Slipping Away

Chapter 16

That night, Liam stayed at my bedside. He didn't talk. He didn't cry. He was just there. I could hear him breathing. He must love me. He chose to spend Christmas night with me. I knew that nearly every speck of hope had faded, and perhaps he was preparing himself for the worst. I knew it was coming. It was going to happen sooner or later. He knew it was coming to. He was just spending one last peaceful night with me before he had to say goodbye. That last goodbye would be so hard. I wondered how he would cope without me, but after a few minutes of thinking I realised that the prospect was too gloomy to think about. Live in the present Molly, not the past. Enjoy the last hours with the person you love the most.

As the seconds ticked closer to midnight, my heartbeat became faster and faster. I could feel it thumping in my chest. Boom.  Boom. Boom. It was nearly Christmas Day. Tick. Tick. Tick. And then it was Christmas Day. 00:00, 25th December 2012. Liam broke the silence. "Happy Christmas Molly." His voice was barely a whisper. I could hear the rumble of a car on the road outside, the beep of my heart monitor and the muffled sounds of hospital life beyond the door of my room. I wanted to tell him happy Christmas too. I wanted to go outside in the snow and hug him and tell him how much I loved him. All of these things that I had been dying to do for over twelve weeks. All of these things that would never happen. I knew I was going to die. My body felt tired and heavy, and life seemed to have no point anymore. I was obviously not going to wake up, so I might as well not go on living. My thoughts slipped away and we were back to the silence. But not for long. Liam had something else to say. "Molly ... I need to ask you something. I've been meaning to ask you this since the summer but then ... all of this happened and ... I never got the chance. But I figure I might as well ask you now ... Molly ... will you marry me?"

And that’s when it happened. Without even thinking, I opened my eyes, and for the first time in twelve weeks, I saw his face. He looked me in the eye and smiled. He must have been overjoyed, but neither of us wanted to ruin the moment. I had only one word to say.

“Yes.”

I hope you've enjoyed reading Slipping Away as much as I have enjoyed writing it. This is the end of Molly and Liam's story for now, but I don't know what the future holds for them! I may find myself writing them another story, but I think they are going to have a rest for a little while, whilst I focus on other things. Thanks for reading!