Forever Faithful

Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

The rest of the car ride was silent. We got back to our flat and Caitlyn just looked lost. She had this blank stare on her face and she just stood in the middle of the living room. I had to let out a deep breath to try to calm myself; I had to fight back the tears that she was bringing to my eyes. I knew that I had to be strong for her.  I walked over to her and I wrapped my arms tight around her and kissed the top of her head and then said, “Listen, babe. I know that this must be a tough time for you right now. Believe me, you will be ok. Dr. Larkner told you that as long as you take your meds, everything will be just fine. Things will get better. I will be right next to you ever step of the way.” With that I felt her tears start to bleed into my shirt which made me start to tear up. I couldn’t stand having Caitlyn cry.

She hiccupped and then shyly looked into my eyes. “I’m just really scared, Harry. What if something goes wrong? What if the medication doesn’t work?” she leaned her head back into my chest and I tightened my grip on her, letting her know that I was always going to be there for her.

“There’s no reason to think that way, Caitlyn. Like the doctor said, there are millions of people with stomach ulcers. They know what they are doing,” I said as I pulled her back and kissed the tip of her nose. She just nodded looking at her feet. I started moving away some of her tears with my thumb and said, “I think, you could use a bit of cheering up.” Trying to change the subject. “You feeling up for a bit of a party with the boys?” I knew that they were the ones to make her feel better. They were just so crazy and wild.

She finished drying off her face and then said softly looking into my eyes and taking my hand, “That sounds fun, Harry, but I’m still a bit tired. I think I’m just going to go lie down and relax. Thanks though.” She gently kissed me on the lips and said as she walked towards the bedroom, “Feel free to join me at any time,” and added a wink. Even though she was in pain, she still had that amazing sense of humor.

I told her that I’d be back and relax with her later. I wanted to inform the lads about what was going on. They were all so concerned about her. We met up about twenty minutes later at the Starbucks down the street.

“A stomach ulcer? Wow. Is she ok?” Liam asked with worry in his voice and care in his eyes.

“I think she will be ok. Right now her stomach is killing her and she is extremely tired right now. I think most of that is just because she just got off loads of drugs from the hospital. Other than that I think that she is doing well. She’s just really scared.”

“Well that’s understandable,” Niall added. “I’d be pretty freaked out if I was told I had a gaping hole in my stomach.  Did they mention how big it was?”

“Yeah, a half inch. The doctor said that it will take a long time to heal, but it is cure able. She’s just—“I started to get a little teary eyed. Talking about this worried me.

Louis noticed me getting a bit shaken up and then said comfortingly, “It’s all going to be ok, Harry. I know that this has got to be a hard time for you two. But just think, you are making things better for her right now.”

“How is that?” I said more towards the table than towards Louis.

“Well, for one, you are here with her. I think that if she found out about this and she was still living in Chicago things would be much harder for her. I don’t think you really notice how much she lights up when you walk into the room. And for two, her mum is almost never home. If she was in the states she would have to deal with this all on her own. At least you are here and are able to help her get through this.” He leaned over and patted my hand and said, “You’re her rock right now Harold. You have to stay strong so that she will be strong.”