waited a long time - a jake kiszka fic

eight

         - "are you sure you can't come?"

josh begs over the phone. he was leaving for yet another tour, and wanted you to come see them off. after ending things with jake, you couldn't stomach seeing him- you were still too angry and hurt. even if it meant you couldn't say goodbye to your best friend, unable to see him for five months.

"i'm sorry honey, i just have too much work. we'll see each other at some point." you bit your lip with guilt. you were completely lying.
"but when am i gonna see you? i can't go that long without seeing you." he whined.
"josh, you didn't see me for over a year and a half when i was travelling. if you can survive that, you can survive five months." you said sternly.
"i guess. fine, but i'm passing the phone to the others so they can say bye too."

before you could say anything more, crackly noises emerged from the phone as he passed the phone to sam.
"why aren't you saying bye to us, pocket? we thought you loved us." sam said with fake sobs in his chest.
"i'm sorry, sammy. so much work to do! i definitely love you." you try to reassure him.
"yeah, yeah. whatever you say. we're gonna miss you."
this was making you seriously emotional- you didn't want to not see them, but it would be too much for you.
the phone is passed to danny, who says he loves and misses you- you laugh and try hard not to cry. you expect jake to refuse, but hear the phone be shoved into his hand.
"uh-hi, y/n." he mutters.
"you don't need to speak to me, just pass it back to josh." your voice becomes hard.
"okay. i'll miss you." he says sincerely.

after the call ends, your face crumples and you let tears fall onto your cheeks. you wished he would just apologise and come back to you. even with how much it hurt, you still wanted him and would probably always love him.

the next few weeks went by quickly, and you tried hard to forget about jake. you busied yourself with work and getting into a routine with your new home. ronnie and karen often came over for dinner or a simple chat- after all, you still loved them dearly even if their son or brother had hurt you. they were truly the highlight of your week, always providing you with snacks and love when you needed it most.

it was late on a friday night, and ronnie was sitting on your couch as you poured the umpteenth glass of wine for both of you. she was watching you intently, laughing when you spilled a little.

you sat back with her, sighing. your week had been hard, and was only made worse when josh facetimed you, shoving jake into frame with him and telling you how much they missed you.

"we're gonna go out, do a little partyin', maybe we'll find some lady friends." he giggled, incredibly drunk. you nodded and made the excuse that you were tired, ending the call before he could say much more.

"you okay, hon? you've been off since the guys left." ronnie's sweet voice pulled you out of your thoughts. you forced a smile, placing your hands in your lap.

"just tired, ron. nothing to worry about. thank you for your concern though." you try to reassure her. she gives you a knowing look.

"it's jake, isn't it?"

your eyes widened, thoughts swirling in your head on how to lie your way out of admitting the truth to her. your mind is completely empty.

"i-" you sigh. "yeah, it is." you know you can't actually lie to her. she would see through it anyways.
"what happened?"

your shoulders slouch, and you tell her the whole story. she pulls you into a hug after you finish speaking, stroking your hair as a few tears escape your eyes.
"i'm so sorry he did that, y/n. i really thought you were gonna work. god, my brother is such a dick." she seems genuinely angry for you, and you feel even more guilt- now you were coming between him and his sister.