Before I Die

The Plan

A tear slips down my face as another clump of my hair falls out when the brush runs through it. Stupid chemotherapy. I quickly put my baseball cap on over my short hair and smooth out my light blue tee shirt and black jeans. I head into the bathroom to put on my makeup and am just finishing up mascara when the door bell rings. I take a deep breath and head down the stairs to answer it. I unlock the handle and slowly open the door. Awaiting me is Nurse Lilith, my nurse at the hospital I am getting treatment at.

I knew she was coming and knew what she was coming for, but that didn't stop the me from getting jittery with nervous energy. I call my sister and aunt into the room. I know that Nurse Lilith had come to tell my family and I some news in a comforting environment, but don't know whether it is good or bad. By the way her eyebrows are tightly knit and her breathing ragged, I can tell that the news it most likely bad.

My aunt puts her arm around me and my sister holds my hand as the meeting begins.

"I wanted everyone close to Nicole to be here for the news I am about to share. I also wanted you, Nicole, to be comfortable. I never like delivering this news and personally think that no one should ever have to hear this," Lilith starts and I feel the urge to scream at her to finish. I despise waiting. "You have two months to live, at most." I feel my breath catch and I ignore the calls behind me as I run to my room and slam the door.

I lie awake there most of the night, ignoring calls from my loved ones down the stairs. I know that my family is probably almost as miserable as me right now and I should be down stairs consoling my little sister, but right now I feel like I am trying to hold the minute hand in place. I don't want time to pass, but it does. It ticks away as if counting down how long I have to live.

I stay in my room for the next day and my aunt doesn't try to awaken me for school. My sister comes in to talk to me and by the raspy tone to her voice I can tell she is crying, but I just hide under the covers and cry. Tear stains cover my sheets in a pattern I call misery. Why did this have to happen to me? Why has my life been torn to shreds piece by piece? All these questions stir in my head, but no answers surface. My life sucks.

My phone continues to buzz as the hours tick by, but I just stay shrouded in my covers. I feel that if I stay in my bed my terrible life will piece itself back together, but then reality hits me and I began to cry again. My whole day consists of my misery and sorrows wrapping themselves around me until they are almost squeezing the life right out of me.

The light has started to fade from the outside and my room begins to darken. I lift my head from under the covers as the sound of the door bell floods my ears. A seconds later I heart he muffled exchange of words and then the sounds of footsteps ascending the stairs. There is a quick knock on the door and, instead of getting up to answer it, I burry myself back under the covers.

"Hey." I hear the soft whisper of a girl though the sound is distorted through the covers. Audrey. A single tear falls from my eye at the sound of hearing my best friend trying to stay strong for me even though under that brave tone is a pool of despair.

"We just came to talk to you. We missed you today at school." Another girls voice finds its way to my ear and another tear falls at the sound of my other best friend. Jordan. She too is desperately trying to stay strong in my presence, but I hear a small sob escape her mouth.

"We brought you your favorite, triple chocolate ice cream, and if you don't get out from under those covers I'm going to have to eat it for you." I small smile plays at the corners of my lips as I hear the sound of Jack's voice that has always been there for me, but I stay buried under the covers as more tears escape.

"How you feeling, Sunshine?" The bluntness of the question makes my smile get a little bigger, but tears start streaming down my face again. Leave it to Kyle to make me smile and cry at the same time.

. . .

I stay trapped under my covers in my own little world, but I can tell my friends are still standing in my room. I hear the slight tread of footsteps on my carpet and then I hear the rustle of papers.

"What's this?" Jordan says somewhere across the room. My curiosity overpowers my despair for a split second and I peek my eyes out of the covers. Jordan is standing by my desk surrounded by the others and she is holding my BID list. I can tell they are slowly recognizing what it is as their eyes scan the page and I feel my heart sink at my juvenile dreams that could never come true. What was I thinking? I was never going to do any of that before I died.

Kyle takes the page out of Jordan's hand and turns to my bed, our eyes meeting. I see a small flicker of sadness cross his eyes, but he shoves it aside.

"We are doing this....starting now."

Hey Readers!
I'm so happy to see all the people enjoying this book! If you have any comments or suggestions I would love to hear them! Thanks so much for reading, voting, and commenting!
-Author_13
P.S. At the small glimpses of the personalities you saw in this chapter, who is your favorite character so far?