Steel My Soul ✓

35 | Death

I N D I G O

Nurses and doctors were amazing. They healed the body, but also the mind in times like these. I never thought I'd be able to make it to graduation. I never thought I'd be able to stand on my own without feeling faint every five minutes, yet here I was at my graduation ceremony, gathered around my friends and family. 

My doctor talked me into layering many clothes beneath my graduation gown to keep me warm, and I didn't argue. Mum was always a few feet away from me anyway with my medication and two water bottles. She had an entire handbag dedicated to my wellbeing, in case being outside was too much for me. It wasn't - not when I was surrounded by love and support. 

Graduation caps were thrown into the air, scattering the skies with hopes and dreams. We dream-holders embraced one another in hugs, gentle ones on my end. Smiles and laughs filled the space around us and the sun kept me warm and happy. 

"Okay, you're not allowed to cry," Dawn scolded Adara in a shaky voice when we held each other. "That will make us all cry. We're not supposed to cry."

But tears were already dripping down my face. "Shut up. We're allowed to fucking cry. I can check that shit off my bucket list now."

They laughed and held me a little tighter. 

A second later, someone forcibly joined our group hug and shouted, "Aw, you guys! Who would've thought, huh?"

"Nicandro," Dawn warned in a voice so threatening that he stiffened against us. "You have five seconds-"

She didn't finish her threat before he was running off to his friends. That made us laugh harder. Then my mind instantly became engulfed with the thought of Chancey, so I pulled away from my friends. 

"Well, I'm off to see Chancey and his douchebag friends," I announced before pausing. 

For a few seconds, I let myself look at them. The girls who changed the direction of my high school life. Even if they'd entered it in the last year, they'd made me feel so welcome and loved. These girls were going to grow into amazing women, and I was glad to have known them now, while we were still young and while I was still alive. They had bright futures ahead of them. 

"I love you, girls. You made my year so much easier-"

"We could say the same," Adara kissed my cheek before I could finish my sentence, overcome with emotion. 

Dawn pushed in carefully to hug me and I pulled Serenity in so that I could hug her, too. She was trying the hardest to not be emotional, but I wanted her to know that it was okay to be. 

Someone interrupted our moment by clearing their throat and my friends pulled away. I knew by the way Dawn glared at the person behind me that it was Chancey. I turned around and grinned up at him, my face feeling hot at the sight of his intense stare. 

Chancey flickered his eyes around my friends and scolded them. "Don't hog my girl. It's not nice."

His brown eyes, almost gold in the sunlight, returned to me and I smiled wider. My boyfriend was so beautiful and I was going to attack him for making my heart feel as if it were about to explode. 

"You can have her. Only if you promise to return her in one piece," Adara argued.

"And why are we speaking about her like she's a piece of property?" Dawn decided to add, and from the closeness of her voice, I assumed she stepped closer.