Blake and Aimee

Chapter 51: Aimee

"Hey..." I am in the library, we are setting up for the Christmas party. It's only October, but we decided to have it early... looking at the scheme of things with Blake I thought earlier than later would be best. Casey smiles as she hangs up streamers on the bookshelves.

"Is that Blake on the line?" She raises one eyebrow at me. I pull the phone away from my ear briefly.

"No it's fucking Santa Claus, yes Casey it's Blake." She laughs as I shake my head.

"Hey," Blake responds, but his voice is weak, faint, "what are you doing?"

"Getting the party set up," I panic for a moment, "you didn't forget did you?" He laughs quietly.

"No, I didn't. But about the party," his voice grows weaker, he sounds choked up, "I'm afraid I won't be coming." What?

"Wait, why?"

"Aimee, I'm too sick. I can barely walk 10 meters without feeling like I'm about to pass out. I want to come more than anything but I just, I just can't. I'm sorry Aimee." Juan comes over and wipes a tear from the side of my face. He whispers softly so Blake can't hear on the other side.

"What is it? Is he ok?" I shake my head as the tears stream.

"He can't come tonight, he's too sick." Juan thinks for a moment. His eyes widen in realisation.

"I have an idea."

"Aimee? You still there?" I jump back to my phone.

"Yeah, yeah baby sorry the phone cut out. Um... listen I'm going to call you in about 15 minutes or so okay? Just, give me 15 minutes." Juan gives me the thumbs up.

"Okay... talk to you then?" He sounds utterly confused as I hang up. I turn around.

"Alright then, what is this plan?"

...

It was an absolute shambles getting everything into my car, balloons kept popping out the window and it was a struggle to get 4 people in three back seats. But we managed all the same.

"Hey Aimee, are you going to call him yet?" Leeah shouts from the back seat.

"Yeah just getting my phone out." Casey leans over, sticking her head between the gap in the two front seats.

"Tell him I say hi." I look down at her.

"I won't. Anyway, you can say it yourself we are here." We bundle everything out of the car. I put the phone to my ear and hear it ringing.

"Yeah?" He sounds anxious.

"Okay everything is sorted."

"What the hell are you going on about?" We get a lot of weird looks from people in the waiting rooms as we barge through with all our junk.

"So, you said you were too sick to come to the party, right?" Blake sighs.

"Yeah I know it sucks, but you guys have fun. You can tell me about it afterwards." We march our way down the corridors.

"Shhh, let me finish. So, you said you were too sick to come to the party, then Juan had this awesome idea," Two left turns then a right, "so we packed up all our stuff and-" Blake cuts in.

"Aimee slow down, what are you even doing?" We open up the door into his ward.

"-bring the party to you." Blake looks up, staring at me as I hang up my phone and set the box of decorations on his hospital bed. "Merry Christmas Blake." He smiles wider than ever.

...

We talked for hours, the nurses kept trying to tell us visiting hours were over but Blake's Ma (bless her) kept telling them to go away. I looked over at Blake, his hands were trembling more than they ever have before. His skin was a pasty white, as if he was a part of some black-and-white movie. The whites of his eyes where red, as if all the blood cells were about to pop out of them. I felt her heart break inside. I don't like to admit it and hated it when Blake admitted it, but he was sick. Really sick. I try being optimistic about the whole thing, we all do, but all good things have to come to an end. Even him. I know there was a time in my life before Blake and that there will be a time afterwards, but it wasn't until I saw him lying in bed just now that I realised that day is coming soon. And I'm not ready. I close my eyes, trying to push the hurt away and savour this good moment that I have with him. Savour all of them. Blake's hand rests against mine.

"Hey are you alright?" I smile and kiss him on the cheek.

"Never better." He smiles back. I watch him as he laughs and talks with the others. We pull Christmas bon-bons and wear paper hats, telling cheesy jokes around his bed. Just for a moment everything was normal, perfect even. But there is that one scene I remember from John Green's the Fault in Our Stars, "The Last Good Day". It was a good day like any other and it happens before everything turns for the worst. The moment when everything is really positive and happy, where the sun can't shrine any brighter, where their smiles cannot get any wider.

I didn't know it then. But that night in the hospital, with Blake and the others laughing and smiling; it really was his last good day.