Luke is coming with us to Vermont and then he'll go home to plan the wedding with Riley. He's staying in Vermont for a couple months.
I'm going to miss all of my friends but especially my boyfriend. I mean, who wouldn't miss Ace. He's been with me through everything, and he's so nice and kind and handsome. I smile all the time when I write in my journal or I talk about Ace. It's hard to say good-bye sometimes. Well, most of the time. Riley and Luke were both crying when I saw them saying their good-byes. And it's not like they're never going to see each other again. They're getting married. I have a feeling that is how it's going to happen between Ace and I.
Ace and I drove to the airport.
"You're going to be fine in Vermont Cam, don't worry about anything."
"I'm not worried." I whispered, twiddling my thumbs and bouncing my leg up and down.
"I can tell you are by the way you're sitting." Ace laughed. "You don't have to worry about it Cam. You're going to be fine. And whenever you miss me even the slightest bit, you know I'm only one call away."
I laughed at his comment because they were lyrics to One Call Away by Charlie Puth.
"I know, but I'm going to miss you so much." I sighed, thinking about how I'm going to survive without him.
"You'll be okay." He smiled.
"We're going to stay in a relationship right? We'll just be far away from each other so it might be hard." I pondered.
"I think as long as we stay in touch and pray about it and pray for each other, we'll be fine. I'm losing you as a neighbour; I can't lose you as a girlfriend too!"
I grinned and hugged him tightly. "We'll be perfectly fine."
As we arrived at the airport I couldn't stop thinking about how much I'm going to miss my life and my friends here, even though I know I'm in need of this fresh start.
I was about to find a seat in the lounge at the airport since I knew it would be a while until our flight took off. Ace and I are travelling to Vermont together and the rest of my family is already there. Then, I saw Ginger running down the hall. She ran up to me and hugged me tight.
"What are you doing here? Did you miss the plane? Where's dad?" I asked panicking.
"He's just back there trying to refund your tickets." She said panting.
"Why would he refund our tickets? Why aren't you guys in Vermont?"
"Cause we're not moving Cam. Dad said we're not going to Vermont!" Ginger exclaimed panting between her words. "We got there and then came back and-" she stopped talking to run back to dad.
I was so confused but before I knew it Ace had a smile stretched across his face and he lifted me and twirled me around. He hugged me tightly and I hugged him back. I saw dad just a little ways away and I ran to them. I didn't even care why we weren't moving; I just cared that I wouldn't have to leave my life here.
Jenny decided to quit her job in Vermont to stay here in Vancouver with us, because she realized how hard it would be to move to the states. You know that moment when you think everything is going horribly wrong, and then all of the sudden, things change. Well, that would be the story of my life. And I'm not complaining. I'm actually very glad that I'm not leaving Ace right now.
---
Five months later
Today, is graduation day. Even though Ace hasn't been coming to school, he has been taking online courses and can graduate.
It is insane how Ace made it to today. I hate to bring that subject up.
So Ace, Dakota and I are graduating today, which is amazing.
Dakota and I got ready today for graduation.
"So, you ready for today?" She asked.
"No," I laughed. "I'm so scared."
Ace and I tied for valedictorian.
"Hello, earth to Camilla." Dakota waved her hand in my face.
"Huh?"
"I said, did you finish your speech?"
"Yes, I'm all done. It looks pretty good I think." I said, doubting myself.
"Okay, how does this look?" Dakota asked twirling in her sun dress.
"Beautiful." I smiled.
"No, you're beautiful." She laughed. "I'm the ugly friend when I hang out with you. Maybe I should stop being your friend altogether so I don't look terrible every day."
"Shut up. You're pretty Dakota." I smiled.
Dakota and I finished up just as the doorbell rang. It was probably Ace and Brett, Dakota's boyfriend. We were getting a ride to graduation with them.
I ran to get the door.
"Hey Ca- whoa," Ace grinned checking me out.
"Hello Ace." I smiled big.
"You look stunning, absolutely beautiful." He said looking at me. My stomach twirled.
Brett went to go see Dakota.
I blushed. "You look good yourself. All dressed up." Ace actually looked amazing.
"Shall we?" Ace asked motioning to door and holding out his hand for me to slip mine into.
I had my speech in my other hand and Ace probably had his in his car.
Ace and I sat in the front and Dakota and Brett sat in the back.
"Keep in PG back there, wait until after prom." I laughed.
"Shut up Camilla." Dakota sneered.
I sat in the passenger seat as Ace drove us to the school. We had to be at the school an hour and a half early for preparation.
When we arrived, about half of our grade was already there so we weren't late, which was a huge relief.
Dakota and Brett were laughing and holding hands walking towards the front doors. Dakota looked wonderful today, she had her hair done and we both got our nails and toes done last night for today.
I curled my hair and Dakota curled her hair as well.
Inside the school, Ace and I had to go the other end for our speeches. Dakota and Brett said good luck to the two of us as we prepared to go up on stage in about thirty minutes. We all put our robes on.
"Camilla, are you nervous?"
"A little, but we just have to done it exactly the way we practised. You listened to the recordings at night right?" I recorded our speech so we could listen to it at night and memorize most of it and so it would sound nice.
"Yes, I did every day this week. I'm so nervous."
"You'll be fine! I'm so proud of you Ace."
"Thanks. I'm proud of you too. You know I only reason won this with you is because we are the cutest couple in school," he laughed. "And probably 90% of my votes were pity votes because I've survived this long."
Well it's true, we are the cutest couple in school. According to this year's year book the cutest senior couple was us.
Twenty minutes had passed and we had only ten minutes left until we would be on stage.
I could hear the principle giving her speech and five minutes had passed.
Ace broke our long silence. "Camilla I don't think I can do this."
"Yes, you can. I believe in you Ace." I was honestly scared too, not just that I was going to mess up, but that Ace was going to pass out or something on stage.
I heard a faint announcement calling us up stage.
"And now, I'd like to invite speaking on behalf of this year's graduating class, our Valedictorians, Ace Vaillancourt and Camilla Williams.
I took Ace's hand in mine. This was it. No turning back. I silently prayed that Ace wouldn't die on stage and that everything would work out okay.
Ace and I got up on stage and I started out talking just as we rehearsed.
"Good afternoon, fellow students, families, teachers and staff of our graduating class of 2016. Today, we are gathered here to celebrate memories that will not be lost, but always remembered." I spoke to the audience that I could barely see because of the lighting.
It was Ace's turn to speak. I was terrified he was going to pass out or die right now.
"My name is Ace Vaillancourt and this is my long-time best friend and now girlfriend, Camilla Williams. We are here today as valedictorians to speak on behalf of our senior population. Today, is the final day, it is the day to say goodbye. But goodbye is a terrible word I find. Raise your hand if you're with me."
Most of the hands went up.
"When you're leaving for college or university, I won't want to say goodbye to you because goodbye means you'll be leaving me forever. I will probably say, 'I'll see you soon,' goodbyes are too hard to say. But 'see you later,' brings hope that we'll see each other again. As one of the valedictorians, I must speak of these past four years this senior class has spent together. This is the part I get Camilla to speak about since I haven't been here often. I'll hand it to you Camilla." He smiled. I'm surprised he's made it this far.
"During these four years," I began to speak again. "I have learned many things. Most importantly, I have learned, building sturdy, good friendships during high school is very important."
I continued to speak about how high school has changed everyone.
"So in conclusion, I would like to say thank you to all of the crazy teachers, staff, and students, because without your craziness, this class of 2016 would not be such a funny, amazing class that I will never forget. Thank you and see you later." I smiled.
And with that, Ace and I concluded our graduation speech.
"I'm so proud of you Ace." I whispered, touching his hand softly. He just stared off into the distance. "Are you okay?" I asked concerned.
"I think I have to go to the hospital." He mumbled.
"Why?" I asked. "Ace, what's wrong?"
"My side hurts, right around my abdomen." He shriveled up in pain. I quickly walked him out of the auditorium.
"I'll drive you up to the hospital." I tried to comfort him, but he looked like he was in too much pain. "Come on, let's get you up there."
We walked out to my car and I started driving up to the hospital, as Ace groaned in pain, and hugged his side. I'm thinking it may be appendicitis.
"When did the pain start?" I asked Ace. He looked like he was about to pass out from the pain.
"I've been having sharp pains for about a couple days now. I didn't want to say anything but I thought I was almost going to pass out up on stage." He whimpered in pain.
I just held his hand tightly the entire ride to the hospital.
"You'll be okay Ace," I forced a smile. He looked like he was in a lot of discomfort.
Ace and I made it up to the hospital and got him into a room where they quickly examined him. I held his hand the whole time as they told him he had to have his appendix removed in emergency surgery.
"Camilla, will I be okay?" He asked, scared.
"Yes, Ace you'll be fine. I can't be with you but I will be praying for you." I continued to comfort him and hold his hand. I was scared too.
"How long will the surgery and recovery take?" I asked the doctor, concerned about his well-being, and of course, prom.
"He can get up and move in about 12 hours, but he'll have to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days. It may take him a few weeks to get back to his normal activities." The nurse told me.
I'm hoping he'll be okay. He just went into surgery about 5 minutes ago and I'm sitting out here alone. Deep in my thoughts. I wish this didn't have to happen to Ace. All these bad things keep happening to him and me. I found a bible sitting on the shelf beside me and decided to read it. I read a passage from Psalms, chapter 91, verses 1 and 2:
"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"
I love being reminded of who is in control, my God and he will protect me and Ace and all my loved ones. He is my refuge and fortress and I trust him with everything. I trust him with Ace's life and his disease. It's hard to give it all to him sometimes, but I have never regretted giving him my all.
I fell asleep to the soft whisper of God through the book of Psalms.