The Heartbreakers.

Chapter Seventeen.

Song: Forget Forever- Selena Gomez

The next day after school, Sam and Jaylee went to the hospital where their father was. Jaylee's day had already been long and grueling (because of the obvious, idiotic and clueless boy), but she was happy to be seeing her dad, even if her heart was shattered. Sam drove them to the hospital in downtown Los Angeles, and they walked through the entrance towards the front desk. 

"Hi, could you tell me what room Jake Collins is in?" Jaylee asked, and the woman behind the desk glanced up at her before returning her gaze to the computer. 

"What's your relation?" 

"I'm his daughter, and he is his son." The woman glanced at her computer once again, and then when she found what she needed, she looked at Jaylee and Sam. 

"He is on floor three, room 323." Jaylee thanked the woman before her and Sam found the elevator and made their way to the third floor. Once the elevator opened, Jaylee bolted down the hall, frantically searching for her father. When she found his room, her heart dropped to her stomach. 

The first thing she saw was all of the machines around his bed-- hooked up to him in all ways. Her mother was sitting in a little forest green chair by the bed, her eyes sad and tired, and her hand wrapped tightly around Jake's. Jaylee's dad was lying in the hospital bed, the machines beeping all around him. His complexion was the equivalent of a ghost--ashen and sunk in. His skin sagged and the outline of his bones were very apparent. Her father's breathing was labored and he was curled up like a new born baby. She could tell with just one look that he was deathly sick, and the cancer was obviously dominating his body. Seeing her father in that condition was agonizing. She had always known him as one of the strongest men alive, who could take anything life threw at him. 

Mostly, Jaylee hated the part of her that wished he was there to hold her and tell her everything was okay. 

Stupid feelings. 

Her father's eyes fluttered open, causing her breath to catch in her throat. Those normally ocean blue eyes were now tinted gray, and big, black circles ringed his eyes. They were sunken, and she realized his eyes no longer held the glow they did when he wasn't sick. A small, weak smile appeared on his chapped lips when he saw Sam and Jaylee. Sam was the first to walk over, and once they let go, Jaylee walked over to her father. She leaned down and gave him a long, tight hug. When she tried to pull away, he held her tighter. Jaylee couldn't bear to see her father in that condition. He didn't deserve what he had. No person ever did. When her father finally let go, she sat beside Sam. 

"I miss you all so much." Her dad said, shooting them a smile, but then he turned serious. "I know I look like hell right now, but I don't want this to affect us. I am still me. I still love you three with all of my heart. I'm not going anywhere." 

For the next couple of hours, everything was normal. Sam, Jaylee, and their parents had a normal family conversation and laughed together, as a family. They reminisced about old memories and joked around about embarrassing things that had happened to all four of them. It seemed as if nothing had gone wrong, and nobody was sick. Just when the moment was okay, something bad always had to happen to ruin the good. 

Jaylee's dad had started to fall asleep again, and all of his monitors beeped like crazy. His breathing became even more labored than before, and his body convulsed. Jaylee's mom rushed her and Sam out of the room, but all Jaylee could hear was the machines beeping on repeat like broken records as she watched the doctors rush in the room with electric pads. Jaylee watched in horror as they shocked her father once, and then she had to turn away. 

The second bad event was the text she received from Luke's mother. 

Diana: I need you to come to the hospital in downtown Los Angeles.