Here I Am, There You Are (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Snapshot 9

My hands were trembling as I navigated through my phone to find Jack's contact. I was on the living room floor, my empty hand tangled in Olive's fur as a couple more tears slipped down my cheeks. After dialing Jack's number, I put the phone to my ear, waiting for a response.

It rang and rang and rang. I almost lost hope, worried he wouldn't make it in time.

But just before the last dial tone, I heard a click and his voice. "Hey, Rache, we're going on in five minutes, can I call you back?"

"No," I sniffled, my eyes following the flow of Olive's fur. "It's time, Jack."

He sounded confused. "What?"

I felt my lip tremble as I explained, "Olive... I called the vet, she'll be here within the next half hour."

"Oh."

"And I wanted to give you the chance to say goodbye."

It hurt more than expected to hear those words come out of my mouth. Olive's health had been declining for a while now. We hoped she'd be fine until Jack came home from tour, but she really couldn't hold it out any longer. I watched as she nearly collapsed in the hallway and knew it was time for her to go. It wasn't her time yet, she was only nine years old.

"The kids are at the neighbors'," I added, knowing he'd be worried about them. "Archie already said goodbye, but he doesn't really get it."

Jack sighed heavily, taking in the weight of the news. "Can you give me a second?"

"Okay." I nodded.

All noise from Jack's side stopped, telling me he muted himself. I continued to look at Olive. Her beautifully marbled fur was scragglier than ever as she was lying on her side. Her eyes were tired and ears were drooping. She looked sad, as if she knew what was coming but didn't want to leave my side yet. I tried to keep her calm and relaxed as her breathing was more rapid than normal.

After listening to nothing but silence, my phone buzzed. I pulled it away from my ear to see it was Jack requesting to turn the call into a video call. When I accepted it, I came face to face with him, his in-ear monitors hanging over his shoulders. The background noise I heard earlier had completely faded away.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey." I wiped my cheek and tried giving a smile. "I'm with her in the living room. She's very calm."

I moved my phone closer to the floor, putting Olive's face fully in frame. She continued to stare ahead, not minding the object that had been put right in front of her nose.

"Hi, Olive," Jack greeted. "I love you."

Usually she'd perk up at Jack's voice, but she could only give a slight ear twitch this time. I scratched the top of Olive's head as she stared at the screen with big eyes.

"I'm sorry she couldn't hold on longer..." I whispered.

Olive had been with us through everything. She had witnessed our entire relationship. Except for the very start, of course. I had gotten her just after Jack and I started dating. She was there when I'd let him take me home in the evening, she was there for breakfast. We'd take her out on walks and hikes. She'd love it when he'd slip her an extra treat. Of course, she was also there when we separated and was the happiest dog when we moved in together. She defended me when I went into labor, and loved Archie to bits. When Gracie joined, she immediately accepted her as part of the family.

And now, her life was ending.

"Remember when she'd jump into muddy puddles every time it would rain when she was still a puppy?" Jack reminisced.

"Or when we once put her in some of your merch and she requested we put the t-shirt on her everyday afterwards?" I laughed, all the memories becoming bittersweet.

A silence fell over us as we both processed what this actually meant.

"Rache," Jack started, his voice shaking a little, "you'll stay with her, right?"

"Of course," I couldn't imagine leaving her behind as the vet administered the injection. "I'll stay until the very last moment."

"Okay. Good."

I could see him rub his eyes, but kept the camera facing Olive. It had been longer than the five minute warning he had given me. Something told me he had managed to squeeze out a few more minutes just for this moment.

Olive's expression continued to show how miserable she was. Her usual happy and accepting self had no more energy to show herself one last time. She'd held on for so long, trying to keep up with Archie as he ran around the house. But it was too much now. She needed to rest.

"It's okay, Olive, we'll see you on the other side," Jack told her.