I'm glad I met you

CHAPTER 6

Saoirse and I finally make it to Kal's house after about an hour of walking. I can tell it's his house by the yelling I hear inside.

"You sure you wanna be here Aoife? We can walk back if you want."

"I'm staying. It's Kal's birthday and I'm getting him out of the house."

I knock on the door before she can say anything else. The yelling stops and I hear the door open.

A woman, who I assume is his mom, speaks. "Can I help you?"

"Hi yes, is Kal home? We were wanting to see if we could visit him or take him somewhere for his birthday. We're friends of his."

"Yeah. Yeah come in. I don't think going out is such a good idea. He's not feeling the best."

"Visiting is fine then," I say as Saoirse helps me inside.

"His room is the last one on the left."

Saoirse and I walk there and I knock on the door. "Kal?"

"Yeah, come in."

I hear the door open and I step in. "Happy birthday Kal. We were going to take you to the park or something but your mom told us you weren't feeling well so we can stay in if you want."

"No. No. Let's go somewhere. Anywhere is better than here."

"I don't want you to hurt-"

"No. I want to go somewhere. Please."

We leave with the permission of his dad and walk to the park. Saoirse went off by herself. She gave me the bag with his cake. As we walk I can hear his breathing is a little labored.

"Do you need a break?" I ask, concerned.

"No, we're almost there. I'm fine."

We keep walking and finally reach the park. We make it to a bench and sit. I wait for Kal to catch his breath before offering anything I brought.

"Ma and I made strawberry shortcake for you. I know it's your favorite."

"Thanks." He kisses me. "My day just got ten times better."

"Of course." I get out the box and set it on the bench between us. "It's small. I figured we could share it. Kinda a birthday date for you."

"Hmm, maybe later. I'm not feeling it right now. I hope that's alright."

I give him a smile. "That's completely fine." I close the box and put it away.

He kisses me again when I'm finished and I smile again. I feel him smile too. He lays down, head on my lap and I run my fingers through his hair.

"So how did the doctor visit go yesterday?"

He sighs. "It's spread to my lungs. They want to give me the medicine for it. That's what Mom and Dad were arguing about today. Mom gave the OK but Dad is mad at her because we don't have the money."

"Your life is more important than money."

"That's what Mom says. Dad says it's better for one person to die than four. He's right but that kind of hurt my feelings a little."

"Oh my god Kal. That's an awful thing for him to say. You deserve to live just as much as the rest of your family. It's not your fault you're sick jeez. What's wrong with him?"

Kal says nothing.

"We can help pay for your treatment."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My family has money plus the money we get for my blindness. We have plenty. We could help pay for your treatment. It's better for it to go to you than me."

"No. Don't do that. It wouldn't be fair to your family and-"

"You are my family Kal. If I can help you I will. We're gonna get married remember? I can't have you dying on me before we do." He's quiet. I lean down and kiss him. "I need you to live Kal. I can't live without you."

"We both know I'm going to die. Nothing is going to change that. I'm going to be gone and you're going to have to live without me." His voice breaks. "And when I die, I want you to continue on. I want you to keep living your life to the fullest. When I'm gone I want you to be happy."

A tear falls down my face. "I can't do that. How can I be happy when you're gone? I don't want you to die. It's not fair."

He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. "Nothing is fair Nick. We all die eventually. I'll just die a bit sooner. I've come to terms with it, now I need you to do the same. If not for yourself than for me." I feel him wipe my tears away.

"I'm still getting you that medicine. I'm not letting you go that easily."