What The Heart Craves (Complete)

Chapter 20 - Part 1

Lacey

My 'go out and have fun' night came to a grinding halt after Adonis walked out. Aiden and Reece ushered me out of the house.

I sat in the back seat of Aiden's car feeling emotionally raw. Even though Adonis walking out on me was for the best, it didn't ease the ache in my chest or the heartbreak I felt. My tears had dried up, but my eyes were still puffy and red.

"I can't believe he did that," Reece muttered. She was sitting in the passenger seat with her arms crossed. Her lips pressed in a thinned line. She was furious with him. In her eyes, he'd hurt her friend. It didn't matter whether he had a good reason.

"Some guys just aren't worth it," Aiden said, sounding preoccupied with his own thoughts.

It didn't surprise me when I felt the usual ache in my headache. With everything that happened and the stress of all of it had taken its toll on me. When I got home, I was ready to take my medication and sleep.

"You going to be okay?" Aiden stopped his car in my driveway.

I gave him a weak smile and nodded my head.

"I'll walk you." Reece got out of the car. We walked to my front door.

"You okay?" She watched me with concerned as we entered my house. I could tell she knew I wasn't okay, and she didn't want to leave me in my emotional state.

"I'll be fine, I'm just going to take my medication and go to sleep," I said, and she gave me a hug.

The house was quiet when I entered it. I heard Aiden's car pull out from the driveway. He was on his way to drop off Reece. I went into the kitchen and drank my medication for the migraine that was about to hit me.

I wanted to suppress the memories from tonight, but the moment Adonis had told Reece he was out was engrained in my memory. As long as I lived, I would never forget the way he looked at me, or the sound of his voice when he said the words.

I let out a deep breath, trying to ease the pressure of my emotions.

Upstairs in my room I didn't change I just kicked my shoes off and slumped onto my bed.

The migraine pounded in my mind. The pills kicked in and I drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Adonis on my mind.

For the next few days, I pushed my heartbreak aside and tried to spend quality time with everyone. I went shopping one day with my mom. It was like a mom and daughter day. We had lunch and shopped for some new clothes. As much as I wanted to pretend everything was okay, I wasn't and no amount of activity could make me forget that.

Aiden decided I needed to go fishing. He skipped his classes one day so he could take me fishing for the day. Fishing had to be the most boring thing to do, ever. I nearly threw up when he shoved a wriggling worm on a hook. I hated it, but being able to spend the morning in his company had made it worth the trip. He had kept me in fits of laughter for most of the afternoon.

Reece organized a sleepover, and we spent the night watching movies and eating junk food. Just like we would have done before. We talked about many things the only subjects off limits were obviously Adonis and my tumor. I was trying to have a normal life concentrating on things that made me happy instead of the surgery or what the outcome would be.

Every person close to me was rallying around me, trying to pack in as much living in my short time as possible. But now and then, when I experienced a side effect like dizziness and tingling in my arms, it brought back the hard reality of my situation. It was a reminder of the clock ticking, my time was running out. The side effects were happening more regularly.

Four days after I last saw Adonis at the party, he was still on my mind. It was like I was missing a piece of myself and I couldn't get it back.

But I couldn't change anything. I had to deal with it. I kept remind myself that I was doing it to protect him. It didn't make my decision any easier.

I was standing in the kitchen talking to Alex, holding a cup of coffee in my hands. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him about Adonis, but I didn't. Nothing good would come of it.

"You've been very busy lately." Alex stood across from me. He was busy making some coffee.

"Yeah." I sipped my coffee. It had been a hectic four days.

"What have you got planned today?" He stirred sugar into coffee.

"Reece and I are going to the beach today," I said.

I wasn't big on the beach. I hated the fine sand that stuck to your skin. Reece would probably tan in her bikini. I was going to the beach because I loved to watch the sea. There was something so calming about watching the crashing waves.

My hand tingled, and I set my cup down on the counter. I flexed my hand.

"You okay?" My brother's features portrayed his concern as I shook my hand.

"Yeah, it's fine," I told him. What I didn't tell him was that I'd woken up with a slight headache and I wasn't feeling well. Maybe I'd been overdoing it in the past few days and this was my body's way of telling me to slow down.

"It's the side effects." He frowned. "Maybe you should see the doctor."

I was already shaking my head. It was a side effect of the brain tumor and I wasn't in the mood for another lecture from the doctor on the reasons I shouldn't delay the surgery.

There were a few moments of silence as I tried to get the feeling back in my hand.

"He asks about you all the time."

He was talking about Adonis. It was so unexpected it took me by surprise. I didn't know what to say to that.

"I just wanted you to know." My brother shrugged.

"Thanks," I said, still taken aback by the information. Did it make me feel better? Maybe just a little.

There had been so many times I'd sat on my bed with my phone in my hands, trying not to give into the urge to call him just to hear his voice. I don't know how I stopped myself.

Each day without him made it harder to keep away from him.

The tingling feel disappeared from my hand. I rubbed my hands together before I picked up my cup and took another sip. The coffee eased my unsettled stomach.

I'd hoped that I would start feeling better, but I could feel that it wasn't getting worse. I rubbed my forehead slightly as I contemplated whether to cancel on Reece.

"You don't look well." My brother was watching me closely.

My vision of him blurred. I closed my eyes tightly before trying to reopen them, but it was still blurry.

"Lacey," my brother's voice echoed. It felt like it was so far away. "Maybe you need to sit..."

My blurred world tilted, and I tried to reach for the counter to grab hold of it, but I missed it. I felt myself fall. The pain of the fall never came, and I felt arms catch me in time.

"Lacey, can you hear me?" Alex's worried voice reached into the darkness of my disorientated mind. He lay me down on something soft.

"Mom!" Alex yelled. Panic setting into his voice.

I wanted to reach out and assure him I was okay, but when I tried to talk my lips wouldn't move. My body refused to obey my instructions. I tried to hold on when I heard the rising panic in Alex's voice as he continued to call for mom but when the darkness came, I couldn't escape it.