Where The Dandelions Grow

23 - The Moon

Echo's POV

Brandon has promised to make the remaining time I have our of treatment worth wild. Im gonna be miles and miles away, while he stays here in New York City, continuing his life as I try to fix mine.

I always told myself that I would never center my life around someone, but meeting Brandon has changed mine. I want to be better for him. He deserves someone that is healthy in all ways, someone who he can start a family a family with, marry, grow old. And I am willing to give myself a chance at that opportunity but I can't if I cannot even want to live. I owe him everything, and the least I can do is help myself for him.

And for me. I'm tired of feeling like I'm consistently put on a downward spiral with no ending. I'm tired of there being no ending to my book. I want to feel the feeling of freedom, free of fear and uncertainty and fear that the future is nonexistent. The constant blaming myself for everything I have no control over.

What I feel is not gone, the sadness still surrounds me, the darkness is still outside the bubble I like to surround myself in when I'm around Brandon.

I'm hoping one day, I won't need the bubble anymore.

Today is a good day.

It's snowing.

Brandon has take me downtown to a bookstore, the largest bookstore I've ever been to.

"Okay, you can get whatever you want, as long as you swear to read them while you're gone."

"Anything?"

"Mhm."

I scale the bookstore; it looks like it could have every book in existence. I was never really a big reader, but it's something I have learned to enjoy more than I ever thought I would. Brandon once told me to find my hobby. And I have. I like to read.

I hope at him with joyful eyes, and he smiles at me. "I'll be right behind you, take as long as you want."

I nod. And for the next two hours we're walking around the bookstore as I pick and choose different books and read their blurbs and put some back. Brandon, however, doesn't complain not even once. He's a saint.

In the end of it all, I come out with Brandon holding ten books and the largest smile on my face. I can't wait to read all of those.

"I'll read them all, I swear."

He sets them all in the trunk of his car and shuts it, turning to look at me. "You're lucky I love you. I didn't know books were so expensive."

I giggle and get in the car. "Thank you."

He gets in as well. "None needed."

***

On our day of making sure I have everything I need to feel comfortable before I leave went from the bookstore back to his home where he made me dinner.

We sit at his dining table, eating, going through "what if's".

"Okay, okay,' I giggle. "So let's say I don't have a phone, which I probably can't have. What do we do then? Just not talk for five years?"

He hums and lowers his fork, getting up and walk down the hall of his apartment.

What is he doing?

When he comes back minutes later, he has a box with him. "I packed you this box. Inside is a lot of paper. A lot. And with it are envelopes and stamps. I had them lying around of when I would write letters to my mom for fun. Now its all yours. I'll write back to you too; I'll do it all the time."

I smile at him as he sets the box down beside my chair. "So, we write letters?"

He nods. "We write letters."