Until The Day I Die

Chapter 17

     It was three weeks before Christmas. Eli and I had our semester exams coming up that we had to study for. We were at his house everyday after school, and we were always really focused, so I didn't talk to Chloe as much as I wanted too, but I always said goodnight to her every night. I had to make sure I had time for her.
     I would head home around five o'clock. David would have dinner already made for me, but I would always arrive a little too late, and the food would be cold so I'd heat it up. The food never tasted as good when it was heated up. I ate in my room as well, so I could study more. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was becoming really smart. I was making all A's, and I was that kid that freaked out when I got anything below 100, even if it was a 95. Getting good grades became my top priority before school got out. 
     Speaking of school getting out, I realized that we all were almost out of time with Chloe. I wondered how she was doing at the moment. I assumed that the more time that runs out, the weaker and sicker you get. It made me a bit worried for Chloe. I decided to call her while I was studying. Maybe studying wasn't my "top" priority. The phone was ringing, and she answered in short time.
     "Hello," She said with a sick tone.
     "Hey, are you okay? You don't sound too good." I also noticed how she didn't say my name this time. It was like she almost didn't know who this was.
     "Oh, well, you know I get sick a lot, and-" she coughed before continuing, "time... is running out."
     "Do you need me to come over?"
     "No no no, I can't have you around right now. I'm really sick." She coughs again but this time much louder and worse. "I gotta go, okay?" She hung up after those last words without saying bye. I didn't think much of it and went back to studying.
     The day came when I had to take my final exams. I felt very confident about how I would do. Eli, on the other hand, was really nervous. After the exams, we would find out the next day how we did. In Mr. Brook's class, I made a 96 on his exam. He wanted to talk with me after class, so when the bell rang I went up to his desk waiting for whatever it was he had to say.
"Brandon, I gotta be honest with you," he stood from his chair to walk around his desk and continued, "I thought you were going to be a bad student. When I realized you were gone for awhile, I thought you were for sure gonna fail this class. When you came back, I didn't think you would catch up in just a couple of months..." He looked me in the eyes and put his hand on my shoulder. "Brandon, I'm so proud of you. You're one of the best students I've ever had, and I mean it too. If you continue doing what you're doing right now, you're gonna be something big one day, and I promise you that."
"Thank you, Mr. Brook."
"No, no, thank you, Brandon," he said with a genuine smile before walking back to his desk. "Good work on the test, Brandon. You can head to your next class now."
I smiled and nodded before leaving the classroom. Eli was standing outside the door waiting for me. He heard everything.
"You know, Brandon, I'm really proud of you too."
"It's not a big deal," I said calmly.
"It is too a big deal. It's a huge deal!"
"Whatever."
We continued down the hall heading to our next class.
After school, I went straight home. I made A's on all of my exams, high A's. Eli told me he made a couple 80s, but the rest were in the 90s. He wasn't the only one who felt proud.
I walked through the front door only to find Mom and David sitting on the couch talking. Mom was supposed to be at work, but here she was. They didn't look too happy either. David immediately noticed me and said they needed to talk to me. We never really had a "talk" before so I was really concerned with what was going on.
I sat down on the couch next to Mom. She had her hands on her forehead while looking at the ground. She didn't look at me once. David looked like he was guilty of something, or maybe regretted something.
"What's going on?" I asked nervously.
"Chloe's parents called." David said and then took a deep breath. "Brandon, I don't know how to tell you this," David said softly just above a whisper, "but... Chloe misheard what the doctors told her about her date."
Mom started sobbing. I was scared at that point.
"What do you mean?"
David hesitated to answer.
"Mom, what does he mean?!"
She slowly lifted her head and sniffed. Her lip was quivering before she answered. "Chloe didn't have nine months left... she had five."
I was so confused. I didn't understand what she was saying. I couldn't process the words right.
"I don't understand," I said. I truly had no idea what was going on. "If she had only five then.. she.."
Mom grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes. "Baby, she has less than two months," she said in a whisper.
I looked at the floor and started crying. No, I started sobbing out loud. Mom hugged me, and David joined the hug. I never felt so disappointed in my life. So many bad things had happened. First, it was the horrible things, and then tiny little moments just adding on to it. I didn't know what to do at that point. It felt like the world was about to end. If felt like my life was about to fall apart, and I would be unable to fix anything. I started thinking about all of the bad things that have happened. I felt so vulnerable.
I eventually stopped crying, and I asked Mom if I could see Chloe. She nodded and smiled, and a few minutes later we left to her house. On the way there, I called Eli. He didn't pick up, but I left a message telling him everything, hoping he would get back to me soon.
We arrived, and Chloe's dad opened the front door before we even got to it. His eyes were red, so I knew he just got done crying as well. He looked at David and greeted us before moving to the side to let us in.
I didn't realize how long it had actually been since I was in their house. It felt like forever.
"I'm actually really glad you guys came over," he said with a genuine smile.
"Well, Brandon is the one who had the idea," David said while looking down at me.
Chloe's dad looked at me gesturing me to follow him. We went upstairs to Chloe's room. He carefully turned the door knob and slowly opened the door. When I got a full view, I saw Chloe's mom sitting on Chloe's bed next to Chloe while she's sleeping. Chloe's mom was still crying a bit while holding her daughters hand as she calmly rests. I walked closer to her and sat on the opposite side of her mom. I just watched her sleep for a moment before her parents both left the room and shutting the door behind them. Chloe was leaning on my side of the bed, so I walked over to the other side and laid down with her. I wrapped my arm around her thin waist, intertwining her pale fingers with mine, and I kissed her forehead before resting myself. Man, was I going to miss this.