Our Eternal Ruin (Auslly)

29.Grateful

Most people die without experiencing even half of what I have in the past few months. Incredible. I have an incredible life. I woke up feeling thankful. Even with the cancer. I woke up feeling grateful.

~Austin~

I laughed when Ally moaned in my arms.

It was time for my last dose of medication. They wanted to do one last cocktail before I went in for surgery the next day.

"How are you feeling?" Angela asked as she inserted the clear liquid into my IV bag.

"Like a rock star," I lied. I felt nauseated and dizzy.

Angela laughed. "You look healthy, strong." With a grin she pulled out her stethoscope and pressed it to my chest. "Good heartbeat."

It was all the same, but for some reason she gave me more hope. Her eyebrows drew together, and then she removed the stethoscope and placed her hands on my chest.

She closed her eyes and I could have sworn she started crying.

Awesome, so now I was hallucinating from the medication.

My tongue felt thick in my mouth. I pointed to my throat, and she immediately removed her hands and dropped something else into my IV.

The thickness dissipated.

"Anaphylaxis." She shrugged. "These drugs tend to do that, but now that you have epinephrine in your system, you'll be able to take them."

"Epi—what?"

"Fancy word for anti-allergy meds." She winked. "And sorry about that. It's just the craziest thing. Your heart... its rhythm is stronger than it was yesterday, that's why I pressed my hand against your chest. Strange, really." She shrugged. "At any rate, congratulations, Austin. This is your last dose of medication."

"I don't like the word last."

Angela smiled warmly. "Remember what I said, sometimes the end is the beginning."

"Thanks, Angela."

With a final nod, she walked out the door.

I stared at Ally's hair, watched as it wound itself around my fingers. Flecks of gold shone through the strands. I closed my eyes and lifted it to my lips feeling the silkiness against my skin.

"You being creepy and smelling my hair again," Ally said in a groggy voice.

"Not creepy," I argued.

"Very creepy," Dez said from the chair. "I watched the whole thing and I am sufficiently creeped out."

"It's romantic, damn it!" Cassidy all but shouted.

"So what? You guys were all awake while the nurse gave me my drugs and decided to fake sleep?"

"Nurse?" Dez looked around the room. "Where?"

"She was just here." I pointed to my IV the liquid was still seeping into my body, stinging as it made its progress around my veins.