“Kiersten,” Gabe said. “Meet the crew from Seattle Bungee. They’re going to be the ones making sure all the safety stuff in is order so you don’t go splat.”
“How reassuring,” I mumbled dryly.
“No worries!” A guy who appeared even younger than me laughed and slapped me on the back. “We do this all time. It’s our job. Haven’t lost one yet, though one chick did puke. But hey, as long as you face down, you’ll be fine.”
Palms sweating, I gave him a jerky nod.
Harnesses were passed out, along with helmets and carabineers. Oh, my gosh! Was I really going to do this? Shaking, I let the crew fasten my harness and then they connected me to Gabe. I was trembling so much that my lips were quivering. I hated heights. I was terrified of them almost as much as water. Why the hell had I written this on my stupid list? I closed my eyes, refusing to look over the edge.
“Look at me,” Gabe commanded.
I opened my eyes as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Wes wanted me to tell you something.” Gabes eyes welled with tears. “He said that no matter what obstacle you face…” His voice shook. “No matter how afraid you are — you can still make the choice to fight. You can still make the choice to walk through the fire — he said to do it afraid.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak as my throat was so thick with emotion it was hard to breathe.
“He said he’s not giving up — and neither should you.”
“I won’t,” I vowed. “I won’t give up.”
“That’s my girl.” Gabe kissed my cheek. Funny, how one guy had ended up being my soul mate, while the other ended up being my best friend in the whole world.
“One…” Gabe whispered “Two…”
I clutched his body so tight I couldn’t breathe.
“Three.”
We fell over the side of the bridge, weightless. Completely weightless. I wasn’t even sure I was screaming, my mouth was open and then the bungee bounced. It held us, and we fell again.
Then the funniest thing happen.
I started laughing.
Then crying.
Then laughing again.
I’d done it afraid. I’d conquered my fear, and all because Wes believed in me enough to push me — just like I was going to push him. He didn’t want me to go into that dark place — never again. And I wasn’t going to let him either.
“Thank you,” I whispered into Gabe’s ear as we were jerked back up by the crew.
Gabe held my face between his hands. “What you two have — it’s a once in a lifetime — you fight for him, sweetheart. Fight for him with every last breath. No regrets, okay?”
“Okay.”
****
I laughed when Gabe handed over his phone to Wes. So apparently I had screamed — it sounded horrific, and I had to laugh. Poor Gabe, he was probably going to have ringing in his ears for days.
“Classic.” Wes laughed and then started coughing, I went to touch his arm and he grinned. “Medicine makes me feel like shit, no worries, I’m fine.”
“Gabe, can you uh—”
“Lisa just texted anyway. She’s lost in the hospital, if I don’t find her she’s going to hit on one of the doctors and we really don’t want to see the ramifications of that.” With a salute he left the room.
“I did it.” I grinned.
Wes pulled me to his chest. I tucked my legs onto the hospital bed and laid my head against where his heart was beating. Funny, I could hear it, it sounded healthy, strong. I placed my hand there and started tapping.
“What are you doing?”
I lifted my head and gave Wes a weak smile. “Oh, just keeping our time.”
His mouth found mine and then I was straddling him, throwing off my jacket to a heap on the floor. Wes reached around my neck and pulled me closer to him. He was weak from the medication, but everything about him felt so alive still, so warm.
“You’re going to fight this,” I said against his lips.
He sighed and kissed me hard. “I am fighting it.”
“Listen to me.” I pulled back and gripped his face with my hands. “No giving up. I won’t give up on you, so don’t you give up on you. Okay? This is not the end.”
Wes cursed. “I need you to be prepared that if it—”
“Nope,” I interrupted as I kissed his cheek. “I’m not even going there. You know why?”
“Why?”
“Someone brilliant once told me that when you tell yourself you can’t do something, or even entertain the possibility, the body starts giving into defeat. It’s weak like that. The mind tells you that you may not make it, so you start to sink—”
“Hmm, sounds familiar.”
“I started sinking,” I explained, rubbing his cheeks with my thumbs. “I sank because I told myself I was drowning.”
“I’m not drowning.”
“And you aren’t sinking.” I kissed his mouth. “You’re floating, just like I floated. You just have to stay above water a little bit longer than most people, but I promise the end will be worth it.”
“Is there skinny-dipping in the end?” Wes tilted his head.
I threw my head back and laughed. It felt good to joke with him. “Absolutely. Lots and lots of skinny-dipping.”
“My favorite.” His lips were warm against my neck. I arched back as he trailed kisses down the side of my jaw.
I collapsed onto him and kissed him as hard as I could. We fell asleep talking and kissing. Every time I woke up I kissed him again, and every time I fell asleep it was to him kissing my hair, my neck, telling me stories.
Later Lisa and Gabe came into the room, we decided that the best way to not dwell on the future was to occupy ourselves. First we played BS, then we watched a few Christmas movies, and ate popcorn. Lisa fell asleep first, then Gabe, and then me. The last thing I remembered before my eyes fanned closed was that the nurse was going to have a field day when she walked into our room. Gabe was stretched out in a chair, Lisa was lying on the small bed for family, and I was sprawled out on top of Wes.
I fell asleep with a smile on my lips. Friends. Best friends. I had them, and I had Wes. I tapped the rhythm of his heart with my fingers, allowing the cadence to put me into a deep sleep.
Chapter Forty-Three
Most people die without experiencing even half of what I have in the past few months. Incredible. I have an incredible life. I woke up feeling thankful. Even with the cancer. I woke up feeling grateful.
Weston
I laughed when Kiersten moaned in my arms. It was time for my last dose of medication. They wanted to do one last cocktail before I went in for surgery the next day.
“How are you feeling?” Angela asked as she inserted the clear liquid into my IV bag.
“Like a rock star,” I lied. I felt nauseated and dizzy.
Angela laughed. “You look healthy, strong.” With a grin she pulled out her stethoscope and pressed it to my chest. “Good heartbeat.”
It was all the same, but for some reason she gave me more hope. Her eyebrows drew together, and then she removed the stethoscope and placed her hands on my chest. She closed her eyes and I could have sworn she started crying.
Awesome, so now I was hallucinating from the medication.
My tongue felt thick in my mouth. I pointed to my throat, and she immediately removed her hands and dropped something else into my IV. The thickness dissipated.
“Anaphylaxis.” She shrugged. “These drugs tend to do that, but now that you have epinephrine in your system, you’ll be able to take them.”
“Epi—what?”
“Fancy word for anti-allergy meds.” She winked. “And sorry about that. It’s just the craziest thing. Your heart… its rhythm is stronger than it was yesterday, that’s why I pressed my hand against your chest. Strange, really.” She shrugged. “At any rate, congratulations, Weston. This is your last dose of medication.”
“I don’t like the word last.”
Angela smiled warmly. “Remember what I said, sometimes the end is the beginning.”
“Thanks, Angela.”
With a final nod, she walked out the door.
I stared at Kiersten’s hair, watched as it wound itself around my fingers. Flecks of gold shone through the strands. I closed my eyes and lifted it to my lips feeling the silkiness against my skin.
“You being creepy and smelling my hair again,” Kiersten said in a groggy voice.
“Not creepy,” I argued.
“Very creepy,” Gabe said from the chair. “I watched the whole thing and I am sufficiently creeped out.”
“It’s romantic, damn it!” Lisa all but shouted.
“So what? You guys were all awake while the nurse gave me my drugs and decided to fake sleep?”
“Nurse?” Gabe looked around the room. “Where?”
“She was just here.” I pointed to my IV the liquid was still seeping into my body, stinging as it made its progress around my veins.
“Weird.” Lisa scratched her head. “I didn’t see anyone, then again—”
“—then again,” Gabe interrupted. “You slept through Avengers twice. We can’t really trust your judgment on being perceptive or knowing when things are exploding in front of your face.”
“Thanks, cousin.” Lisa threw her jacket at his face. “So…” She turned to me and Kiersten. “What are we going to do today?”
“I don’t know, Brain, what do you want to do?”
“Pinky! Today, we’re going to take over the world!” Kiersten shouted from my arms.
Gabe started laughing so hard I thought he was going to fall out of his chair.
I choked on my own laughter while Lisa just stared at all of us like we’d completely lost it.
“You know, from Pinky and The Brain?” Gabe swatted her. “Seriously what type of childhood did you have?”
“One without cartoons.” Lisa shrugged.
“Well, that settles it then.” I rubbed my hands together. “Pinky and The Brain Marathon!”
“How do we even get our hands on those episodes?” Kiersten pushed to a sitting position.
“YouTube.” I shrugged. “And just in case you forgot, my dad is Randy Michels. Nothing a few phone calls can’t take care of.”
Kiersten rolled her eyes. “Fine, but I’m going to go shower before we take over the world.”
“Me too.” Lisa jumped up.
“Me too?” I asked.
Kiersten swatted me. “No nak*dness until after your surgery.”
“Ah, and here I thought you wanted to make me happy.” I pretended to be sad while Gabe gave me the thumbs up.
“Once a player…” Lisa said hopelessly into the air.
“See you in a bit, boys.” Kiersten grabbed Lisa’s hand as they walked out of the room, leaving me and Gabe alone.
“Why were we never friends?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.
Gabe laughed. “Well, for starters. I don’t do sports, and you always had an entourage of people following you, which I’m guessing now had more to do with the cancer than anything else.”