My grandfather did pass away, but thank you for all your support. I'm happy to say he's an angel with God.
~Audrey out
Something must have cracked within me overnight. My body felt weak, and my mind felt numb. I climbed out of bed feeling like an old lady. Even my eyelids felt as if they had weights dragging them down.
For breakfast, I'd had a bagel, but that came right back up. My body was too weak to digest it. I hated to admit it, but this was from the affects of my tumor. It was making me tired. It was affecting my whole system now.
I sat at the kitchen table with a glass of Crangrape juice. I guess this would be my lunch. At least I kept it from coming back up. And it reminded me of Jesse.
The sky was dark and glum outside. Rain splattered against the window. I rested my head down on my arm, feeling my eyes droop closed. I was so tired. So weak. The sound of raindrops created a distant lullaby.
Suddenly, the telephone rang, loud and jarring. I sprang up from my chair, tripping over my own feet. Soon enough, I was sprawled out on the cold floor. My heart was going a mile a minute, and fire exploded in my skull. Pain flourished angrily in my head. I rolled over to my side, too weak to do anything else.
I heard footsteps, and then a pair if feet stood in front of me.
"Willow! Oh my god we have to take you to the hospital!" My mother screamed.
She bent down, and all I could see was blonde hair covering my sight.
Somehow, I knew I would be okay. I had to see Jesse tonight.
"Mom...don't take me to the hospital. I'll wake up. I promise." I said before life turned dark.
* * *
Blue eyes.
Short, cropped brown hair. The man was young, handsome.
I could tell something was wrong with the man. He looked frightened, like a deer caught in headlights. That's when I smelled burning flesh. His skin was charred, and festering. The skin peeled back from his bones. Flames enveloped him. He choked on the black air, falling to his knees.
The man was dead. Mike Chase was dead. My father was dead.
I awoke groaning and woozy. The pain in my brain was subsiding, slowly but surely. My head felt full of cotton balls. I rubbed my eyes, and thought back to my dream.
How strange. I've never even met my father before.
"Oh sweetheart!"I looked up to see my mom rushing towards me. "Oh oh OH!"
She kissed my forehead, which irritated my tumor immensely. I ignored the pain.
"Honey I was so close to taking you to the hospital, but when you said you were going to wake up...I believed you...and here you are! Are you feeling alright sweetie?"
I dodged the question. There was only one thing I wanted right now.
"Mom, I need to see Jesse."
Her face dropped.
"I'm not sure if you should sweetheart...I mean, Willow you have three days."
I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Three days. Three days was all I had left.
" Jesse is a great kid, but don't you want to spend them at home? Your tumor might go off if you go anywhere."
Her brown eyes were pooling with love, and I felt my heart lurch. My father had died, and I was next. What was she going to do without me?
I tried to shrug it off. I needed to see Jesse.
"Mom please. I need to see him."
She nodded slowly. Her eyes were worried.
"Okay. But you have to promise you'll call if your tumor goes off."
"I promise mom. I love you."
* * *
My mom dropped me off at Jesse's house at four. I walked up to the front stoop, ducking my head in the cold rain. My teeth chattered from the cold. As I waved goodbye to my mom in the car, I caught her worried gaze in the rear view mirror. She drove off, her dark almond eyes sad. Why was she so worried about me? Well I guess I would be too if my daughter only had three days to live.
I turned to the house and rang the doorbell, which was slick with rain. Seconds later, a short boy answered the door. He had curly blonde hair, and bright green eyes that reminded me of Jesse. He had a toothy grin that would make any adult coo. He also had red sneakers on, whose laces were hanging loosely to the floor.
This must be Ret.
He opened the door and let me inside with a giant grin.
"Your Jesse's spy girlfriend! Your preeety." Ret exclaimed, drawing out the word pretty.
I heard footsteps, and then Jesse came around the corner. He looked clean and fresh. With one look at me he could tell something was wrong.
"Ret, why don't you go get mom and dad? They should meet Willow."
Ret nodded eagerly and took off down the hall, yelling for his parents. No wonder they adored him.
"You don't look so good." Jesse said, coming to stand beside me.
I jutted out my lower lip. My resolve was shattering. I just wanted to break down and cry.
"Thanks. I try to look my best when I'm dying in three days."
Jesse's face crumpled, and then he folded me in his arms. I leaned into him, trying not to collapse. Trembling, I fought to keep my composure. His arms tightened around me.
"You should meet my parents. Then I want you all for myself." Jesse murmured.
There were footsteps, and then his parents were there. We broke apart, but Jesse still kept one arm firmly around my shoulders. I was grateful.
"Well hello dear, it's so nice to finally meet you."
Jesse's mom spoke in a lovely voice, like water flowing down rocks. She had dark hair that spilled down her back. Her eyes were gray, and her face was pale and kind.
"I'm Jacie West, and this is my husband, Zack West. It's so good to finally meet you Willow. We've heard so much about you."
I smiled and shook both of their hands respectively.
I noticed that Zack had blonde hair, that was receding and turning gray in some places. His eyes were green, and his nose was thin.
Jesse must have gotten his looks from his mom. The only resemblance to his dad was his mix in eye color.
Suddenly, I heard claws skid across the tile floor. A shrill bark rang out. Jesse steadied me with his arm as something white and fluffy crashed into me.
"Down Alfredo! Down Boy!" Jacie reprimanded him.
Alfredo is an breathtaking husky, with fur whiter than snow, and eyes sharper than ice. The dog tried to jump up on me again, but Jacie intervened.
"Zack, would you go check on Ret and make sure he's eating his veggies?" Zack smiled at me and left for the kitchen.
"Alfredo."Jacie snapped once and Alfredo immediately followed her down the hall. "
Sorry about this crazy dog! I'll keep him off you kids for a while."
The sound of retreating footsteps echoed down the hall.
I feel a presence beside me, and Jesse slips a hand around my waist.
"Come on."
Well his family seemed nice.
He opens the front door and leads me outside. Why were we going out here? I wondered as we walked down the front stoop and through the grass. The rain splashed against us.
I noticed Jesse had woods in his backyard. They were dense and seemed to go on forever.
So that's how he meets me at the stream. I realized. He goes through the woods. Just like me. I grinned at the revelation.
Jesse walked around to the side of his house. Their were no windows, and his neighbors were far enough away that it gave us a secluded feeling. The rain couldn't touch us. Jesse leaned back against the brick, pulling me to his chest.
"Strange family, I know. My dad barely talks."
"Their nice." I replied, and I meant it. I wish I could have a dad, and a quirky mom. A cute little brother, and a frisky husky. His life seemed perfect. Well to me, at least.
Suddenly I felt very tired. Resting on Jesse's chest, I could hear his heartbeat underneath his shirt. It was going a mile a minute. What could he thinking about?
"What's wrong Willow?' He asked before I could say anything.
Suddenly, everything that happened today popped out of my mouth in a rush.
"Well...I threw up my breakfast, my tumor went off, and I had a dream about my dad." I explained. Then a fact I hadn't thought about dawned on me. "You know, it's not that bad actually. I'll get to see my dad in three days."
I saw Jesse's jaw clench. His green gray eyes were hard.
"Willow, you can't think like that. The doctors are still looking for a cure aren't they? They could find it any day now. You can't give up."
He still believed I would get the cure. How could he be so foolish? I had three days. Three days! The doctors couldn't find it in that amount of time.
I smiled at Jesse, showing a vibrato I didn't feel. I didn't believe I would get the cure, but I tried to reassure him anyway. The air was dense with unsaid words. The only sounds I could hear was the patter of rain hitting the grass. The sound of water sloshing down the gutters.
Jesse slid down to the ground, and I sat down beside him. His hands wrapped around my waist. The touch was gentle, yet held a facade I knew all too well. He was trying to hold himself back. He smoothed back the hair from my neck, kissing my shoulder. I shivered at his nearness.
After a few seconds, Jesse spoke. His voice was so low it was almost lost in the rain.
"What's it like having a tumor? Being...different?" He whispered.
I closed my eyes. The words seemed to spill from my mouth.
"It's like drowning. But seeing everyone around you breathing."
Jesse hesitated, then placed a kiss on my collarbone.
"In that case, I want to drown with you."
I shifted to look at Jesse. His green eyes were filled with a gut wrenching sorrow. I wanted that sadness gone. Now.
"Kiss me." I said. I knew it was reckless, and I knew I could possibly die.
"No, Willow. Your tumor will go off. You have three days, don't you want to make them last?"
All sense left me then. I was dying in three days, and there was nothing more that I wanted. Love was my weakness, and Jesse was my potion. If my last breath was out in the rain, kissing the boy I loved, so be it. My decision was made.
"Jesse, I love you. This is all I ask. There's nothing more I could want."
Jesse let his arms drop from my waist in resignation. His shoulders slumped in defeat, and his eyes were pained. He looked like he rather drop a brick on his foot than kiss me. Than hurt me.
Slowly, he leaned closer and closer, until I could see my reflection in his eyes. My heart began to pound.
"Please, Willow, ask me anything else. Just not that... Not that."
"This is what I want."I said confidently and boldly.
Jesse looked at me for a few long seconds. His crystalline eyes were glassy. I was basically asking for death. And I knew he would hand it to me.
Surely enough, Jesse slid closer. He kept sliding until we were breathing the same air. As he closed the mere inches between us, I shut my eyes.
I'm sorry mom. I love you.
The kiss was soft at first, Jesse's lips moving in an untuned rhythm with mine. A warm fire blossomed in my stomach, spreading to my fingers and toes. Jesse's hand slipped past my ear and through my hair. I wrapped my arms around his torso, feeling the steely muscles underneath.
Heat was everywhere. I wondered why my tumor wasn't going off, with my heart going a mile a minute. I guess it hadn't caught up with me yet. I didn't care.
Suddenly we fell into the grass. The rain soaked our clothes as Jesse pulled me tighter to him. The kiss turned desperate then. I kissed Jesse with a ferocity that surprised us both. It was filled with longing and sorrow, knowing our first kiss was also our last. I felt wetness drip onto my face, and realized Jesse was crying. Salt and rain mixed together, and soon I couldn't tell the difference.
"I love you Willsy." I smiled as Jesse murmured into my ear.
And then it hit.
Pain exploded behind my eyelids, making everything go white. I clutched Jesse's shirt, feeling fire ignite in my skull. The world spun and dipped in strange contours. I screamed. My skin felt like it was being boiled off my bones.
The pain was horrifying.
Somehow, in the midst of all the torture, I found peace. I'd often thought of death. This was different than how I imagined. I'd dreamt it to be quick. Not lancing pain or subtle dips into the abyss.
I couldn't feel my body anymore. It was numb from the pain.
Blackness enveloped me. I waited for the void to capture me in it's claws, but a different darkness took over me. This darkness wasn't so permanent as death. I could see holes of light shining far away. This darkness wrapped around me and sucked on my essence like a bloated tick. I was somewhere between life and death. Where was I exactly?
So I waited.
• • • • • • •
Bam. I'm quite proud of this chapter (:
Next one will be in Jesse's POV!!!!
Comment if you think this is worthy of publishing.
~Audrey out