Only One Year Left to Live

Chapter 7: Cole Mathews~

I swung open the door, welcoming Dianne's parents.Their looks sure resembled Dianne a lot, with the same dark hair and facial structure as her dad, and matching eyes with her mom, along with their almost identical body build. The thought of Dianne pained me to the core, and I'm forced to remember her mom's words to me on the phone... Why is it that I feel so betrayed? It's as if everything had been no more than a lie, ever since the moment me and Dianne had met that day... I've been living in deceit, our moments together, our bond, our love- everything... My insides ached greatly, and I desperately tried to shove away the thoughts.

"Hello," I greeted, flashing a polite smile. They stared at me intently, as if trying to see through me. Dianne's mom looked me up and down, before a look of disgust showed up on her face.

"You're Dianne's love interest?" Her voice was anything but kind. "What's with the sunglasses? Have you got manners?"

I gritted my teeth, as I feel anger swell up inside me, but I put my best effort in containing it. "Yes, I am."

"Well, aren't you going to move aside? How long are you going to let us wait out here?"

"Yes, sorry. Please come on in." I moved aside, letting them enter. They rushed past me, barging into the living room, as if they owned the place.

"Hello?" Hollered Dianne's mom. She acted as if I weren't even there.

A few moments later, my mom tumbled towards us with unsteady steps, clearly drunk, gripping onto a bottle of whiskey in hand. Her greasy, unwashed hair sat in a mess on the top of her head, similar to that of a bird nest. Her dark eye circles and wrinkly skin made her appear lifeless and at least ten years older than she really is. Her tank top was drenched in sweat, unwashed for days, and her jeans were torn and dirty.

"Who is this?" She slurred, smiling broadly like a psychopath, as her eyes stared into the middle aged couple's fearful ones.

"T-this is your mom?" Dianne's mother stuttered for the very first time. Her eyes were stretched out to the very max, a little more and they just might pop.

Mr. Parker was the first to regain composure. "We are here to see you regarding our children's love affairs... Nice to meet you, Mrs.-" he trailed off, just realizing that he doesn't know her name.

"It's Ms." She let out an unsettling cackle. "Ms. Mathews. But you can call me Lisa." She grabbed onto the side of the wall for support. "And you said... Love affairs?" She turned to glare at me. Something about her look told me that she was ready to tear me to sheds. I adverted my glaze, as I felt a shiver.

"Yes." He cleared his throat. "We are the parents of Dianne, whom your son has been messing with."

My mom's face grew bitter all of a sudden. "Excuse me?"

"Your son there," cut in Dianne's mother, as she shot me a hateful look. "Has been fooling around with my daughter."

My mom shook her head, as she ran her fingers through her tangled mess of hair. "Come in and have a seat. This seems serious." She led them in, and offered the sofas, which they accepted. After they were all seated, she continued. "Tell me what this is all about."

"Our darling has lung cancer, and doesn't have much time left... Yet this son of yours chose to mess around with her, and got her pregnant! Do you understand what this all means? She will die! She can't handle child birth. I'm trying to extend her life to the maximum amount of days possible, but this guy has ruined it all... Dianne probably won't live more than a few more months at most depending on how well her body is coping with the baby..." The last sentence shattered me, although I already knew it deep inside...

My mom shot me a look harboring intense animosity. "You what?!" She huffed. "I was right after all, you are just like him... You two are identical, like father like son..." Her words stabbed me like knives, and I grimaced at the pain.

"I'm different from him!" I screamed, unable to hold back my anger any longer.

"How?" My mom said in a mocking tone. "You're just a worthless player, inpregnating girls like it's nothing! And of all girls, one with cancer?!" There are no words in the English language- or any language, that can possibly express my hurt from her words... Having no comeback, I just glared at her, hoping it would inflict at least 1% of the pain that I'm feeling right now.

"I want you to leave her," said her dad. "I want you to stay away from my daughter and have nothing to do with her anymore!"

I clenched my fist. "I'm afraid I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" The devil of a mother screeched at me. "Break up with her now!" She then turned to Dianne's mom. "I am very sorry for the behavior of this failure human shit. I suggest you get your daughter to have an abortion right away."

"I tried, but... Dianne refused..." Her face filled with anguish.

"I will make sure Cole never sees your daughter again, you can rest assured." I tensed, and the whole world seemed to have frozen in time. A mini adrenaline pumped through me, making my blood pump faster, and my veins threatened to burst. My head throbbed, as I could feel my rapid heartbeat thump against my chest, so loud that I could clearly hear each badump.

"You can't do this to me!" I screamed, as blood continued to course through my veins faster by the second.

She ignored me, "I will make sure he never causes you guys anymore trouble."

"Thank you. I'm glad you understand... We should be going now, it's quite late." Her parents got up to leave.

"Have a great day." My mom called out, as they walked out the door.

I chased after them. "Wait, let me see Dianne!" They paid no mind to me. "Please, let me see her one last time!" I tried reaching for her mom's arm, but she aggressively shook me off, as if I were some sort of pest.

My mom yanked me backwards, and the door shut. It was as if my whole world faded away in that instant, as I watched in horror, her parents leave. My mind went blank.

"You useless douchebag," she hissed at me. I could smell her foul breath full of alcohol and cigarettes. "You are disowned. Leave!"

I shoved her off me, and headed to my room.

"Leave, you manwhore! I'm sick of caring after you. You're disowned, get the fuck out of my house this instant!" She continued to let out a series of colorful words, as I made my way to my room. I let her say what she wanted, because I was too lost to care... I felt so empty and unbelievably hollow at the moment, that I could crumble at any given second.

I quickly snatched my belongings and grabbed my savings from beneath the bed, before hurrying out the door.

"Yeah, leave! And don't you dare set foot in this house again!" She called on my way out. I couldn't care less about replying, because my mind was elsewhere... There was nothing I could think of but Dianne.

Why did she hide so much from me? What else did she lie about? Was everything between us real? What did she think of the times we spent together? Were they as important to her as they were to me? Thoughts rung in my mind, as I walked away from the place I called "home" for the 18 years of my life.

Either way, the truth lies with Dianne. I must meet with her... I have to...

*****

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