HEARTACHE | F. DE JONG

Chapter 2

DAWN WAS BREAKING OVER THE Alps. Majestic beams of orange and gold stretched over the rolling greens, and the snow sprinkled mountains, catching that light, glowed as if from the inside. Ada pressed her phone camera to the glass of her window. Although the main lights to her room were switched off, there were always others from the array of machines that kept her company.

Although the image Ada managed to capture didn't do the landscape justice at all, it was glorious nonetheless. She posted it to her Instagram feed without having to apply any filters and captioned it just so, the location tagged. Then she locked her phone, leaned her head against the window despite the freezing glass, and soaked up her surroundings.

Never in her life had Ada dreamed that she would travel to Zurich, or even Switzerland, and now, she was almost five hundred miles from home. It had taken them an entire day to drive here. Well, not them.

Since her heart wouldn't take a flight, her liaison officer had sent a chauffeured vehicle—a seven-seater minivan with plush leather seats that could recline and plenty of room for luggage and Ada's medical equipment. Ada had been determined to enjoy the view, but she hadn't been able to sleep the night before either, and her chair was simply too comfortable. After lunch at a beautiful rest stop selected by their friendly driver, she dozed off even faster.

In the five days since she'd arrived at Klausman Institute, a hospital nestled in the heart of the Swiss capital, there had been ample time for her to admire the sights between all the necessary tests to ensure her health, but never like this—alone, with only her thoughts. Her parents were always around, and Ada loved them, so she had to send them back. How could she have them be cramped in here with her, at their age, when a suite at a five-star hotel had been provided for them? Whatever bed the nurses could make up here for them wouldn't match the king-sized bed awaiting them at Marriot.

The Klausman foundation was ready to put up her sisters as well—their families, too—but Anet was in her third trimester, and Alice was bringing her little boy, Aaron, to visit her in-laws in the United States, a trip that had been planned way ahead of time, way before this incredible offer came up.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, and Ada realized how tightly she was grasping it. When she glanced down, her heart—her weak, assisted heart—gave a leap at the words on the screen:

frenkiedejong liked your photo

Two minutes had barely passed according to the timestamp. At once, there was another vibration, and a banner swung down from the top. The text read:

Wanna talk?

Ada typed back at lightning speed.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP?!!

He got up at half past five for football all the time, but he wasn't supposed to have a game today, and there were still three hours to their group's tradition of a Skype chat. The next second, the song in her earbuds was replaced by FC Barcelona's anthem—her ringtone—and Frenkie's face lit up her entire display:

His eyes were near closed, the edges crinkled with laughter, one cheek smeared with chocolate, his mouth stuffed to the brim with sugar-coated profiteroles. Ada remembered the moment this unglamorous close-up had been taken like it was yesterday instead of last year; she remembered it with a longing that hurt her chest.

Unwittingly, Ada strengthened her grip on Mickey and Minnie, crushing the plush toys snuggled in her arm as close to her body as was humanly possible. She couldn't help hoping that she would have more Jensenn Christmas parties to come—that she hadn't already seen her best friend for the last time.

Swiping at her moist eyes, she allowed herself one more glance—one more chance to stare at the photo, to memorize it—before finally answering the call.