The Dedication

I’ll Be Waiting

Lenny Kravitz

“Jacob?” I called, stepping through his front door. There was some movement out of the corner of my eye, Billy, I realized. “Is Jacob home?” I asked him. He wheeled himself around, away from the game, to face me.

“Nah, not yet,” he said with a wrinkly smile. “But go ahead and wait in his room; he shouldn’t be gone for much longer.”

I nodded, thanking him. Billy turned his attention back to the game. I walked into Jacob’s familiar, small room. I laid across his bed, my hair fanning out underneath me. I placed the envelope I was carrying next to me. It was the rough draft of the CD. Everyone had OK-ed it except for him. Once he did, it could go out onto the market.

I noticed that the part of the bed I was sitting on was uncomfortable. Like something was messing with the springs there. I leaned over the edge of the bed, my hair touching the floor. And, sure enough, there was a thin, black binder jammed underneath the mattress. Curious, I pulled it out. There was nothing written on the binder, so I opened it up.

As I flipped through the pages, I recognized rhythms among the words he had written in his messy scrawl. They were songs, I realized. I flipped back to the first one, reading it more carefully. Maybe, Jacob could play and write, and we could use some of his songs as well.

I’ll Be Waiting, the title said, underlined diagonally. A few lines down, the lyrics began, and, as I read over them, I realized whom the song was written for. Me.

He broke your heart

He took your soul

You're hurt inside

'Cause there's a hole

You need some time

to be alone

then you will find

what you've always known

I'm the one who really love ya, baby

I've been knockin' at your door

and as long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

I've seen ya cry

into the night

I feel your pain

can I make it right?

I realize

there's no end in sight

yet still I wait

for you to see the light

I'm the one who really loves ya, baby

I can't take it anymore

and as long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

You are the only one I've ever known

that makes me feel this way, couldn't on my own

I wanna be with you until we're old

you've got the love you need right in front of you, please come home

as long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

as long as I'm livin'

I'll be waitin'

as long as I'm breathin'

I'll be there

whenever you call me

I'll be waitin'

whenever you need me

I'll be there

I felt a single tear slipping down my cheeks. I thought I had hidden my pain so well, and yet Jacob saw right through my ruse. I was about to flip to the next song, when I heard the handle to the door turning. I quickly slammed the binder closed, shoving it under the mattress again. It didn’t look exactly the same as before, but he couldn’t see it once I shifted my body to get it out of sight.

“Bella?” Jacob said, opening the door.

I smiled, wiping the tear off of my face as I saw the only person who understood my pain walk through the doorway.

“Hey, Jake.”