Dangerous Love

Chapter 24

You wouldn't believe how hot it was in Australia. I had to top up on the Factor 50 sun cream, I couldn't let the sun worsen the cancer if that was possible at all. Honestly, I've had this illness for so long and I still don't understand half of the things I'm told. To me, every other word is something like photosynthesis or metamorphosis. I wasn't alone with the sun cream either, Jess had to go for the Factor 50 too, she is almost as pale as me and burns very easily. I resulted in tipping water over my head as we made our way towards the waterfall I wanted to see.

I hadn't planned out which waterfall I wanted to see or anything, I just thought it would be cool to see one and what they look like up close. From pictures, they look amazing and hopefully I could snap some good photos of my own.

It was a long trek towards the waterfall. We parked up about half a mile away and had to walk the rest. This wasn't exactly... what's the word, ideal for me. With my lungs being a pile of shit. But I was determined to make it work. Jess had kindly offered to carry an oxygen tank on her back in case karma was a bitch.

I didn't dare tell Jess the amount of pain I was in. My lungs closed up every now and again on our little 'walk', but I didn't want two things to happen. One: Her feel guilty and bad for me. Two: For someone to suggest us going back and not seeing the waterfall. Neither of them were an option, especially the second. I had my bucket list ready and waiting for something else to be ticked off.

Short conversations with the other tourists were made about how brave I was to be doing this and how they wish the best for my future. I smiled politely, I I suppose they didn't know I was going to die, did they? They were just being kind so I was too. I kept my head down for most of the walk. If I looked straight ahead then I'd see how much further we'd have to walk, which would just make me feel worse. I kept my eyes on the ground and watched my feet as they hit the ground. It took us a while but after all, slow and steady wins the race.

I figured we'd reached the waterfall as I heard water gushing. The sound hit my ears and it was so relaxing. I eventually looked up and sighed with relief. A gigantic waterfall was stood opposite me, and even if we were a lake away, it still looked amazing. The falling water turned the lake water white as it the surface. I looked for Jess and saw her approach me from behind. She was taking deep breaths and I gathered the oxygen tank must have been heavy. ''Take it off, Jess. It's bound to put your back out otherwise.''

''Naa, I'm fine. Do you need any of it?''

''Yes please.'' I perched on the edge of a big rock and let my breathing even out. Jess passed me the mask and I let the oxygen refuel me, as she let her water refuel her.

Everything was forgotten about when I glimpsed at the waterfall. It was beautiful, but surprisingly not the most beautiful thing here. It was in fact the girl on my left who took my breath away. Her smile was massive and her eyes captivated mine. The sun shone onto her face and it made it brighter than ever. I don't know how long I was staring for but she soon noticed. ''Can I help you?''

''Sorry, it's just you're very pretty.''

''Thank you.'' Jess said, giggling at me.

Did you seriously think I was talking about somebody either than her? Nope, it was clearly her. I didn't stop staring. There's this thing that I like to do to Jessica. It's called 'embarrassing her'. Put it this way, it wasn't the sun which was making her bright red, she was blushing. Credit to me. ''What are you staring at woman? The waterfall is over there!'' She slapped me playfully in the face, making me look towards the waterfall.

I gathered it was time to stop messing around and think of the reason why we were actually participating in this event. The waterfall. I took out my camera and took quite a few pictures of it. I was so tempted to push Jess into the water. The only downsides of this was that we'd probably get told off, and I wouldn't hear the end of it.

I asked one of the nice couples who talked to us on the way here to get a picture of both Jess and I. We smiled and then took one of us hugging one another. ''Aw, you two look cute in this picture. You make such a cute couple.'' The lady cooed over my camera, as they both looked at the picture before either me or Jess got the chance. Shit. Did they just say that?

''Um.'' Jess started.

''No, we're not–'' I began to finish her sentence.

''We're not a, um—''

''We're not a couple.'' Blunt, but the truth.

''Oh, you look like it.''

''We do?'' Jess extended the 'do' so it sounded more like she was singing than asking.

''You do.'' The man replied, singing back to her. This was beyond awkward. WHAT DO I DO NOW?!

We got distracted as my phone buzzed in my pocket. An unknown number flashed across the screen and no matter how expensive I thought this was going to be, I answered. I don't know why, but I had a bad feeling. I never got phone calls unless they were from Jess. Something was wrong and I knew it. ''Hello?''

''Hello, is this Emelia Gallo?''

''Yeah... Why? Who is this?''

''This is Nurse Hill from Central Middlesex Hospital. We've been told to contact you by Jim, a family friend? We have some news concerning your nan.''

''What's happened? Oh god, has something bad happened?''

''How soon can you get here?''

''I'm on a holiday in Australia, about 24 hours? Why? What's happened? Please tell me she's ok.''

''Your nan is in a critical condition, Emelia.''

''Why? What happened to her?''

''She had a fall and has broken her arm, she is in serious pain and we don't know if she'll make it. A broken arm wouldn't usually end in death but in the elderly it can occur. I advise you get here as soon as possible.''

And that's when our trip to Australia ended. It wasn't expected and was a sudden abrupt ending. Life was never simple. It got worse and worse. I swear, my family was never blessed with luck. I didn't even know how to tell Jess. I just looked at her blankly as she repeatedly asked who was on the phone and how serious the situation was. She must've been psychic because she knew it was bad too.

My lungs weren't a priority any more. As I ran back to the bus we all came on, they were forgotten. I didn't even wait for Jess as she cried out for me, yelling for me to slow down. I couldn't. She was calling someone on her phone to have a car ready by the bus to take us back. She asked if I needed our suitcases packed. Did I reply? I couldn't.

I wasn't capable of doing anything. I couldn't lose my nan. She wasn't only my nan, but she was the only memory of my mum that I had. I couldn't lose both of them. I couldn't. I simply couldn't.

A/N: I wrote this quickly between homework so sorry if there's mistakes. I haven't updated this for 2 weeks and you probably hate me but if you want an update sooner literally just comment so I know and I'll find time for you people :D