Too Far Away (Keaton Stromberg Love Story)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16; (Warning: It's sad.)

My entire body shook as I sat beside Keaton, and all I could think about was how déjà vu this moment was. I felt like I was reliving the day I came home fourteen times over, but this feeling of nervousness was much deeper than anything I had ever experienced before, and it left me horrified.

"Jules, baby, are you sure?" Keaton had asked me that morning, and I had nodded my head.

"I want to meet her, Keaton." I had retaliated, and it had been obvious those were not the words he wanted to hear.

This time, I was surprised by the lack of comforting in the car. No one spoke. Everyone sent me the occasional sideways glance, but words had not been spoken since we had pulled out of the driveway in Huntington Beach.

I knew we were nearing Sequim when I began recognizing things. Things like streets, buildings, and such.

It was when I suddenly realized the building we were nearing that my heart nearly bounded from my chest, my nerves now intensified tenfold.

"Why are we going to the hospital?" I whispered, but no one answered me. The only sound that my words reciprocated were a choked one; someone fighting off tears somewhere inside of the car.

"Juliet, just take a deep breath. Keaton'll tell you when we're inside. Don't make him do it in front of all of us like this." Lijah turned around from his spot in the passenger seat, tears steadily streaming down his cheeks.

"Okay." I managed to squeak out, and the only reason I had agreed was because I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know the answer to the question I was asking.

When we parked only minutes later, everyone stayed stationary for what seemed to be years, but it was merely seconds. Drew was the first to break out of his trance, and the slamming of his door knocked everyone else out of theirs.

"Come on, Jules." Keaton took me by the hand, leading me away from the group and taking me in the opposite direction.

"What is happening?" I shot once we were both standing still, and the desperation in Keaton's eyes almost made me soften, but then I remembered where I was, and who for.

"Juliet, I'm so sorry." Keaton murmured, his face contorting into one that almost caused my eyes to spill over with salty tears, but I stayed stoic.

"Keaton, I don't care, okay? You've kept this from me for a long time, and I'm not going to hold it against you. I just want to know why the fuck I'm standing in the parking lot of a hospital." I blurted out quickly, not really thinking.

"Juliet... Brookie, she's... she's got cancer, baby." Keaton spoke through the thickness in his throat, and all I could feel was shock.

Every fiber of my being in that moment was held together by shock, and without it I would have completely fallen apart. I would have melted into a puddle of depression and lost hope for my daughter.

"What kind?" Was all I could think to say. All I could do was ask questions, just like I had been doing for the past three god damn months.

"Leukemia." Keaton ran a hand through his hair, and I knew it was bad. I could tell by the hollowness in his eyes she wasn't going to get any better. I could tell by the look that Brooke was not going to survive much longer.

"How long does she have?" I felt my throat closing, the crying surfacing abruptly.

"Another month at the most is what we've been told. She's been sick for almost a year now." Keaton bit his lip, fighting to keep himself together. It was clear that once he broke, he wouldn't be able to repair himself quickly enough. Brooke would know he was a mess if he let himself go now.