Adopted

Chapter 96

Brendon's POV

The next two infusions for Jess went pretty much the same way. She still ran a low-grade fever and was freezing during the infusions. But after a couple of days, she seemed to perk up a bit. She had a bit more energy, and even managed a couple of days a week at school.

My parents came out for Thanksgiving. It was easier. Jess wasn't up to traveling really.

She spent almost the entire weekend wrapped in my dad's arms. He didn't seem to want to let her go. My mom would sit beside them, rubbing Jess's back or just holding her hand as the three of them talked.

After Thanksgiving dinner, when I'd gotten Jess settled in bed with her feed, my dad pulled me aside when I came back downstairs.

"Be honest with me, Brendon. How long does she have left?"

I sighed.

"I honestly don't know, Dad," I said. "The new treatment has helped perk her back up some, but it's not a cure. And she still has the sores in her throat and stomach, which is why she's not eating anymore. It could be weeks, it could be months. It could be another year. We really don't know."

"What does your gut tell you?" he asked.

I looked at him, tears forming in my eyes.

"I don't think she's going to see her 17th birthday."

My dad pulled me into a tight hug. I could feel him crying as I cried. I felt like a little kid again, when I'd fallen and cut my forehead.

We were having a bunch of our friends over the next day, so after my dad and I had a good cry, he helped me get some stuff ready. Sarah and my mom went out to get some food for the party. I was hoping Jess would have enough energy to hang out with us. We'd invited Paige and Astrid and the boys Jess was friends with. Hopefully, she'd be able to hang out with them for a while.

In the morning, Jess seemed a lot more like her old self. Sure, she moved slower, but she was sarcastic and full of energy. She even tried to eat some scrambled eggs, but said they hurt her throat too much. Everyone was expected around three, so Jess took a nap on the couch. When her friends came, she was so much like her old self, laughing and joking, though her laughs were often interspersed with coughing fits.

Her friends had never abandoned her. Even as she'd gotten sicker, even as she started missing more school, they'd still come by and visit on the weekends. Jess would sit, wrapped in blankets outside while her friends sat around her and they all chatted and joked. Once in a while, I'd look over and I'd see that Jess had fallen asleep on her friends. But they'd continue on, as if she was just quietly listening. They were taking this all in stride.

Her friend Darren came over to me while I was barbecuing and Jess was sitting with Astrid and Joshua.

"What's going on, Darren?" I asked.

"Mr. Urie," he started.

"Brendon, please. You've been Jess's bodyguard since seventh grade. I think you've earned the right to call me by my first name after all these years," I said.

"Brendon. I - Jess isn't doing so great, is she?"

I looked at Darren. This tall, husky kid, who apparently was the captain of the football team, suddenly looked like a little kid.

"No, Darren. She's not doing so great. She's doing better than she was a couple of months ago, but no. She's not doing great."

"I'm afraid to ask, but, do you think she'll make it to Christmas?"

I looked at him squarely in the eyes.

"Yes. I feel confident she'll make it to Christmas. Why?"

"I was hoping, with your permission, that maybe she could come to my family's place for Christmas? I talk about her all the time and my mom would really like it if the three of you could join us."

"I don't know that we can commit to that."

"I understand,"

"You know we pretty much go day by day, so we're going to have to see how Jess is by then, okay?"

"Okay," he said, looking somewhat dejected. Poor kid.

Josh came over to me after Darren went back to his friends.

"How're you doing, man?" he asked.

"I'm doing okay, all things considered," I said.

"Really?"

"No. Not really. I'm barely holding it together, but we're trying to keep things as normal as possible for Jess."

"I hear ya, man. Look, I guess things are probably gonna get rough in the next few months or whatever. Just remember, Debby and I are here for you guys. Jess is family. We're gonna be around to help out, or just visit. You just call us and we'll be here. Otherwise, we're coming by unannounced. Like it or not."

I hugged him.

"Thanks, man," I said.

Jess was surrounded by her friends, her uncles, my parents. She was the center of attention, and probably didn't quite realize it.

She did really well, too. She stayed awake for a good part of the afternoon, and it wasn't until almost seven, when she needed to have her feed hooked up, that she looked like she was fading. Astrid and Paige went upstairs with Sarah and Jess, and hung out while Sarah got her settled into bed and hooked up her feed. The girls stayed upstairs and chatted with Jess for a while. After about an hour, they came downstairs and told us that Jess was asleep.

They stayed and hung out with our friends, and their friends, for a little while longer. Jess's friends had all become part of the family, too. After about an hour, the group of them left together.

Our friends stayed until about eleven, and then they all started petering out, too. Exhausted, Sarah and I cleaned up and went to bed.