With a start, my eyes jumped open as I lunged forward into a seated position. Yet before I could even process my surroundings, I immediately needed to shut my eyes closed once more as the blinding light from the ceiling poured into them. Groggily, I raised my arms in an attempt to shield them from the shining beam of light. While I did so, still disoriented from suddenly waking up, I heard the rustling and moans of another person somewhere to my side, sounding as if they were just waking up themselves.

  Just as I managed to finally keep my eyes open, having adjusted to the brightness of the lights, I took a look around the room. That was when I was met with a carbon copy of the room I had found myself in all those months ago when my whole world first got flipped upside down. As I stared at the heart rate monitor beside my bed and the white walls that surrounded me, an onrush of memories all came flooding back. With a small gasp, I remembered what had happened, the reunion, the fight, the beating, the drive to the hospital, all of it.

  I was once again alerted to the other person in the room when I heard a small gasp coming from my side. Turning to my side, expecting to see Sam sitting beside me, I was left in shock at the sight of my father. However, it was a shock that didn’t st due to the colossal hug my father quickly subjected me to. A hug that squeezed all the air residing in my lungs and forced me into yet another coughing fit.

  “Oh my god, Adam, I’m so sorry.” My dad said as he hurriedly moved away, quickly standing up and running out of the room, shouting for a nurse or a doctor. I wanted to tell him that I was fine, but any attempt to speak seemed to only worsen the coughing until, by the time a nurse had arrived, my lungs were burning in agony.

  “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just a cough.” I managed to rasp out, both to the nurse now hovering over me as she checked over the monitor to my side and to my father, who looked on from the side in a panic.

  The nurse, ignoring what I said, turned back to my father. “Everything looks fine at the moment. I’m going to go fetch Doctor Soren now that he’s awake.” And with that, before even I or my father could respond, she left.

  As I pondered why the name Soren sounded so familiar, my attention was once again captured by my father. “Hey, how are you feeling?” He asked as he sat back down beside me, tentatively pcing his hand lightly upon my shoulder. As if worried he was going to somehow injure me.

  “Dad, I'm fine, I promise. Just a little confused is all. When did you get here?”

  “Yesterday, around four-ish or so, after Sam called me, telling me what happened.”

  Hearing what he said I abruptly turned my body, gncing out the rge open view window that sat on the far wall to the sight of the bzing sun already high in the sky. “How long was I unconscious?” I asked in confusion, thinking I had only been asleep for a few hours at most. Definitely not a whole day like it was starting to appear.

  “You’ve been out for almost a day. You really gave us a scare son.” He yawned, rubbing his eyes as he did so, allowing me to see the bags that had already started to form under his eyes.

  A sense of guilt started to form within me at the knowledge of how much worry I put my father through. Something I never wanted to do again after what had happened st time. “I’m sorry Dad.” I whispered.

  “Hey!” He shouted suddenly, making me slightly flinch in surprise. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Sam told me what had happened st night, and while you definitely didn’t help your situation.” He said while giving me a long, pointed look that made me feel abashed. “You weren’t the one to start it. Don’t be sorry for doing what you had to, to protect yourself and your friends.” He continued, “As well as your girlfriend.”

  Immediately, I looked up at him in shock as a smug face made its way onto his face and bore down on me. “What? You didn’t think Sam was going to mention how your apparent girlfriend was there with you when it happened?”

  Thankfully, to my instant relief, before my father could continue talking, the door to the room was once again opened as a doctor entered, saving me the embarrassment of whatever conversation my dad was preparing. A doctor who as I saw his salt and pepper hair and rge circur gsses, I instantly realised why the name Soren was so familiar.

  “Ah, Adam, it's good to see you again. I only wish it could have been under better conditions.” He somberly spoke as he walked into the room.

  “You too doc. Though I doubt there would be many times we could meet where the situation would be good.” I replied, earning a small, sad chuckle from Dr. Soren. “No. No, I guess there’s not.”

  “You must be his father. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He said while holding out his hand and which my father shook, saying nothing but a grunt in greeting, his face having gained a slight green complexion and his expression suddenly pensive in the few moments it took for Dr. Soren to enter.

  “Now, let me first of all start by saying that besides a few cracked ribs that will take a few days to heal, you will be just fine.” Instantly, my father let out a sigh of relief before giving me a few light pats on the back. “Thank god.” I heard him whisper quietly.

  “But I’m afraid that’s where the good news ends.” Dr. Soren continued with a sorrow-filled gaze. “While you were asleep, because we were worried how those injuries you acquired would impact your condition, we ran a few tests. What we found out, I’m afraid to say, isn’t good.”

  Upon hearing his words, my father’s facial expression immediately morphed into one of worry and anger as he hurriedly stood in agitation, the chair he was sitting on crashing to the floor. “What is it? What’s wrong? Why are you being so silent? Hurry the fuck up and tell us!”

  “Dad! Cal-” Before I could even finish my sentence and try to calm Dad down, another bout of coughs promptly started. Which ironically helped in calming his anger as he quickly rushed to my side, his anger repced with worry.

  Eventually, as the coughs stopped, Dr. Soren, with a sigh, started speaking again. “I’m afraid to say that the disease has spread much quicker than was expected. Already, as I’m sure you’re aware, your lung capacity has greatly diminished. Then there is the constant bloody coughing as well as a general sense of fatigue, your friend Sam reported.”

  A cold, sinking feeling could be felt in the pit of my stomach as I listened to the doctor in silence, staring forward with a blurry focus. It was funny. I thought I had slowly come to accept my inevitable death, that I understood I had very little time left on this earth, and it simply was what it was. Yet as I sat there, in the exact same pce I first heard the news about my condition, all I could feel was an all-encompassing feeling of dread and fear as I realised what the doctor was going to say.

  “What, what does this mean exactly?” I managed to say, my voice void of all emotion.

  “According to the data we received. I’m sorry to say you have two, maybe three weeks left.”

  “What! No! This can’t be possible!” Dad said, throwing his chair onto the ground yet again. “You must have made some kind of mistake! Didn’t you tell him he would still have a couple of months left? Test him again!” He began shouting. Yet the more he shouted and paced, the more his rage began to dissipate and begin to be repced, his voice sounding more and more sorrowful with each shout before tears could be seen in his eyes, twinkling in the light.

  “So this is it, huh. Two more weeks. That’s all I’ve got left?” I said to no one, staring at my left hand resting on my p, as if expecting it to start to disappear at any second.

  As I did so, all I could think about were all the mistakes I had made in the past couple of months that had led to this. The days when I would forget to take my pills. The days when I would inhale breath after breath of smoke as my then friends and I partied from dusk till dawn. The days I would spend walking around the neighbourhood we lived in, knowing that the smoke and fumes being released were one of the causes for my condition, yet not trying to avoid it at all costs, like I should have. As I thought about it all, I realised it was a miracle I was even going to get two weeks at all and that I wasn’t already gone from this world, rotting in a grave.

  When I thought about it like that, despite the horror of my reality, a small chuckle couldn’t help but escape from my lips, a chuckle that quickly formed into a full blown ugh. A raspy ugh that when mixed with the coughing that started moments ter must have made me seem insane.

  “Adam! Are you alright? What’s wrong? Why are you ughing?” My father asked frantically, shaking my shoulders roughly to grab my attention.

  I tried to respond, to tell him that I was fine, yet between the ughing and coughing I simply wasn’t able. Dr. Soren, on the other hand, standing not far away, simply looked on with worry as he went to quickly check upon my heart rate monitor. You would think I was having a mental breakdown with how they were reacting; Which for all I knew I was. The thought of which made me start to ugh even harder.

  God knows how long ter, after my throat had become worn and ragged and my ughs had become closer to gasps, I finally managed to come to a stop. “Sorry, I really needed that.” I panted out.

  And I truly did. Even though my throat was now burning and my chest pounding in pain, I felt better, truly better. Like I was more myself, no longer clouded and controlled by my fears and anxiety. However, despite my apparent improvement, I was under no illusion that I had accepted my death, just the thought of which made me almost spiral right back down the pit of despair. But it was a start, and that was all I could hope for.

  Turning back to my father and seeing the still clear panicked look he held, I fshed him a small smile. “I’m ok, really.”

  “So what does this mean exactly?” I asked Dr. Soren, bringing the conversation back to the life-changing news I had just heard.

  After gathering his bearings and seeing that I didn’t appear to have gone crazy, he eventually replied. “I’m afraid there’s not much we can do. We only have two options. Either we have you admitted into the hospital for treatment, or you spend your remaining time at home.”

  “Treatment? You’re saying there’s treatment?” My father asked hopefully.

  “Yes, but not in the way that you’re thinking. As I said st time, Adam's illness has advanced far too much for us to be able to do anything about it. The most we can do is try to manage it and slow it down.”

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “In short, we might be able to extend your son's life expectancy by another week, maybe two, but I’m afraid that is all.”

  “No.” I immediately stated, interrupting whatever my father was about to say as I stared directly at the doctor.

  My father looked back at me in confusion. “What do you mean no?”

  “I mean, that I am not going to spend the st few weeks of my life stuck inside this fucking hospital waiting to die.” My father simply looked fbbergasted at my reply, as if he couldn’t even begin to fathom why I wouldn’t want to try and extend my life as much as possible. And maybe he had a point. But the idea of being trapped inside this room, counting down the minutes until my eventual demise. That almost seemed like a fate worse than death.

  “Dad, I’m not going to change my mind. I didn’t get admitted when I was first told about my illness, and I’m not going to now. I’m going to spend the rest of my life back home, where I belong.” I said with as much confidence as I could, seeing that he was pnning on trying to talk me out of my choice. Something that was never going to happen.

  In response, his jaw shut close before he directed his gaze, filled with sadness and unshed tears, towards mine. I held it, hoping to convey the determination I felt. Something he must have seen, as he eventually looked away, releasing a deep and powerful sigh while he squeezed my shoulder. “Alright. If that's what you want.” He muttered glumly in defeat.

  “I’m truly sorry Adam. No one so young should have to go through what you are. I’ll come back in ter today to check the condition of your ribs. Due to your circumstances, we will try to get you out of here as early as possible. Hopefully tomorrow morning at the earliest.” And with that, Dr. Soren quickly escaped the room, leaving just my father and me to stew in the events that had just transpired.

  The silence between us carried on for many minutes, with each of us lost in our own thoughts. I wondered what I wanted to do with my st few weeks alive. I thought about what most people would have on their supposed bucket lists, maybe to travel the world or go on vacation. To go on a shopping trip and buy everything I had ever desired, or to go skydiving and bungee jumping. Yet the more I thought of it, the more I realised that none of that truly interested me. It wasn’t what I wanted to do.

  “Let's go to Australia.” My father suddenly decred out of nowhere. “Or Paris, London, Japan. Wherever you want. Where do you want to go?”

  “Woah, hold the brakes, Dad. What are you on about?” I asked, confused about where this tirade seemed to have come from.

  “I’m on about you Son! Where do you want to go? Where have you always wanted to visit?” Realising what he was on about, for a second, I wondered if maybe I had been speaking out loud, as we had both thought about the same thing, about what I wanted to do before I died.

  Seeing that he was still waiting for my answer, getting more and more agitated the longer the wait sted, I replied. “Look dad, I appreciate the sentiment, but for one we simply don't have the money to affor-.”

  “Fuck the money!” He shouted passionately. “I will get the money, no matter what. So just tell me where you want to go and I will handle it, regardless of the cost.” I sat there shell shell-shocked. Not due to his agitation, mind you, just in the past hour alone, he had gotten emotional more times than I could count. No, the reason I was shocked is that for the seventeen years I had known my father. That was the first time I had ever heard him say “Fuck the money.” And the fact that he was saying that in regard to me brought a small smile to my face.

  “Thanks Dad, really, but besides the money, I also just don’t want to travel anywhere. I mean why would I? Why would I want to go to a pce I’ve never been before while leaving all my friends back here?”

  “...So what do you want?” Hearing his question, I paused for a moment and gave it some thought.

  “Nothing.” I eventually answered.

  “Nothing?” My dad asked, incredulously.

  “Well nothing special. All I want is to spend my time having fun with my friends and with you. That’s all I need. Nothing more.” I could see from the look on his face that he wanted to argue. Wanting to do something big and eborate, almost as a farewell party in a sick sort of way. But the look on my face must have once again dissuaded him as he just shut his mouth, sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Giving me a small, sideways hug. One, I reciprocated, leaving us to stew in silence until the loud sound of my stomach rumbling echoed throughout the room.

  “I don’t know about you Dad but I’m starving. What’s there to eat?” And with that, ughter soon filled the room.

  xXx

  I know I’ve said before how Susan has the worst table manners I have ever seen, but you’re a close second.” Sam grimaced as he leaned against the cushioned backrest of the booth to be as far away from me as possible.

  “Be quiet. You’re not the one who has been stuck in the hospital for over a day eating their idea of food.” I said while stuffing my mouth full with my second burger, which I had just bought.

  “Oh poor you. One whole day of poor quality food.” The sarcasm in his voice was so thick it seemed almost physical. “Which one of us still has to eat those god forsaken school lunches?”

  “Fair enough, you have it worse. Is that what you wanted to hear?” I smirked as I moved on to my third burger, having already managed to demolish my second.

  “Gd you think so as well.” He replied, making me roll my eyes in exasperation.

  “So… Are you finally going to tell me what actually happened during the fight? How did Derek just show up out of nowhere? Not that I’m compining, mind you.”

  “I believe you have those two who were watching from the sidelines to thank for that.” As I sat there, it took me a second to realise who he was referring to.

  “You mean Alice and Crk?” I snorted derisively, “Yeah, right. Those two are way too scared to go against Jamie. They wouldn’t dare. I should know, I’ve seen it first hand.” I muttered, getting irritated at just the memory of how they hadn’t helped when I was getting the ever loving shit kicked out of me the first time.

  Sam simply shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the waves of contempt rolling off me. “Don’t know what to tell you. One second, that muscle-bound freak is about to beat you to a pulp with a metal pipe. The next, that bloke Derek is running towards us telling them all to piss off with the other two tailing behind him.”

  Seeing he was serious, I suddenly found myself feeling torn. On the one hand I was still pissed off at them, something I doubted would ever change, at least not in the short time I had left. However, on the other hand, if what Sam said was true, then I doubted if it wasn’t for them, I would still be alive, or at least not in nearly as good a shape as I currently was.

  Eventually, I simply decided to stop thinking about it, realising nothing was going to change by overthinking what had happened. “Whatever, at least everything turned out well in the end. Or as well as it realistically could be.” Sam just gave me a long, hard stare in response, letting me know his exact thoughts on the subject before he resumed eating. An action I soon swiftly copied.

  “Oh yeah, what did you tell Helen? You didn’t mention my condition, did you?”

  “Rex. I just told her the truth, minus the part about your condition, of course. I said you had a few bruised ribs, but besides that, you’re a-okay.”

  “Thank god.” I sighed in relief, going back to devouring the portion of fries scattered on my tray, at least I tried to before the stare boring its way through my head forced me to look up. “What?” I finally said to the impassive expression worn by Sam.

  “Mate I know it's not my pce but you should really tell Helen the truth. Do you really want to spend the next couple of months constantly lying about your health?” Sam said. Ironically not realising I was already lying to him, having not told him about what I had just found out about my health.

  “And besides.” Sam continued, unaware of my thoughts. “She's definitely starting to get suspicious that something is up. I mean she would have to be a moron not to notice how you have started to wheeze and cough every few minutes. And I don’t think the way I reacted like you were going to die after the fight helped much either.”

  In response, I simply released a sigh, knowing what he said was true. After all, I would have had to be blind not to notice the continued stares Helen had started giving whenever I went into one of my coughing fits. “What am I going to do? How can I just tell her that I’m going to die? I've only just started to accept it myself, and I’ve had months to come to terms with it.”

  “Well, you can’t keep lying to her. She’s going to find out eventually.”

  “Actually, I might have a way where she won’t find out the truth.” I replied, remembering the train of thought I had possessed a few days prior.

  “And that would be?” Sam asked curiously.

  “We break up.”

  “...What?”

  “We break up,” I repeated. “Think about it. That way, she won’t see me as I get sicker and won’t even know when I pass away.”

  I looked at him expectantly, quite proud of the idea I had come up with. However, Sam simply sat there without a reaction, completely frozen. It was only when I began to panic, thinking something might be wrong, that he all but exploded out of his seat, his voice a loud bellow, attracting the multiple patrons in the McDonald’s to our attention.

  “Are you fucking insane! How in god's green earth did you think such an idiotic pn was a good idea?”

  “Well, what other choice do I have! I’m going to die. There’s no changing that.” I replied in agitation before letting loose a long, depressed sigh at the mention of my death. Every time I brought it up, it was like a piece of my soul got chipped away, draining me of my energy and emotions.

  “God, I shouldn’t have even started a retionship when I knew I was going to die. It was fucking idiotic of me.” I muttered, more to myself than to Sam. “However, I did, there’s no changing that. At least this way she will only be sad for a few days from the break-up and not scarred for life because of my death.”

  Sam just shook his head in response. “You could always just be honest. Helen’s a lot stronger than you give her credit for. You should have seen the damage she dealt to that girl she and Susan were fighting. No doubt she’s currently sporting a nasty bck eye.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but why risk it? At least this way I know she’ll be alright in the end.” With that and having made up my mind I pulled out my new phone, a cheap second hand flip phone that was originally my fathers. With it I swiftly sent her a message, asking her to meet up in the morning the next day.

  “There. I asked her to meet tomorrow at ten.” It was then, just as I went to put my phone back in my pocket, Sam's amused expression caught my attention.

  “What?”

  “Mate, I don’t know if you remember, but there’s this thing called school. Happens from morning till evening, five days a week. Ring any bells? I think she might be a bit too busy to meet up tomorrow, since, ya know, it’s a Tuesday.”

  “Shit” I muttered a few moments ter, my head pnted ft on the table as I wondered how I could possibly have forgotten about school. “Wait a second,” I said, springing back up to attention. “If tomorrow is Tuesday, then that means today is Monday.”

  “Nothing ever gets past you Sherlock.” Sam quickly dodged the chip I threw towards his head, making the smug smile on his face even more unbearable.

  “As I was trying to say.” I continued with a huff. “If today is Monday, why the hell aren't you at school?”

  Sam just stared back, deadpanned. “Mate, you almost died in that fight. If that dude Derek had gotten there even a few seconds ter, it could have been all over. I think I can afford to miss one day of school and hang out with you instead.” Hearing how earnest he sounded almost brought a tear to my eye.

  “I think your parents might disagree with that statement. Do they know you’re not at school?” I joked.

  “God no.” He chuckled. “If they found out, they would probably pce a tracking chip on me or something and only let me leave the house to go to school.”

  Even though he said it as a joke it was clear from his bitter tone that he genuinely thought there was a hint of truth in what he said. Hearing that, and knowing I might not get another chance to talk about it with him again before I was gone, I replied.

  “Mate, it's not right. It’s fucking ridiculous, no one should be forced to spend as much time as you do on homework and studying. Life’s far too short for all that. Trust me, I should know.” I added with a smirk. “You need to stop living your life according to them and start living for yourself.”

  Upon hearing my words, Sam just sat there in silence, lost in thought. A state which I didn’t want to interrupt, believing it was something he needed to seriously think about, instead going back to the st remains of my food. It was then a few seconds ter, that I heard my phone buzz from my pocket. Which, with lightning fast reactions, I quickly grabbed and opened, seeing the message from Helen that had just come in.

  “Well? What did she say?” Sam asked, no longer stuck in thought.

  “She said she would see me there.” I sighed.

  “And you’re unhappy about this because…” Sam questioned with his brows furrowed.

  “Not unhappy,” I replied. “More like resigned. I just wish it didn’t have to come to this.” I muttered, giving a hard gre towards Sam when I saw he was about to speak up, no doubt in an attempt to try and dissuade me from my pn. In response, he simply held his hands up in a pcating gesture before the two of us got back to finishing our food.

  However, all I could focus on for the rest of the day, despite Sam’s futile attempts to distract me, was the chat I had now pnned with Helen. A feeling of heaviness permeated my body, something which, with every thought about Helen, only seemed to worsen.

  ‘It’s for the best.’ I thought to myself for what must have been the eleventh time, trying to convince myself as doubts began to cloud my mind. ‘It’s for the best.’