No Regrets {#Wattys2016}

~Day 7~

Song~ Young Volcanoes by Fall Out Boy

***

I groan as the blinding sun's rays pour into my room. I groggily slip out of bed to tug on an oversized sweater and a pair of black leggings. I trudge down the stairs.

  Mornings are not me. I am not mornings. We are not one.

I enter the kitchen and turn on the coffee maker. Holding a steaming cup of french vanilla coffee, I plop down on the couch and flick on the TV.

  Feeling tired and a little breathless, I rest my head against the plush couch to regain my breath.

  "Are you going to finish that?" A familiar male voice asks. I pop one eye open to see Mason staring at the mug on my lap.

  I nod my head and raise the cup to my lips. I make an over exaggerated slurping noise as I gulp down the hot liquid greedily.

Sweet niblets that burns.

  Mason chuckles as I stick out my tongue to cool it down.

  I shoot him a glare. "What do you want, Barnett? Other than to steal my coffee and mock me."

  He grins. "I came to uphold my half of the deal. What do you want to do today?"

  I rest my head back against the couch. "I don't know, but I'm good with something that isn't strenuous. I feel weak today."

  He frowns. "I'm sorry. Do you have medications to take to relieve the pain?"

  "Yes, they're in the cupboard over by the kitchen."

  Without saying anything, Mason trots over to the cupboard and returns with a handful of bottles.

  "I don't know which ones you take and when, so I grabbed you all of them."

  I take the appropriate bottle and swallow a couple of pills down with some coffee.

  "They should kick in soon. In about 10-15 minutes."

  "Do you ever wish you could change it? Do you ever want it to all go away?" He asks.

  "Of course I do. I never asked for any of this. If I could get rid of this disease I would in a heartbeat. But the reality is, I can't. I was born with a heart that was doomed to fail. Every heartbeat is one beat closer to my last. If I could live a normal life, even for just a day, I would," I answer sadly.

  "I know. I can't make the disease disappear, but I can do the next best thing." He grins.

  I raise an eyebrow. "And what exactly is that?"

  "We can pretend for a day that you aren't dying. We can pretend you are a normal person. We can give you the chance to be normal Vivian Marshall. No one will know except for me," he says wiggling his eyebrows enticingly.

  I can't help but to smile a little at the idea. "That sounds pretty cool. I should warn you I don't know what normal means let alone how to act it."

  "That's okay. Neither do I."

***

We bundled up in a thick sweaters and boots to shield ourselves against the cool Maine breeze. I bury my hands in my pockets and casually walk beside Mason. I struggle to catch my breath as we walk against the wind. Finally, we make a turn and my breathing eases up. We continue our march towards the downtown area.

  Quaint shops that attract tourists in the summer adorn the sides of the roads. Many are painted in vibrant colours to capture the attention of exploring customers.