Me and Nathan are sitting on the couch. He is about to tell me why he is going for hospital appointments and right now, I'm fearing the worst.
"Well, are you gonna tell me?" I ask.
"Harper. I found a lump. In my neck again. I went for an xray. I've got hodgkins lymphoma." Nathan says.
I can't contain the pain I'm feeling right now, so I walk out the house. I continue walking, when I see 4 teenage boys walking towards me.
"Hey doll!" One says.
"Can you go away!" I say.
"I do like an English bird." Another says.
"Go away or I'm calling the police." I say.
"For what? You're on our land now. There's none of these 'oh help me, he said a bad word, arrest him and throw away the key!" The first one says.
"Can you just leave me be?" I ask as I try to push past.
They stop me.
"How about no." The third one says.
They try to take me into an alley, and they succeed.
"How old are you baby?" The first guy says.
"30. I'm 30 years old, married with three children." I say as I'm pushed against a wall.
"Bit old for me." The second one says.
"Just let me go. I need to get back to my husband." I say as I begin to worry.
"Go. But if we come across you during the night again, things will be a lot worse." The man says.
They move away and I run. I run home and when I get through the door, Nathan is pacing round. I close the door and we look at each other. I burst into tears and Nathan hugs me.
"I'm so sorry I went." I sob.
"Hey, it's alright. What happened?" Nathan asks as he notices the bruise forming on my arm.
"I was walking nd then these boys came towards me. They started to talk to me and then they pulled me into an alley." I say.
"Did they do anything because I swear, I will kill them." Nathan says.
"They did nothing." I say.
Nathan cups my face and then I push away. I run to the toilet and throw up. Drinking all that alcohol was a bad idea. I continue to throw up for a further five minutes. I wipe my mouth and stagger to the couch.
"Let's get you to bed." Nathan says.
He picks me up and carries me upstairs.
"I love you." I say.
"I love you to baby. Sleep this off. I'll call your manager and tell him you're not feeling great." Nathan says.
"What about you?" I ask as I lay in bed.
"I'm going to take Lily to kindergarten, the twins to pre school and I'm going to work. I don't have a hospital appointment till next week, so I'll come home on my break." Nathan says.
He kisses my head and then gets into bed with me he wraps his arms around my waist. Why am I being like this? Why did I drink? I fall asleep almost instantly. I wake up to the noise of shuffling.
"What?" I say as I sit up.
"I didn't mean to wake you." Nathan says.
"No it's alright. I need to have a shower." I say.
"Ok. The kids are downstairs. I'll be leaving in about 10 minutes." Nathan says.
"I love you so much." I say.
"I love you too." Nathan says.
Nathan kisses my head and leaves. I lay back in bed and grab my phone. I text Hanna on whatssapp. I know there's a time difference, but I have no one else to text. I get up and have a shower. After getting dressed and drying my hair, I go downstairs and turn on the radio.
"Oh my God." I say
I hear my song being played. Once it's finished, they say it's in the top 5. I can't believe it! I smile to myslef and then proceed to make myself a smoothie. Then I see the half empty bottle and the full one on the side. And everything from last night comes back. I go to pick up the bottle, but then someone bangs on my door. When I open it, I notice my neighbour's daughter in tears.
"Hey. What's wrong?" I ask.
"Can I come in?" She asks.
"Yeah." I say.
I close the door and get her a glass of water.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"I was on my way to school. I was by the ally next to the brew waiting for my friend and I was pulled down the ally. They tried to attack me, but I got away." She says.
"It's gonna be ok Shelby." I say.
"Please don't tell my mom or dad." She begs.
"Ok." I say.
I hug her and she stops crying. I then call her high school to let them know she won't be coming in. She stays for a few hours until her mum gets home. She goes back to her house then Nathan comes back.
"Hey." I say.
I hug him and then sit on the island.
"I missed you." I say.
We start to kiss and things get heated. Nathan picks me up and takes us upstairs.
"I love you when you're in uniform." I say.
"And I love you altogether." Nathan says.
I take Nathan's shirt off, he he kisses my neck.
"Stop." I say.
"Is everything ok?" Nathan asks.
"Forget what I said." I say as I pull his head towards mine.
You know what happens next. Nathan goes back to work and I go downstairs and watch Disney films on Netflix. A few more hours later, Nathan comes home with the twins.
"Hey baby." I say.
"Hey mummy. We have a parent teacher cofruss on Friday." Lily days.
"Do you mean conference?" I ask.
"Yeah." Lily says.
"Ok. Go play for a bit and then I'll help you with your homework." I say.
Lily goes upstairs and the twins play inside. Nathan is in the kitchen and I walk up behind him.
"You been ok since earlier?" Nathan asks.
"Yeah. I think I'm good to go to work tomorrow." I say.
"Shall I order take out?" Nathan attempts to say in an American accent.
"Yeah. Chinese." I say.
Nathan orders food around 7:30. After eating, I put the kids to bed and Nathan and I cuddle on the couch.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.
"Tell you what?" Nathan asks.
"Don't play hard to get." I say.
"Oh. I didn't want you stressing. It's not that big of a deal anyway." Nathan says.
"Not that big of a deal? Nathan! You've got hodgkins lymphoma and if I could switch places with you, you know I would do it in a heart beat." I say.
"I'm sorry. No more secrets." Nathan says.
We kiss and then go to bed.
YOU ARE READING
Forever
RomanceHarper. Nathan. They are perfect for each other. They have been best friends since they were toddlers. Now they are living separate lives at opposite ends of the country. What will happen when they bump into each other one day and both have things t...
