Swan Song

Seventeen

Even after all the speed bumps, lies, and the sorrow
I know it'll still be us by tomorrow
Cause I will follow you anywhere
————————

Once I was released from the hospital, Jake stopped at Olive Garden and waited for several bags to be brought out before driving to his house.

"You told my parents you were taking me home?" I questioned.

"Yeah, no. I'm not taking you home and you suffocate in your sleep or something," Jake replied, handing the food over. "I didn't sign up for that responsibility."

I looked at Jake with mock horror before laughing.

"How dare you, Lieutenant Seresin," I giggled. "So if you're not taking me home, where are you taking me?"

"My house," he replied with a chuckle. "You're always taking care of everyone so now it's my turn to take care of you, Lieutenant Kazansky."

"And you're starting with Olive Garden? It's like you know how to heal me."

"It's not your mom's cooking but it's still pretty damn good," Jake smiled.

"So tell me, how else do you plan to heal me?"

"Why ruin the surprise?" Jake questioned, glancing at me with a wink.

"I do enjoy surprises," I teased as we pulled into the driveway. "Thanks for being there today."

"I thought you said I didn't need to be," he teased, climbing out and then coming to grab the food from me before I followed him inside.

"Oh, you didn't but I'm still glad that you were."

"You're my girl, Odette. Of course I'm going to show up when you end up in the hospital. Dork."

I laughed and closed the front door behind me, locking it before walking further inside and plopping down on the couch.

"I honestly feel really bad for panicking my parents. They've been through enough and they didn't need this."

"It looked pretty bad from the outside," Jake admitted.  "Bradley had me freaking the fuck out when he said your gears weren't down."

"That didn't really hurt. It was breathing the smoke in that bothered me the most but I'm still here."

"For what it's worth, I really am glad that you're okay," Jake said softly as he sat next to me, pushing my hair back behind my ear.

"Oh yeah? And why is that?" I teased.

"Because," he smiled softly, gently cradling my cheeks.  "For the first time in a really long time, you've given me something to believe in. I'd hate to lose something so good so soon."

"I knew you were nothing but a big ol' teddy bear."

Jake rolled his eyes, keeping his hand on my cheek before pressing his lips to mine.

"Move in with me," he muttered against my lips.

I quickly pulled away, a brow raising in question as I stared at him.

Move in with him? We had literally just gotten together and now he was talking about moving in together. Maybe he didn't actually mean it.

"What?" I questioned, unsure if I had actually heard him right or not.

"Let's move in together," he suggested again.

"Jake," I sighed.

"It's fast. I know that but I don't think it would be a mistake, Dette, and I think that you know that too."

"You're actually serious?" I questioned, my brows now pulled together.

"I wouldn't have asked if I weren't serious," Jake laughed. "Just think about it."

Jake kissed my nose before turning his attention to the Olive Garden bags that sat on the coffee table in front of us. As he tried to hand me my food, I stared at the black television screen in front of us.

"Odette? Are you okay, darlin?"

"Uh, yeah," I replied as I took the plate into my hand. "Sorry, I guess I'm just a little shocked."

"It's not any rush. I promise you that," Jake replied. "Now let's eat because after, I'm driving you down to that ice rink myself."

"There's only four days until the finals. I don't think it's going to work out."

"Well, I talked to Matt and he seems to think it'll all work out," Jake replied, placing his hand on my knee. "So down those carbs because you're going to need the energy."

"Well good thing they didn't keep me in the hospital any longer," I laughed. "And even better that I'm not sore."

I took an aggressive bite from a breadstick before turning back to Jake with a raised brow.

"How did you talk to Matt?"

"I got his number from your mom. Is that okay?" Jake questioned.

"Of course it is. I was just curious."

"Eat up," Jake persisted. "After skating, I have dessert for us."

"So would delicious food and dessert be in the cards for us every night if we moved in together?" I laughed.

"I would have to think very hard about that," Jake chuckled. "I texted your dad that I had you eating dinner and that you're safe."

"Did you mention that you're not letting me sleep at my own house?" I questioned with a smile before Jake's statement sunk in. "Wait. You've been texting my dad? My dad doesn't text anybody except Mav and I mean that quite literally."

"He texts me!"

"Great. You broke my dad," I laughed.

——

I quickly ate and Jake drove me by my house to grab my skates and a change of clothes before driving me to the ice rink to meet Matt. As we rehearsed, Jake sat on the sides and watched us, taking the occasional call.

"I'm going to be honest. I don't know if I can be ready by Saturday," I admitted. "Ever since Owen died, I haven't even thought about skating."

"If there's one thing we've always been good at, it's been coming up with what we need to quickly," Matt replied. "I'm sorry I haven't reached out since the funeral. I just thought that you needed some time."

"I did and I appreciate you giving that to me," I sighed, coughing as we skated around. "I've been thinking of letting this be my last competition."

Matt stopped skating and I turned around to face him. Not only did he look confused but he looked hurt as well.

"You're what?"

"I mean, I don't know for sure. I love skating and we're super close to twenty-five years together but when Owen died, it's like my passion for skating went with him. He had always been my biggest fan and even when he couldn't be here physically for our competitions, he would always FaceTime me to get the scoop after."

"It's okay to miss your brother but do you really think he'd want you to give up? Especially when this is something you've loved for almost your entire life?" Matt questioned.

"I still have time to think about it," I replied, skating back to Matt and pulling him along. "But for now, we have a lot of work to do in the next three days."

"So then let's get to work."

And get to work we did, staying until we were finally forced out of the rink.