Fragile Hope
1504 Words
Lorie kept asking Jake's sister about his condition, he recommended the fruits he liked, the food he prefers and everything. She never stopped caring about him, she can't help herself, she can't stop her feelings...
But when the memories of him and that woman came to his mind, she can't decide whether to forgive him or run away from him, it just hurt her whenever she see him, it reminds her of those pictures of them kissing and it's not tolerable.
Jake was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor like the answers might be hiding in the cracks. The room was too quiet, too white, too cold.
The doctor stepped in, holding a clipboard like it meant anything now. He hesitated before speaking and Jake looked at him, he always took care of his condition.
“I reviewed everything again,” he said gently.
“Later today I’ll talk to Dr. Rudraksh, he handled more of these cases than I have. I want to ask him t...”
“I don’t want to hear any of that,” Jake cut in, his voice low but sharp. “Don’t beat around the bush, just say it.”
The doctor stayed still.
“It’s not that hard,” Jake went on, eyes still fixed on some distant point across the room. “I know I don’t have much time left... That this accident caused more damage. I know this thing could take me any f*****g day... So stop looking for alternatives that don’t exist.”
“Jake,” the doctor said, stepping forward, “there’s still a possibility, you can survive this... there’s pain, yeah, but there’s a chance, all we need is your agreement, the operation...”
“There’s no real f*****g chance and you know it,” Jake snapped, finally looking at him, his eyes were tired, bloodshot. “I don’t want to go in there and never wake up, I don’t want to take that risk, I want to live... f**k, even if it’s just a little longer, I want to be alive for it, not unconscious, not cut open, not locked in a room full of f*****g machines, Darius”
The doctor’s name is Darius, he just stood there his mouth opened, but he had nothing left to say.
“I just want to fix things with her,” Jake said, voice breaking now. “I want to see her smile and know it’s real, because of me, I already lost so much time being the wrong person, I just want to be the right one before I go.”
His voice cracked, and for a moment, he couldn’t speak.
“I can’t do this,” he whispered, his hands were shaking. “I’m not ready to die. I just... I want to live the little time I have, that’s all I’m asking.”
And then he turned away, hands covering his face as the tears came hard and fast, ugly, silent sobs that shook his shoulders.
The doctor stood there, heart heavy, unsure what to say. Then he walked over and hugged Jake, no words, just the sadness shared in silence.
“You’ll make her happy,” he whispered eventually. “I believe that. You still have time... use it, I won't force you in anything, just take good care of yourself.”
*****
A few weeks later, Jake was finally discharged, he went home and everything was good, he kept having the medicines, it was like someone was there to make everything right and the food was set on the table and a note to encourage him to eat.
He did that he ate the food and everything was right at the moment, he waited for the right moment to talk to Lorie, to make things right with her.
Few days passed and he went to see her, he bought her favourite flowers and few gifts for her to please her.
Jake stood at Lorie’s front door, his palms sweaty despite the cool wind brushing against his skin. In one hand, he held her favorite white lilies, fresh and carefully wrapped. In the other, a small box containing a necklace he once saw her admiring but never bought for herself.
He took a deep breath before knocking.
The door creaked open slowly, and there she was. Lorie. Still beautiful, still unreadable.
She looked at him, her eyes flicking from the flowers to his eyes.
“Jake…” Her voice was quiet, guarded.
“Hey,” he said, offering a small smile. “I, uh… I brought you these.”
He held out the flowers awkwardly, like a boy with a schoolyard crush.
Lorie hesitated, then took them gently. “Thanks.” She didn’t move aside to let him in. "You still know my favourite flowers"
"Yeah, how can I forget? I never forget anything about you" he said that with a smile of concern on his face
“I was wondering if we could talk,” he added softly. “Not about the past… not everything. Just, just today.”
There was a pause, then she stepped back. “Okay. Just for a while.”
He walked in, every step feeling like a prayer.
The silence between them was suffocating. Lorie placed the flowers in a vase and sat on the far end of the couch. Jake sat across from her, his eyes never leaving her face.
“I wanted to thank you,” he began. “For the food… and for coming to see me to the hospital. I know it was you. No one else would have gone to that trouble.”
She looked away. “I just didn’t want you to die from starvation after almost dying from your stupidity, unlike whoever was in your life, I still care for you”
He let out a dry chuckle. “Fair.”
There was another long pause.
“I’ve been thinking a lot,” he said, his voice dropping. “About how things ended. How I destroyed something so precious, so… real, to be honest... that night I was going to tell you everything... about those pictures and everything" he looked at her while shaking, struggling with his hands to calm himself down
"When she kissed me that time, I froze... My mind went blank for a moment and you..." He shifted his eyes to look at her
"You suddenly appeared in my mind, that's when I realized I wasn't doing the right thing, I wanted to come home and tell you what I was feeling and what I did but when I got there you were already in a bad mood, I didn't want to ruin your day any longer" tears fall from his eyes
Lorie’s eyes softened, but she didn’t speak.
“I know sorry isn’t enough. I know what I did broke you, broke us. I don't know how but I want to fix it. I want to try, if you’ll let me. Even if it takes forever.”
Her eyes were glassy now, her voice shaking.
“Jake. You made me question everything. Myself. My worth. My sanity. I gave you everything I had, and I had nothing left when you left me with those pictures and silence.” She looked away chasing back her tears
"I wanted so bad to hear from you, to hear what you will tell me, if you will try to make things right but... When I saw your face, I knew you were not going to say a thing and it felt like I was eaten from inside, I couldn't take it, seeing your face was already a torture" She couldn't control them anymore, they fell and she rubbed them right at the moment.
“I know,” he whispered, leaning forward. “And I regret every second of it. If I could take it back...”
“But you can’t,” she cut in. “You can’t undo what’s been done.”
He nodded, tears forming. “Then let me build something new. From the ground up, Lorie. Even if you just want to be friends. I’ll wait. I’ll do whatever it takes. I just want to make you happy once more time before the worse”
Lorie stood up, her back turned to him. “I don’t know, Jake. I'm just confused, I don't know what's right to do and what's not right.”
He rose too, nodding slowly. “I’ll wait.”
As he walked to the door, she called out, “Jake?”
He turned.
“Thank you. For not giving up on me.”
His heart clenched. He wanted to run to her, hold her, promise the world, but he didn’t. Not yet.
“Never,” he whispered, then stepped outside, closing the door with a quiet click.
Outside, the wind picked up again. But for the first time in months, he felt a flicker of warmth in his chest.
It was hope.
- Writer
