[ t o m o r r o w ] l.h

II

236 Days until

It isn't as cold as expected. The rain has reduced to light spitting yet the streets are still painted a dull grey with little to no light shining through the dull clouds. The canvas shoes on my feet are already soaking wet, not even halfway down the street and I have taken one wrong miss step when crossing the street into a puddle. Gabi did not live to far from me, about three blocks away, no more than a ten minute walk kept us distanced.

Gabriella Hemsten has been my best and only friend since we were seven, she has been there through pre-diagnose and post, the thought that her best friend could be dead any given day doesn't seem to bother her on most days; but some days it gets to her and I have to reassure her that I will beat this, I lie frequently. We are surprisingly close despite being two different souls, she likes to party and had a world of friends that weren't me. Gabi is my only friend. I would love more friends, but I don't think anyone can handle having a dying best friend - Gabi is insane. I've been homeschooled since middle school started, my parents dont like me not being in school as they think I don't socialize enough but I don't like people only being nice to me cause I am the terminally ill kid; not a trope you see on t.v frequently.

"You texting a hot date?" A familiar voice calls as the sound of an old sputtering engine echoes beside me. The resident redhead crazy person hanging out the car's window.

"You know me, a little minx really," I laugh as my phone slid into the sweaters pocket as I jog across the passenger side of Gabriella's old black truck.

Sliding into the passenger seat, I catch the familiar whiff of alcohol masked by Gabis favourite perfume at the time; currently it is strawberry vanilla. A few fast food wrappers litter at the bottom of my damp feet as does a few butts of cheap cigarettes that I know don't belong to Gabi, she never smokes or at least in area she knows I would be.

"You look great, the hole in your ass really ties the look together Val," The truck speeds off down the street, back towards the way I came, the rain hit the windshield at a faster pace than it was falling.

"Thanks, my sweater reminded me of your hair so I grabbed it," I breathe out as I lean back in the seat, my short legs kicking up on dashboard as I tighten my ponytail. Gabis fiery red locks are loose and free today, the curls make it hard for her to tame so she normally opted for the natural option.

"Mhm. Go fuck yourself. You feeling any better?" I hate when people ask me that, but I do understand that you would worry about someone you cared for.

"Yea, my mom was out of town for like a week straight talking to doctors - My dad made chili like every night," About a month ago there was an incident where my lungs filled with liquid in the middle of the night, it has only happened once before and it almost took me out. I won't get into the depths of what happened but I was practically out of commission for a month in the hospital getting treatments and had to use an oxygen tank for a solid three weeks.

"Oh god, Andrew's chili is so bad. I'm surprised that didn't put you back in the hospital," Gabi laughs but I can see the relief behind her orange eyes. I remember waking up to her crying at my bedside, I hate the thought of my family and her sitting out in the waiting room not knowing if I'll make it - but I did, thankfully; for the sake of them at least.

"Let's celebrate your recovery, Michael's band is playing at a bar this Friday. If you don't feel up to that, I have Netflix and the Mcdonald's is 24/7," Gabi has been dating Michael Clifford since she was in ninth grade, they aren't a settle down and get married couple, I got more Bonnie and Clyde vibes. She never offers to bring me to a show before, we both know there is a decent amount of smoke in those places.