Final Breath

Fifteen

'Tyler?'
I look up from putting away the last dried dish in the cabinet to see Dad looking nervously back at me. I wait for him to say something else, feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket. I ignore it, keeping my focus on Dad, who still hasn't said anything.
'This might be a little crazy,' he slowly walks over, 'but can I sleep in bed with you?'
Just from the look on his face I can tell he also believes that I don't have much time, not nearly as much as the doctors told me. I think he knows tonight is my last night on this side of heaven.
'Sure,' I nod in a faint voice as I walk over to the pantry for a post-dessert snack. Dad watches without saying anything as I grab a party-size bag of chips and a new pack of soft chocolate chip cookies. Dad puts an arm around my waist as we walk back to my room for the last time.

It's time to go.
I wake up choking and gasping for air, my vision blurring severely. Next to me I hear Dad quickly jump up out of my bed and trying to get my attention. I keep choking and gasping, unable to communicate with him. I feel hot and sweaty, and it's now two weeks before Christmas. Something isn't right.
I can hear Tyson running into the room and saying something I can't make out. Dad tells him something I don't hear, all the while getting me dressed and calling an ambulance for me. I'm still choking and gasping, but I can feel the oxygen leaving my body with each harsh breath I take. Time Is quickly running out.
The ambulance shows up quicker than I expect, as well as two neighbors from next door. While the paramedics strap me to a gurney, Tyson manages to hug me and kiss my cheek one last time before one of the neighbors pull him away and out of the room. It's as soon as the double doors to the ambulance truck close that my body relaxes. I don't die then, as there's still a few gasps of oxygen left inside me. Yet again, my final breath is coming.