Apart

Together

Veronica
I wanted to hold onto Vincent tighter, but I knew that it would hurt him. We sat there in silence. There was really no need for words.
With my head pressed upon his chest, I could hear his heart beat. He finally broke the silence.
"I found out 2 weeks ago." He says.
2 weeks? He could have told me 2 weeks ago. I wanted to be mad, but something in my mind ordered me not to. I gave no response as he kept on speaking.
"The doctor said-" I cut him off.
"I don't need you to go into detail. I just need to know. Are you going to live?" I ask without lifting my head. If I looked him in the eyes, I knew I would have broke done then and there, even though I was already broken inside. It wasn't a simple question.
"The doctor said I had a 10% survival chance." He whispered.
10%? Are you kidding me? I prayed that all of this would go away. What did he do to deserve this? I'm going to lose him. As all these crazy thoughts run through my mind, I realize I need to stop acting like a victim.
"How long do you have left?" I ask.
"I don't know, but I'm not terminal so..." He tried to stay positive.
"Then, I don't care. I'll still love you. I'll be right by your side." I smile.
5 months later
Veronica
It's been a while since Aaron got shot and Vincent told me he had stage four lung cancer. I didn't know what type of lung cancer it was, and frankly I didn't want to know. Aaron progressively regained his strength back and slowly recovered from the shooting. On the other hand, I could tell Vince was deteriorating. He is still walking around and all, but I knew that he was getting weak.
Vanessa
"Hey babe." I walk towards Aaron. He was working on some exercises his physical therapist gave him.
"How's Vincent?" He asks.
"He's getting a round of chemo." I sigh. The day he told me he had cancer... I didn't want to believe it. I was sitting with Aaron when I felt something strange. I knew something was wrong. It was the same feeling that I get when Roni was depressed or scared. It passed over my mind, though. Vincent and Veronica walk back in to the room, and told us.
"Do you think he'll get through it?" Aaron interrupts my thoughts.
"Yeah... Vince is a fighter." I said what I wanted to believe, but I didn't know at this point. No one knew if he could survive. Not even Roni, the one person who always stayed positive.
Vincent
I sat in my uncomfortable hospital bed and stared at the window, watching the sun's glare on the glass pane.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Roni sat in the chair, watching youtube videos.
"Everything. I'm thinking about the past, the present, and the future." It makes me sad. As everyday passes, I have this dark thought in the back of my mind. My expiration date keeps getting closer and closer. I couldn't waste anymore time thinking about that. What do I want to do now? There is so many things I planned on doing. I turn to Veronica.
"Marry me." I smile.
"What?" She closes down her laptop and puts it on the table.
"Marry me." I repeat myself. "I don't want to waste anymore time. I want to marry you."
"Ok." She says.
"Ok?" I smile again.
"Yes. I'll marry you." She takes a hold of my face and kisses me with her soft lips.
Vanessa and Aaron walk in.
"What's going on?" Aaron questions.
"We're getting married." Veronica chuckles.
Vanessa hugs Roni and I.
"Yay!" Nessa shouts out.
~~~
1 week later.
We decide to have the wedding sooner than later. It was just close friends and family attending. Aaron is my best man and Nessa, obviously, is Veronica's maid of honor. I walk up to the alter. Surprisingly, I didn't feel nervous at all. As all the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk in, I finally see Veronica. Everyone stands up. She was beautiful. My eyes start watering, she is an angel. I take a hold of her hands.

We get to our vows. I honestly didn't have to give it much thought, I knew exactly what I wanted to say.
"Vincent, Before I met you, I was afraid of a lot of things. I was scared of commitment, being myself, being alone, and countless other things. But you made me feel fearless. All my life, I was scared to be me, but with you, I'm always happy. Whatever we will go through, we'll go through together. I'm so in love with you, Vincent Almanza and this is just the beginning." Tears of joy run down her rosy cheeks. I take a deep breath before I start.
"I'm not the brightest person. I make stupid decisions half of the time. When I first saw you, I was afraid to talk to you. I almost convinced myself not to go up to you, but I said man up and that was the best decision I have ever made. I might not have much time left on earth, but I'm not focused on that. We can have 2 months or we could have 20 years, it doesn't matter to me. As long as I get to spend everyday with you, I'm gonna die a happy man. Veronica Jo Merrell, I'm determined to love you with all my heart until my very last breath.  I will always love you now, forever, and beyond." My tears come as I stare into Roni's eyes.
"By the power vested in me and by the state of California, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." He commands.
I take Veronica into my arms and hold her close to me. I proceed to press my lips against hers as the crowd cheers in excitement.
3 months later
Veronica
These past few days, Vincent was getting weaker. It broke my heart to see him in pain. Despite this, he still had his lively soul. He sat on his bed, putting a letter in an envelope.
"Who's that for?" I ask.
"It's for you." He lifts his head and faces me.
"Let me read it then!" I playfully try to take the letter from his grasp.
"No, it's for after I die." He confesses. The thought of death was pretty normal for us to think about. He was prepared for it, and I was prepared for it. I smiled back at him, still anxious to see what he wrote.
"Fine." I reluctantly agree.
I went back to my computer. Typing away, I hear a crash from Vincent's direction. I look up from my laptop to see him gasping for air. I widen my eyes.
"Nurse!" I scream for someone.
I run over to him. He grabbed a hold of my arm. I knew what was coming, I could see it in his eyes. I stepped outside as all the doctors come running in, but I already knew he was gone. The next few hours went by slowly. I walk back into the room to see his body.
"I love you." I caress his soft face as my tears drop onto him. Even though I convinced myself that I was prepared for this, who can be prepared for something so heartbreaking.
7 years later
I sit in the backyard of Aaron and Nessa's house as Luke, their 4 year old boy, runs up to me.
"What is that necklace?" He points to my neck.
"It has a ring attached to it." I explain."Your uncle Vincent gave it to me."
"Was he a cop like daddy?" He asks.
"Yeah, he was right by your dad's side. He was fearless and brave, just like your father." I smile and hug him.
We walk inside. I search around my bag, trying to find my phone. I finally find it when I spot the letter Vincent gave me all those years ago. I brought it everywhere I went. I didn't have the guts to read it at first, but I think it's time now.
"Dear Veronica, I've tried to write this letter at least 5 times, but I just couldn't. Whenever I tried, I would think of the past memories and would get sad when we couldn't make new ones. I finally sat down and finished the letter, so here you go. When we were first dating, I thought to myself what my life would have been without you. I tried to convince myself that I would be fine, but as time went on, the thought of not being with you made me scared. Now, you have to live without me, but it's different. I don't know how you feel. All I know is that you are one fearless person. When I was growing up, I thought I was useless, a never to be seen nobody. But you changed my perspective. I'm so proud of you for making me and millions of other people into kind, nurturing characters. I'll miss the earth, I'll miss Vanessa and Aaron, I'll miss saving peoples lives, but nothing can compare to how much I will miss you, angel eyes. You have to promise me something. Find the thing that makes you happy and pursue it. Also, find the person you love. I know you believe in soulmates, but at least try. And finally, I'm sorry that I couldn't hold on anymore. Just remember, I'll always be in love with you, forever and beyond.
Love, Vincent Lucca Almanza
P.S Tell Aaron I was the one who stole his donut on July 13, 2016
I smiled and pressed the letter up to my chest.
"Forever and Beyond." I whispered up into the sky.

The End

A/n I hope you enjoyed the book! I loved writing this so much. and if you were wondering why all the chapters are titled "Hour #" I don't really know why but I couldn't really change it so. Have a good day!- Maddie