When the Clock Ticks [Shourtney]

2. 8:12 P.M.

Hello there! How are you guys doing?

Hm... if I had to pick a favorite out of all my books, I'd say I had the most fun writing "Almost, But Not Quite." It's really nice writing with an OC, because you can map out a personality that could work well with a certain plot. "Here's To Us" was really fun to write too, because as Shayne and Courtney are a pair of goofballs in real life, it's fun to imagine a married version of that goofiness. (pls get married haha jk unless...?)

Also, thank you so much for 200+ reads! That's awesome, you guys. I'm looking forward to writing this book more and more each day.

Anyway, let's get down to it! Courtney's POV and see ya!

-/-/-

Let's go back to almost a week ago.

It was a Friday evening. When I closed my brand new diary, I was so ready to face everything life had to offer. All the challenges should have been scared of me, because I had never found myself this determined and prepared for everything the next five years were building up for me. But, just on the first day of my being 25 years old, I didn't know life already had a hurdle for me. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Courtney Miller?" a familiar voice asked me. "It's Keira, Dr. Locke's secretary here at Maryhurst Memorial Hospital. She'd like to have a word with you, and, oh, happy birthday!"

"Thanks, Keira," I replied as she handed the phone to Dr. Locke. "Hey, Dr. Locke! How are you doing?"

"Courtney, good evening," Dr. Aubrey Locke replied with her smooth voice that was always kinda soothing. "So it's your birthday today, huh? You're 25 already? Time flies, but you look as young as ever."

"Likewise, Doctor," I told her, chuckling. "So, is there something up?"

She sighed, and I could hear her glasses being folded from the phone. "Yes, there is," she answered, sounding exasperated. "I just got back your test results from last month, and if you can record this call or take down some notes to remember what I'm about to say, you should. As much as I'd like to tell you this in person, I think you are a bit busy right now, and I have to tell you this as soon as I can. If you aren't busy next week though, may I ask you to file an appointment with Keira? And maybe bring a sibling or a friend along."

I swallowed a lump in my throat before responding, "Okay then." I took my diary and went to its last page, as it was the nearest notebook nearby. "I'll take down notes."

Then she began to explain a lot of medical terms to me, and I took them all down on the back of my diary. Admittedly, there were parts that I didn't fully understand, but when she gave me the bottomline that living was not going to be easy for me anymore, I couldn't help but shed a tear or two. It felt like... it precisely felt like your assassin had arrived at your home to tell you it was your time to die. Dr. Locke was understanding, but she told me that there were a lot of stuff I had to start letting go of, I could only stare at the picture of me and Shayne that I had pasted on the inside of my diary's cover.

I couldn't let go of anyone.

Monday, immediately, I had gotten Kari and Clarke with me to her clinic, and they listened to every bit of what Dr. Locke had to say. I couldn't stand watching my siblings try to comprehend that death was right at my door, but then again, I couldn't comprehend it either. I wanted to tell them that I was gonna be okay, that I still had a chance of getting cured, but in this case, I wasn't.

"What do you mean you think it's true?" Shayne asks me as we stand on the warm sidewalk. "Courtney, I know you're into astrology and all that, but even you wouldn't believe that. It's bogus."