[Chapter forty-four]
-Nevaeh-
"Hey, Noah?" I call as I sit at the island, an untouched glass of apple juice in front of me.
"Yeah, Carter?" He answers, still rummaging through my fridge.
"You don't have any classes today, do you?"
He shuts the fridge and turns around to look at me. "No, why?"
"Can we go see your mum and Danny?" I give him the puppy eyes.
He chuckles. "Of course."
I grin, getting up. "Great."
"Aren't you going to drink that?" He gestures down to the glass of apple juice.
I shake my head. "I don't want it. You drink it."
"Carter—"
"I'm not thirsty." I cut him off, walking to my room to change out of my pyjamas.
I hear him sigh before I shut the door and frown.
Sorry, Noah.
*~*
"VAEH!" Danny shouts, latching himself to me.
"Boy, you've gotten tall, the hell?" I laugh, looking at the eleven year old who stands just below my collar bone.
"Your eyes are so blue." He gapes as he stares up at me.
I chuckle. "Your accent is so British."
"I missed you, Vaeh." He hugs me again.
I ruffle his hair. "I missed you, too, shortie."
I look up at Mrs King, who gives me a warm smile, but her eyes tell me she knows.
I glance at Noah who thankfully gets the hint.
"Danny, how's about we go upstairs and you can show me how much better you've gotten at playing the guitar?" Noah suggests casually.
"Sure!" Danny grins as he runs upstairs, Noah following closely behind.
I give Mrs King a soft smile.
"Hey, Mrs Ki—Tanya." I smile sheepishly, making her laugh softly and shake her head.
"Exactly the same as two years ago." She mumbles to herself before holding her arms out to me. "Come here."
I grin as I walk into her embrace, hugging her tightly. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too, sweetheart." She kisses my head before pulling away and giving me a sad look. "We need to talk."
I sigh as she leads me over to the couch and we sit down. "I—"
She cuts me off. "How long?"
I bite my lip and look down, knowing what she meant. "Not long."
She sighs and pulls me into another hug. "I love you so much, hun. Don't ever forget that."
I hug back, feeling a tear roll down my cheek. "I love you, too, Tanya."
We sit there, hugging until Danny runs downstairs, Noah in tow.
"Danny, wait!" Noah nearly trips down the stairs. "Fudge!"
He still doesn't swear around Danny.
Mrs King and I pull away.
I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Fudge?"
He points a finger at me. "Don't judge me."
I raise my arms in surrender. "Not judging."
"Mum, why were you crying?" Danny asks with furrowed eyebrows.
I glance over and see tear streaks on Mrs King's face.
I look at Danny before looking at Mrs King, who nods at me.
I purse my lips. "Danny, I need to talk to you about something."
Mrs King gives Noah a look before walking into the kitchen, Noah following her immediately.
I pat the spot next to me on the couch and Danny sits down next to me.
"You look sad." He analyses. "I don't like it when you're sad."
I sigh.
How the hell am I supposed to tell him?
"When we first met, you grabbed my face and called me beautiful. Then you said, 'Beauty isn't in the face. Beauty is a light in the heart. And nothing is more beautiful than a real smile that has struggled through tears.' I start. "Danny, you are the most beautiful person I have ever met. And you were right, I have struggled through tears."
He grabs my hand.
I smile slightly before continuing. "I lost both of my sisters to cancer. And now, I have it, too. I don't have long."
His eyes widen. "Vaeh..."
I pull him into a hug, kissing his head. "I love you, kid."
"I love you, too, Vaeh." He sniffles, burying his head in my shoulder.
-Noah-
"You really love her, don't you." Mum asks as we get in the kitchen, but it's more of a statement than a question.
"Is it that obvious?" I question, sitting down at the island.
She sits down next to me. "Honey, you've been making heart eyes for her since the first time you brought her to our house."
I scoff. "No I haven't."
She gives me a pointed look. "I came in to check on the two of you that night and saw her sleeping on the right side of the bed. You always sleep on the right side of the bed."
Dammit.
I shrug. "So?"
She gives me a knowing look. "I know for a fact you let her take the right side of the bed."
Busted.
Shut up, Pablo.
I give mum a sheepish look. "Well, I told her she was sleeping on the floor but she slept in the bed anyway."
She looks at me skeptically. "You were going to make her sleep on the floor? I raised you better than that."
"Me? Why would you make her sleep in my room?" I counter. "What kind of responsible parenting is that?"
"It's not like we had a spare room." She says. "And I don't think she would've wanted to sleep in Danny's bed, which barely had any space for him and that ridiculous huge stuffed penguin you won him at a carnival four years ago."
I point a finger at her. "Mr. Waddles is iconic."
She gives me a weird look. "Since when do you stay stuff like that?"
"Since you called Mr. Waddles ridiculous."
She rolls her eyes. "I thought Max was the weird one."
"He is." I state. "And, yes, I do really love Carter."
She smiles softly and pats my hand that was resting on the countertop.
"I know you do." She gets up and walks behind me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "You make the most of it, okay?"
I hug her arms. "Okay."
"MUM!" Danny's scream comes from the living room. "NOAH!"
We both share a look before running into the living room to see Nevaeh lying on the floor with Danny kneeling next to her.
"Daniel, what happened?!" Mum questions hurriedly as she rushes over and kneels down next to Nevaeh, placing her head on her lap.
"I-I don't know." He stutters, panicking. "We were coming to the kitchen, but as soon as she stood up, she fainted."
I stand there, frozen.
"Noah, call the ambulance." Mum orders as she brushes Nevaeh's hair from her face. "Nevaeh? Nevaeh, honey, wake up. Sweetheart, please wake up! NOAH CALL THE AMBULANCE! NOAH!"
I scramble to get my phone from my pocket before dialling 911.
God, please let her be okay.