You woke up to the familiar ringing of your phone. You smiled upon seeing that Mark was calling you.
"Hello?" You said in your I-just-woke-up voice.
"Hey." Mark said. "How's it going?"
"It's going." You said simply. "How about you?"
"Pretty good." He said. "We should do something today."
"Of course we should." You said. "We've been doing something every day for two days now. Why break the chain now?"
"Exactly my point (Y/N)." He said. "What do you think we should do today?"
"You think that we could just take a joyride around town?" You asked.
"That sounds like fun." He said. "I'll pick you up in a bit."
"Okay." You said. "See you then. I love you."
"I love you too." He said before hanging up.
You smiled and put your phone down. You've been telling Mark that you loved him a lot recently. You've come to learn that you should tell someone that you love them every time you say goodbye to them. And that was because that that might be the last goodbye that you ever say to them.
"Who's ready for a joyride?" Mark asked once he arrived at your house.
"I am." You said.
"Right this way." He said, linking your arm with his. You locked the door and headed out to the car. Mark opened the door for you in the process and you smiled as he shut the door and you buckled your seatbelt.
"I'm really happy with your suggestion today." He said once he buckled his seatbelt and started the car.
"I'm glad." You said. "Mostly because I would have made you do it anyway."
"Gee thanks (Y/N)." He said as he backed out of the driveway. "That's so nice of you to say."
"I was just kidding." You said. "I mostly did this because I wanted to talk to you."
"And why's that?" He asked as the two of you began your joyride.
"Well, because I enjoy talking to you." You said. "And because you're awesome."
"Well, I really am." He said.
You laughed and stared out the window. It was another beautiful day today. The sky was a beautiful blue and the sun was shining brightly on the world below. There weren't that many clouds out so you could see the beautiful sky without much blocking it.
"Yeah. It's beautiful out again." Mark commented. "It's really nice."
"I know." You said. "I love it."
Silence filled the air as you stated at the town. You didn't really know what to say or talk about so you just sat there.
"Well, this is awkward." Mark said after a while. "We're not really talking to each other like we usually do."
"Maybe it's because there are things that we'd rather not talk about." You said.
"Maybe." He agreed. "So let's talk about the wedding then."
"Okay." You said. "What part of it do you want to talk about?"
"Do you have an outfit picked out?" He asked.
"No." You said. "I haven't really been thinking about it."
"Well, I was hoping you'd say that." He said.
"And why exactly?" You asked.
"Because I was hoping that you would wear what my mom wore to her wedding." He said.
"But isn't kinda weird to be wearing the dress of a dead woman?" You asked.
"You're wearing the bracelet of a dead woman." He pointed out.
"True." You said. "But why do you want me to wear her dress?"
"Because I'm wearing what my dad wore." He said.
"Oh." You said. "Would it be okay for me to wear what my mom wore?"
"That would be fine too." He said.
"Okay." You said. "You aren't offended, are you?"
"No." He said. "Of course not."
"Are you sure?" You asked. "Because if you really want me to.."
"You don't have to wear the dress (Y/N)." He said. "Really. You can wear whatever you want."
"Oh." You said. "Okay. As long as you're okay with it."
"I'll think you're beautiful no matter what you're wearing." He said.
"Aw. Thanks." You said. "And thank you for understanding why I would rather wear what my mom wore."
"No problem." He said. "I'll admit, if you asked me to wear what your dad wore to his wedding, I'd rather wear what my dad wore too."
You just nodded and looked down at the bracelet. You turned it around, admiring the diamonds. But that's when you noticed that one of them was missing.
"Oh no." You muttered.
"What's wrong?" Mark asked.
"One of the diamonds fell off!" You said. "Oh my God! I feel so bad! Mark, I'm really sorry that I lost it!"
"It's okay." He said. "The bracelet was old anyway. It was bound to happen at some point."
"So, you aren't mad?" You asked.
"Of course not." He said.
"There were nine." You thought. "Now there's eight. That sucks."
"Thank God." You said aloud. "I don't want to piss you off."
"It's going to take a lot for you to piss me off (Y/N)." Mark said. "So you're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to get me pissed."
Silence hung between the two of you once more.
You looked over at Mark and he looked like he was about to cry.
"What's wrong?" You asked. "And don't do the thing that I do when I deny that there's something wrong?"
"What if we lose the baby?" He blurted out. "What if it just decides to give up on us?"
That took you by surprise. You chose your words carefully as you responded.
"Why are you thinking so negatively?" You asked. "Why can't we just be happy?"
"Because we might not have much more time together!" He snapped. "I might lose the battle!"
"Mark.." You began.
"There's nothing you can say that will change reality!" He snapped once more. "I know that you want to continue going on as if everything's okay but I don't. I don't want to live in this fake bubble where everything is perfect. Because it isn't."
"Now, I never said that..." You began once more.
"Just stop!" He said, tears falling down his face. "I don't want to hear it. Everything's been going so wrong for you lately and I just want everything to be okay for you again. It seems like you've been losing everyone you loved ever since I came back into your life."
"Mark, you coming into my life has nothing to do with the fact that I've lost almost everyone that I've ever loved." You said. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life. And if you wouldn't have came back, I wouldn't be at the point that I'm at right now." You paused as you grabbed his hand. "I wouldn't change a thing that's happened to me these last few years."
"Not even the pregnancy and the cancer?" Mark asked, his voice cracking as more and more tears were unleashed.
"The pregnancy? Hell no." You said. "Our baby is going to be wonderful. And we're not going to lose it. It's going to have your strength. I have a good feeling about that. And as for the cancer? I'd change that in a heartbeat. Cancer is one of the worse things that exists in this world. It's right up there with war and other diseases. I'd get rid of it instantly if I had the chance. But everything else? No way would I change that. Everything happens for a reason, whether that would be good or bad."
He paused, seeming like he was thinking about everything that you'd just said.
"You're right (Y/N)." He said. "Thank you for telling me these things."
"You're welcome." You said. "And try not to think of all the bad things that have happened. Try to focus on the good things. That's the key to happiness. If you don't let go of the past, then you can never truly be happy again. Only when you are willing to accept your past is when you can look forward to everything that lies ahead."
"You're right." Mark said.
"In life, you only get one chance." You said. "Don't waste that one chance you have by being unhappy. Because, trust me when I say this, there is always someone out there living a more miserable life. It could always be worse, no matter what has happened to you."