A Drop in the Ocean

Chapter 39

The incident in Montreal had surprisingly moved past all of us.  Adeline and I still weren't talking, and Luke and I kept our distance, but things were pretty much back to normal once we got to Denver.  I was excited, because Aimie was going to be coming out to see us.  She wasn't going to get to see the concert, but I had talked to Paul about letting her come see us backstage.  I was so excited.  It had been six months.  

After the show, I was so giddy, I could hardly keep my feet on the ground for any long period of time, and I definitely couldn't sit.  As One Direction was playing, Paul came through the door of our dressing room where I was pacing and the boys were all sitting, Aimie trailing behind him.  I instantly ran to her, wrapping her up in my arms.  

"Oh my goodness, I missed you so much," I told her, my heart racing and my lungs having trouble doing lung-like things.  

"I missed you too," she told me, wrapping her arms around me tighter.  Paul went back out the door, and I mouthed a thank you.  He gave me a thumbs up, and I replied with a smile.  I finally was untangled from Aimie's limbs, and the boys all came up to introduce themselves.  I knew that they were all excited, especially since they'd talked on the phone but not in person.  As Cal was hugging Aimie, I noticed something a little off.

"Hey, where's Carl?" I asked.  Carl was what she named her oxygen tank when she was younger.  She said if it followed her around everywhere, she might as well name it.  She gave me a smile and walked over to me.

"I had surgery," she began.  I nodded.  "On my lungs.  On the tumors."  I continued nodding.  "And I'm N.E.C," she whispered, almost not believing it herself.  I felt my heart pound.  

"You are?" I said, a smile growing on my face.  She nodding with happiness.  I threw my arms around her, tears coming to my face.  "Oh my gosh," I whispered, hardly believing it.  For once, the world was working in my favor.  I turned and kissed her on the cheek, tears running down hers as well.

"What's N.E.C?" Ashton asked.  I turned to them.

"No evidence of cancer.  She's in remission!" I cried, excitement filling my voice.  The boys gave out whoops and cheers.  Aimie wrapped her arms around my neck again.  

"I still can't believe it," she said.  I gave her a smile.  

"Neither can I.  I'm so happy for you," I told her.  I haven't seen her face light up this bright in a long time.  I felt a weight be taken from my shoulders.  It literally felt like weight had been taken from my shoulders.  I hadn't laughed this lightly or smiled this freely in so long.  For once, something good was happening.  Just then, Mikey ran out of the room and down the hallway.  We all sort of followed him, out of curiosity.  I could see him talking to Paul, though we didn't know what he was saying.  We all stood backstage where we could see the show.  I noticed Liam looking down, listening in his earpiece.  Paul came up behind where we were all standing.  

"Hey, guys!  Before we start our next song, we've got some great news!" Liam called out.  The crowd cheered.  Liam looked over to where we stood and gestured for us to come out.  Paul shoved Aimie and I, pushing us towards the stage.  I looked back and gave him a questioning look.  I grabbed Aimie's hand and pulled her onstage.  Niall came up and started dancing around us, and we both laughed.  We went and stood next to Louis, who was standing center stage.  

"So you all know Jordan!" Zayn cheered, coming and standing next to Aimie while Louis stood next to me.  The crowd cheered.  

"Well, this is her best friend Aimie!" Harry cried, coming and standing behind Aimie, towering her with his height.  He wasn't tall compared to me, but Aimie was only about 5'4".