Nothing Without You

XXIII: Heartbreak and His Best Friend

Then

One whole month had passed since their breakup and Adelaide couldn't move on. Every time she'd think about him, she started crying all over again. There was a hollow spot in her chest where her heart once was. She was like a corpse waiting to be brought back to life by the person who ripped the core of life out of her and left.
"Adelaide?" Eunbin laid on the hospital bed, her eyes tired and her face worn out. Cancer got the best of her in the worst of ways. It had been two weeks since Christian visited her and she didn't know how much time she had left. "Gwenchana?"

Adelaide took a deep breath. Christian hadn't told his mother about their breakup, which meant she couldn't tell her either. She hated hiding this from her. She was like a mother to her too. Especially since Eunbin and her mother were best friends growing up. "Mm," she forced a smile on her face. "I'm great."

"You look worse than me and I'm the one that's sick," Eunbin laughed but midway started to cough. She struggled to breathe and it hurt to talk but this was Adelaide and she loved her like her own very child. But the bags under her eyes, the sadness oozing out of her in waves that were out of control didn't go by unfelt by Eunbin. She knew Adelaide better than a lot of others in her life–even Eda. "Did Christian do something?" She knew the two had broken up, there was no other explanation for this sadness.

Adelaide shook her head, "No, we're good. Don't worry about us."

"How can I not?" Eunbin tried to sit up and Adelaide helped her. "The two of you came to me looking the same."

"College is probably getting to him," Adelaide refused to indulge Eunbin with her feelings. It would only make her worry and she didn't want her to worry when she was already putting so much stress on her body. "We'll be okay, we always are. Remember that time I thought he was cheating on me with someone younger than the both of us?"

"Omo, that was your biggest fight. I had to intervene because you guys wouldn't stop yelling at each other." Eunbin grabbed Adelaide's hand and sandwiched it between hers. "Christian is terrible at sharing his feelings. He's always hiding his true feelings deep down because he's scared that his feelings would ruin life's plans or make those around him worry."

"That doesn't make his actions okay," Adelaide retorted. "It hurts."

"It doesn't make his actions okay at all, but that's why he has you to set him straight."
"Of course."

"I'm not sure what happened between the both of you, Adelaide." Eunbin's eyes started tearing up. "I don't know what's gonna happen to me–"

"Nothing is gonna happen to you."

"Oh Adelaide," she brought Adelaide's hands up and pressed a kiss to them. "I won't always be here for you and Christian. Life throws problems our way all the time and we have to fight through it, sometimes we have to cry our way through it too. But at the end of the day, our thoughts are pulled towards the people that brought us so much love and comfort into our lives, despite them hurting us, they'll always be the first and last things on our minds."

"Christian and I are okay, Emo."

Eunbin shook her head, "Even if you're not, it's okay."

"You don't always have to be okay in love."

A tear spilled out of Adelaide's eyes.

"Just promise one thing, Adelaide."

"Anything."

"Don't let yourself be lost just because the one you loved walked away." Eunbin cried herself, feeling her heart increase in love for Adelaide overwhelmingly. "Take whatever's left of my heart and flourish, Adelaide. Be brave, be strong, and love for the sake of me."

"I've lived a long time, but I've loved many times and each time has been beautiful. So take the love I have for you and learn to use it and love others and yourself. Life is too beautiful not to love those in it."

"Don't talk like you're leaving," Adelaide was sobbing now. She couldn't stop herself from breaking down at the words Eunbin was saying. "You're not going anywhere. You'll continue loving, you don't need me to do it for me."

With all her strength, Eunbin reached out to brush a tear away from Adelaide's face. "I love you, Adelaide. I hope my love was enough for you."

"It was," Adelaide pressed a kiss to the inside of Eunbin's hands. "It is."

"Promise me, Adelaide. Promise me that one day, when Christian begs you for forgiveness, you'll forgive him."

Adelaide nodded, hysterically crying now. "I promise."

"Stay strong until then."

Those were her last words before Eunbin was pronounced dead at 9:15 AM on October 2nd, 2014.