Until The Last Breath

chapter three

i cried my eyes out writing this...also morning it's midnight for me and i aint sleeping so expect a lot of chapters <3

Travis's POV

The next morning, I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a truck. Yesterday's treatment had been brutal, the kind of day that left you wondering if the pain was worth it. My body ached all over, my stomach was twisted in knots, and every inch of me felt like it was made of lead.

I looked over to Taylor's side of the room. She was already awake, staring at the ceiling, her eyes distant, like she was anywhere but here. She looked as worn out as I felt, her face pale, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion. But when she noticed me looking, she gave a small, weak smile, as if to say, I get it.

A nurse came in, offering us some breakfast, but neither of us could stomach much. I poked at the eggs, but even the smell was enough to make my stomach turn. Taylor didn't fare much better; she took a few bites of toast before setting it aside. Eating had become a chore, something we did just to keep going.

When the nurse left, Taylor looked over at me. "Rough night?" she asked, her voice soft.

"Yeah," I said, wincing as I shifted in bed. "Feels like I'm still in yesterday's treatment."

"Same here," she said quietly, her gaze dropping. "I don't think I've had a good night in... well, forever."

The weight of her words settled over the room, and for a moment, we just sat there, the silence between us heavy but comfortable. I hadn't known Taylor that long, but something about her made it easy to talk, easy to just... be.

After a while, she sighed and looked out the window, her eyes distant again. "Sometimes, I wonder what it'd be like to just be normal. To go to school, have friends, worry about stupid stuff."

I nodded, understanding completely. "Yeah, like worrying about some math test instead of... this."

She laughed a little, a sad sound that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Exactly."

We fell silent again, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Outside, the world went on as usual, cars driving by, people walking on the sidewalk, completely unaware of the lives being fought for in here.

Taylor broke the silence first. "Travis... thanks for being here. I mean... I know we didn't choose this, but... it helps. Not feeling alone." I looked over at her, surprised but also... grateful. Because I felt the same way. "Yeah," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. "Me too."

Taylor poked at her eggs for a while longer, before putting her fork down, pushing the tray away. Her gaze fell to her lap, her shoulders slumping as though she'd run out of the last bit of strength she'd been holding onto.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this," she said quietly, her voice trembling.

Hearing her say it out loud made my chest ache. It was something I'd felt myself but never admitted, even to myself. Saying it felt like giving up, like admitting that we were losing. But seeing her there, her face pale, her body shaking slightly... I realized she was just being honest. And there was something terrifyingly real about that.

"Me too." I whispered, trying to stop the tears from leaking out of my eyes.

"Sometimes I think... maybe it'd be easier if I just... let go," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Those words cut deeper than anything else. I'd thought the same thing late at night, during those moments when the pain was unbearable, when I felt like I'd just shatter into pieces. But hearing her say it—it made everything feel more real, like we were both standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into something we couldn't escape.