Amnesia - A Luke Hemmings au [Completed]

18. Oceans

And when you die, will anybody care?

A few are gonna cry, coz' they are scared

April's POV

The next few days were hard ones. After good moments come the bad ones. The balance of life, I guess.

I was staying less and less awake, I was having a hard time concentrating on anything and now had to wear are cannula connected to an oxygen tank to help my weakened lungs. When cancer chooses it's victim, it doesn't miss.

The hospital's surrounding was honestly depressing.

And so, somehow, Luke worked his magic.

I don't know how he did it, and honestly, I don't think I really want to know. Anyways, I was discharged for one afternoon.

I was riding shotgun in Luke's car, watching the scenery fly by outside of the window. "Where are we going?" I asked in my weak, scratchy voice.

"I knew you wouldn't last one minute without asking," he chuckled. "We're going to the beach."

I was surprised by his answer for two reasons. First, I didn't expect to get an answer at all, and second, I couldn't figure out the reason behind our destination. We were nearing the end of summer, and it was too cold to go to the beach.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because I like it there," he simply answers. 

When we parked in the empty parking lot, Luke got my wheelchair from the back and helped me out of the car, hooking the oxygen tank on the wheelchair. My body instantly started shivering, and I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as Luke covered me in a blanket.

He pushed me along the empty beach for a while, until he stopped the wheelchair facing the ocean and sat down in the sand next to me.

I waited silently for him to say something. I could feel there was something he wanted to tell me, something he didn't want to talk about in the hospital.

After a few minutes, his soft voice interrupted the silence. "Are you scared?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on the horizon.

"I don't really know. I don't even know what to think anymore," I paused. "When I was younger, I believed in a perfect world. One where everyone could live a happy and long life. Obviously, this kind of perfection doesn't exist."

Luke sighed, "No, it doesn't."

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"What's gonna happen if I'm gone?"

"I'm gonna be very, very sad."

"I don't want you to be sad."

"I don't want you to be gone."

"I know."

It was silent for a while, before I went on, "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me one thing."

"Anything."

I breathed in deeply, "Promise that you'll go on. That you'll be sad for a while, but not forever," I whispered. "Promise me that you won't forget me, but that you'll live past the pain. Promise to follow your dreams. Make a band, write songs, create music."

The silence that followed my request had me worried at first, but he answered, "I promise."

"I mean it."

"I know."

We watched the waves for a while, enjoying the silence of the beach and the noise of the ocean, the warmth of the sand and the coldness of the wind.

"When we were on the drop tower that day at the fair, I asked myself what would have happened if we had never stopped. If we had just crashed into the ground and died. Would it have hurt? Well, obviously, for a short moment. But what afterwards? I just can't imagine that there's nothing. I mean, how can nothing even exist?"

Luke nodded. "I see your point. It's hard to believe in something when there's nothing really to believe in. Nobody knows what will happen. That's why people stick to myths, legends, religion. People don't like the unknown."

I whispered, "Me neither."

Suddenly, I felt two strong arms wrap around me from behind and Luke's head rested on my shoulder.

"Whatever happens, I'll be with you. Wether it is for the rest of your days, or for the rest of mine, trust me when I say that I'll spend every second of every day thinking about you."

There was a moment of silence, in which only the sound of the waves crashing against the shore could be heard. And then, suddenly, I felt warm lips press against mine. 

"I love you," he whispered.