The Things I Love About You Part 2 (Completed)

C h a p t e r N i n e t e e n

No matter how hard I try, I cannot fall asleep. My mind is bursting with too many thoughts to slip into subconsciousness. Half of me wonders if Scott is still outside the door, but the logical part of my brain tells me that he is probably asleep in one of the many rooms. With that in mind, I give up on sleep and roll out of bed, letting the cold wrap around me like a wet blanket. I walk over to the door and push it open, jumping in surprise when I hear a grunt.

"Ow."

"Scott?"

"Hi." I open the door further and see Scott sitting against the wall right next to the door. "I told you I wasn't going to bed with you mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." I say, slipping out of the room and sliding down the wall to sit with him.

"It seemed like you were." He takes me hand cautiously and I lace my fingers with his without hesitation.

"I mean...I sort of was. Not really. I don't really know what that was about, and I'm sorry."

"It would be understandable for you to be upset with me because I left and didn't tell you where I was going and then I forgot my stupid ass phone."

"I was really worried about you." He turns and kisses me, melting away all of my worries about him from the past day.

"No need to be." he murmurs against my lips.

"Where were you all day, though?" He falls silent, and a frown replaces his half smile. "Scott?"

"I was with my parents. Um, a couple nights ago, when everyone was here, my mom told me that she needed to talk to me about something important and she wanted me to come over so we could talk about it without ruining the mood."

"Is everything okay?"

"Not really." I think I notice a tear slip down his cheek. "She's dying." My heart skips a beat.

"What do you mean?" I hope against hope that I heard him wrong.

"She's sick. Terminally. Stage two osteosarcoma."

"Scott..." I say, unsure of anything else to say.

"I don't know how the fuck I'm going to live without her."

"Like I am. Painfully." I think of my parents, my sisters, and feel something wrench within my chest. "At least you will still have your dad, right?"

"Yeah. Right." I lean against his chest, hoping to offer some comfort through the small action. He rests his chin on the top of my head, and I can feel his tears wetting my hair.

"I'm sorry, baby." He lets out a heart guttural sob that breaks my heart into a thousand pieces. "I'm so sorry." For a while we sit that way, me leaning against his chest, and him showering my hair with his tears, until I finally suggest that we go to bed.

"It's already five." Scott points out, taking a shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" He shakes his head no. "Okay, then let's go to bed." I stand up, offering my hands to help him do the same. He hauls himself to his feet and follows me into the bedroom. "I'm sorry I locked you out earlier." He lets out a small chuckle and pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it into the corner before collapsing onto the bed.

"That's okay. If I had to have anyone slam the door in my face, I would always have it be you." I get into the bed and curl up against his chest, waiting until his breaths are even to allow myself to sleep.

****

When I wake up, Scott is still next to me. His eyes are shut, but I can tell he is awake.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask, shutting my eyes again and letting my head fall against his arm.

"A while." he replies, exhaustion clear in his voice.

"Did you try going back to sleep?"

"Mhm." I open my eyes again and find his fixed on me. The usual happy sparkle that lingers there is gone.

"What time is it?" He half-shrugs.

"I didn't look." He starts to move to check, but I place my hand firmly on his shoulder to tell him not to worry about it. "So, about our wedding plans..." He breaks out in a grin and I do the same.

"The ones that don't exist yet?"

"Yeah, those ones." He leans down to kiss me and I can practically feel how stressed he is.

"What about them?"

"I want to actually make something of them today."

"Sounds good to me. But right now I just want to lay here."

"Good. Me too." So for close to two hours, we stay in bed, occasionally getting on our phones, but never moving farther than an inch apart until the doorbell rings.

"Who's that?" I wonder aloud.

"I guess we should find out." Scott groans. "Well, it's been fun lounging with you, Mr. Grassi."

"Don't get used to calling me that." I say with a smirk as I stand up.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because soon it will be Mr. Grassi-Hoying."

****

Sorry it's kind of short. I wasn't actually planning on updating today so if it seems choppy, that's why