Lilith had resigned herself to be a friend of death. Just after turning 24, she was diagnosed with Cancer, something that most people would rush to find a treatment for. She'd lost the love of her life, her family, and now even her health.
Dylan w...
In the wee hours of the morning, I found myself unable to get away. Stuck staring at this woman, whose life I'd thrown into chaos. Her sleep had been peaceful, only falling asleep after she'd sobbed for what felt like an hour into the slippery satin-covered pillow on the opposite side of the bed.
I'd held her, staying long past the time when my arm had fallen asleep and I would cringe with every tiny movement made. But that was fine. I could take whatever pain she inflicted on me because what she was about to do would be undoubtedly harder.
I waited for her to wake first this time before I moved. Remembering how she would search for me as a child lost in the park and longing for his mother. I could hear her voice as my mind turned. "Dylan? Dylan?" The melody that I resisted as I smirked at her desperate search for me.
Was it a game I was playing by myself? It seems so now. A waste of precious time and the torture of an undeserving soul. It all feels foolish at this point when I could've had more of these moments to cherish.
I shake my head. There is stirring on the other side which means that Lilith is waking up. It's only after 6 am. She should sleep some more, rest her eyes so that she can be completely ready for what is to come but she doesn't.
She rolls over and meets my eyes almost knowing that I was awake. "You stayed?" her slightly parted lips whispered out.
I nodded stupidly, looking into her eyes as they blinked into the dim light of the rising sun.
Lilith stretched her arms over her head, "Your room has some of the best light. It's so unfair. If I'm not up here, it feels like I'm living in a cell. Keeping the best room for yourself, how selfish, Mr. Stone."
She had the energy to joke when her eyes had barely been open a minute. I chuckled. "We can switch if you want to."
Her eyes shot open, "Or we can just share?"
The small smile she'd managed to pull from me quickly faded. I was too much of an idiot to think that Lilith was serious. All her teasing came with us being forced against each other so frequently. She didn't really want that, right? And even if she did, could she forgive me after I told her the truth? Would she still accept me then?
"Chill out," she pulled herself up. "I'm just joking. I actually love my room because it is tucked away in its own little corner. No one knows I'm there except you which means if you forget about me, so will the rest of the world."
The soft look in her eyes made my heart skip a beat so I excused myself from being in bed with her. Words spoken with no real meaning were the kind that would send me mad knowing her I truly felt about her.
I hurried to the kitchen, finding there was a pot still standing on the stove and another in the sink. We'd gone straight to bed without another thought and whatever had been left out was now a waste.
Lilith walked up behind me as I began to clean up. "I finished it all last night. Stress eating, I think, but I can clean up it's my mess after all."
"It's fine. I should get used to stuff like this since Maria's gone."
She laughed, "You're right. I hate doing dishes too, so get your hands dirty." We shared another laugh as I opened the faucet and splashed myself and for thirty minutes or so we both forgot what the day was about. We forgot that Lilith would hear her full diagnosis. We forgot that she could possibly hear she barely had any time. But what's more, we forgot that this was temporary regardless of how much we both wanted it to be something else.
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