"It's not about who kissed who, Colby! The universe doesn't want us to be together." Cami began crying as she shouted into the open street. Colby stared back at her with tears welling in his blue eyes.
"But Cami, I love you." His voice was quiet bu...
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Hold On — Chord Overstreet
|December 31, 2017| Goodbye
— C A M I
At one point I managed to fall asleep in the stiff hospital chairs. Colby, though most likely very uncomfortable, kept his arms around me and stroked my hair comfortingly through it all. I felt awful that he hadn't slept at all but he refused to go home. He was almost as stubborn as me, and I was took weak to put up a fight.
My eyes were puffy and red and my cheeks were flushed. I felt weak and tired. All the emotions I had been feeling had completely drained me. Now I felt nothing— nothing but an empty pit in my stomach. I was nauseas and my head was throbbing. Though I became agitated and lashed out, Colby never left my side.
"Ma'am? Are you Camila Parks?" An unfamiliar voice asks. I open my tired eyes to see a nurse standing over me with a soft smile and a clipboard in her arms. With a nod and a yawn I lift up from Colby's embrace and stretch my arms up above my head. "The Minks family asked me to come get you." She explains. All of the staff had rotated out so none of the familiar nurses from the night before were around. I was too exhausted to speak. Colby gave me a soft peck on the lips before I stood and followed her through the hall.
"Oh, Cami. You're still here." Stacy spoke sadly. Her eyes were puffy like mine. Braden was next to Adrianna's bed with his head against the mattress, seemingly asleep. Dex sat in the corner with a blank look on his face as he stared at the wall. After a much needed hug from Adrianna's mom, she motions for me to follow her out of the room. "The doctors told us that there is no possible way she will ever regain any type of brain function. We— we've decided to let her go. We want her to be at peace. I know this should be mine or Braden's place, but I know how close you two are. Is there anyway you could take Dex out and, I don't know, explain to him what's going on? He's all we have left and I don't want him to hate us." She cries to me. I feel tears beginning to roll down my cheeks as she speaks. The empty pit turned into a deep sadness, but I nodded. I would do anything for that family.
"Of course." I agree quietly. My voice is horse and dry. We walk back into the room where Dex is still silently staring into space. "Dex? Hey, come on. We're going to go get some air for a little bit. Don't worry, you won't miss anything." I tell him softly, reassuring his glances to Adrianna. He looks to his mom who smiles a small, weak smile and nods. No words are said as we exit the room and walk down the hallway.
"Cami, I'm scared." Dex whispers. My heart completely shatters. I throw my arm around his shoulder and pull him into me as we walk. No words can seem to form.
When we enter back into the waiting room Colby is barely awake in his seat. I tell Dex to wait outside and call an Uber for us before walking over and crouching down in front of my boyfriend. I place my hands on his legs and shake him softly, watching as his eyes flutter open. "Hey, go home and get some sleep. Stacy asked me to take Dex out for some air. I'll call you later, okay?" I whisper to him. He rubs his eyes tiredly and runs a hand through his hair to get it out of his face. We stand and he wraps his arms around my waist, mine around his shoulders. The both of us enjoy the embrace as we sway softly back and forth, my head against his chest. I pull away and kiss him on the cheek, reassuring him that I'll call him later before walking away to meet Dex.
He's sitting on the curb when I walk outside; his head down and his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats. I hook my arm through his, causing him to look up at me with his tired brown eyes. A smile forces its way to my face but the favor isn't returned, which is understandable. We stand in silence on the sidewalk until our Uber pulls up. The driver attempts to make casual conversation but we don't respond.
I decide to take him to Adrianna and I's favorite cafe in downtown LA. It's not crowded, considering it's somewhere around 6am, so we take a seat in the back corner. We pick at our food for a while. It's hard to find the words to say to him, but I know I have to do something. Dex is like my little brother, and it's been that way for years. I feel a tear slide down my cheek but I wipe it away before he can see, though I know more are soon to come.
"Dex, we need to talk." I sigh. He looks up to me with a frown. My mind is racing with different ways to tell him. Nothing seems to be right. "Adrianna isn't going to wake up. Your parents want to put her at peace, but they didn't want you to be mad at them. I don't want you to be mad at them either. This is what's best for Adri. And I know—" I begin to explain as tears run down my face, but he cuts me off.
"It's okay." Dex says. I look up from my lap to see his eyes brimming with tears. "This isn't about me, or you, or mom and dad. It's about Adri." He tells me. My lip quivers as a smile is brought to my face. I scoot around the booth and engulf him in a hug, not caring who was around to see.
We wait a while before going back to the hospital. Stories of Adrianna come up that make us both cry and laugh. She'll be leaving us behind with amazing memories. There isn't much more she could have done with her life to make it any better than it was. We both knew that. I hope she did too.
The hospital was busy when we returned. Visiting hours for some of the different wings had just opened so distressed families bustled about. I told Dex to go ahead while I talked to Colby, who had decided to stay against my wishes for him to get som rest. It took everything in me not to break down as I told him every thing that was going on. He promised to stay while I went with her family. Though I wasn't initially going to go, Stacy insisted. She said that I was family and that I deserved to be there with the rest of them. It's what Adrianna would have wanted.
Stacy and Braden are standing next to the bed, hands intertwined. I wrap my arm around Dex's neck and pull him close to me, his arms going around my torso. The nurse walks in and it's as if all of the air was sucked out of the room. His arms tighten around me and I sigh, allowing tears to roll freely down my face. As the nurse reaches around to start turning off the machines I feel my heart start to race. My lungs feel as though they're shrinking and my eyes start to burn. I let go of Dex and rush out of the room, gasping for air while hearing the monitor flatline behind me. My vision goes blurry and I feel myself starting to fall before strong arms wrap around me— Colby's arms. I throw my arms around his shoulders and sob loudly into the crook of his neck.
"Please don't go," I brokenly sob to him. His arms tighten around me and he presses his lips to my temple.
"I'll never leave, Cami."
We're getting close to the end guys :( but don't worry, there's a sequel ;) xoxo JEN
