Letting you go [COMPLETE]

Chapter 20 [Part 2]

Unedited.

After this, no more chapters in parts. I'll only write whole chapters from now on.

Dedicated to @12LenaBeana. Go follow her! Her stories are amazing.

This didn't go the way I planned but it never does. So, the city ends next chapter...along with something else [cue gasp].

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               After lunch, we wonder aimlessly, James leading me everywhere, since he actually seems to know where he's going. Every few metres I have to stop and catch my breath, exhausted. James doesn't complain, standing by me each time. Each time someone glances at us, he glares at them, a clear warning. Wisely they don't comment on the oxygen machine, though they do glance at it distastefully.

               The city is huge. Skyscrapers line the distance, most of them dark. There's a large river that I can barely make out in the distance, but from what I can see it's large and dirty, the water a murky brown. Where we're actually walking is completely different. Every street is lined with various shops. Through the very middle is a road, cars driving up and down. It's weird to see. We'd turned away from the middle already, onto a complex set of streets with no car access. All of it is just shops. Halfway up the road from us is escalators, leading to a large shopping centre, that towers over everything in the area.

               It's the craziest thing I've ever seen and it's making me feel more than a little panicked. Claustrophobic too—and I don't ever feel that way. Lung cancer and crowds isn't a good mix—and calling this a crowd is an understatement. Now I know why I don't go out.

               Since I'll never get the chance to do this again, I ignore all the people. They're irrelevant anyway—I'll never see them again and they'll never see me. If they want to judge me for something I can't control, they can do what they want. I don't care.

               James catches my eye, concerned eyes meeting mine. Smiling at him, I push back from the wall I'm leaning against. I'm okay, I mouth, looking around for any seats. There aren't any nearby, or the people might just be blocking my view. 

               All I get in response is a raised eyebrow.

               Rolling my eyes, I grab the sunglasses hanging on the handle of my oxygen machine. The glare from the sun is almost as bad as the crowd. Relax James. I'm not going to die.

               The joke isn't funny, but I don't expect it to be. James narrows his eyes, staring pointedly at the oxygen machine.

               Shaking my head, I start walking. Though I'll need to use it soon, I actually want to do something first. If I wanted to sit and wallow in the pity of cancer, letting a machine breathe for me, I'd be at home.

               Frowning at me, James moves his hands. Unlike before, I catch a few words and make sense of the rest. Need to sit . . . you sit.

               He waits for my nod before turning around. Following behind him, I get into step beside him. His legs are a lot longer, but he still matches my pace, so I know he's walking slower that he normally does.

               When we reach the end of the street, I turn, glimpsing a store out of the corner of my eye. I almost run into an elderly man, smiling softly in apology. He ignores me completely as if I'm not even there. Fighting a scowl, I walk off to the side waiting for James to reach my. Glancing back, I can't even find him in the crowd.