16 Months

Haunted

"Sometimes it isn't about the answer to the prayer. Sometimes it is more about what you learn while you're waiting for the answer."

- Unknown

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Camila had officially gotten on the waiting list for a lung transplant in August. Now it was October and they still hadn't heard anything. They did, however, learn that her doctor wasn't joking when he said that her condition was rapidly getting worse. The days where she spent nearly every hour in bed because she was too weak to get up were becoming more and more frequent. Despite often being too weak to move, she had also lost a concerning amount of weight. She felt like no matter what she was always tired and she was always out of breath. She tried to be strong, but it was difficult when she always felt so overwhelmingly weak.

Rays of sunshine peered through the sheer curtains on the bedroom window, waking Camila up from her peaceful sleep. She turned to the side to see Shawn's side of the bed was empty. Their mornings had become routine enough that she knew that him not being there likely meant he was getting her breakfast ready as well as the medication she needed to take every morning. Sure enough, minutes later he came in with a plate of food and a couple pills of varying sizes and colors in his hand.

"Good morning, beautiful." Despite her body rapidly deteriorating, he still made sure to call her beautiful at any chance he got. Sometimes it would piss her off because she felt far too frail and weak to believe it, but most of the time it just made her feel loved. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Pretty good," she answered. "Can you help me get up? I need to pee." Getting out of bed was always one of the toughest parts for her, especially after sleeping for long periods of time. He peeled the sheets off of her and helped her swing her legs over the side of the bed. He placed his large hands under her arms and helped pull her up to her feet. After getting her footing for a few seconds, she shuffled her way into the bathroom to pee. Nothing broke Shawn's heart more than watching Camila struggle so much with such basic tasks. Despite being physically weak, her spirit remained strong and he was so proud of her for that. After going to the bathroom, she came back out and sat on the bed as she took her medication and ate as much as she could of the large breakfast her boyfriend had made her.

"This is so yummy, baby...thank you." Since he had laid on the bed next to her as she ate, she was able to easily lean over and gently kiss him on the lips.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," he replied as he leaned in to steal another quick kiss from her. "If you're feeling up for it later, I think we might be able to cross another item off of your list." Camila looked over at him and furrowed her brows.

"Oh yeah? Which one?" she asked.

"Well, it's October...also known as the prime month for haunted houses. I was thinking maybe we could go to the Harvest Festival downtown and walk through one of them?"

"I would really like that," she said with a soft smile. "I'm feeling pretty good right now, so hopefully it'll stay that way throughout the day. My main concern is not being physically able to walk through the whole thing, honestly." That sentence alone broke Shawn's heart. Having to question whether or not she was even capable of walking through a small haunted house at a local carnival made his heart hurt for her.

"Well we can always bring Round Betty with us," he suggested. Round Betty was the name of the wheelchair Camila had gotten so she could still participate in tasks such as grocery shopping or taking 'walks' around the neighborhood. They looked at a few different wheelchair brands but the brand 'Round Betty' made them burst into laughter so they went with that one. The fact that she even needed one was sad enough - at least this way the brand name etched into the chair would always be a funny memory. After she finished eating, Shawn cleaned up the dishes and drew her a hot bath.

"Could you get in with me? Or do you have other things you need to do?" she asked shyly as she undressed in the bathroom.

"Of course I can get in," he smiled. He undressed himself and helped her step into the bathtub with him as they sunk into the hot water. Camila had never been much of a bath taker in the past - she always preferred the convenience of showers. However, as her joints and muscles became weaker she found herself enjoying the comfort and relief that soaking in a hot bath brought her. The ability to lay back against her boyfriend's chest while she relaxed was just an added bonus.

"I love you more than anything, no matter what," he whispered against the top of her head as his fingers played with hers.

"I love you too...so fucking much."

As the day progressed, Camila was still feeling good enough to at least try to get out of the house for a while and go to the Harvest Festival with both Shawn and Natalia. They had to walk fairly slowly through the carnival - something that had always been a pet peeve of Natalia's. Despite this, she never once complained about having to walk slow while she was with Camila which always made Camila feel extra loved by her best friend. As they walked towards the haunted house the trio passed a churro stand that immediately caught Camila's attention.

"Do you want some churros, baby?" Shawn chuckled. Her cheeks turned pink as she happily nodded. They made a quick pitstop to the churro stand, ordering a few and sitting at one of the picnic tables next to the food stall to eat their sweet treats before continuing on to the haunted house. There were a couple set up to choose from, but because she already had issues with her breathing they opted for the less scary one. She held Shawn's large hand in hers and Natalia's perfectly manicured hand in the other as they walked through the haunted house, yelping and jumping in surprise whenever one of the costumed actors would pop out and scare them. Shawn would laugh every time Camila would squeeze his bicep whenever something particularly frightening would appear.

"You get awfully handsy when you're scared..." Shawn chuckled. Even in the dark Shawn could tell that she was blushing - her hand migrating from his bicep back down to his hand as they made their way through the rest of the Halloween attraction.

"Was it everything you hoped for and more?" Natalia asked as they walked out of the fake house.

"I mean...I don't think I'd do it again but I'm glad I at least did it once." As much as she wanted to stay longer, she found herself getting tired as her aching body made her more aware of the pain in her joints and muscles. They were almost to the car when Shawn finally swooped Camila up into his arms bridal style and carried her the rest of the way.

"Well isn't that just adorable!" Natalia said as she watched Shawn carry her best friend through the parking lot.

"It'd be more adorable if it wasn't due to my terminal illness...but yes, it is pretty adorable," Camila laughed, causing them to laugh along with her. Things might've been getting worse physically - but she did her best to remain strong and jovial, even when faced with the new reality that her diagnosis had brought her.

A/N:

In all seriousness, I don't really know how often I'll update this story. But I promise I'm going to try! I just don't want to force myself to write and post chapters and end up publishing things that I'm not 100% proud of, ya know?