I kiss her forehead and leave the hospital, intent on seeing her bright, shining face tomorrow. Little did I know, the road trip would never happen, and I would never see her smile again.
BRINLEY'S POV
I hop into my car, pulling out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. After a very uneventful drive, I park into the driveway of my house. I promise I'll stay for a few minutes to get clothes and book it out of there. I don't see my mom's car so I creep inside. I see Rider and Sammy sitting on the couch together. Rider notices me and hurries over quickly, trying not to alert Sammy of my presence.
"Where the hell have you been?"
He asks once were in the safety of the kitchen.
"Lovely mother kicked me out."
"What did you do?" He asks.
"She didn't like me hanging around Niall, so she kicked me out."
"That's completely unfair."
"I'm just here to get my stuff and I'll be out of your hair."
"Maybe you should try and mend things with her, I think the stress is really getting to her."
"She's the one that hates me and I have to apologize? No. She's dead to me now."
I sprint up the stairs and into my old room. I take a few suitcases and pack the essentials. As I'm about to head outside and back to the shelter, I hear the garage door open. Shit.
I peer over the railing and see my mom giving Sammy a hug. It's like I never even existed to her. Like she didn't carry me around in her stomach for nine months. I can't sneak past her now. I look out my window and seeing as I don't want to fall to my death on a bed of sharp rocks, I think of another escape plan.
Just my luck, I see Niall's range rover pull up outside. Talk about bad timing. If he storms in here, my mom will make sure that he leaves dead or limbless. I'm too young to be put under this amount of stress.
I race over to Rider's room, quickly climbing out of his window and hopping onto the roof, then onto the top of my mom's car. I drop to the ground feeling like Kim Possible. I tackle Niall to the ground on my front porch.
"Do you wanna die Horan? Stop walking or I'll set you on fire!"
"All I wanted to do was come here and apologize." I stand up.
"Oh." I kiss his lips and tug him into his car.
"The thought is greatly appreciated. I'll see you home in like twenty minutes."
"Why? What's the rush?"
"My mom's home. She can't see you."
"Oh come on! I'll go in and make sure she changes her mind about me." He climbs out of his car, not listening to my protests. I follow him inside, my muscles clenching in the upcoming fight. My mom sees Niall, then me.
"Out. Now."
"Listen Mrs. Jennings, I just wanted to come her and talk to you."
"I'm sorry Niall, but this is not a good time. Please leave my property." I groan in frustration. Rider spots me and shakes his head quickly, but I won't give up without a fight. "Mom how can you be so narrow - minded?!" I complain. Rider speaks up.
"Brinley stop right now! You make everything so god damn difficult!"
I glance behind Rider to see Sammy hugging his leg.
"Sammy?" I whisper.
She looks frightened and doesn't know what to do. I go and try to hug her when mother dearest stops me.
"Don't touch her." My mom threatens.
"She's my sister mom! You can stop me from seeing you but I refuse to leave Sammy."
I brush past Rider and he grumbles.
"Why are you taking her side?" I shout before pulling Sammy into my arms.
"I love you B." She cries softly into my hair. "I don't like having you not here."
I gulp at her words and almost take her to the shelter with me. I hug for a few more seconds before she's ripped out of my arms by Rider. I gape at him and mom, I can't believe how unbelievably rude they are being. I can't stand this fighting anymore. The tears, the frustration, the stress, is literally killing me.
"I've lost all respect for you both." I spit.
Niall cuts in.
"Mrs. Jennings, if I can have two seconds. Please."
I squeeze my eyes shut, glancing at an incoming call on my phone. It's the hospital.
"Hello?" I ask.
Hi Brinley. It's Molly from the front desk. We just wanted to inform you that as you know Wesley with her brain cancer-"
"What." I interrupt.
I can't even comprehend what I've just been told.
"Oh. Well, Wesley told everyone she told you. You know, the breast cancer metastasized into brain cancer. She'd been given six months to live before the cancer overrides her body functions. She didn't tell you this?" Molly sounds confused.
"No. She must've forgotten to mention it."
I'm seething with anger at Wesley. We never keep secrets.
"Well we just wanted to tell you that she has unfortunately, slipped into her coma."
"What?" I ask.
My anger vanishes. I crumble to the ground and clutch onto the phone, squeezing my fists shut to try and release some tension. I just saw Wesley an hour ago, how could she have slipped into a coma that fast? I can't handle any more bad news so I end the call. The entire room is silent.
"Wesley's cancer metastasized into her brain. She's in a coma now." I say, tears flowing down my cheeks. I glance at my mom.
"We should probably send a bouquet of flowers then." She says.
"That's all Brinley means to you? A stupid fucking bouquet of flowers?"
"Language!" She yells.
"Whatever. I don't care what's going on in your life. I'm done trying to be in it."
I stomp outside into Niall's car, yelling at him, "I swear if you don't climb into this car within the next three seconds, you will no longer have a girlfriend!"
He hustles his way out of my house. Smart move.
"To the hospital." We drive in silence for a few minutes, the moon following us the entire way.
"Did you know about this?"
"She didn't want me to tell you."
"Tell me what she told you." I say through gritted teeth.
Before he can answer however, I cut him off.
"Why didn't you bother mentioning this to me? You didn't think for one second that this information might be useful for me to know? Why did she tell you and not me? And - and know she's gone."
He removes a hand from the steering wheel, placing it over mine.
"I don't know, maybe she'll wake up in a few days."
I shake my head forcefully.
"No. I was talking to Wesley's mom about a year and a half ago. I remember asking her what happens if breast cancer gets into the brain. She said that normally you can target it with surgery but if you can't, then normally your body functions such as memory and even eating abilities start going downhill. Eventually the person slips into a coma. They can be in a coma for minutes or days, then I guess they just die." I say, my voice wavering.
Silence floods the car before Niall speaks up.
"I had found some papers the first time I visited her. I talked to her about it and she told me. She didn't want to hurt you with the news, she wanted to hang out with you like she always had -"
"Like she always does." I correct him.
I'm praying for a miracle, even though I know it's practically impossible.
"Without worrying about her death, or if she wouldn't wake up from a nap." He continues.
I nod and look out the window so he can't see the tears stream down my face. We arrive at the hospital and I rush up to Wesley's room. I see her lying peacefully in her bed. I sit down next to her and hold her cold hand. I stare at her face, the glow from her cheeks gone. I can just look at her and know that she doesn't have long. I start crying and run my fingers softly up and down her arm.
"You promised me you'd make it to summer for me. I was gonna bust you out of this joint so we could road trip to Florida. You Pinky Promised."
By now, there is no way I can stop the Niagara Falls from wetting my cheeks. Niall is standing in the corner of the room, hands stuffed into his pockets, looking at Wesley and I. As I prepare my speech of hate towards him, a doctor walks in.
"Brinley, I'm really sorry but her family wants to spend this time with their daughter. Alone."
"Will I ever be able to see her again?" I ask, sniffling.
"That's up to the family."
"Will she ever wake up?"
"Not after this. From here is only death. I'm sorry." I nod and stand up, feeling my chest tighten. I make it all the way to the parking lot before I break down.
My chest tightens even further and I hunch over. Sobs escape my throat. I can't see, hear, or think about anything else but Wesley. I should be grateful for the time I spent with her, but I'm selfish enough to want more hours talking with her. She can't just be gone. I just saw her and talked to her, how could she be in a coma? Niall wraps his arms around my waist.
"Let's go to the car." He whispers in my ear.
There's nothing left in me to complain. Rather than set me in shotgun like I think he'll do, he opens up the trunk and clambers in.
The back is covered in blankets and pillows, a reason unknown to me. I lean against his chest as he pulls a blanket over my trembling body. By the time I lift my hand from the stream of tears, I've given myself a headache. I wipe my swollen eyes and put my hair up. "She was really young." He kisses my forehead.
"Do you want to go home or?" He asks, looking into my eyes.
"No. Let's just - just drive."
"Drive?"
"Yeah let's go somewhere. Florida."
I swallow, thinking of the road trip we were supposed to take.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah! We can visit Florida State and check out the campus."
"And what about school?"
"Shit."
"Alright. If you can make it through this week, I'll take you to Florida."
"Only two more weeks of school." I groan.
"I'm done." Niall replies smugly and I push his chest lightly.
"If we can't go to Florida now, can we stay here?" I ask.
He smiles.
"Sure."
I'm about to lay down on his chest, when I quickly scramble up to look at him.
"You never took me to the gym!" I glare at him.
"I pinky promise I will."
"That used to be Wesley's and I's thing." I whisper, my excitement drained out of me.
I lay back down on him, sullen.
"She was such a strong girl." He whispers.
"I remember one time, we had wheelchair races down the hallway. She broke a window and I broke my foot." "She told me that for Halloween, I would be her Prince and she would be my Princess, because that was my nickname for her."
And just then, I realized how I wasn't the only one affected. Sure, I had spent more time with Wesley, but her death resonated through out community. I kiss his chest.
"Thanks Niall." And he kisses my head, rubbing my back.
"Dang Flabbit!" I yell, sitting up again. Niall cocks an eyebrow, but waits for my explanation.
"I still don't have my community service hours filled out!"
He wraps his arms around my waist, making me fall into his chest.
"What a bummer. Looks like you're going to have to spend more time with me." He whispers into my ear.
"Wait what day is it?" I ask.
"Uh I think it's Thursday. Did you just skip this entire week of school?"
I think about it and I guess I did.
"You are not a good influence on me." I think about school more and wince.
"Shit! I was supposed to take this huge vocabulary test in English."
I bite my lip, guilt racking my body. It's like I'm just dismissing Wesley's death - as if I never spent any time with her. But I guess her absence hasn't really hit me yet, and I mean technically she still hasn't died. No matter how many minutes I spend talking with Niall though, in the back of my mind is Wesley. I can't shake the image of her frail body being swallowed in those sheets.
I try and push the past hour out of my head and focus on the present. I'l grieve later - when I'm alone. No one wants to sit with a crying girl for a few hours. I glance up at the moon shining in through the windows.
Night was Wesley's favorite time of day. She liked how peaceful and quiet it was. That, and the fact that we would always steal more pudding from the fridge. I let a few tears escape however and glance back up at Niall.
"Niall what if I forget about Wesley? What if in a few years, I don't remember what she looks like? I won't remember the time I spent with her. I can't forget her - not like she forgot me."
The tears come back, and I try and silence them by biting my lip hard enough to draw blood. Niall rubs my back soothingly.
"You won't. She's been such a big part of your life that it's impossible to forget."
"I hope you're right." I sigh and close my eyes, listening to his heartbeat.
All I'm asking is for you guys to check out my new series called "Imagines' and to give your feedback, thank you! :)