Surviving Cancer

Thursday, October 19 Cont'd & Friday, October 20

"Here we go." Levi said, bringing in a food tray. "Mom sent up smoothies, water, toast, some fruit, and sandwiches." He sat the tray down at the end of the bed, grabbing one of the sandwiches and stuffing it in his mouth. "What ya wanna watch?" He mumbled with his mouth full.

"I don't know, anything." I said, grabbing one of the smoothies and the other sandwich. I knew I should at least try and eat a real meal. "You pick."

He pulled a movie out of my stack and stuck it in before climbing into my bed next to me. He lifted his arm so I could snuggle in next to him. I nibbled on my sandwich, the warmth from Levi sending goose bumps across my skin. I could already feel my eyes trying to close as the beginning credits for the movie started to roll. I set my sandwich down on Levi's stomach, giving into my fatigue.

"Falling asleep already?" Levi asked.

I nodded my head slightly. "Sorry."

"Nah it's fine." He said, "Can eat your sandwich?"

I smiled letting out a small chuckle. "Yeah."

I pulled myself a little closer to Levi, allowing my breathing to become more methodical as I started to drift off to sleep. I loved that moment where you were still awake but right before you fell asleep. Where everything felt heavy and warm and comfortable. Nothing could touch you and nothing bothered you. It was those few moments of bliss right before you fell asleep where everything was okay. I laid like that for a few minutes, trying to prolong the moment just for another second. I felt Levi kiss the top of my head, his warm breath lingering in my hair. He must of thought I was asleep because he started talking softly. So quietly in fact, I almost couldn't hear him.

"I'm gonna find her for you Maci. I don't know why you want to meet her so bad but I promise you I'll find her." He paused for a moment, my head rising and falling on his stomach. "This is the end of the road for us isn't?"

I tried my hardest not to flinch or move at his final words even though all I wanted to do was hug him. I heard his breath catch as his chest shook. He was crying. My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest still beating. It was one thing for me to feel like this was the end.

But now I wasn't alone. He felt it too.

                           -------------
LEVI POV

I sat in my first period the next day, staring into my lap at my phone. I didn't hear a word the teacher was saying. I was putting the name Jennifer Paulson into every single search engine. I typed her name into Google, waiting as patiently as I could as my phone searched the Internet. A few seconds later a list of websites came up. I clicked on a link that was for a dating site with a Jennifer Paulson account. I held my breath, waiting for the page to load the pictures. After all these years would I finally see a real picture of her? I had seen the one that Maci had but you couldn't tell squat from it. Was she going to look like us? Would I even be able to tell if it was her? I closed my eyes taking a deep breath. The anticipation of seeing her picture was near unbearable. I opened them back up, my heart pounding erratically in my chest as I stared at a woman who looked just like Maci only older. Her brown hair was down in curls, her brown eyes had that same soft look to them that Maci's did. And her smile, it was identical. There was no way this Jennifer Paulson wasn't her. I had found her and with barely any searching.  I scrolled through the rest of the information, trying to remember anything that would help me. She lived in Houston, Texas, she had a dog, and a job as a free-lance writer. I clicked through her pictures, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was staring at the woman who abandoned Maci and I almost 17 years ago. I glanced up as the teacher was scribbling on the whiteboard. I looked at Greg who was staring at me. I set my phone on his desk so he could see what I'd found. He mouthed 'Holy shit', I nodded my head. He handed my phone back, pulling his out of his pocket. A second later my phone buzzed with a text message.