Chapter Playlist Song: Love You Now - John Legend
"I get to love you, it's the best thing that I'll ever do."
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Harry's POV
"I want a tattoo."
My head snaps up at Eveleigh's sudden request as my eyebrows furrow. She stares at me from the bed as I sit on the couch doing paper work, the fireplace crackling lightly and filling the room with warmth.
Setting my pen down, I lean forward and lock my fingers together, placing them on my knees as I look her in her tired eyes. "Okay..." I say simply, making her face turned surprised at me immediate acceptance. "When?" I ask, my own skin itching to be marked with permanent ink.
"Right now," she shrugs and now it's my time to be surprised. "Right now? Why so soon?" I ask again, collecting my papers together in a small pile.
"The doctor mentioned I can't have one during chemo since I'm more prone to infections and I've been thinking about it ever since. I just want one before I start," she mumbles as I stand, hiding my frown at the mention of her chemotherapy as I walk over to the bed and place my papers in the side dresser.
"Okay, baby. Whatever you want," I whisper, leaning over and kissing her temple. "Get dressed." I order, earning an excited squeal and a kiss on the cheek before she jumps out of bed and rushes into the closet.
"Can we listen to the new playlist I made on the ride over there?" She calls from the closet, earning a half whine, half grunt from me as I sit on the bed and pull out my phone.
"Really? We've been listening to it nonstop for a week, Evie!" I pout, tired of the Disney playlist.
"Oh, please, Harry! I'll wear that outfit you like," she peeks out of the closet with a teasing smirk as the edges of my lips fight to stay down at her proposal.
"The one with the grey sweater and cute red skirt?" I feign uninterested, flicking through my phone, but inside I was smiling because she always looked so cute and snuggly in that outfit and I just wanted to hug her close and kiss her all over - more than usual.
"Mmhmm, that's the one," she says as I finally look up to meet her grin. Such an adorable cutie.
Huffing loudly, I roll my eyes. "I guess we ca-" she cuts me off with another squeal as she steps back into the closet again and shuts the door. I frown at the closed door before letting out an unsatisfied groan.
"Yeah, good job standing your ground, Harry. Really showed her who's boss. You can fight with anyone else for hours but she flutters one eyelash and you melt into a puddle. Cool. Awesome. The boys were right... I am whipped," I grumble to myself, continuing to scroll through my phone.
A few minutes later, Eveleigh timidly steps out, making my monologue of whining cease. With one look at her, I decide that maybe it's worth it. How can she be so adorable all the time?
Does it make me a loser when I say I actually teared up?
Today was one of her good days and I instantly start inwardly cursing myself from complaining about her love of Disney music and how just her smile can make me do anything.
I should be cherishing these moments because soon, I know she won't even have the energy to get out of bed, let alone dance in the car with me to I'll Make a Man Out of You.
"Harry?" She frowns, taking a step closer and placing her hand on my shoulder, making me look up at her with watery eyes and sniffle lightly. "Why are you crying?"
I smile softly, grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on it gently. "I just love you is all. So, so much, my beautiful, darling girl," I whisper tearily and for the first time, I see her show some emotion since her diagnosis. Her eyes tear up and her chin trembles as we stare into each other's eyes.
"I love you too," she whispers back, running the her hand through my hair as I wrap my arms around her waist. Burying my face into her stomach, there's a moment of silence other than our quieting sniffles as she continues to stroke my hair.
Pulling back, we share a small smile as we quickly wipe our tears.
"Ready to go?" I ask softly, earning a nod from her as I stand and intertwine our fingers.
We make our way down to the car and after opening the door for her and helping her in, I climb in on my side and start up the car. Smirking as I watch her grab her phone and plug it into the aux cord.
"Oh, shit!" I laugh as the familiar melody of one of her favorite duets begins through the speakers. "I'll start okay? You better sing along!" I say, seeing her excitement at the song. She nods happily, clapping her hands after she buckles her seatbelt.
"Living in my own world," I start the beginning of the classic High School Musical song, Start of Something New, as I peel out of the driveway and Eveleigh giggles in her seat.
"Sing, baby!" She cheers me on as I laugh, feeling myself get into the song that Eveleigh - and maybe I - loved so much.
"Didn't understand. That anything can happen. When you take a chance," I continue, grinning ear to ear as Eveleigh dramatically clears her throat and gets ready to sing her part.
"I never believed in. What I couldn't see. I never opened up my heart" she belts out beautifully as I remember to add the "ohh," part Troy had sung. "To all the possibilities."
My heart is overjoyed and happy the entire drive to the tattoo parlor, ecstatic that she was feeling well enough that she could belt out songs with me.
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"Awesome job, baby!" I give her a high five as we finish Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious just in time to pull into the tattoo parlor parking lot. She thanks me with a laugh as I park and help her out of the car.
"You know, we could have sang it docious-ali-expi-istic-fragil-cali-rupus, but that's going a bit too far, don't you think?" I quote one of the famous lines from the movie as Eveleigh smirks.
"Indubitably," she quotes back as I open the door for her. Walking into the building, I lean down to her level as she looks around in amazement at all the art work on the walls.
"You sure about this, Evie?" I ask, squeezing her shoulders as I escort her to one of the waiting chairs after writing our names in the appointment book on the desk.
"Yeah! I know just what I'm gonna get!" She says, snuggling into my arms and nuzzling her face into my neck.
"Which is?" I ask curious as I too know what I'm going to get.
"I'm gonna get poppies on my back because I know it'll be a long time until I can run through the poppy fields again. So whenever I miss them, I can just look at my back and reminisce," she smiles at the memories of us running through the flowering fields as I try not to tear up once more.
"That's beautiful, baby," I whisper, kissing her shoulder lightly, as she picks up one of the books of tattoo ideas.
It's silent for a few moments before she gasps loudly. I jump, scared she didn't take her pain medication and was hurting again, but I relax when I noticed she grinning wide.
"Harry, look! Can we get this too, please?" She points at the couple tattoo idea as my heart swells at the sight of it as its a perfect representation of us.
"It's perfect, sweet girl. Absolutely perfect," I nod in excitement, knowing just where it's going to go. That's when a tattoo artist comes around the corner and invites us into the back.
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"It's beautiful, baby. You okay though? Didn't hurt too much, did it?" I ask her as she admires the watercolor, floral tattoo trailing down the middle of her spine in the mirror. The reds, oranges, and greens all stood out beautifully on her skin.
"Just a little bit more than this one since it was on my spine but I can handle it. I've had worse," she says nonchalantly, but it makes the pit of my stomach hurt. Nobody should ever be used to pain.
"I quite like these, don't you, my little lioness?" I chuckle, quickly switching the attention to something else, as I stroke over our new tattoos that showcased our strength. (not my photo)
"They're beautiful. I love them, Harry," she stares at them in adoration as I pay the artist and thank them for their artwork after they give Eveleigh instructions on how to take care of hers for the first few weeks.
Walking back to the car, I help her in and when I climb into my seat, I look over at her with a smile. "What?" She giggles, patting her face thinking there was something on it.
"Want to see what I got while you got yours?" I ask, starting to roll up my sleeve. She nods excitedly, leaning closer to me.
"One of our favorite memories is when you begged me to go visit your rose bushes and how you skipped through the fields in your pretty, pink dress, so I got this," I show off my new rose tattoo located on my arm.
"Oh, Harry!" She gasps, lightly caressing the skin surrounding it that wasn't irritated. "I love it!"
"Yeah?" I ask softly, looking at her in utter adoration as she smiles fondly at the tattoo.
Flickering her eyes up, they meet mine and immediately crinkle at the sides as she smiles even brighter. "Yeah... I love you," she whispers, making my heart skip a beat.
"I love you too," I whisper back, leaning down and pressing my lips to hers.
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Chemo: Day 1
My breathing is trembling as I clutch the wheel tightly and silence is thick in the car. Eveleigh stares straight ahead, hands in her lap, with eyes blank and lost.
I feel like I have been standing in the pouring, icy rain for days without an umbrella or protection; soaked to the core with all the emotion my body can handle.
Eveleigh's first day of chemotherapy is here and I'm utterly and truly terrified.
I thought I had pulled myself together but as I try to reel in my tears, fears, and sorrows while trying not to crash the vehicle and kill us both, I realize, I am far from okay.
I can only imagine how Eveleigh feels right now. The girl that was calm and collected ever since her diagnosis looks on the brink of a mental breakdown and I can't do much to stop it.
Pulling into the dreaded hospital parking lot, we both exhale a shaky breath as I park, turning to look at each other with watery eyes.
"I'm...s-scared," She finally breaks the silence, her voice shot and quivering, and her confession is enough to make my eyes dry up instantly.
I have to be strong for her now. No crying.
"Hey," I whisper, leaning over and gently grabbing her face with both hands. I wipe her tears with my thumbs and place a small kiss on her forehead. "It'll all be okay. I promise and I'm right here every step of the way. Don't be scared, darling. Leave that and the worrying to me."
"Okay," she nods as I continue to look her in the eyes and caress her cheeks.
"Okay?" I press to make sure, earning another nod and sniffle as she rubs her eyes to completely get rid of the tears.
"I love you, my little lion," I smile lightly, making her softly giggle and kiss my lips.
"I love you too."
Climbing out of the car, I grab our laptops and we walk into the hospital. Turning right, we enter the elevator. Pressing the button, we start up to the Cancer Ward and the infusion floor.
After checking at the front desk where we are supposed to go, we are escorted to the infusion room. I specifically picked this hospital because it has some of the best doctors and a guest is allowed in the infusion room with the patient.
If I had to stay out of the room, I'd probably go insane.
"Here you are, Miss. DeLuca. Sit here and I'll have your medications ordered," the nurse says with a smile as she leaves the room. She sits in the comfortable, reclining chair that has privacy walls on either side and a chair for the caretaker beside it.
There was few people in the large room of the same chairs and it was deadly quiet as the only noise was the television playing the cooking channel, which happens to be Eveleigh's favorite. Shocking, right?
I sit in the chair beside her, intertwining our fingers as she rests her head on my shoulder and watches the show. I place my laptop on the table in front of me and power it up so I can get some work done while we're here.
Soon the nurse comes back with several medical things on a small cart. "Before we start, would you like a blanket and a hot meal ordered?" She asks Eveleigh softly, who nods with a small smile.
The nurse turns and grabs two blankets, one fuzzy and blue and one yellow, thick, and soft looking. "Which one?" She asks, making Eveleigh's eyes flicker to me quickly as she smiles a bit.
"The yellow one," she chooses, making me chuckle as bit as the nurse drapes it across her lap.
"Okay, honey, I'm just gonna start the IV now to get you ready. I'm sure you know since you've done this before, but you're gonna feel a slight pinch," the nurse communicates throughout the whole process, making me feel a bit better that I knew what she was doing.
Eveleigh winces slightly as she presses the needle into her skin and grips my hand tighter, making me place a kiss on her knuckles. "Good job, baby," I praise and the nurse does as well.
"I quite like your tattoo," the nurse comments, making Evie and I share a small smile after she thanks her.
"Okay, now I'm gonna start a saline solution to get you ready for the chemo," she says hooking up a clear bag to the IV stand and into the IV in her arm.
"A bit cold," Eveleigh comments after her whole body shivers, making the nurse laugh lightly. "Yes, it is a bit. Should have warned you. My apologies. Now, I'll be right back with your medications and your lunch," she says before walking away once more.
"You're doing great, sweetheart. You okay?" I check up on her, earning another nod as she lays her head on my shoulder again.
"I'm fine," she sighs quietly as I answer emails on my laptop, placing a gentle kiss on her head and laying mine on hers.
The nurse soon returns with the pre-medications and the chemotherapy along with Eveleigh's lunch, that included a lightly seasoned chicken breast, mixed vegetables, a roll, a cup of red jello, and a glass of peach juice.
She receives steroids, allergy medications, and anti-anxiety drugs before she finally is hooked up to the chemotherapy.
Eveleigh's slowly eats her food, that she said was quite delicious for hospital food, occasionally jotting down recipes from the cooking show on her little notebook she brought, and answered some concerned emails from customers on her laptop as well.
I could tell as the time progressed she became more sluggish, fatigued, and tired so I try to entertain her with games of tic-tac-toe and card games - that I nicely let her win.
My whipped self even snatched her credit card out of her hands and gave her my own when she went to buy a new cooking set on Amazon that she said she "just had to have" and "even Rachel Ray uses it, Harry."
I don't even know who Rachel Ray is but if it makes my Evie happy, I'll get it for her.
After two long hours, Eveleigh is finally finished and after another thirty minutes to make sure she doesn't have an allergic reaction to the drugs, we are cleared to leave.
"C'mon, sweet girl, up you go. You did so good today. So proud of you. Gonna buy you all the ice cream you want tonight and I'll even pick up Chinese take out so we can watch that movie you've been wanting to see. Sound good, Princess?" I mumble, helping her up and earning a tired smile and small nod from her.
She rests all her weight on me as we walk - not that I mind - and quietly thanks the nurse kindly as we exit the room.
But as we exit out the door, something - or someone - shocks me as I notice their face as they get hooked up to the chemotherapy stand.
"Will?"
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I don't know why this chapter was so hard to write but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it!
I've noticed that a bunch of my readers don't vote or say a word, so I just want to let you know your comments and opinions really mean a lot to me and I read every one. So please, leave a little comment and make my day since I take time out of mine to write these chapters. It really makes it all worth it, even though writing is fun either way. Thanks for reading!
Questions!
1. Favorite thing on this chapter?
2. Favorite character so far and why? (Mine changes every chapter so I'm sure some of yours do too)
3. Are you shocked Will is there too? What do you think of him being there?
4. What should happen next chapter (need ideas ASAP or slower updates will ensue :/ )
5. What character do you want to see more of?
6. Tell me three interesting facts about you!
7. Favorite song at the moment?
8. Favorite Justin Bieber or Harry Styles fanfic atm! (Need books to read!)
9. Anything else you want say can go here!
All the love. x