Fall ➳ lrh

Chapter Twenty

When I was eight my mum and dad went to the beach with me. Yes, typical family day but this was different. My mum and dad didn't fight for once. It was just us.

My dad and I tried to surf, tried. I remember my mum laughing her head off every time we wiped out. We stayed until it got to dark to see anything. That day was full of wipeouts and ice cream and my family.

It was the best memory I had of when my dad was actually in my life.

As I sat beside Luke and my mum and my dad in the hospital room, that day kept running through my mind. No more days like that.

No more mum.

My heart completely broke at the thought of that. Now I understood why the two of them tried to make amends while he was here, or just why he was here. My mum is dying. She didn't even have the decency to tell me.

Today the doctor started to cut her hair for chemo. Her once lively and beautiful blonde hair is now dull, lifeless, and cut to her chin.

They said in the next few days it will be gone. In the next few months she'll be gone. Luke even cried about it. He got close to my mum for the short while we've been friends or been a couple.

The whole Hemmings family pretty much did. Each one of them have visited since we've been here. Especially Luke. He's even stayed the night a couple of times thanks to my mum's nurse.

Two weeks of knowing my mum will die soon. I've came to accept it, not be mad at her for the short time that she has left.

Today will actually be the first time in the two weeks that I will get out of the hospital. I even started to smell like the hospital, Luke says I lost my vanilla smell.

Luke decided that we needed to go on a date so I could get my mind off of all this. Also so he could get his mind off Ashton dating his twin sister. Yeah, he definitely wasn't happy about that. Let's just say him and Ashton both went home with black eyes.

I know what you're about to ask, what about school? Luke brings back all the papers from the classes I've missed then turns them in when I'm done.

"Are you sure it's okay that I leave for a little bit?" I asked mum one more time. She rolled her eyes and patted my hand with her cold one.

"For the thousandth time, yes! Go have fun with your boyfriend!" She shooed me away before turning back to my father. I laughed then basically ran into Luke's arms.

"I didn't get to see you yesterday." I mumbled into his shirt. He laughed and grabbed my hand before pulling me out of the death room.

Yep, that's what Luke and I call it. Every time we go in there we're reminded that my mum will die in the span of four months. Every night when she thinks I'm asleep I can hear her cry, it breaks my heart into two halves.

She doesn't deserve this. Nobody does but my mum especially doesn't. A song I didn't know played on the radio as we drove away from the hospital. Luke's hand reached for mine and he grabbed it, giving it a squeeze, me doing the same.

I had no idea where we were going, Luke was being a stubborn ass by not telling me. I gave up, deciding to just watch the trees pass by.

*-*-*

Our laughter was probably the only thing you could hear at the field. Somehow we always ended up here. I ran through the wildflowers, my hands brushing against all of them.

Luke ran after me, laughing loudly. My bare feet squished in the damp soil, from my ankles down I was covered in the mud. I looked back at Luke seeing that his skinny jeans were splattered in the mud.

When I turned around I screamed, Kate stood there with Eve. Kate winked and I turned around noticing Luke gone. Eve started to make kissing noises and I turned around to see Kate and Luke kissing. My heart dropped as I saw him and her.

"Hey?!" I screamed, trying to break them apart. Nothing worked. Eve just started to laugh. I turned to her with teary eyes.

"Help me." I begged, she shook her head, laughing at my heartbreak.

"Stop!" I screamed.

"Rose!" I opened my eyes with my breathing heavy noticing Luke looking at me with scared eyes. I looked around frantically noticing we were still in the car.

I looked into his eyes and hugged him. I cried into his shoulder trying to get the image of him and Kate out of my head.

I kissed his lips with my arms wrapped around the back of his neck. I wasn't sure I loved him. I've been questioning that lately.

Do I love him?

"What's the matter?" He asked softly, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I flickered my eyes to his and shook my head, biting my lip.

"Rose." He pushed, his voice still soft.

"Do you like Kate?" I whispered, avoiding his eyes.

"Rose, I like you. Nobody else. You're my girlfriend, not Kate. God damn I only met her two weeks ago. I love you." When he said those words I froze. We both did. I turned, my eyes meeting his.

"You love me?" I asked quietly, my lips twitching into a smile. He started to play with his fingers before nodding slowly. I smiled wide, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I love you too." He reached across the dash board and hugged me tight. I started to cry on his shoulder again but this time it was about something good not about damn Kate.

I know what loving someone feels like. My stomach gets in knots, my knees feel weak, and every time I kiss him I feel like I'll melt. When we pulled apart Luke smiled.

"Can we go on our date now?"