Stay A Little Longer: A Short Story

•Fifteen•

"He's been gone for an hour, I'm starving," I complain to my family. JoJo just pats my arm and tells me to to calm down.

"He probably got stuck in traffic or something," she says. "He'll be back."

"This isn't a date, Jo, you can't make up excuses for being late and expect me to believe them. I'm the one who sent him to get the food!"

"He'll be back, Andy," Dad groans. "Listen to us. He couldn't be far."

I huff and sit in silence for about five more minutes, before my stomach lets out a loud rumble.

"Okay, I'm calling him." Joanna throws up her hands and takes out her phone. She dials up Greyson and waits.

It rings once. Then twice. Then several times. She hangs up.

"C'mon, Huang, what are you doing?"

She dials again and again, and on the fifth try, a knock comes at the door.

"It's about time," Mom says, going over to open the door. When the heavy wood swings open, however, a man stands on the other side.

He wears a blue suit and a weird belt, a hat held in his hands. I squint my eyes and realize it's a uniform.

An officer.

"Andy, what did you do?" Joanna asks in a joking tone. The officer steps in without being invited.

"I hate to be the bringer of bad news, especially now," he starts. "But we need to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Lavigne in private."
•••
Yesterday I was supposed to be married to a bright, loving boy. Now, he sits in a hospital bed identical to mine, somewhere else in this big building, as I progressively get worse. I black out periodically, my stomach twists in knots, and, above all, my heart breaks over and over.

I'm told that I won't be able to see him, because he's hurting really bad. But he'll be fine in a few weeks. The only thing he can do at the moment is write.

So, instead of a big wedding, we plan to sign a legal document. At least, when I'm ready to leave my family behind, we'll be together. Even though we're separated by the big, love ruining barrier of death.

I sleep a lot to avoid pain. Or my family. Maybe both, but I'd never admit it. I just hate to do this to them. It always happens, too; I get worse and worse, my life being depressingly close to its end, placing stress on everyone I love, while I push them away so they don't have to deal with me.

I hate it.

I just hope, if one of us has to go, Greyson gets to see his family again.

He can comfort my family when I'm gone.
•••
I apologize in advance.