Patron Saint

And you know she'll break your heart too

I visited her nightly to bring dinner and check up on her. We would talk until she passed out. I always set an alarm to remind me to leave just in case I happened to fall asleep. One night, I believe it was a Wednesday, her parents answered the door. "Who are you?' Her mother asked, tears falling from her eyes.
"I'm, uh, Spencer White." I point to my house, "I'm your neighbor."
"Well, Mr. White, what are you doing here?" The father asked.
"I've been visiting and bringing food over for Jesse for a few weeks now."
"Visiting?" The mother raised a questioning brow.
I ignored what she said, "ma'am, what's wrong?"
She sniffled. "You said you were Jesse’s friend, right?"
Jesse’s father looked on with disbelief. "May! Are you crazy? He's obviously a grown man. Don't you find it the least bit odd he's looking for our daughter?" He leaned in close and I barely heard him whisper, "you think she's slutting around again?"
May ignored her husband and looked at me with her deep brown eyes, filled with sadness. "It's Jesse. She's in the hospital."
The father clenched his teeth, "great. Another nosey neighbor to interfere with our personal lives. "
After that I didn't hear much. I was too far in shock. "Hospital?" I murmured.
"Yes." Jesse’s father sighed.
After some boring small talk, they went back inside their house and I got on my green bike and headed to the hospital. I've always hated hospitals, ever since I got my first shots at four.  They're so cold and have this overall feeling of emptiness. However, because of my condition, I need to stay in hospitals often. Some may think I’d get used to it after a while, but I just grew more and more uncomfortable. As I set my bike beside a tree on a small island of grass in the middle of the parking lot. I ran inside the building and stood in front of the desk behind three other people. The secretary noticed me and waved slyly while checking in another patient. This man looked at me and glared at my unintentional interruption. The secretary, Beth, apologized to the man after giving me a sheesh! look. I chuckled. “Mr. White!” Beth shouted.
I looked up in confusion to see her calling me over with her hand. The two other people preceding me looked at me with frustration. I cleared my throat and tried to avoid eye contact as I moved to the front of the line. “How are you?” She made an attempt to hug me from behind the counter.
It didn’t work out very well. “Um, good, I-I guess.” I nodded towards the people who were now behind me, trying to draw attention to the fact that the few steps I made up certainly weren’t worth small talk.
“Yes, Of course. I’m working.” She seemed to have to remind herself. “What are you here for? Hopefully not more trouble with your h-”
“I’m here to see Jesse Henrey.”
“The feisty one with the blue hair? Yeah she was admitted just last night. Though, I can’t give you a visitor’s pass without her parent’s permission.” Beth frowned.
I hung my head and sighed, “I understand.”
“He has my permission.” A familiar voice called out.
It was Mrs. Henrey. I turned and jumped at the same time, “Hello.”
“Hi.” A gruff voice answered, Jesse’s father was here too.
“Alright, you have permission so I’ll sign you in as a visitor. Are you, Mr. and Mrs., coming too?” Beth questioned.
“Yes.” Both Henreys stated this at the same time.
Beth signed us in and we went on our merry way to see the sad girl I had come to know and love. I tried to prep myself for seeing Jesse by imagining her without makeup and in a hospital gown, but in my mind she was always the powerful girl with the dark eyes and the smug grin. The independant girl with blue hair that she always asked me to braid for her. What I saw in that hospital bed was someone entirely new. Her hair was tangled, remnants of her long braids barely remaining. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead, eyes free from the black eyeliner she wore religiously, lips chapped beyond redemption. She wore a seafoam-colored hospital gown with matching colored socks that had grippies on the bottom. There was sweat under the pits of her arms. Jesse looked completely miserable. I took in a deep and slow breath, “Jesse?”
Her head turned in my direction as smooth as honey. “Yes…?”
She swallowed after seeing my face. “Oh, it’s you.”
I was slightly offended, but laughed it off. “Yes. Me.”
I see Mr. Henrey looking on, probably still afraid I was just some creep. “Why are you here?” Jesse scoffed.
“To see you.”
“Ha!”
My face scrunched up, “what was that for?”
“The creepy bachelor from next door visiting the innocent, depressed  high school girl in the hospital.”
“This again?” I sighed.
Jesse sat up, shaking. I reached out to help her and she smacked my hand away. “I bet you’re here to take advantage of me. Make fun, pity me, go on, hit me with your best shot!” I saw the skin around her eyes gradually growing redder.
“What?” Mr. Henrey screeched.
“Jesse, why are you acting like this?”
Her cheeks flushed for a moment, a crack in the wall she had built for me. Then that crack was reinforced, stronger than before. “Go away. Don’t come back. I don’t want some older guy stalking me anymore.”
“Jesse, what the hell? Stalking you? I-!”
A hand on my shoulder attached to a very angry father appeared, raiding my throat of its words. “You heard her. Leave.”