Midnight Blues // Jake Kiszka

twenty

A/N: only a few more chapters left before I wrap up midnight blues! Thank you to everyone for reading! I'll hopefully be picking up the Josh story more and possibly writing a new Danny or Sam story!

//

I heard my sister's room door close softly as I made my way toward the spare bedroom. There were photos of Xander lining the walls, mixed in with abstract art pieces that Dana must have found at a goodwill. The bedroom was untouched, almost collecting dust. The walls were a pale blue color, a decent contrast to the white linen that adorned the bed. The window overlooked the street,  showcasing the brightness of the neighborhood's street lamps. I closed the shades to shield my eyes a bit more before sleeping and sighed in relief when they were no longer being singed by the glow. I turned my phone on and let it load up a minute before going directly to the messages that Jake had sent. It was a mixture of 'where are you?' and 'please respond', but encased within those was a slightly longer message. 

'Freya, I'm so sorry. I know that nothing I say now will have any kind of merit, but I have to let you know that wherever you are I will always be thinking about you. I am in love with you and I have been in love with you since the minute that we met. I didn't recognize it before and I'm sorry for that. I will leave you alone if you want me to, but not without saying everything I need to. If you just told me where you are, I would come to you. I would go to the ends of the Earth for you because there is nobody else that has ever made me feel the way that you do. You make me feel special and seen. You make me feel confident in my abilities and push me to keep challenging myself. I know I haven't made you feel the same, so please let me prove it to you. It doesn't feel right saying I love you over text, so please tell me where you are, let me prove it to you.'

My anger faltered for a minute, reading his words, but that's all they were--words. I was curious more than anything to see how he would prove it, if he even would. Every relationship I had ever been in were full of empty words and promises, and my hope being crushed because there was never a follow through. I sat by idly, trying to prove my worth, trying not to get them to leave me. I was drained. Mentally and physically. I didn't want another empty promise. I didn't want another waste of time. 

I shuffled out into the hallway and knocked on my sister's room door. I heard a tired mumble. 

"Dana, I need to talk to you about Jake." I whispered through the door.

I had almost thought she hadn't heard me until I heard hurried footsteps towards me. She was clad in her nightgown and robe and simply said "we're gonna need a drink aren't we?"

I nodded.

We made our way to the kitchen and she poured us two glasses of wine. I sighed and took a sip and proceeded to tell her everything from the beginning up to the text I just received.

"Woah, that's loaded." She said, taking another swig from her glass. 

"Yup," I sighed "What should I do?"

"Well you've gotta text him back, at least give him the chance to prove it. If he doesn't prove it, you don't have to tolerate it. Simple."

"I guess, I just don't want him to come here you know?"

"Honey, that's the least he can do." 

I sighed again, she was right. I knew she was, so why was I so hesitant? Maybe I had thought he'd forget about me. He was with Jita, right? He should forget about me. 

I texted him back saying nothing but the address and now, we were going to have to play the waiting game. We went back to bed, the wine bringing waves of sleep over our eyes. 

**

The next day, the doorbell rang. I sat at the kitchen table, sipping my coffee and looking out the window at all the birds that came and went. A few minutes later, Dana came in, holding a bouquet of flowers. 

"These are for you, from one Jake Kiszka. There's a note attached." She said, placing them on the table in front of me. 

'For you, a thousand times over. 

-Jake'

"Oh, from the kite runner? You used to love that book as a kid."  Dana said.  

I had only mentioned that to Jake once. 

The next day, another bouquet came, bearing another literary quote. 

'I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of the world alone.

-Jake'

For 6 more days, the flowers came, all bearing literary quotes from books I read when I was younger and I loved. 

On the 9th day, I expected flowers, but when the doorbell rang, I was face to face with one Jacob Thomas Kiszka. He looked at me for a minute in silence. My breath was hitched in my chest. 

"Freya," He spoke softly "I am so so sorry. I care about you with every fiber of my being. Every atom in my body belongs to you. I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. I am so hopelessly in love with you. We met on the 9th of March, a year ago. I didn't know that I loved you then, but my soul knew." 

I said nothing, only blinking in disbelief. I hadn't seen Jake in months. His hair had grown shaggy and long. He looked flustered and discombobulated. Beneath it all, he was still the beautiful boy I had loved. He got down on one knee and I panicked. He extended a ring to me. 

"This isn't me asking you to marry me, so don't worry. This is a promise ring, which, if you give me the chance, I fully intend to replace with a wedding ring some day. It's a promise ring. I'm not asking for a promise from you, but it is my promise to give you all the love I can give you and not try to make you happy but a promise to actually make sure you're happy and supported. If you accept this, and give me another chance, I promise I will never let you down. I'm going to do it this time, just not try to. You are an angel, and I didn't recognize that off the start. I would be a fool to let a girl like you slip between my fingers. I love you." He spoke.