Innocently Falling

Chapter 17

"Is this the same Michelle that visited you at school last year?" she asked remembering a petite blonde. Ryan told her that she was his childhood best friend. Megan recalled her being very intelligent and extremely sweet. She had a very thick southern accent that made her sound even sweeter.

"Yea." He said trying to control the falter in his voice.

Megan didn't know what to do. She knew nothing she could say or do would make him feel any better. Learning that your best friend was dying is not something anyone ever prepares for.

She gently rubbed his arm with the palm of her hand.

"Ryan, I'm so sorry. You should go visit her and make her understand that she needs to undergo chemo." She took in face. The tears that refused to fall from his eyes were coating the tips of his eyelids.

"You don't understand. I can't talk to her." His voice was choked. The tears finally falling free.

She reached out to wipe them away from his face.

"Why not?"

"Because," he paused, "because the last time I saw her she told me that she was in love with me and I just laughed it off. I just thought she was joking at the time because it was so out of the blue. Only after she stopped picking up my calls or replying to my thousands of messages did I realize that she actually meant it."

He took in a deep breath.

"I started to miss hearing her voice so much, and seeing her face. It felt like a part of me was missing. That's when I finally realized that I loved her too. But by then it was too late, she wouldn't talk to me, or hear me out. She spent the summer in Argentina so I didn't see her over break and eventually I got the message, and decided that I needed to move on."

Megan simply nodded her head not wanting to interrupt his flow.

"She has always been so stubborn! She never gave into pain, she thought she was invincible. That's why she never went to the doctor. She wouldn't even know about the cancer if her mom hadn't tricked her into going to the hospital to get her symptoms checked out. She found out about the cancer three months ago and she didn't even tell me! I had to hear from a friend of a friend's that she was sick. So I finally called her mom and left her a message trying to figure out what was going on and she just called me back to tell me."

"Does she really hate me so much that she won't even tell me that she is dying?"

Megan felt her own eyes cloud up. She could hear the love in Ryan's voice and it broke her heart to know what he was going through.

"Ryan, I'm sure she just didn't tell because she didn't know how to. I can't be easy to tell the people you love that you are sick and might be dying. She might have thought that she was protecting you. I think you should go visit her. Try to work it out between you two, maybe once she hears how much you love her she might change her mind about the chemo." True Megan liked him a lot but she wasn't in love with him. She was also not selfish enough to want him to stay with her when the one person he had ever loved was dying. She truly wanted Michelle to agree to the chemo and be okay, because Ryan deserved true happiness in his life.

"You really think she would be willing to see me? After everything I did." He asked with his voice full of hope as his blue eyes turned to her.

She nodded, "Yes I think she will. If she truly ever loved you, she couldn't let you stay away knowing you were so close. Go convince her to undergo treatment and help her expand her life."

He looked shocked, "But what about us?" he asked softly.

Megan smiled shaking her head, "We will always be friends Ryan. Right now the most important thing for you to do is to be with Michelle. Maybe if you hurry up and take care all of the things on this end you could see her before Christmas."