Falling in Love with my Best Friend

Chapter 8: Fries and Flurries

We raced into the hospital, Matt rushing up to the front desk. "Hi, um, I'm here to see my mom."

"What's your last name, honey?" the lady asked calmy: far from the emotion I was experiencing at the moment.

 "Richards."

She typed something into the computer, staring at the screen through the glasses that sat on her nose. "Your mother will be in room 170 on the first floor."

Matt mumbled a quick "thank you" and raced down the hall.

The receptionist turned her attention to me and Jake. "Are you also children of Ms. Richards?"

"Uh..." Jake glanced at me. "No we aren't."

"I'm going to have to ask you to wait here," she said, motioning to a side room with a fish tank and a ton of magazines. Jake and I wandered over there, sitting down in the weird hospital chairs that smelled like hand sanitizer.

After a minute of sitting in anxious silence I spoke up, hoping to ease some of our worry. "Do you think the boys have noticed we're gone yet?"

"Yeah," Jake said taking a breathful of air and running his fingers through his messy brown curls. "They texted me a while back and I told them what happened."

I nodded, playing with the hem of my shirt. "Do you think..." my voice trailed off.

Jake glanced at me. "What?"

I huffed out a breath of air. "Um, nothing..." 

"Stace, tell me."

I looked into his deep blue eyes. "It's just," I sighed. "Do you think she's gonna be okay?"

He gave me a soft smile that made my heart ache. I felt him gently lifting my fingers out of my lap. I looked down to see his strong tan fingers linked through my own. His thumb ran over the knuckles of my hand and I brought my eyes back to his.

I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes and letting the worry drift away. Funny that I was the one trying to relieve some stress and Jake ended up taking away all of my fear without saying a word.

My eyes opened a while later to Jake gently shaking my shoulder. "What?" I said, rubbing my eyes groggily.

"Matt just came back," he said. 

I sat up quickly, looking around the room spotting Matt talking to the receptionist. I stood up quickly and rushed over there just as Matt turned to walk in our direction.

I felt my heart swell as I saw a smile on his face and tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a bear hug. I hugged him as tightly as I could, feeling tears brim my eyes. 

"They said she's gonna be fine," he told me as we stepped back. I felt so happy I thought my heart was going to overflow with joy.

Matt turned his attention to Jake and they gave eachother a hug, Jake muttering words of encouragement as they pulled apart.

"She's pretty tired right now and they say she's going to be in the hospital for a little while but she will be fine."

"Oh Matt," I cried. "I'm so happy." He pulled me back into a firm hug and I didn't want to let go of him. He was so big and safe and warm and knowing he was relieved of so much worry made me feel infinetly happy. Finally we parted and I rubbed the tears off my cheeks.

"I'm going to stay with her, but you guys should head back up to camp if you want."

I glanced at Jake and he nodded. "Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea," he said.

I agreed with him and after saying a thorough goodbye to Matt we walked back out to the car, Jake getting in the drivers seat. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard it was 8:30 and i could feel my stomach grumbling painfully. "Should we get dinner?"

"Sure," Jake agreed, pulling out of the parking lot. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Hmm." My eyes scanned the road until they spotted a farmiliar yellow arch. "McDonalds?"

I sat in a plastic booth across from Jake dipping a fry into my McFlurry. 

"Such a good idea," Jake said appreciatvely. 

I nodded, glancing at the empty wrappers littering the table. We were basically the only ones in the restaurant, sitting in a booth near the back.

"How long will it take to drive back?" I asked.

Jake shrugged, sipping his soda. "An hour or two?"

"Will you be good for driving the whole way?"

"I'm fine Stace, don't worry," he smiled reasurringly at me making his face look so young and boyish. It reminded me of the way he would look at me when we were kids.

I smiled at him, kicking his foot playfully under the table. "Thanks for everything today."

His lips pulled into a crooked smile. "Anything for you."

I had the urge to stick my tongue out at him. "Was that sarcasm?"

His eyes glinted mischeviously. He leaned back, resting his forearms up against the back of the booth. "Maybe..."

I rolled my eyes, reaching out for a fry only to have him snatch it out from under me. I scoffed at him. "Really you wanna start this?" I asked.

He just smirked at me, popping the fry in his mouth. 

I snatched a fry up and dipped it in my McFlurry, feeling triumphant as I put it in my mouth.

"Wanna head out?" Jake asked.

I nodded, standing up and following him out of the restaurant. 

As I sat down in the passenger seat I wanted to talk to him about what he was thinking, what he thought of me. Did he remember the kiss? It had been such a long day I wouldn't be surprised if he'd forgotten. My heart ached at the thought so I pushed it away, feeling a yawn come on.

As we pulled out of the parking lot I felt my head lull and I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.