Exactly What I've Been Waiting For

Chapter 18

It's been three weeks since Jade had seen the others. They've been very supportive though, sending her casseroles and other things because they knew Jade had no time. So, as a payback, she went over at Leigh-Anne's place for dinner on her day off.

The moment she walked in, she collapsed into the couch, putting her feet up.

Jesy approached her with herbal tea, and placed the brunette's legs on her lap. "How is he today?"

"He's been sleeping a lot lately." Jade answered. "It just feels like I'm waiting for the end."

"Don't talk like that, sweetie."

Arriving with beer, Leigh-Anne decided to chime in. "On a better note: How's Perrie?" She asked, noting the fact that the blonde was still a no-show. Once the words were out of the girl's mouth, however, everyone turned to glare at her. "Or not. Come on, you know you're all thinking the same thing."

"I'm not sure. There's a phone right there, why don't you call her?" Jade snapped, toeing off her shoes and dumping them on the floor.

"Okay, obviously you're in a bad mood."

Jade sat up straighter and scoffed. "Yeah, I'm in a bad mood. I've been working nonstop for the past week; been going to the hospital watching my own father deteriorate. I lost my girlfriend in the process, and I haven't been getting enough sleep because I keep thinking about the fact that there will come a time when I wake up, and my dad won't be there anymore." She stood and walked to the kitchen to get a beer. "Oh, and when I finally decide to have a night off of my crapped up life and just spend some stress-free time with my friends, you come in here and start bagging on me!"

Jesy passed the room and began stroking Jade's back, getting the bottle out of the girl's grasp. "Let's go into the room and talk."

Don't get her wrong, Jade loved all of them, but when the going got tough, having a large group to deal with was harder than life itself.

Jesy didn't close the door all the way, but the moment they were alone, the younger girl started crying again. "I'm sorry. I should go apologise to Leigh."

"No, she knows you're just ranting. She doesn't hold anything against you. Come here." She pulled the brunette's head in to her shoulder, letting the girl cry her heart out.

They stayed that way for two minutes tops. Having enough of crying, Jade dried her eyes and took deep breaths. "It's soon, the doctors say. He's sleeping twelve hours a day; only waking up to use the bathroom. And when he's awake, he doesn't have the energy to do anything, and he's starting to lose his appetite."

"This is the hardest part -- watching. But just know that it's just as hard for him for making you watch him lose everything." Jesy gently said. "Your father had a good life. He has an amazing family and was always the better dad in our circle. We all wished that James was our dad."

Jade sat up and took a deep breath. "Whenever I have a moment to think, all I can think about is all the things he's gonna miss. Like how he's never gonna see the kids grow up. He's never gonna make it to any of their graduations. He won't meet Baby Karl's future girlfriends," she laughed, "high-five when he finally lands a girl. No more birthdays, no more Christmases or Easters." She took the edge of the comforter and played with its ruffles. "He's never gonna walk..." her voice cracked, but keeping this to herself wouldn't make it any easier. "He's never going to walk me down the aisle."

"Jadey..."

"It's stupid." The water works started again. "My dad's dying, and what I'm worried about is that he'll never see me get married." She tried to chuckle, throwing her hands up in the air, over-exaggeratingly.