Some people wait their whole lives to find the perfect friend.
But not Isabella Washington.
She knew she'd be best friends with Aiden Cunningham the moment she set eyes on him. But staying friends through school is easy. It's what comes after that c...
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It had been a few weeks since Isabella first visited Doctor Saunders. She had to admit that she liked seeing her because she knew how to help her get back on the right track. She had decided to go to a psychiatrist after the referral was sent to the doctor Kate had recommended.
Isabella was on her way to her appointment with Kate, and she couldn't wait to tell her about her progress. However, she was now stressed with other things, like school and visiting Aiden every day at the hospital.
She'd been worried about his strength. She was restless that one day he would be gone forever. She remembered their prom night when Aiden opened up about how he felt and didn't want to be in agony anymore.
But he had people to support him for the rest of his days.
Isabella's parents were doing everything they could to visit him while she was in school. Lately, Bradley, Marybeth, and Isabella had not talked as much. Isabella had been thinking about going back to her house. She missed her parents like crazy, but her home still held the awful memories lingering there. She had to reunite with the house someday so she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
She arrived at the office building and parked the car in the parking lot. She got out of the car and stepped inside the front entrance, signing her name at the front desk.
She took her seat in the waiting area, trying to kill time by skimming through pages of a few magazines that were on the coffee table. But every page she flipped through was boring. She placed the magazines back on the table and just sat in her seat, waiting.
꧁ ༄ ꧂
After twenty minutes, the door opened in the hallway, and Kate walked into the waiting room, seeing Isabella.
"Bella."
Isabella saw Kate and stood up from her seat, followed her to the office, and stepped inside as Kate closed the door behind them. Isabella sat on the couch while Kate picked up her notepad and pen from the desk and sat in her chair.
"All right, what would you like to talk about today?" Kate started.
"Well, the first thing is, I finally made an appointment for my psychiatrist's visit." Isabella beamed.
"It's great that you came to see me when you did." Kate smiled. "How do you feel about going?
"I'm a little nervous. I've never done something like this before, you know? So I'm hoping it won't be as scary as I'm making it out to be."
"Yes, I understand." After writing a few notes, Kate set the notepad on her lap, lacing her fingers together. "I sense you are very happy this time. Is it because of the appointment?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
Isabella thought of the right words to say. "Yes, I am, but I'm happy about something else."
"And what's that?"
The young girl was a little embarrassed for thinking about this but parted her lips as she said, "I love somebody."
Kate stared at her, surprised.
"Really? Why that's wonderful news to hear. Who's the lucky man?" she teased.
"It's Aiden."
"Cunningham?" Kate's eyes widened. Isabella nodded and Kate smiled warmly. "Wow . . . how did this happen?"
Isabella remembered the day they confessed their love for each other, making the corner of her lips curl up.
"Well, I went to visit him at the hospital one day, and since he doesn't have much time left, I promised him that I would make his top three wishes on his bucket list come true.
"For the first wish, he wanted to get married. Nicole helped me buy two rings, one for him and the other for the person he would like to marry. When I asked him who he wanted to marry, if he could choose anyone in the world, he chose me. Then I finally told him how I felt about him after years of denying my feelings, and he told me his." She showed Kate the ring on her finger, and Kate was stunned. "We got 'married' in his room. It probably sounds stupid because it doesn't sound like a real wedding, but it felt right.
"I've been thinking about him for years; we've been through everything together, and I've always had him by my side. When I dated my ex-boyfriend, I cared about him, but never felt this way. I should've known that I wasn't supposed to be with him. I was just blind for not admitting my feelings earlier. I'm glad we got that off our chests before it was too late."
Kate stared at Isabella with understanding in her eyes and pursed her lips.
"Wow. I sure missed a lot." She chuckled.
"I'm happy he found you."
Isabella was about to say something when her phone rang. She realized she forgot to put it on mute. "Oh, I'm sorry." She took the phone out of her pocket and was about to hang up until she saw who was calling her.
It's Mom.
She pressed the answer button and put the phone against her ear.
"Mom, I can't talk right now—"
"You need to come to the hospital!" Marybeth cut Isabella off, sounding like she was crying.
Isabella felt her heart drop to her stomach. "Why?" she asked, frightened.
"You just need to come right now!"
Isabella's heartbeat quickened, thinking it had something to do with Aiden. "I'm coming." She hung up and got on her feet.
"I have to go, it's an emergency."
Without saying goodbye, she rushed out of the room and ran outside the building, sprinting to her car.
As she got inside, she put the key in the ignition with shaky fingers and her eyes pooled with tears. She changed the gear and drove out of the parking lot, speeding down the road to the hospital.
