Until The Last Breath

chapter nine

i have decided to keep writing thank you to all of you for supporting this book so much ❤️

Travis's POV

When I walked into the room, she looked like she was barely hanging on.

Taylor lay there, her face pale and damp with sweat, her body practically swallowed up by the blankets. Her breathing was shallow and laboured, each inhale like it took everything she had left. I could see it in her eyes, she was so tired. Tired of the pain, the endless rounds of treatments, the way her body had turned against her.

"Hey," I said, forcing a smile as I moved closer. I wanted to say something light, something that would make her smile, but the words caught in my throat. She didn't even try to smile back. Her eyes met mine, and there was something hollow in them, something I'd never seen before.

She turned her face away, staring at the wall. "You don't have to keep coming back, you know," she whispered. Her voice was barely a rasp, each word sounding like it hurt.

"Taylor, don't say that." I moved closer, gently reaching out to take her hand. It was cold, lifeless in mine, like she didn't even have the strength to grip back.

She shut her eyes, swallowing hard. "I mean it, Travis. I'm... I'm tired. I don't even know why I'm still trying." Her voice cracked, and a tear slipped down her cheek. She didn't even try to wipe it away. "This is just... too much."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, twisting my insides with a kind of pain I couldn't even describe. She'd always been the one to keep fighting, to keep going no matter how bad things got. But now? It was like she was slipping away, like the fight had drained out of her and there was nothing I could do to bring it back.

I squeezed her hand, my own tears blurring my vision. "I get it, Tay. I really do." My voice shook, the words coming out in a thick whisper. "But... you're not alone. We're in this together, remember?"

She let out a weak, bitter laugh. "Together? Travis, look at me. I'm... I'm barely even here anymore." Her voice was raw, edged with a hopelessness that cut me to the core. "I feel like... like I'm already gone. And look at you. You're practically cancer free."

I gritted my teeth, swallowing back the wave of emotion that threatened to break me. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that she was still here, that she was still Taylor. But she wasn't wrong, not completely. She'd lost so much, and it felt like there was nothing I could say that would reach her, that would make a difference.

I shifted closer, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. "Listen to me, Tay. I know you're tired. I know this is the hardest thing we've ever been through. But... you can't give up now. Not after everything you've fought through."

She shook her head, her eyes dull, like she was looking past me. "But what's the point, Travis? I don't even feel like myself anymore. I don't... I don't feel like anything."

Her words shattered something inside me, and I felt my chest tighten as I struggled to keep it together. I wanted to fix this, to take her pain away, but I was as helpless as she was. I was watching her fade, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Do you remember that night we spent together?" I asked quietly, my voice shaking. "We stayed up all night, talking about everything we wanted to do someday. You told me you wanted to see Paris."

She turned her head, her gaze meeting mine, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of the girl she used to be. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the weight of her pain.