I love his comfort. I love the warmth of his strong body enveloping me. I'm still sniffling and he's still holding me, but I realize that I can't let this happen. The last thing I want to do is hurt him, and if I let him us get too close and, assuming he even does want to be more than friends, hurting him will literally be the last thing I'll do.
I can't let this stranger love me.
"You okay?" Max asks me. His blue eyes pierce into mine, and I find it hard to look away. I look down, nodding slightly. He lets go of me, scooting away as he turns to the table and pretends that his tea is the most interesting thing he's ever seen. I need to get out.
"I need to go to the bathroom," I tell him, and he gets up, moving to the other side of the table.
I leave the booth and act as if my destination is the bathroom. But it's not. I take a few steps towards the ladies' room, but at the last second, I turn and make a break for the door. I hear the stranger call my name, but I don't react. I don't think, and I don't feel.
Pushing open the door, I dash outside and the autumn air rushes into my lungs. I hear the glass door close, but immediately then open again. Tears come to my eyes, but I wipe them away as I begin to walk away from the restaurant. I feel terrible for this. Eventually he must realize what I'm doing and make a move to stop me, because I can hear my name being called out. But I won't stop. I begin to jog as I hear it drawing closer. Then I sprint.
His deep voice echoes my name as I fall away from him. The last person I want to shy away from, and the last person I will. I feel a cinching tightness in my chest, and my lungs begin to throb as I struggle to breathe under the weight of my problem. I'm still running when my eyelids begin to pull themselves shut, and I lose control of my legs, tripping over myself. I barely see the concrete sidewalk closing in on me before I fall unconscious.
Son of a bitch.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I know that it seems like Anna did something stupid and random when she ran, but that's the point. I'm trying to convey the confusion and desperation cancer victims often feel.
YOU ARE READING
A Work in Progress
RomanceSixteen year old Anna is an aspiring writer, and it's what she loves. But when she is diagnosed with cancer, everything she knows changes, and she falls into a deep depression. But then she meets Max, a boy who shows her that even in the darkest tim...
