Starborn (discontinued)

sixteen

A few weeks later

Nova's POV:

Holden and I continued going on dates and they were all amazing. I know I keep saying this and it'd getting a bit repetitive, but every time we go on a date I say to myself, 'Oh, there's no way he can top the last one,' but he just keep proving me wrong. On our last, most recent one (Holden made a picnic and took me to the beach and we watched the sunset together), Holden asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes.

We were currently cuddling, on Holden's bed, just talking as he ran his hand through my hair. 

"Hey Holden?" I said.

"Yeah Moonshine?" He replied. This was another development of our relationship. After one of our dates, Holden told me about how my eyes shined in the moonlight and how much he loved it and he came up with the nickname.

"Holden, what happened to your mom?" I asked, rather bluntly. Oops, I didn't mean for it to be that blunt. "I mean, you always speak of her in an amazing way but I've never heard Atticus or Noah speak of her. It's alright if you don't want to answer though," I clarify.

Holden take a deep breath and sighs. "My- my mom is sort of a touchy subject for me-," he begins to say.

"I'm sorry, Holden. It's okay, you don't have to answer it," I interrupted. 

"No, it's alright Nova. I'm alright with you knowing," he says.

Holden's POV:

"My mom and I were really close. We were like two peas in a pod. I don't really know how to explain it. I was a huge Momma's boy, I guess you can say. Back when we all lived in Louisiana, not New Orleans, we lived in one of those normal sized apartment complexes, before my dad's books became like really popular. We weren't rich then but we weren't unstable either, I guess you can say we were just average then. When I was about 15 and Noah was 11, I came home from school one day, around the first week of school, and Mom was baking cookies. Mom had this tradition of baking cookies in the first few weeks of school and asking us how it goes. Anyhow, she was setting the cookies onto the counter and it was only mom and I home, since Noah used to get out of school later than me and Dad was at his publisher's office, one minute we were talking and the next minute Mom fainted to the floor," I said. 

Nova gasped, calmly awaiting me to keep going. I took a deep breath and began to continue,

"I was only 15 at the time and I didn't know what to do. I called an ambulance and I rode in there with them, as they tried to figure out what was wrong with Mom. I couldn't help but cry, not knowing what was gonna happen to her. When we finally got there, they immediately pushed her into the emergency room, as I was stuck outside the room, not knowing what was happening and frantically calling my dad. It took him awhile to get there but by the time he did get there, he bought Noah with him, and the doctor came out with a diagnosis. Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 4," I said, my voice cracking at the end as I tried to hold back tears. 

"Holden..." Nova began to say. She leaned over and gave me a hug and wiped away my tears.

"By the time, they diagnosed it, it was too late. There was nothing really we could do except say our goodbyes. All I could think was how could I not notice that Mom was sick? How could I not realize she was throwing away more stray hairs then usual? I just sat outside her room, while Dad and Noah went inside the room to talk to her. I couldn't believe I was just told that my mom, my best friend, was going to die. Once I finally got the courage to enter her room, I cried when I went in there. She was hooked on to so many machines and I could tell she was trying not to cry as well. She told me to pursue my dreams and to not let anyone or anything to hold me back. She told me that she was always proud of me and to go for my career in technology since I was always into it. At the time, I couldn't understand how she could just ignore what was happening to her and tell me to live my dreams. I visited her everyday for two months, staying in her room for hours, and that's when it happened. The tumor passed throughout her body and she died due to heart failure. That was the worst day of my life. After her funeral, we left Louisiana and moved to New York and I took her words to heart and I studied my way to Columbia. I created Golden Section and Dad moved back here to feel closer to Mom. That's also why I couldn't visit Dad often. It was too much for me to be here at the time," I said.

"Holden," Nova said, "You're one of the most sweetest and bravest souls I've ever met." She gave me a hug and said, "I want to tell you something now."

Nova's POV:

"When my dad died, it wasn't expected, I guess you can say. He was coming home from work and a drunk driver hit his car. When the ambulance got there, Dad was still alive but in really bad condition. They had to put him in life support and we couldn't afford it for long. He was ready to go but I wasn't ready for him to leave. That's why when Mom had her stroke, I was overworking myself because I couldn't afford to lose Mom too," I said.

Holden gave me a hug and said, "You're so amazing Moonshine."

I chuckle, "So are you Holden."

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I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to vote and comment! Till next time ♥️♥️