His last thought

25| towards the edge

"Ready to go?" Kate asks Caleb as the two of us walk into his room. He just nods but doesn't move.

"Caleb?" I ask and he pushes himself up. He's out of breath and grabs his oxygen tube to put it on.

"Let's go." Caleb says and his mom helps him get into a wheelchair. You could tell from the look on Kate's face that she is trying her best not to cry. I grab Caleb's things and Kate pushes him out to the car. After me and Kate get him into the car we both wait outside for a while.

"Can you drive?" Kate asks me.

"Yeah, I can." I tell her and we both get in the car. I try my best to clear my mind while driving, but it was really hard. Whenever I looked through the review mirror I see Caleb looking out the window and to my right was Kate with tears running down her face every few seconds. Neither of them said anything the whole way home.

When we get back, Kate starts to get Caleb's wheelchair out but Caleb steps out of the car on his own but instantly sits on the ground.

"I'm tired." He says and looks down at the driveway.

"Thats what this all does to you." I tell him and stick out my hands to help him up again. I help him into his wheelchair again, and Kate brings him in while I carry the bags. When I walk in, I see Caleb laying on the couch and Kate in the kitchen.

"Thank you." Kate tells me. "For being there for him, helping us today; all of it."

"Yeah, no worries." I tell her. "I'll get my mom to order a pizza and we can have a relaxing night."

Kate sighs before telling me, "Hes so weak right now. He could barely get out of the car- you saw. How do I deal with that?"

"Have you told Calebs brother that he's terminal?" I ask. "Last time I checked he was just finding out that Caleb was doing chemo again."

"He knows; I just don't know where he is."

I nod and look over to Caleb who was in the family room right by us. He was laying on the couch with his eyes closed, but I don't know if he is listening to what we're saying.

"He's so calm about this all." I say to Kate, but my eyes are still on Caleb. "He's just letting it all fall into place. I couldn't let go of something that loosely like he is."

It was a quiet couple of hours until we got our food. Caleb and I sat on the couch while our parents sat in front of us. I still can't wrap my head around how Caleb wants to let go like this; With us all around to see him slowly slip away.

The doorbell rang, and the noise sounded throughout the entire quiet house. I quickly got up, and opened the door just to see Adam there with a cake in his hands.

"Caleb?" I say and move out of the way so Adam could walk in. I see Caleb turn around, and his face goes straight and his eyes look nervous and scared.

"Didn't you go back to campus?" Caleb asks in a snoopy tone.

"I, um- I brought you a cake. I know you like chocolate, so it's chocolate-chocolate." Adam says and sets it on the table in front of him.

"Chocolate kills my stomach. Ever has since my first round of chemo."

"You're eating pizza though." Adam says confused.

"I know; it's weird but only chocolate." Caleb says and goes back to eating. "You don't want you to be here Adam. Not you either Mom. Or Morgan."

"I'm not leaving you, Caleb." I tell him. "You've tried to push me away but I promised you I'd be here for you."

"Me too." Adam says, then Caleb's face drops.

"What are you talking about, Adam? You haven't been here at all. When family shit got hard, and dad left you shut down and ran off. You haven't been here for me at-" Caleb says before having a coughing fit. Kate gets him some water, and when he calms down his face is bright red. He puts his head in his hands and starts taking deep breaths.

"Let's just leave him alone for a while." I say, and the four of us walk back to my house.

Later that night, I'm laying in my bed scrolling through my phone when I get a text from Caleb.

Caleb- come over
Caleb- please

Morgan- it's 2 am, go to sleep

Caleb- just please come over just for an hour

I grab my phone and quickly put on my shoes before walking over to his place. I go through the back and try my best to be quiet going up to his room. I quietly open and close his door and the room was almost pitch black.

"Caleb?" I ask and flip on the light. I see him sitting on the floor in between his bed and the wall. I squat down in front of him and grab his hand. "What happened?"

"I just- I tried to- I mean," he says and takes a deep breath and slowly exhales.

"Take your time." I tell him. He lifts up his arm just enough to point to a bucket with vomit in it by him. I take it to the bathroom and clean it out as quickly I can before going back to his room. "How'd you get out of bed?" I ask him.

"Tried goin to the bathroom." Caleb says.

"Okay; let's go to bed." I say and basically carry him back into his bed. "Need anything else?"

"Please stay here." He says. "Please."

I sit next to him, and lean against the wall while he lays on his pillow next to me. I start rubbing the back of his hand and he instantly falls asleep.

We're getting to close to the edge.