The rest of the week at the lake house has been moving slowly and fast at the same time.

Thinking back at how this summer started, I never thought we'd end up here. I'm deeply in love with Elijah and apparently, he feels the same way about me. However, we're losing one of the most incredible people we have in our lives.

We spent the rest of the week, making food, being around each other, and asking questions.

Most of the questions came from Elijah, of course. Who wanted to sue every single doctor the moment we got back to town.

I had to calm him down a few times and comb his hair to sleep or else he'd never fall asleep due to crying so hard.

If I'm being honest, being strong for him is the only thing keeping me together. Jude saved my life that day out by the water and he's been saving my life even before that.

He's not just a Dad to me. He's my savior.

I sat on the dock, dipping my feet in the water. I just got back from my morning run and thought to sit out here for a second before heading inside for a shower.

I heard footsteps walking up behind me. Turning my head to see who it was, I smiled when Jude passed me a hot cup of coffee. He had added some caramel creamer to it, which smelled amazing. It didn't taste the same as my caramel macchiato from our local coffee spot in town, but it was still delicious.

"How are you holding up?" He said, sighing as he sat down beside me.

"Honestly?" I looked back out at the water. "I don't know." I breathed out.

He smiled and laughed softly. "Me either, kid." He breathed in. "But you will be alright. You know that, right?"

I looked over at him, tears in my eyes. "How are you so sure?" I sniffed.

"You're a strong kid. Even when you didn't know it yourself. You're a survivor." He nudged me in the shoulder with his own.

I laughed, shaking my head. "That's not true. I've almost called it quits a few times since you've known me." I wiped my nose off with my arm.

"Hey." He said, placing a firm hand on my thigh, urging me to look back at him. "You can't do that. Ever. Not when so many people love you. Not when my son loves you. The world needs you here. Wait until you're like...140 or something and then you can come and join me." He winked.

"That's a horrible joke." I snorted, shaking my head.

"It made you laugh." He shrugged.

"You always make me laugh, it doesn't count." I nudged his shoulder back.

He sighed, leaning back on his palms. Looking out to the water, I sipped some of my coffee.

"Elijah's going to need you." He breathed.

I nodded my head. "I know."

"You can't let him shut down like he wants to. It's going to be hard but he's gotta push through it."

I looked at him over my arm. Tears running down my cheeks. I nodded my head.

He grabbed ahold of my arm, bringing me into a side hug. "He's going to take care of you too. I'm trusting him with that, as well."

"Me?" I sniffed. "I'll be fine." I tried to laugh, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"No one gets anywhere in life without family." He breathed.

I pinched the bridge of my nose to stop myself from full-on sobbing. "What am I going to do without you?"

"One, I'm not gone yet. You've gotta suffer from my awful dance moves for a while longer. Two, you're going be more than fine. Great. Exceptional, even. You know how I know?" He said, looking down at me.

"How?" I looked up at him with tearful eyes.

He smiled at me. "Because I'm your Dad and I taught you well." He shrugged. I gripped on to him and buried my head into his chest.

"I love you, Dad." I sobbed.

"I love you too, son." He cried, hugging me tighter.

☀️☀️☀️

I shoved my hands in my pockets as I stared out the great big windows at the back of the house.

"Almost done!" Gwen said, swinging her purse onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, no worries. Take your time." I answered back. I'm going to be driving Gwen back while Jude is going to ride back to town with Dad.

Dad. It's funny saying it even to myself but it feels so right at the same time.

Elijah ran down the stairs, looking divine in his blue button-up shirt, leaving the top few open to expose his chest. Under other circumstances, I'd tell him how good he looked.

But the truth is, since Dad's diagnosis has gotten out, I'm not too sure where Elijah and I stand relationship-wise.

I know he loves me and I love him - so much, that's no question at all. I've still been slipping into his bed in the night to hold him while he sleeps, which has been nice. But, I can't help but wonder if things are a little off between us. Should we be putting our relationship on pause while we focus on Dad's health? I'm not sure. I'm all the way confused.

"Hey." He breathed, walking over to me.

I licked my suddenly chapped lips. "Hey." I smiled, softly.

"I guess we're all packed and ready to go. We want to hit the road before traffic coming back home gets too bad."

I suddenly felt pressure behind my eyes build up. It would've been nice to sit in that car with them. Is this how I lose him?

Ugh, I'm so clingy.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you back at home." I smiled.

He nodded his head, turning to leave. My heart dropped with disappointment.

He suddenly stopped walking and turned back around to me.

"Drive safely." He whispered, laying a soft kiss on my lips. I pursed my lips which made him melt into me more.

"Bye," I said before kissing him again, gripping his hips in my hands.

"Bye." He said, slowly hooking his arms around my neck.

"I'll see you soon," I said, before biting his lip and diving in for more.

"See ya." He smiled into his kiss.

"Okay, kids. Stop making out. We've got to get a move on." Dad yelled from the front porch.

I felt my cheeks burn as we pulled away, laughing.

"I'll never get used to that." Dad smiled, shaking his head.

☀️☀️☀️

The drive back to town with Gwen was really nice. She's amazing and we had some sweet chats about Dad, Elijah, and what we're going to do this fall.

Gwen is actually going back to school right now to become a paralegal which is pretty impressive. I love listening to her talk about her dreams and what she's planning on doing with her degree.

However, I couldn't help but daydream about Elijah and Dad on our way back. They mean so much to me. I'd do anything for them both.

"One second, I'm getting a call." Gwen smiled. "Oh, it's Jude." She picked up the call. Suddenly her face dropped.

"Wait, what?" She sat up in her seat. "No." She breathed.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I started to panic. Did something happen to them?

My mind was racing a mile a minute.

"Gwen, talk to me." I pleaded.

"Okay, we'll be there shortly. We're almost there." She said into the phone.

She hung up the phone and turned to me. "We have to stop at The Pizza Junction. There's been a fire." 

☀️

Author's Note: 

Welp. DAMN.