2022