Luke's POV

There's a quiet knock on the hospital door, waking me up. I sit up in the uncomfortable hospital chair, which I had the unfortunate experience of sleeping in. I figure it's a nurse checking in for the hundredth time, but I'm surprised to see Calum and my dad walk in.

"Surprise!" Calum whisper-yells, noticing my mom is asleep.

I quickly fix my hair and get up from the chair, my back slightly stiff. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask him quietly.

"I'm visiting! And I brought decorations! Your dad said Liz's room could use some 'jazzing up'," Calum says, using finger quotes and laughing.

I roll my eyes and laugh. 

"So, I brought these," Calum says, opening up a giant bag. He pulls out some pictures, a poster saying bee happy with a bunch of smiling bumble bees, and a small pot of flowers. 

"Dad, did you forget she can't have flowers?" I ask, quickly grabbing the flowers. The doctor told us yesterday that flowers could bring in germs and mold.

"Luke, relax. They're fake!" Calum says, taking the flowers out of my hands. 

I take a closer look at them. "Oh, yeah. They are."

My dad laughs.

Calum puts the flowers on the bedside table and gets some tape out of his bag to hang up the poster. "I have these too!" Calum exclaims, showing me some window stickers of butterflies. He excitedly gets to work and decorates the room quietly.

Calum is constantly surprising me. I can't think of anyone who would do all this for their best friend's mom. He truly is amazing, and I am so lucky he has stuck with me through everything.

My dad sits down in the chair. "So how was your night?" he asks, looking over at my mom.

I sit down in another chair. "Compared to Mom, not so bad. She kept throwing up or having random pains. The nurses kept having to come in to check on her, so both of us would wake up. That chair is also the most uncomfortable seat in the world. But it's okay. I just feel bad for Mom."

He sighs. "I know. I'm sure she was happy you were here though. It probably made it a little more bearable."

Calum comes over and sits in the last remaining chair. "Can she have balloons? Is there, like, a rule against them?"

I shrug. "I dunno. I'll ask Jordan or the nurses."

Calum scrunches his eyebrows in confusion.

"Who's Jordan?" Calum and my dad ask in unison.

"Oh, she's a patient here. I met her last night on the roof."

"The roof? Luke, what were you doing up there?" my dad asks suspiciously. 

"I walked up all the stairs and that's where they ended. It's not big deal. I promise."

He sighs. "If you say so."

"Is there hospital laws against that?" Calum asks.

I laugh. "I highly doubt it."

My mom begins to move slightly in bed. She slowly opens her eyes to see us all sitting there.

"What are you all doing here?" she mumbles sleepily.

"We decorated!" Calum says happily.

She looks around slowly and a smile spreads across her face. "It's very nice. Thank you." She pushes the button on her bed to make her sit up so she can talk to us better.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Tired."

"Need anything?" I ask.

"No, I'm okay."

It's only been one day and my mom already seems worn out. She's speaking softly, almost like her voice has left her. She looks exhausted, which isn't surprising since she's been awake half the night. She looks worse than the day I left last year, which I didn't think was possible. That day she looked physically and mentally drained. Now, she looks frail and ready to fall asleep at any minute. Every time she moves, it's very slow and minimal. I'm afraid to see what she's going to be like later on since this is just the start.

"If you're okay, I'm gonna go get breakfast then. Does anyone want anything?" I say, getting up.

"I'll come," Calum says, standing up too. "Oh, and Liz, don't worry, those flowers beside your bed are fake. Your son over here got a little nervous when he saw them."

"They look very real!" I explain. 

My mom laughs, but it ends shortly. She coughs a little and sighs. She looks at me with sad eyes, but tries to smile.

"I'll be right back. One of your nurses should be here soon, they said they'd be here around 10," I tell her.

Calum and I head down to the cafeteria. I can tell Calum is trying to lighten the mood and avoid talking about it. We pass some other patients on the floor, all of them reminding me of what my mom may be soon. 

We walk past one of the rooms, and I notice Jordan's name on the door. The door is open slightly, and I can somewhat see her sitting on the bed, still reading a book. Calum notices my glance.

"Is that Jordan?" he asks, quickly peeking inside too before we walk past.

I nod.

My phone starts to ring, it's Delilah. She's returning my call since she didn't pick up yesterday.

"Hey!" I say.

"Hey, Delilah," Calum says loudly.

Delilah laughs. "Hi guys. How is everything?"

"It's okay. My mom's experiencing some side effects from the chemo right now, but that's normal. It sucks seeing her like that though."

Calum follows me as I continue to walk to the cafeteria. He smiles at everyone that walks past us.

"Tell her I'm thinking of her. I'm thinking of you too, obviously." She laughs quietly.

I wish instead of thinking about each other, we were with each other. It'd be so much easier for me if she was here. I'm doing good right now though, but if it ever gets really bad, I won't have her here. And for the past few months, whenever it's gotten terrible, she's been there. She's been there to comfort me and hold my hand and hug me and just be with me. Now, she's just heard through the phone. That's better than nothing though.

Calum and I get down to the cafeteria. I tell Delilah I'll call her back when I'm done eating, I don't want everyone in the cafeteria to hear our conversation. I also don't want the sounds of me eating be all Delilah hears.

"I wish Delilah was here, I miss her," Calum says, picking up a muffin from the many breakfast selections.

"You think you miss her... You only spent one month with her!" I say, laughing. I get a bagel and some juice. I grab a yogurt for my dad too. My mom's food will be brought to her.

"It doesn't matter. I could miss someone I've never even met. I just miss how happy you are when you're with her."

I look at Calum and feel my cheeks blush. "Me too."

He's right. Even though I'm still happy now, it's a different kind of happy when I'm with Delilah. With her, I feel completely safe. I can be myself and not worry about anything. She makes me feel comfortable and carefree. I long to see her again and be able to have her with me. Soon doesn't feel soon enough. Soon feels like forever.

A lot could happen in the few months before Delilah is back, and that worries me. My mom could get worse, or she could improve. I could fall back to how I was, but I'm determined not to. Delilah could find someone better than me, but she probably won't. I know it's impossible for me to find someone better than her. Lucy is growing up, and I'm not there to see it. Michael could stop stuttering. Ashton might actually get a girlfriend. The possibilities are endless.

A lot can happen soon, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

I had to put the possibilities are endless. I saw the chance and took it. lol

Make sure you're following my twitters RTFbook and singsongash. Also my website ashleyroyer.com. I've been posting a lot of things and that's the best way to stay updated with RTF.

ALSO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT RTF BEING PUBLISHED, COMMENT THEM. I'm gonna do an FAQ soon on my Youtube (callmeashley98) and wanna make sure I cover everything.

Sorry for not updating in forever. I haven't felt well for, like, a month :(

love you!

Ashley