The phone shook in my hand as I pressed the end call button. Was this the right thing to do?
She was miles away. Even if she jumped on a plane, it would take her hours to be here. But I knew that was exactly what she was going to do.
Tara had arranged a special circumstances agreement with her school that allowed her to complete classes and exams earlier than most. She already purchased a ticket back home for next week. But that was before this happened. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw her here tomorrow.
I could hear the fear in her voice and, even though I tried to keep her calm, I knew she was panicking. She was afraid.
Because I was panicking. I was afraid.
It had been an hour already since they rushed Mom away to complete their test and try to figure out what was wrong.
Other than the fact she was dying, of course.
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a shaky breath, wishing I could find some kind of distraction from this reality.
The fluorescent hospital lights, the constant beeping of monitors and chatter of doctors and nurses made it extremely difficult to think of anything but the current situation.
My phone pinged with an incoming text message and my stomach dropped. I had told Tara I would call her when I had more information, but she was never known for her patience.
But, when I unlocked my phone a different name waited there.
Skyler: Soooo should I expect some random date today
Skyler: to like your personal amusement park today or smthing?
A smile consumed my face, my body feeling slightly lighter than a moment ago.
Noah: Good morning to you too
Noah: actually the amusement park is closed today
Skyler: wait, you actually have an amusement park???
Of course she believed that. I chuckled, shaking my head. I'd never had this much fun teasing someone before. It was new. Possibly a cause for concern. But right now, I had too much on my plate to worry about.
Noah: no, of course not
Noah: I was kidding
Skyler: Oh... haha?
Noah: 😂
I started typing and then stopped. What could I really say? There was no way I was leaving the hospital today. It would be another night of sleeping in that uncomfortable hospital chair next to her bed.
But that wasn't something I could tell her. Not yet.
Noah: And no date today sadly, I'm busy
Noah: Talk later
Skyler: Okay
Well, she wasn't into me anyway so I couldn't be surprised by that kind of reply. Why would she want to know where I was? She was probably just relieved I wasn't going to drag her out again. And then the phone pinged again.
Skyler: Busy with what? 👀
Shit. She was curious. She'd never been curious before. What the fuck was I supposed to say?
My fingers hovered over the letters, but nothing came to mind. I didn't want to lie to her. But I couldn't tell her the truth either. The only thing that left me with was...
Silence.
My hands were starting to shake again. Letting out a deep sigh, I locked my phone and shoved it into my pocket. Maybe I could think of something later.
Rubbing a hand down my face, I shook my head in frustration.
Teach me what love is, Skyler Fox.
Fuck. What was I thinking? Why had I said that? Dating Skyler had been nothing like what I expected. For someone that seemed to passionately dislike me, she was fun, and kind, and smart.
Everything in my life was a mess. A mess of noise and anxiety and fear and loneliness.
But when I was with her, it felt like the world was finally quiet. Like everything else just stopped and only the current moment existed.
And she was starting to make me crave that feeling. It was intoxicating, addicting.
Dangerous.
This wasn't love. I knew it couldn't be. She was just something new and exciting and she made it easy to focus on getting to know her.
At most it was a like.
Then again, it was more than I'd felt in the past year of dating.
And that was the thing.
I was feeling. I felt something for that girl, even though I couldn't identify what that something was. Something was better than nothing. Right?
"Archer?" The gruff but familiar voice of Mom's doctor made me jump up from my seat.
"Yes?"
The doctor glanced around, a sympathetic look on his face. "Is your father around?"
Ha. What a joke. He'd been here for exactly 16 minutes to deal with any administration and then he left without a word.
"No, had to go back to work," I said and tried to fake a smile. "You can tell me, I'll let him know what's going on."
Not that he would care.
The doctor nodded. This wasn't his first rodeo. Even though he'd never mentioned anything to me, I knew everyone noticed the lack of adult presence at my Mom's bedside at the hospital.
"We've started treatment for an infection" the doctor said. "The chemotherapy has weakened your mom's immune system which increases the chances of contracting something. This particular infection is viral and targets–"
I nodded along to what the doctor was saying, the sinking feeling slowly weighing me down again.
Gentle hands combed through my hair, slow, delicate. My eyes opened and I looked up to see Mom smiling down at me.
"You're awake," I said, dumbly, running my hands over my face to wipe the sleep away.
"That should be my line," Mom's soft voice was both caring and scolding. "What did I tell you about sleeping here?"
"Mom, I'm fine," I sighed and shrugged.
"Yeah, right now, but I don't want you having back problems later because you spent your nights hunched over this bed. You have a perfectly good bed at home and–"
I grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Mom, I'm fine."
She looked at me and let a small breath out before nodding.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, looking her over carefully. Her eyes were tired and dull, her face more pale than I would have liked.
"Fresh like a sunflower!" Mom said, and chuckled as if she'd made some great joke.
I wasn't laughing.
She was fighting a losing battle with cancer, but could just as easily be taken out by a simple virus. Her entire body was working against her, and yet she still smiled.
Mom reached her hand out and brushed a finger in between my eyebrows. "Don't frown, I'm right here."
"Yeah," I said, but kept the rest of the sentence to myself. For now.
One day she wouldn't be here to push my frown away. She wouldn't be here to brush her fingers through my hair or giggle at her ridiculous attempts at a joke. I'm not going anywhere was no longer something she could promise. And she knew that. It hung in the air between us. The words unspoken, but heard in the silence.
"Hey, my sweet boy, I'll be okay," she said and ruffled my hair. "You on the other hand need a shower."
She wrinkled her nose and I narrowed my eyes at her attempt to distract me.
"You're just trying to get rid of me," I said, and huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Nope, I'm serious, you stink," she said, grinning. I rolled my eyes and she let out a small familiar sigh. She was done trying to be playful, it was Mom time.
"You should go home, Noah. Spend some time with friends instead of this hospital."
"I want to stay," I said and shook my head.
"I'll feel better if you go." Mom said.
"Mom, please." I said, too tired to argue with her on this but unwilling to move.
I couldn't imagine walking into that cold, empty house tonight. Alone. Left with my thoughts and destined for another sleepless night. That house no longer felt like home.
Mom took my hand in hers and gave it a light squeeze. "Okay, you can stay tonight if you promise me you'll do something fun tomorrow."
I nodded, and she huffed. "Promise me."
"I promise," I said and sighed.
The idea of staying away from the hospital made me instantly anxious. My body vibrating with nerves. And there was only one person right now that made that feeling go away.
I grabbed my phone and checked the time. 11.30 PM. Damn, it was late. Probably not too late for a message thought. I opened the text message chain and groaned. I'd left her on read. I didn't want to lie to her and now I left her on read. Which some might argue, is even worse.
Fuck.
"Everything okay?" Mom asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, nothing I can't fix." I said and started typing.
Hopefully.
6 MONTHS LATER
Soft hands played with my hair. A finger brushed between my eyebrows, pushing them up.
My eyes opened, instantly settling on a familiar hazel pair. Her lips pursed a little, surprised at the sudden attention she was getting.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Skyler said.
I hadn't meant to fall asleep either, but her lap had become my comfort spot. She had become my comfort. My peace.
And maybe that was why it took me so long to realize my feelings. Love had been a construct driven by hormones, lust and passion to a degree that created dependance.
This was nothing like that.
Loving Skyler felt like breathing fresh mountain air after being stuck in traffic with an open window. The excitement of wanting her constantly, paired with the solace of just being with her like this.
It was odd, how quickly one person could become your everything.
"Why did you do that?" I asked, rubbing the part between my eyebrows where she'd run her finger in such a familiar way.
"What? Oh! You were frowning," Skyler said, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks. "And you looked sad. Lonely."
My heart skipped a few beats. I swallowed hard, and blinked up at her lost for words. Damn. She was fucking beautiful.
"Sorry. I won't do it again. I just wanted you to know I'm here," she said and started to pull her hand away.
Almost by instinct, I grabbed it and held it in place.
"No, I like it. Knowing you're here," I said, voice hoarser than I'd have liked. For a second, Skyler frowned, as if she realized that this conversation had taken a turn into something deeper suddenly, the words layered with hidden meaning.
And then in typical Skyler fashion, she decided to take my breath away completely.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere, you know. I'll always be here," she said, and brushed her hand through my hair.
I took her hand in mine and pressed a kiss against it, finally able to place a name on the feeling she gave me.
Home. She was starting to feel like home.
Hi loves! ❤️
I was missing my babies and since TWTFIL passed 500k reads a few days ago, I decided it was the perfect time to commemorate the occasion with a new Noah chapter!
This one is set, well, you probably noticed what day the chapter is set. But there's also a little tidbit set 'in the present' or a few months after the end of the book.
HOW DID YOU LIKE IT?✨
I also have some... well, kinda news?
There's a 99% chance I will (eventually, as in maybe next year or so) be writing a Two Weeks to Fall in Love sequel!! ❤️
I didn't want to make any promises for more because I don't just want to force the story for the sake of the story... but writing Noah's POVs I had a whole book idea just come to me.
And the sequel will be written in dual POV. So both Skyler and Noah. ✨
I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but it has Noah dealing with his mom's death and figuring some stuff out, and there's a road trip involved... There will be angst, there will be romance, there will be some life lessons along the way... anyway, I don't want to hype you up too much because I won't start writing it anytime soon since I have a few projects to finish, but sometime in 2024 I will likely start working on it.
Anyway, that's it from me. Keep an eye on my announcements for any news or updates!
Thank you so much for reading. Sending you lots of love, stay strong, stay safe. ❤️