The Transplant ✔️

56. Make Amends

Jobe's POV:

"You're good?" I had just gotten back from swimming with Jolie. Well, I think we did more kissing than swimming.

Rubbing Jolie with a towel, I began raking my hands through her loose waves, fixing them behind her hair.

"Thank you, Jobe. I had a good time at the pool...and.."

"And a good time doing this." I bent down, planting a peck against her lips.

"And some of this." I continued, kissing her against her sweet-smelling neck.

"Yes, that definitely was a nice part of the day." She put her hands on my chest, keeping me at bay.

"I wish I could keep doing what we're doing, but you've got a room to get back to, and I've got a little sister with a big mouth who won't mind telling the whole world the compromising position we're in if she walks in on us." I said.

"I completely understand." For a girl who understood, she didn't bother finding the exit. Instead, she took her time wrapping herself around me like a sweater.

"Yeah?" I smiled, placing my hands on her back, just above her bum.

"Yeah."

I'll kissed her once before, tugging on her shirt to gather enough strength to stop myself. I spun her around to the door, taking a deep breath.

"Go before my better judgement tells me to keep you here. My sister is gonna be here any minute, but once she leaves, I'm coming find you." I winked, letting her know my intentions when finding her weren't platonic.

"Bye." She giggled.

Damn, she was damn hot.

This girl gave me a paradox of emotions!

**

I was pretty upset about letting Jolie out of the room since my sister didn't show up until an hour later. That means I would have had an hour with Jolie alone; instead, I was stuck watching local news on the cube-sized television, squinting my eyes to see the whole time, and wondering what Jolie was doing.

"Hi! Did you miss me?" Finally, after a long wait, my sister had arrived with my father by her side. The little girl placed herself on my bedside, getting comfortable. She had been very careful not to move around not to disturb me, but the more I heal, the more she gets jittery on the bed. I swear, Dad must be letting her drink buckets of coffee.

"Of course I missed you, squirt. What took you guys so long?" I asked.

"I was busy dealing with work. By the time I left, traffic on the highway was getting rough." Dad interrupted.

"Oh, I haven't been driving in my truck in so long I almost forgot how bad the traffic can be around this area." I told him.

"Yeah, no backroads around here to take." It was the most small talk my father has mumbled since I told him about my career change. I was hoping that sooner or later, his hatred of my decision would simmer down, and we could get back to being our usual self, (which honestly wasn't much more than small talk anyway, if I'm being honest).

"You're right. So Dad, I know you said you were busy with work this morning. Did you get a chance to handle Andy's situation?" I kept the question quite vague, making sure my little sister had no clue on what we were talking about. I didn't need her knowing what drugs were at her young age. Luckily, it wasn't hard for Dad to understand what I was speaking of.

"I talked to a few people, some of them unwilling to help due to the frequency of incidents like this happening with you and your friends. But, I talked to a few other acquaintances, some who have strong opinions of getting a second chance, and they're going to help your friend out. He should be out on probation, if things go well."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I know Andy and I have our differences, and I have no reason to feel the need to protect him, but I didn't want to see him in jail for the rest of his life. If it was possible for him to sober up like Jolie's brother, Emeric, I wanted to give him that chance. If Jolie was patient enough to help her brother, I wanted to do the same for Andy, who had long been a brother to me.

"Thanks. I know you had no reason to help me out, especially with everything going on. I haven't been the most bearable lately." I had to admit.

My father, usually brazen in his manners, held a calm demeanor as he replied.

"You've been a pain, I'll agree with you there. I want you to make changes with your life, which is precisely why I made you go through with this surgery. I can see you have changed, but I just want to make sure the changes you want to make in the future won't effect your life negatively. If you want to change your career, I'll accept that if it'll make you happy. That's all I want; I want my kids to be happy. I come off as a hardass, I know, but I want what's best for you. I honestly admire your boldness in telling me your career choice. It might not be what I wanted to hear at the time, but you told me anyway and that shows strength I knew you had deep down. I am proud of you, Jobe."

I thought I was making changes, but Dad was the one speaking to me like he never has before. And to top it off, he said it with a straight face, not the constipating look that I would normally see on him.

I shook my father's hand, careful not to tear up like a big crybaby. That was the last thing I wanted to do after my father just complimented me on being strong.

"I won't let you down, Dad."