Unfold Me (Liam Payne Love Story)

Chapter 8: A Never for Forever

I climbed into the van, yet again, only this time I was going on a date and I was excited. 

"So, where are you taking me?" He blushed at this mere comment. He was shaking. 

"Uh, I, um, I was thinking...we could just get hot dogs and frozen yogurt and sit in peace, hidden? You know the fans...," He tensed up.

"Liam," I put my hand on his shoulder. "You're fine. Just be yourself." I advised. What the heck was I doing? ADVISING him on how to go on a date. I was so stupid. He stared into my brown eyes and I stared into his. They were remotely similar. 

"Thanks." He turned away, glancing at the road. After we got our food, we went to a hidden area of trees and sat down. He'd even brought a picnic blanket. 

"So, you look really good, if I haven't already said that already...," he said, calmly. I nodded, taking a huge bite out of my hot dog. "Whoa there! Maybe you SHOULD be with Niall." I laughed, nudging him in the shoulder. We stared at each other for the longest time, each taking into consideration, each person's appearance. 

"Is everything alright?" I asked, noting his paleness. 

"Um, not really." he replied. He stared off into the darkening sky, full of huge rain clouds. There was one thing I hated more than heat. Rain in the winter. I loved the snow but the rain? Ick. I shivered. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. I smiled in gratitude. 

"What is it?" I questioned.

"I haven't told anyone this and you're not allowed to tell anyone either. I am going to tell the guys eventually but...it's just too hard and I just don't want them to get hurt or anything. Brooklyn...," he stared at me with those puppy dog brown eyes. "I have acute myelogenous leukemia or what the doctor's say is AML." He wrapped his arms around his skinny knees and rested his head down. He rocked back and forth quietly as I sat, shocked. I couldn't cry. Don't cry. I bit my lip, hard. 

Don't think about her. Don't think about her. I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Stop. I had to be there for him. Even if we weren't a couple, I was still his friend. I had to be strong for him. I slid over to where he was sitting by another tree and wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. It was kind of awkward, not being the one consoled. Colin always hated me being the more powerful one. He would always be the one to hold me, not the other way around. I liked this though. It made me feel like I had some control and while it might have been embarrassing for Liam, he let me comfort him.

"It'll be alright, Liam. It'll be alright." I lied, because I didn't know if it would be alright. I remembered all those long summer days when my mom told me the same thing. 

When my sister moved away to college in North Carolina, it was just my mom and I which was alright until she got sick. It was just me and her. No family members came and if one of  them had, they stayed for just a few minutes. I endured her constant groans of pain from the chemotherapy that just wasn't working. I went through all her hair loss, helping her tie her bandana around her head every day for three months. She was a fighter. She just wouldn't let herself fall to the lung cancer but for once in her life, something had beaten her.

I didn't know if I could suffer through a loss like that again. I barely made it through my mother's death. I didn't know how I could make it to Liam's. Liam unwrapped his arms and smiled.

"You're right. I'll be fine." I shivered at that comment. How could he be so sure? I wondered, as I sat back down. 

"So, do you smoke?" I asked the dreaded question. The nostalgia had started to hit me. 

My mom didn't receive lung cancer from first hand smoking. She received it from second hand. My dad used to smoke a lot before he left and my mom worked as a bartender at the nearby club, "RED". In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, jobs were pretty limited. My mom got what she got. She didn't have any schooling either, which didn't help. Once my sister left, Alyssa never spoke with us again. When I called to tell Alyssa, mom had died, she didn't even know mom had had cancer. She came down for the funeral and left afterwards to be with her new husband and daughter. Her new family. The feelings of rejection and depression started to flood back into my brain.

"Heck no! It's leukemia!" he laughed. First smile I'd seen since he'd told me, and it was beautiful. That was the smile that gave me hope. It gave me hope that for once, I would have someone to be with me forever, until their death. I couldn't lose that perfect smile. "I actually had thyroid cancer as a child and I was treated, but they said that the treatment for the thyroid cancer caused this one." I nodded, slowly. 

"Liam...," I bit my lip. Don't tell him that! I yelled at myself, but my heart was too fast for my brain. "I can't live without you. I...love you." I wanted to take the words back the moment I said them. I was so stupid. "Uh, never mind I said that..., I didn't actually mean anything. I'm just, you know." I paused, tensed up, ready for him to laugh at me and leave me but he held my chin in his hand, delicately and looked into my eyes. They were shining bright with tears under the moonlight. 

"Brooklyn...I love you too." He whispered as he kissed me. This time, it was more gentle and I felt myself wanting more but I didn't push back. I didn't want to ruin that perfect moment in time. I smiled and then frowned.

I wanted to have someone who could love me until they died. I wanted to love someone until they died. If Liam had leukemia, though, did that mean his death would be sooner than expected?