Just Live

Chapter 18

Days passed and good days came, but not any more than the bad days. At times, Maine would be feeling just well enough to go out for a lunch date with RJ after attending radiation therapy but, more often than not, she barely had any energy for anything else other than attending therapy in the city.

On good days, Maine would usually ask RJ to accompany her at her favorite spot in their ranch, or ask him to drive her to the store and buy her cravings. He was more than willing to drive for her, regardless of the time of day or how far it was, because since she started chemotherapy, her appetite declined drastically.

On good days, Maine would also ask RJ and her family to have a bonfire in the backyard and they would happily agree to it. For some reason, she found it comforting. Those were the times that she felt her usual self, laughing and sharing stories with her family and her boyfriend, and those were the times that help get her through the rough days.

On bad days, in spite of how hard it has been dealing with the side effects of both therapies, Maine would hold on to those good days to get it through the day and night, hoping that when she wakes up from her sleep, she'll feel a little better than the previous day.

Five weeks have passed and not a day went by that RJ wasn't at her side; he saw how Maine dealt with headaches; he saw how she swallowed the lump in her throat when her hair started falling out; he saw how she could barely keep the few spoons of food she took at times; he saw how dark circles started forming around her eyes due to having trouble sleeping; he saw how she would curl up in a ball when stomach pain hit her; he saw how she lacked energy to make it up and down the stairs; and he saw how she nausea and vomiting drained her.

Today was one of those days. RJ was walking up the stairs when he heard retching sounds from Maine's bedroom. He quickly ran up and found her four year old nephew alone in the room.

"Tito," Matti said with a pout, his eyes horrified and were brimming with tears. He looked to the bathroom and RJ saw that the door to her bathroom was open. "I'm scared."

"Matti," RJ said as he held his hand. "Tita ninang's going to be okay. Stay here, okay? Tito will help tita."

"I'm scared," Matti said again, pouting even more. "Tita's sick."

"Tito RJ's gonna help tita. Just wait here, okay?"

RJ gave him a quick hug before running to the bathroom where he found Maine bent over the toilet bowl as she vomited.

"Love," he said as he immediately went to her side, pulling her hair away from her face and rubbing her back.

RJ grabbed a face towel and ran it through the cold water before wiping it across her forehead. He helped support her exhausted figure while Maine threw up mostly fluids, with tears running down her cheeks as she retched almost non-stop.

Tears formed in his own eyes but he quickly wiped them away before the retching settled and he helped Maine lean on the wall.

"Sorry, love," she said with a hoarse, quiet, voice and red eyes, her breathing fast from spending a lot of energy on another episode of vomiting.

"Shhh, it's okay," RJ said while he helped her sit on the floor with her back against the wall. "I'm right here," he said when he sat beside her and gave Maine a comforting hug.

He wiped her sweat while he called out to her parents and siblings who were preparing their lunch when he arrived at their house. Within a minute, they came running up the stairs to her room where they were both found on the bathroom floor, with RJ using his body for Maine to rest on.

They brought ice cubes, a popsicle and a glass of cold water while Nikki filled a cup with cold water for Maine to rinse her mouth with. RJ held a basin under her chin to spit the water out while her eldest sister helped with holding the cup to rinse some more.